Marriott Hotels partners with TED to inspire new perspectives

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about curiosity. With an into-anything-and-everything toddler, an active little boy, and an 8 year old who thinks she has the whole world figured out, I unfortunately spend a huge amount of my time discouraging their natural curiosity. But, even while having serious discussions with them about why moving a 10+ lb. dollhouse up bunkbed ladders with jump ropes by yourself is a bad idea, suggesting that they not dig up my garden just to see what’s below, or even by answering their 300th question of the hour, I do love that they are so busy being curious about everything, and I hope that never changes. It’s this curiosity that will keep them wanting to “science” the things that they find in our backyard and beyond. It’s this curiosity that will keep them seeking answers to the questions that seem unanswerable and always asking “what if…?” It’s this curiosity that will encourage them to read so they can learn about worlds that are near, far, and make believe. And, it’s this curiosity that will fuel their love of travel and challenge them to visit as much of the world as they possibly can.

Since travel and curiosity go together hand-in-hand, it only makes sense that Marriott Hotels is exploring the theme of curiosity in their recent partnership with TED, the non-profit devoted to ideas worth spreading. If you love listening to and watching TED Talks as much as I do, you’re probably as excited as I am. This relationship will be a whole new way to experience TED – with creatively curated TED Talks, blogs, and original quotes available to hotel guests worldwide.

Travelers staying at Marriott Hotels will now have access to this content in their hotel rooms or, in select locations, via live TED Talks right in the hotel salon. The first theme is CURIOSITY, and a new theme will be announced every quarter.

I got to experience the first of these TED Talks when the tour kicked off here in Seattle, at the beautiful Bellevue Marriott this week. During our Salon Talk, we got the chance to listen to Constance Hockaday, an acclaimed installation artist, and Kellee Santiago, one of the 10 most influential women in games. Their TED Talks this week were truly inspiring and have gotten me thinking about how curiosity helps trigger creative thinking and expand your mind.

photo credit: Marriott Hotels

At so many points in their talk, they engaged the audience in a way that you cannot at a larger TED Talk with thousands of people, including a Q & A session with both women where they took questions from the audience. At one point, Constance had us do a quick exercise where we closed our eyes and named out the first thing that came to mind that we wanted to accomplish. This thing could be big, or it could be as small as we wanted, but the important thing was to find a goal.

Constance shared with us that her first run at this exercise brought her to the goal of “seeing a waterfall”, and although we chuckled, I loved how simple of a goal this was. It’s a good reminder that goals don’t always have to be a lofty 20-step process; they can be as simple as doing something that makes you happy and always challenging yourself.

photo credit: Marriott Hotels

As for me, my thing I want to do next is travel. We may not be able to afford an expensive overseas adventure this year, but even just getting out and visiting the next town is sometimes enough to satisfy our unquenchable wanderlust. Right now, we’ve got several towns we’re considering for a trip later this year and I’m super excited. I’m hoping that wherever we end up we can stay at a Marriott Hotel and enjoy this TED partnership firsthand. With more than 500 hotels in over 50 countries, it’s not hard to find a Marriott when traveling, and I’m definitely on the hunt for some to stay at this year.

"At Marriott Hotels, everything we do is guided by our belief that travel expands the mind and triggers new and creative ways of thinking. We know that travelers today look for more in a hotel and we are bringing to life new innovations that help elevate guests' stay to memorable experiences," said Matthew Carroll, Vice President and Global Brand Manager of Marriott Hotels. "TED content does not only entertain, but educates and engages on topics that are relevant to our guests. Together we are delivering a series of original content, events and experiences that will spark travelers' creativity and inspire new perspectives."

Are you as excited as I am about the new Marriott and TED partnership?