Customer intimacy. A recent buzzword, sure but the credence in its results cannot be argued. 
 
I received an email from Marriott that made me feel known. Marriott and their fine Marketing team managed to use the data collected from me to craft an offer which makes complete sense based on how/when we stayed with them during a recent stay and have the potential to do so again. 
 
The offer: Book Your Next Trip to Bloomington and Gas is on Us!
 
Why I was so stoked about this email:
The Marketing crew at Marriott used the data collected from a few stays to identify that Amy and I travel from Chicago for weekend trips to our college town, Bloomington, IN. They attempted to sweeten the deal and entice us to come again by offering us gas money for the road trip.
 
I love the uniqueness of this campaign. This took a bit more work than a standard discounted room rate but this extra effort comes with benefits beyond profit. 
 
Sadly, we were not in a position to take Marriott/Courtyard up on their offer but from the looks of it, if you did take them up on this one, I am guessing they provided you a prepaid card, not gas station specific card. Marriott most likely negotiated a deal with Visa to purchase the gift cards at a discount, instant profit. 
 
Value beyond profit
By providing the value to would-be guests via the gift card instead of a standard room rate discount, Marriott/Courtyard is using the campaign to build on their reputation without asking the guest to pay for the full value. At least this time. By paying the full (or something near it) room rate, Marriott/Courtyard is anchoring the guest with a statement, “this is the cost of staying at our quality establishment.”
 
Need to peel another layer or teeing me up for the payoff?
Peel another layer: The Marriott marketing crew did an awesome job however if they peeled back another layer of “data onion” they would have seen that we only made these trips during the fall, centered around home football games. 
 
Teeing me up for the payoff: Potentially the Marketing Crew did take this next step and they were looking to anchor my thoughts and wallet at the full room rate. This way when it comes to fall football weekends when there is a two night minimum at the full rate, I have already paid this rate and I am bought into the value of Marriott/Courtyard. 
 
Either way, good work Marriott/Courtyard Marketing team! Keep the personalized offers coming!