Tragedy + Time = Marketing

Moment of silence, free mini-muffins for a half-hour…what’s the difference? This image was tweeted by “Drink and Fight” (@Electrica), who reports that he took the photo at the Mission Valley Marriott Hotel in San Diego:

What pic.twitter.com/L35ytAtCWP

— Drink and Fight (@eclectrica) September 11, 2013

 
Marriott International has since released a statement:

We are aware of the picture that was tweeted. It shows an offer that was made independently by the hotel and not the Marriott Hotels brand. As far as we know, it was limited to one property. While the hotel was making a sympathetic gesture to its guests in remembrance of 9/11, we apologize and understand why some people may have misunderstood the intent of the offer. We are reminding our hotels to use discretion and be sensitive when remembering major events such as 9/11.

You know what I hate? The “we’re sorry you were offended” type of non-apology that attempts to reflect the blame back onto the party being apologized to. The “we apologize and understand why some people may have misunderstood the intent of the offer” part of Marriott’s statement smacks of that.