Response Guide for Communications from Expedia about Member Rates
We are aware that Expedia has recently incorporated Marriott Rewards Member Rates into their non-competitive rate and availability communications. If your hotels have received a communication from Expedia referencing Member Rates, please:
- Disregard all requests by Expedia to either 1) remove Member Rates from Marriott.com, or 2) provide Expedia with matching rates.
- Continue to resolve any parity issues not related to Member Rates (i.e., ensure parity of non-member rates between Expedia and other OTAs).
As a reminder, Marriott Rewards Member Rates is an initiative within Marriott’s Loyalty and Global Distribution strategies that aims to encourage a healthy balance of direct and indirect booking channels that will maximize profitability for our owners and franchisees. It also supports our continued focus on building a valuable Rewards program that engenders long-term relationships and profitable growth. Recently, competitors and intermediaries have increased the availability of member-only rates and exclusive offers, which emphasizes a growing trend of investment in their loyalty benefits that is likely to continue. This newest Rewards benefit will ensure that Marriott’s Direct Channels and loyalty programs will remain competitive. It also addresses research that shows pricing is the most influential factor for consumers when selecting a booking channel, and that consumers misperceive that third-party distribution channels offer better pricing than brand websites.
Despite our contracted right to offer exclusive Member Rates on Marriott Direct Channels, it is possible that some hotels’ display rank on OTA sites may decline. It is important to remember that Member Rates is not the only factor that determines display ranking; rather, OTA sort order ranking is a result of algorithms that take into account multiple metrics such as conversion and content quality. While there may be some impact to your hotel’s sort order, the benefit of strengthened Marriott Rewards benefits and Marriott Direct Channels is expected to offset this impact. We will continue to work with Expedia to ensure our hotels are treated fairly in display.
For more information, please refer to the FAQs on MGS.