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Marriott's President Says Direct Bookings Have 'Exploded'

Brand Engagement Was Vital When No One Was Traveling
Hotel News Now
December 17, 2021 | 2:23 P.M.

A major part of Marriott International’s strategy throughout the pandemic was staying engaged with guests, President Stephanie Linnartz said.

In a video interview with HNN at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, Linnartz said there are 157 million members of Marriott’s loyalty program, Bonvoy, and the company wanted to make sure it stayed connected with them even though they weren’t traveling.

The global hotel brand company set up partnerships with 11,000 independent restaurants as well as food delivery services to allow members to earn and use Bonvoy points, she said. The company also worked out point deals with its branded credit card partners.

“We wanted to make sure throughout the pandemic that we were staying connected with people in their everyday lives before they were traveling and getting them really excited to earn points when they got [them] so they could use them when they got back on the road,” she said.

Once people started traveling again, Marriott offered promotions to welcome guests back to its hotels, Linnartz said. The company’s cleanliness policies and protocols helped guests feel safer about their stays. Its investments in technology, particularly its mobile app for checking in and out and ordering food, was another way Marriott made guests feel comfortable traveling again.

“Ensuring guests’ access to all our property amenities so they can really enjoy their stay is a key priority at Marriott, and we feel that digital is an important way to deliver those guest experiences,” she said.

Marriott’s digital product team is constantly working to evolve the digital experience and deliver value to hotels and guests, she said. Over time, the company will make mobile experiences more powerful by expanding contactless and self-serve options so members will have more choices in personalizing their stay experience, she said.

Homes & Villas

Marriott’s home rental platform, Homes & Villas, focuses on premium and luxury homes in leisure markets, Linnartz said. The company has focused adding homes to this platform in markets where it doesn’t have as much of a hotel presence, such as East Hampton or St. Barts where it’s difficult to add a new hotel.

The problem Marriott is having is it doesn’t have enough homes on the platform, she said. At 45,000, the platform has grown significantly since its launch in 2019, but demand for these homes has outpaced supply. Marriott will continue to grow the platform's portfolio given the value it creates for Bonvoy members.

Marriott’s platform is smaller compared to the millions of listings on short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO, she said. Marriott’s strategic objective in this space is to focus on premium and luxury homes exclusively.

Another distinction is the properties in Homes & Villas are professionally managed, a fundamental difference from other home-sharing platforms, she said. The ability to earn and redeem Bonvoy points is another point of difference.

“The idea is the more offerings we have in travel for our members, the stickier Marriott Bonvoy will be,” she said.

Sustainability Efforts

Earlier this year, Marriott announced several climate-related commitments, Linnartz said. Those include setting science-based emissions reduction targets across all scopes in line with 1.5 degree Celsius emissions scenarios as well as setting a long-term, science-based target to reach net-zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050.

Marriott will continue efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, she said. That might include increasing use of renewable energy, building electrification to maximize renewable electricity, continued modifications of design standards to make buildings more efficient and installing automation systems and energy efficiency upgrades. The company is also expanding its solid waste and food waste reduction efforts and continues to invest in natural capital restoration, such as reforestation.

For the sake of transparency and accountability, Marriott is reporting its environmental, social and governance progress in its annual Serve 360 Report, she said. The company also has internally published Serve 360 scorecards that are reviewed globally across disciplines and by leadership.

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