Marriott is gearing up for a new online travel community, Marriott Rewards Insiders, where Marriott Rewards members can exchange travel advice and share their personal tips.

Published: 26 Aug 2008

Marriott is gearing up for a new online travel community, Marriott Rewards Insiders, where Marriott Rewards members can exchange travel advice and share their personal tips.

According to the company, Marriott Rewards Insiders is a lightly moderated online community, and is built specifically for members.

Powered by social media marketing agency LiveWorld, the site is open to the programme's 3.5 million Elite members and will open to all members later in the year.

"Our members told us they wanted a place where they could talk to each other without interference from sponsors trying to sell them something," said Ed French, senior vice president, Marriott Rewards. "We designed an innovative digital lobby to give them a place to share their stories and get authentic, honest information from other frequent travelers just like them."

Members can either use the site to just read information or set up their profile and post questions, comments or responses. They can also sign-up for alerts, which are sent when a post is created in a forum the member wants to follow. They can be emailed or posted in the member's profile.

The community offers "expressive profiles" that allow members to personalise their online identification by uploading pictures, providing travel preferences and personal interests and identifying their home town.