Marriott Holds Court With Go-Go Businesspeople; Courtyard has the right look for younger crowd seeking simple rest stop.(A)(NEWS FOR YOU: TRAVEL)

Byline: CHRIS BARNETT

The cat is out of the bag.

Courtyard by Marriott, with 646 hotels around the world, is actually designed for businesspeople who hate traveling and would rather be home mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage or stretched out on their own couch watching TV.

Created 21 years ago for the hard-core road warrior who wanted something more than an off-the-interstate motel but couldn't afford a pricier hotel with bellmen, bars, ballrooms and room service, Courtyard filled a hole in the hospitality industry by inventing a hotel that had frills without the unwanted extras.

For $79 a night then, the foot soldiers of American commerce got a clean, comfortable bed, a color TV with 25 channels and a hot meal that beat a takeout cheeseburger or a cellophane-wrapped ham and cheese sandwich tumbling out of a vending machine.

While the original Courtyard offered three squares a day, guests went elsewhere for a fancy expense-account dinner with a client.

"The average business traveler in 1983 was a white man in his 40s who worked hard during the day, might go to a nice dinner with the client, then go back to his room and watch TV," said Chad Waetzig, a Marriott senior vice president. "They placed a huge emphasis on being productive and successful, but genuinely disliked traveling for business and only did it because it was part of their job."