Old World Vienna
Vienna, gateway to eastern Europe, home of the Hapsburg Empire, bustling capital city of 1.6 million citizens, and a city I visited with Steve O’Neill during a winter Cognac run of epic proportions over 20 years ago. Many phone calls, drunks showing.
We checked into the multi story, modern Marriott Hotel in Vienna. The drive from Prague was accomplished in a light rainfall with a stop at the castle town of Cesky Krumlov. This a UNESCO site worth seeing. As we crossed the Austrian border on a small backcountry road the improvement in housing and the towns was obvious and immediate.
The Marriott corporate culture, branding, and marketing outreach was everywhere in evidence as we checked in to our hotel; American corporate hegeonomy is omnipresent.
The lobby reminded me of a Las Vegas hotel more than a European; when we got to our room the corporate branding seemed excessive. Every horizontal surface in our scrumptious room was covered with placards, tent cards, brochures, branded shopping magazines, Marriott branded anti allergic bedding, and the ubitiqiuous lobby picture of John and JW Marriott Jr.
Every instrument (telephone, Internet access router, TV Instruction Card) was pasted with a bright red Marriott decal, just in case you forgot where you are I suppose. Even the toilet paper has a blue one inch Kleenex sign every five tissues. A strategic alliance at the toilet can be dicey…….. but remunerative!
All of this was a prelude to our visit to the sports bar on the ground floor. We decided to eat-in our first night. The sports bar was identical to any at home with 30 overhead monitors playing competing sporting events. The large screen was reserved for the LSU - Miami game and endless highlights of the Michigan and Oregon debacle. The volume level was one notch below the auditory pain point.
The overly friendly bartenders welcomed us effusively. Their denim pants and Izod shirts said USA. The big sign on the wall said 147 days to the Super Bowl. I was relieved. The German accented bartender chatted us up in perfectly colloquial English as he brought our drinks. Within minutes he was thrusting a large menu under our eyes telling us to stay for dinner.
Tres Amercain.
The menu had many choices that bore a familiar ring: Burgers, Philly Cheesesteak, Questedellas, and a Giant Schnitzel from the porks neck “Grandma Style”. So many choices. While I was deciding I watched two late middle aged businessmen to my right with their Rolexes and cell phones working on four flight attendants that looked like Junior Achievement trainees.
Meanwhile the overhead screens lurched from highlight to intrusive graphics, to athlete camera mugging, and to ESPN personalities extolling the wonderment of it all.
The following night we were in the Lobby Bar, it has two large, flat screen monitors playing worldwide Marriott promotionals over a Roy Orbison sound track. Every elevator waiting area assaults you with Marriott ad videos but without Roy Orbison.
I was sitting at the bar watching the mezzanine area above. There was a corporate reception of 30 somethings standing up, holding wine glasses and food and discussing Cryptographic Hardware & Embedded Systems. It looked like fun, like the firehouse at 6pm without the hurled epithets, war stories, and personal insults. They are all networking, schmoozing, and telling lies.
This is a target rich environment; descending the stairs is a group of young Asian engineer types with backpacks, Bluetooth enabled ear pieces and carrying corporate sample gift bags in a bold magenta color and give-away tee shirts. ……. Welcome back to Vienna Mr Healy, we have been busy changing while you were drying out.
Gay Old World Vienna.
We checked into the multi story, modern Marriott Hotel in Vienna. The drive from Prague was accomplished in a light rainfall with a stop at the castle town of Cesky Krumlov. This a UNESCO site worth seeing. As we crossed the Austrian border on a small backcountry road the improvement in housing and the towns was obvious and immediate.
The Marriott corporate culture, branding, and marketing outreach was everywhere in evidence as we checked in to our hotel; American corporate hegeonomy is omnipresent.
The lobby reminded me of a Las Vegas hotel more than a European; when we got to our room the corporate branding seemed excessive. Every horizontal surface in our scrumptious room was covered with placards, tent cards, brochures, branded shopping magazines, Marriott branded anti allergic bedding, and the ubitiqiuous lobby picture of John and JW Marriott Jr.
Every instrument (telephone, Internet access router, TV Instruction Card) was pasted with a bright red Marriott decal, just in case you forgot where you are I suppose. Even the toilet paper has a blue one inch Kleenex sign every five tissues. A strategic alliance at the toilet can be dicey…….. but remunerative!
All of this was a prelude to our visit to the sports bar on the ground floor. We decided to eat-in our first night. The sports bar was identical to any at home with 30 overhead monitors playing competing sporting events. The large screen was reserved for the LSU - Miami game and endless highlights of the Michigan and Oregon debacle. The volume level was one notch below the auditory pain point.
The overly friendly bartenders welcomed us effusively. Their denim pants and Izod shirts said USA. The big sign on the wall said 147 days to the Super Bowl. I was relieved. The German accented bartender chatted us up in perfectly colloquial English as he brought our drinks. Within minutes he was thrusting a large menu under our eyes telling us to stay for dinner.
Tres Amercain.
The menu had many choices that bore a familiar ring: Burgers, Philly Cheesesteak, Questedellas, and a Giant Schnitzel from the porks neck “Grandma Style”. So many choices. While I was deciding I watched two late middle aged businessmen to my right with their Rolexes and cell phones working on four flight attendants that looked like Junior Achievement trainees.
Meanwhile the overhead screens lurched from highlight to intrusive graphics, to athlete camera mugging, and to ESPN personalities extolling the wonderment of it all.
The following night we were in the Lobby Bar, it has two large, flat screen monitors playing worldwide Marriott promotionals over a Roy Orbison sound track. Every elevator waiting area assaults you with Marriott ad videos but without Roy Orbison.
I was sitting at the bar watching the mezzanine area above. There was a corporate reception of 30 somethings standing up, holding wine glasses and food and discussing Cryptographic Hardware & Embedded Systems. It looked like fun, like the firehouse at 6pm without the hurled epithets, war stories, and personal insults. They are all networking, schmoozing, and telling lies.
This is a target rich environment; descending the stairs is a group of young Asian engineer types with backpacks, Bluetooth enabled ear pieces and carrying corporate sample gift bags in a bold magenta color and give-away tee shirts. ……. Welcome back to Vienna Mr Healy, we have been busy changing while you were drying out.
Gay Old World Vienna.
posted by Jim Healy | 8:22 PM
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