Marriott Hotels and Shira Lazar -- Host of "What's Trending" -- Celebrate Transformative "Travel Brilliantly" Campaign with Evening of Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The host and co-founder of the Emmy-nominated "What's Trending," Shira Lazar joined with Marriott Hotels for an evening of innovation as part of the brand's "Travel Brilliantly" campaign. Guests at last night's interactive cocktail party at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis got to design their own guest room layouts on an interactive table, and test four banquet chairs – one of which could be implemented in Marriott Hotels' properties throughout the world – and vote for their favorite on Twitter.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130726/PH53903)

Marriott's "Travel Brilliantly" campaign is engaging influencers, experts and travelers to submit their groundbreaking ideas to improve the modern travel experience in the realms of design, culinary, health & wellness and technology on TravelBrilliantly.com. Lazar, who is one of the judges on TravelBrilliantly.com, will choose the grand-prize winner from among the most innovative consumer- generated ideas. The winner will have the opportunity to travel with and design future innovations alongside Marriott experts, impacting travel for the next generation.

Lazar welcomed guests to The View, the hotel's scenic lounge on the 39^th floor, where they were asked to engage in and re-imagine the future of travel through a series of live interactive stations showcasing the brand's latest innovations, including the Greatroom lobby concept, restaurants, meetings and guest room desks. In addition to designing their own guest rooms and testing new banquet chairs, attendees visited the iPad kiosk to submit their ideas on TravelBrilliantly.com to co-create with Marriott on the future of travel. Event-goers were asked to join in the conversation by posting event highlights and by incorporating the designated #TravelBrilliantly hash tag into posts.

Marriott Hotels' evening of innovation was co-hosted by prolific, high-profile bloggers Matt Armendariz (of culinary blog, "Matt Bites"), Cassandra Lavalle, (of design-oriented "coco+kelley"), Stefanie Michaels (of travel blog "Adventure Girl") as well as Matthew Carroll, Vice President, Global Brand Management, Marriott Hotels.

Furthering Marriott Hotels' transformation, the iconic brand has been innovating throughout its hotels globally.  Re-designed lobbies and public spaces known as Greatrooms are being rapidly deployed for the next generation of travelers who seamlessly and effortlessly mix work and play, and believe that travel enhances both. Who value technology as central to their lives, and recognize the importance of style and design. As the industry leader in hosting meetings, Marriott is introducing new concepts designed for the new mobile worker including Workspring at Marriott, Red Coat Direct and Workspace on Demand. Additionally, Marriott Hotels has recently unveiled its "underground" Innovation Lab in its Bethesda, MD headquarters, which provides inspiration for the interactive table featured at the event.

About Marriott Hotels

With 500 hotels and resorts in nearly 60 countries around the world, Marriott Hotels is evolving travel through every aspect of the guest's stay, enabling the next generation to Travel Brilliantly. Boldly transforming itself for mobile and global travelers who blend work and play, Marriott leads the industry with innovations, including the Greatroom, Future of Meetings and Mobile Guest Services that elevates style & design and technology. All Marriott hotels participate in the award winning Marriott Rewards frequent travel program that allows members to earn hotel points or airline miles for every dollar spent during each stay. For more information, visit www.MarriottHotels.com.

To join the ongoing Marriott conversation, like us on Facebook (Facebook.com/Marriott) and follow us on Twitter (Twitter.com/Marriott, @Marriott).

Visit Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) for company information. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.

About Shira Lazar
Shira Lazar is the host and Co-Founder of What's Trending, the Emmy-nominated, live, interactive talk show that airs daily on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/whatstrending. Named to Variety's Women Impact Report in 2012, and Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Tech in 2011, Shira is at the center of what's hot, having worked as a correspondent for ABC/The Oscars, CBS/The Grammys, Yahoo!, Entrepreneur, and many others. For more, visit whatstrending.com.

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.