Everyone is familiar with the “all-you-can-eat” deals offered by some restaurants-but a local hotel is putting a different spin on that concept with an “all-you-can-stay” offer.

The Minneapolis Marriott Southwest is offering “all-you-can-stay” passes that entitle bearers to stay at the hotel during most weekends between April and the end of August.

The passes cost $356 plus tax-and they'll be available until April 15.

Nick Graham-marketing manager for Marriott International, which operates the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest-called the promotion “first-of-its-kind” and said that the local Marriott is the only one offering it.

“We're really trying to present ourselves as a great local getaway,” Graham told Twin Cities Business. “With the economy doing what it's done over the past couple of years, the tourism industry as you can imagine has had somewhat of a slump.”

The passes offer a getaway-or “staycation”-for Twin Cities-area couples and families that doesn't require airfare or great expense, Graham said. Additionally, the initiative is hoped to help the hotel bolster its weekend occupancy.

Although the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest is typically booked solid Tuesday through Thursday when out-of-towners are here on business, there's often “quite a bit of availability” on weekends, Graham said. “Being in Minnetonka, we're not a destination market” for weekend travelers.

The deal is good for a standard room, which includes a king bed or two double beds. Such rooms typically run $89 per night on weekends-so it only takes four nights for buyers to recoup the full cost of the pass. Pass holders can occupy one room at a time, and stays included in the deal can be for a maximum of two nights per weekend-Friday and Saturday.

The hotel began selling the passes on March 14-and 25 had been sold as of late afternoon on Wednesday, according to Graham. He said that there is a limit to the number that the hotel will sell, although the cap hasn't yet been determined. A total of 200 passes have been ordered thus far, but the hotel may boost that amount if there's significant interest in the promotion.

Graham said that the hotel tried several similar promotions in the past but “hadn't seen the needle really move” as far as interest. “We tried to come up with something more unusual so people would stop and take notice,” he said, adding that “it seems to be helping.”

The Minneapolis Marriott Southwest is located at 5801 Opus Parkway in Minnetonka. It houses 306 guest rooms and 15 suites-which makes it Minnesota's 14th-largest hotel. It also features 14,000 square feet of meeting space.