Currently, advertising and promotional activity has been minimal due to the increased interest in the area overall, and the limited number of rooms.
In the past, advertising for the motel was limited to a small listing in the Big Bend Area Travel Guide. Despite the fact the advertising was minimal, and the proximity to the better known Gage Hotel, the Marathon Motel was enjoying a relatively successful business. More recently, the Motel was featured in the March 2002 issue of Texas Monthly article about Big Bend as one of the "Nine Places to Bed Down". There have been three display ads in Texas Monthly and a description of the motel in the December 2002 issue of Texas Monthly. A display ad is in the Woodalls and Trailer Life RV directory, and a complete listing including display ad for the motel and restaurant in the Big Bend Area Travel Guide. A brochure for the motel is being distributed around the Big Bend area as well as the State Visitor's Centers.
The motel has its own web site, www.marathonmotel.com.
In addition to promoting the motel, I had also designed and constructed the Marathon Texas web site, www.marathontexas.net which has currently been replaced by http://marathontexas.com.
Locally, a billboard, designed and painted by local artist Mimi Litschauer was erected in February 2003 as a means of drawing
traffic entering Marathon from the south and east, to the motel located on the west end of town. The supporting structure of the billboard is constructed out of concrete and steel with a timber facade.