In the name of everything pointless in life, Why???
Everyone knows pop-ups are annoying to 99% of internet users 99.99% of the time. They're used on free info and blogging sites, as although annoying to the reader they're a call to action by an advertiser. The website owner knows they're irritating, as does the pop-up advertiser but they're effective on free sites, a quid-pro-quo, you use the site for free but have to close down the annoying pop-up box, and one in 10,000 users may be interested enough in the ad to actually click, for which the advertiser pays a fee to the website helping support the sites continued existence. The webmaster knows the pop-ups are annoying and some visitors get so annoyed they never return but that's the economic model on free sites.
It cannot however be the model for Marriott.com. The site sells hotels and pop ups are annoying and unnecessary. So why recently when I'm browsing Marriott does it pop-up an annoying pillow reminding me I'm getting the cheapest rate? I book plenty of rooms with Marriott, I don't need the reminder, and I especially don't need to get pi$$ed off having to repeatedly close it down. Whichever spotty-oik-internet-geek persuaded Marriott that this was a good idea needs dismissing and sending back to the blogger world from which he no doubt emerged.
We're paying for the site by booking your hotels, Marriott, don't pi$$ us off with pop-ups...