Rapid Travel Chai

Delta’s homepage this morning splashed with Marriott’s Travel Brilliantly Contest.

This an odd one. Marriott presents a series of “our innovations” and then invites entrants to submit ideas for readers to vote in support:

Each entrant must submit a written description, up to 500 characters, on an idea to make the experience of traveling better. The Marriott “Travel Brilliantly” contest will reward fifteen First Prize winners who post their ideas on Travelbrilliantly.com with a curated Brilliant Travel gift package. One of those First Prize winner will also be rewarded with a Grand Prize trip where they will have the opportunity to get inspired and work on their idea with an industry expert.

There are three monthly entry blocks from which five First Prize winners will be selected, 95% by judges and 5% by consumer votes: June 15-July 14, Juny 15-August 14, August 15-September 14. Open to US residents age 18 and over. See FAQ for full details.

The seems to be no prize incentive to vote, though if cheering on a friend or something, you can vote once per day.

Note that voting requires use of Facebook credentials.

I can possibly see this as a way to a startup to get some publicity, otherwise it just seems to be a way for Marriott to do PR. I pass.