Brian's Blog: Blogging with USA Today

Almost exactly a year ago, a reporter for USA Today, Barbara DeLollis, wrote a fantastic story about the new Courtyard lobby.

A lot has changed for Courtyard and for Barbara over the past year, too. She just joined the social media revolution . Today Barbara launched her Hotel Check-In blog for USA right from the lobby of our Courtyard at BWI Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, where she wrote her first posts.

She set up shop, plugging in her laptop at The Bistro counter and using the free Wi-Fi we offer. Barbara made me laugh when she described the breakfast buzz in the lobby as “Starbucks on steroids.”.

I chatted with her for about 90 minutes and answered questions about the brand, the new lobby roll-out and even our Starbucks coffee offerings. But the heart of our conversation revolved around how both customers and our associates have responded to the new design. The lobby of the past was “transaction focused” space. Today the lobby stands on its own as a unique and refreshing “space to experience.” The lobby fully supports our guests’ needs for both business and personal travel. It was great to sit down with Barbara today and I was so thrilled to be able to take part in the launch of her new blog all about the hotel industry.

Thanks to you, the readers, and to Barbara for helping me keep Courtyard on the go.

Brian

Brian's Blog: How Corporate Meetings Strengthen Our Courtyard Hotel Brand

I just got back from beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana, where we were hosting our annual Courtyard General Manager’s conference. Nearly 700 of our GMs from the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean converged on the city for three days of meetings and experiencing the local culture.

This year’s meeting was fantastic. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm among our Courtyard team about all the new initiatives within the brand — especially our new Refreshing Business lobby concept. Right now, 29 of our Courtyards in North America have the new lobby and we expect another 100 to have it by the end of this year.

It was also an excellent forum to hold intimate discussions with the General Managers. I was able to communicate many important brand messages to them and they were able to share their thoughts and concerns with me. I received a lot of helpful feedback and ideas from them.

Most importantly, I was thrilled to see that, although times are tough in this current economic climate, our team is overwhelming optimistic. They are working harder and closer together than ever to make sure Courtyard remains the top hotel brand for business travelers around the world.

I’m so grateful I was able to spend so much time with our Courtyard leaders in such a wonderful city and look forward to the next time we meet again!

Thanks for helping me keep Courtyard on the go.

Brian