Ecommerce Shopping Cart - Search Engine Marketing Software

Marriott International Forecasts Nearly $4 Billion on Gross Revenue for Marriott.com in 2006; More than 38 Percent Increase from Previous Year

Washington, D.C. (PRWeb) January 3, 2007 -- On the day Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is announcing sweeping consumer hotel accommodation enhancements to the company's UK web site, the company says it expects Marriott.com and its international sites to shatter its revenue record by generating nearly US $4 billion in gross hotel-level sales across Marriott's 2,800 property system this year. Also, with the anticipated gross revenue growth of more than 92% percent in 2006, its flagship UK site, Marriott.co.uk will have almost doubled in size in just one year.

"Marriott.com and its international sites, which form already the largest hotel company web site, now firmly ranks as one of the biggest Internet consumer retail sites, as well," says Amy McPherson, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing, Marriott International. "By continually innovating, we provide travel consumers with the online products, services and amenities that in turn have fueled Marriott.com's growth. The enhancements we are announcing today will sustain that growth and the increasing consumer popularity of Marriott.com."

Hotel accommodation web sites have traditionally done a great job serving business travellers, who know where they need to be and when they need to be there. However, most leisure travellers have more time flexibility and typically begin holiday planning by extensive research into destinations and lodging options, but this has often been difficult to do on hotel web sites -- until now.

Tens of thousands of daily visitors to Marriott.co.uk now have a new faster and easier search option before making hotel reservations, using keywords and clickable filters. It is the most comprehensive search-and-find functionality in the lodging industry. Visitors to Marriott.co.uk can begin by either typing in their destination as usual, or by clicking on the new "Keyword Search" tab on the home page and typing in a word or string of words, for example:
• Hotel name (e.g., "Grosvenor House," "West India Quay")
• Region (e.g., "Caribbean")
• Attractions (e.g., "Empire State Building," "Buckingham Palace" )
• Activities (e.g., "golf," "spa")
• Amenity (e.g., "free breakfast")

The customer's search results will now also feature Marriott.co.uk's new clickable filters, which help travellers to much more quickly narrow down and choose their desired hotel by amenities, activities, nearby attractions, Marriott brands and more.

After they have found their destination and make a hotel reservation, visitors can plan activities for their holidays using the new Destinations section, which features continually updated city break guides and local information about thousands of concerts, exhibits, festivals, theatre, shopping, sporting events, family activities, restaurants and nightlife for 600 destinations worldwide (soon to be expanded to 1,900). For example, travellers can make plans for the Taste of Chicago from July 2 - 6, Fleet Week in New York beginning May 1, or make arrangements for hotel accommodation in London before January 7, 2007 when Leonardo da Vinci: Experiment, Experience and Design closes at the Victoria and Albert Museum. With just a click, visitors can then conveniently plot these local activities on a print-and-go map that they can carry with them on the road.

When Marriott.co.uk initially tested the new search features, 90 percent of travellers surveyed said it was "better" compared to other travel web sites they typically use. Further, of those surveyed, nearly 60 percent said they would be more likely to make a hotel reservation on Marriott.co.uk because of the new options. Visitors to most other hotel web sites still have no option but to search the traditional way using location and date. To learn more about the new consumer features on Marriott.co.uk, take the tour at http://marriott.co.uk/tour.

As always, Marriott's Look No Further® Best Rate Guarantee assures travellers that they are getting the best available rate when they book directly with Marriott, whether it is on Marriott.co.uk, calling the free phone reservations line or contacting the hotel directly.

Note: The forecast of Marriott.com 2006 gross revenue contained in this press release is a "forward-looking statement" within the meaning of federal securities laws, and is not a historical fact. We caution you that this statement is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the continuation of the current growth environment in both the economy and the lodging industry; and other matters referred to in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q under the heading "Risks Factors", any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein. This statement is made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise this or any other forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 2,800 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers and golf courses. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and had approximately 143,000 employees at 2005 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE®. The company is also a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner. In fiscal year 2005, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $11.6 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at http://www.marriott.com.

# # #

Shopping Cart Uses Top Google Keywords to Maximize Revenue
Ecommerce shopping cart hosting uses search engine marketing software to sell products online. Use top paying Google keywords and PPC campaigns to maximize revenue and boost your income stream. Get a merchant account for credit card processing and make money on the internet with merchandise sales.

MORE ARTICLES:

Arquan Announces Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software For Web Designers and SEO Professionals
Arquan announces Xonca 3.0 ecommerce shopping cart software for web designers and SEO professionals who need complete design control, power, simplicity, and search engine friendly features. Xonca is also very easy to operate for the end user.

Shopping Cart Software - Boost Your Online Sales
More and more people are going to the internet in order to find a means of making a living. There have been so many advances in the ways of the internet that have made making money easier for many people. This concept is actually relatively simple; on the internet there is an increased ability to reach many more customers than in person.

Internet Marketing - How to Make your Online Advertising Business Produce Money on Internet Marketing
The success or failure of your Internet marketing business depends largely on the Internet users. If they are interested on the products and services that you are offering for sale, definitely you can expect hundreds to thousands of dollars in revenues from your online business. On the other hand, if they are just too lazy to hear what you want to say and what you are offering, better shut down your personal computer unit and find some other ways of earning money.

Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account
There are two major ways to accept credit cards on your website. The first and most expensive is to have your own merchant account.

Pinnacle Cart Releases the Next Generation of Their Successful Shopping Cart Software  Pinnacle Cart 360
Pinnacle Cart announces the release of their latest ecommerce software solution, Pinnacle Cart 360. Designed from a marketing perspective, this tremendously successful shopping cart application is designed to increase website sales, average sales amount and organic traffic.

Comparison Shopping Search Engines Equal Big Profits for Online Merchants
Holiday shoppers are expected to spend $32 billion online this season, with purchases happening well past ground shipping cutoff dates. That's according to "Online Retail Holiday Forecast, 2006," a report from JupiterResearch.

Credit Card Processing - 7 Things You Need to Know Before Opening an Online Merchant Account
When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit card orders, there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind. The best thing to do is learn all about credit card processing before you open your online merchant account so you can handle everything from the beginning rather than having to go back and make many changes.

4 Reasons Why You Must Try PPC Search Engine Internet Marketing
PPC (or Pay Per Click for those not in the know) search engine internet marketing is a form of internet advertising model that uses the power of the search engine, the flexibility and connectivity of advertising networks and a whole host of content based people pulling websites to generate audience volume

Apply For A Credit Card Merchant Account Online
Who should? Why, you should, of course, if you want to grow your business and maximize sales volume! In this day and age, more and more business functions are moving into cyberspace, which means that business owners must be ready to travel to this relatively unknown domain if they want to maintain strong customer ties and stay a step or two ahead of the competition. Dont worry if youre not Web savvy; most online processes that are geared to the general consumer are not hard to perform. In fact, most are downright easy.

Search Engine Marketing Firm Netconcepts® Upgrades Powerful Ecommerce Web Solution for Online Retailers
Enhanced search friendly online retail management platform provides "baked in" optimization features.

eCommerce Solution - Shopping Cart Software
Build Your Own Ecommerce Website Ecommerce has been the rage for the online community. Now over half of the world prefers to do shopping on Internet through various ecommerce stores. Every businessperson wants to build own an ecommerce website in order to get their business an impressive online presence and an ultimate global exposure. If you are also running a business and are looking for a perfect way out to reach the millions of customers from all over the world, there is no other way to do this than building an ecommerce website. However, if you are planning to build your own ecommerce website, you should not that it is not an easy task to do. You need to look into several factors. Let us go exploring. Professional Design W...

Shopping Cart Software - Making Internet Shopping Easier
People are increasingly turning to the Internet when they want to earn extra income or even begin earning a primary income from home. So many different jobs and sources of revenue on the Internet have evolved over the years that making money on the Internet has become quite easy. If you think about it, it's obvious why. The Internet can reach more customers than a physical store location can.

Advertising Your Work From Home Internet Business With PPC Search Engines
If you want to make money online with a work from home business then you are going to need lots of good targeted traffic to your web site and or affiliate links. One way to get good targeted traffic is to pay for it.

Xonca Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Released
Ecommerce software company Arquan releases search engine friendly Xonca shopping cart software for web designers and SEO professionals.