Marriot Assignment

Part 1

Online travel agencies (GDS channels) help Marriott in marketing and merchandising their hotels. Marriott strategically partner with selected regional plyers in growing markets. Some of them are expedia.com, Travelocity.com and Marriott’s own website Marriott.com. Expedia.com is the most known website for booking hotel rooms, flights etc. 20% of all reservations are made by GDS channels. As Marriott is having a good relation with Expedia it helps them a lot to get more business. Marriott’s own website Marriott.com is a Major part in their sales. 25% of the Marriott’s sales happen through their website. It used by 75% of their guests and almost 44 million guests visit the website with an increase of 75% over the past 2 years.      

Marriott’s core values are: a) Put people first b) Pursue excellence c) Embrace change d) Act with Integrity e) Serve our World

Marriot’s Sales and Marketing goals: a) Create the most loyal customer in industry b) Build and sustain powerful emotional connections c) Sell the way customer wants to buy d) Lead the industry with pioneering sales and service strategies, technology and marketing.

The four key differentiators for Marriott against their competitors are a) Industry’s strongest, most cost effective Distribution system b) The Industry’s most preferred loyalty program            c) Sales Force Transformation, game changing Global sales strategy d) Innovative marketing strategies and Program.

Marriott never underestimated the power of social media. It helped Marriott in activating the company’s profound knowledge of traveler’s needs through the customer contact points by delivering the right products to right customers at right time. Marriott’s marketing efforts on social media reflect the global nature of the hospitality industry and arepositioned to drive profitable revenue for the hotels around the world.

Marriott’s loyalty program has 45 million members worldwide with 1.5 million customers          only in Canada. Members generate 50% of the total room sold per night. Members pay a higher Average Daily rate than non-members. It also provides Marriott with comprehensive customer data. It maximizes share through global promotions and delivers personalized experience. It helped in generating $203.3M in annual property-level online revenue from email marketing campaigns in 2013.

Marriott’s sales strategy aligns the Sales Force by customer. The benefits of this approach include: High customer satisfaction/ strong relationships, Increased Account Coverage and increased Revenue/ Lower cost of sales. There are main levels of sales within the organization which are as follow: Global Sales Organization (GSO), National Group Sales (NSO) and Group Sales Offices. GSO develops and maintains strong relationships both nationally and globally key corporate and intermediary partners as well as conducts business development for new accounts. NSO partners on global sales on all opportunities for prospect accounts as well as developed accounts for small to mid-size meetings and high volume size selector partners. Sales office handles leads generated by the Global and national sales teams as well as through Tourism departments.