Chitchat Marriott turns to Mandarin with Alibaba

[Sammyboy RSS Feed]

An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Note sure if Marriott is aware of what happened in Europe and many parts of the World with Chinese Tourists. The deal will ensure that Mandarin speaking staff will employed across their chain to handle the tourists.

It will interesting to see how many of their regular customers will move away to competing brands.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-c...-idUSKBN1AO08V
Marriott set to woo Chinese tourists with Alibaba deal
2 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) said on Monday it would partner with China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) to tap into the growing number of Chinese citizens who travel abroad.

The world's biggest hotel chain said the joint venture with Alibaba would allow Chinese travelers to book rooms at Marriott hotels via Alibaba's travel service platform, Fliggy.

Travelers will be able to sign up for Marriott's rewards program and receive special member-only rates through Fliggy, Marriott's global chief commercial officer, Stephanie Linnartz, said in an interview.

Alibaba will eventually run Marriott's websites and apps, Linnartz said.

Tourists will be able to pay for bookings using the Chinese e-commerce company's online payments platform, Alipay, the companies said.

A Marriott flag hangs at the entrance of the New York Marriott Downtown hotel in Manhattan, New York November 16, 2015.
Andrew Kelly
The long-term market opportunity in China is huge for companies targeting both domestic and outbound Chinese travelers, according to Rich Hightower, an equity analyst with Evercore ISI.

Over the next five years, Chinese travelers will take an estimated 700 million trips, the companies said in a statement. Marriott's focus with the joint venture is mostly outbound Chinese travelers, Linnartz said.

Marriott owns the JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance and Autograph Collection hotel brands, among others. It has nearly 300 hotels in China and around 300 hotels in the pipeline. Twenty-two of its 30 brands have a presence in China.

China's importance to Marriott was heightened after the company's acquisition of Starwood Hotels, which had a larger presence in the country than Marriott, Linnartz said.

Shares of Marriott closed up 1.1 percent on Nasdaq on Monday but fell 1.8 percent after the close following the company's release of second-quarter earnings.

Shares of Alibaba ended up 3.6 percent at $158.84 on Nasdaq.


Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com.