Photos from James Brown’s Afternoon at the Courtyard Fair Oaks

We had a great afternoon with James Brown yesterday at our Courtyard Fair Oaks. He shot a few videos for us and even answered some fan questions from Twitter on film. All of the videos will be posted online starting in a few weeks so stay tuned for those. Until then, here are some pictures from yesterday’s shoot…enjoy!

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Courtyard Seoul Times Square – Who Could Ask For More?

Situated in the heart of downtown, I would like to introduce to you Courtyard’s first property in South Korea – Courtyard Seoul Times Square.

Located in the middle of the city’s newest multi-complex entertainment landmark, this new hotel’s location offers great shopping with more than 60 fashion stores, amazing dining outlets featuring 55 food outlets, superb entertainment highlighted by the world’s largest screen theater as well as a 15,000 square meter rooftop garden. Subway access within the complex allows for easy access to all the city’s major venues and attractions.
What better hub could you ask for when visiting this vibrant city?

Offering 283 rooms, our newest Courtyard is only five minutes from the financial district and 20 minutes from Gimpo International Airport. A special introductory rate of KRW 99,000 plus tax per night for deluxe accommodations or KRW 119,000 for accommodations with breakfast for two is valid until October 31, 2009.

Our famous MoMo Café serves up a mouth-watering menu and our attentive staff create the perfect dining experience. Relax and unwind after a hectic day at the MoMo Lounge and Bar that offers refreshing cocktails and custom juices along with an outdoor seating patio where you can enjoy the city view.

Come visit us in Seoul. We’re ready for you!

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Simon Bell
General Manager, Courtyard Seoul Times Square

Last Chance to Submit Questions for James Brown

It’s getting down to the wire! James Brown will be on site with us at one of our Courtyard hotels on Monday morning and will be answering football-related questions from fans. Send us yours to our CourtyardHotels Twitter site by Sunday night and he may answer it on camera!

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Two Courtyard Hotels Make Eco-History

Today, two of our Courtyard hotels are making eco-history. Our Courtyard Portland City Center is receiving it’s official Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – Gold certification plaque from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Courtyard Chevy Chase, which is also a LEED-Gold candidate and expected to receive its certification by the end of the year, will celebrate its grand opening. This is a momentous occasion for these two hotels as they are the “greenest” hotel in the Marriott system of 3,200 hotels worldwide.

The event will be attended by VIPs at both locations. In Chevy Chase, Marriott chairman and CEO Bill Marriott will attend, as well as the chief operating officer of the USGBC, Chris Smith; Montgomery County, Md., exeuctive, Ike Leggett and Courtyard vice president and global brand manager, Brian King. And, in Portland, the city’s mayor, Sam Adams, and the senior vice president of LEED for the USGBC, Scot Horst, will attend.

These two hotels will hold their event simultaneously and they will be broadcast via global webcast at www.courtyardgreencoast2coast.com. It will start at 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific and last approximately one hour. We hope you’ll tune in and watch online as these hotels celebrate their tremendous accomplishment.

For more information about these two hotels and their green elements, as well as Marriott International’s green initiatives, click here.

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CBS Football Broadcaster James Brown Spends Time with Courtyard and Answers Your Questions

Exciting news, football fans! On Monday, September 28, we’re lucky enough to get to spend some times with CBS football broadcaster James Brown. He’ll be with us at our Courtyard Fair Oaks in Fairfax, Virginia, to shoot a video that you’ll get to see in a few weeks.

While he’s there, he’s also going to tape answers to some of your most burning football-related questions like: “Will Brett Favre’s arm hold up through the season?” “Will Kurt Warner be able to pull off another big year in Arizona?” “What do you think of the AFL throwback jerseys?”

We’re looking for you to submit your questions to us either through a comment on this blog post or on our Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/courtyardhotels). We’ll select some of the top questions and post J.B.’s video response to them in segments online in the coming weeks.

Be sure to send us your questions by Friday, September 25 and stay tuned for the videos to see if J.B. answers yours!

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Courtyard Phoenix/Chandler Opens 61st Refreshing Business Lobby

Today marked the opening of the Courtyard Phoenix Chandler/Fashion Center in Arizona — the 61st Courtyard hotel to feature the new Refreshing Business lobby design. Enjoy the warm Arizona sun an at this brand new hotel located near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and the Chandler Fashion Center.

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First Courtyard Opens in Ecuador

I am pleased to announce the opening of Courtyard’s first property in Ecuador, the Courtyard Guayaquil. Located in Ecuador’s largest city, the hotel is located on Avenida Francisco de Orellana, five minutes from the airport. The hotel has 124 standard rooms, 10 superior rooms with 75% more space than regular rooms and 5 suites. All guest rooms are fully equipped with complimentary high speed Internet access, comfortable beds and large work desks while superior rooms and suites have sofabeds as well. The hotel offers six spacious meeting rooms which makes it ideal for small business meetings or social events.

Whether visiting for business or pleasure, our hotel is designed to help you get the most out of your visit. We invite you to experience our full service Vitro Restaurant that offers Mediterranean and national cuisines for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In your free time, explore Malecon Simon Bolivar’s waterfront pier for shopping, or Parque Historico de Guayaquil and Barrio Las Peñas all within close distance to the hotel.

If you’ve always wanted to visit Ecuador, now is the time. Our special promotion “From Independence to Independence” offers accommodations for only $79 plus taxes per night. This promotion is available until October 11, 2009.

While staying with us, explore the magnificent Galapagos Islands, experience Ecuador’s warm hospitality and Courtyard’s modern comfort. I look forward to hosting you at the new Courtyard Guayaquil.

Thank you for helping us keep Courtyard on the go.

Gabriel Garcia
General Manager, Courtyard Guayaquil

Courtyard Completes 60th Refreshing Business Lobby

Courtyard now has 60 hotels in North America featuring the new Refreshing Business lobby. The newest one opened today at the Courtyard Reading Wyomissing in Pennsylvania. It’s located withing walking distance of the VF outlets and other shopping, dining and entertainment options in downtown Reading.

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Save 20% on Weekend Stays with Marriott's Global Rate Break!

Great news, travelers! If you book a weekend stay at any of more than 2,500 participating Marriott hotels around the world between now and September 24, you’ll receive 20 percent off the regular room rate through our Global Rate Break offer. Your stay can be any time from September 25 – December 13, as long as it’s Thursday – Sunday. Just book by the 24th and use promotional code F5X. All of the details can be found here.

Be sure to book soon as the offer is only available for a short time. And leave us a comment about what you’ll do with the extra 20 percent you save from your trip!

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Courtyard New Haven Orange, Conn., Opens New Lobby

We’re excited to announce that the Courtyard New Haven Orange in Orange, Connecticut, just completed its renovation, making it the 59th Courtyard hotel to feature the new Refreshing Business lobby!

The 121-room hotel is located just outside of New Haven, convenient to Yale University. Weekend room rates are starting at $119, making it a great, affordable choice for those visiting the university or catching a Bulldogs home football game. We hope you’ll check it out if you’re in the area and let us know what you think!

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