Americas SMR Update
Managed by Marriott Owners + Participating Franchisees | It’s been almost six months since Marriott and Starwood merged to become the world’s largest hotel company. Since then we’ve begun the exciting work of exploring ways to leverage the respective strengths of our Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management (SMR) functions, while at the same time developing new capabilities that will improve our ability to drive revenue to your hotels. While we still have a lot of work to do, I wanted to provide an update on the progress we’re making.
Since legal close, our focus has been exploring the respective strengths of both Marriott’s and Starwood’s SMR capabilities. In many respects, in 2017, Marriott and Starwood will continue to operate parallel Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Management organizations. However, our goal is to get to one organization where we can leverage our resources and create a sustainable competitive advantage.
While most of the updates included below apply primarily to Marriott-branded (prior to Sept. 23, 2016) hotels, we want everyone to be aware of the initiatives underway. In addition, we would like to welcome those owners and franchisees that are new to the Marriott SMR organization and invite you to a webinar on Monday, March 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET for an overview of our Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management capabilities. All owners and participating franchisees are welcome to join, but the content will be particularly helpful for those new to our organization. Please click here to register; after registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the webinar link and a calendar invite.
We know there are questions about the timing and nature of potential future integration activities. As our plans progress, we’ll provide additional updates.
SALES
Global Sales Organization Update: For Both Marriott + Former Starwood
The Marriott and former Starwood Global Sales teams in the Americas will officially become an integrated organization on April 1. Leading up to this date, we will be working to structure our combined team to ensure all customers have a seamless transition. Following Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood, our original approach was to continue running parallel global sales organizations until April 1. However, as of February 23, the entire Marriott and former Starwood GSO teams are selling all 6,000+ hotels and 30 brands. Important to note, the luxury brands are being represented and sold by Marriott’s luxury specialists. Our goal is to ensure we make it easy for the customer to conduct business with us. As such, these teams are laser-focused on generating revenue for your hotels.
We will be in touch at the end of March before our combined teams become fully integrated. At that time, we will communicate the best way to leverage the organization on behalf of the individual properties. Should you have questions at this time, please direct them to asksales@marriott.com.
U.S. Area Sales Organization Update: For Both Marriott + Former Starwood
Lead Referral Process
On February 27, we announced that effective March 1, the U.S. Area Sales Organization will source former Starwood-branded hotels directly in ISAC. The requirement under the MAR<->HOT program to “exhaust all opportunities” within Marriott before sourcing to former Starwood has been removed. We believe this change will make it easier for our customers to access both Marriott and former Starwood-branded hotels. More information about the lead referral process change can be found HERE.
Improved Account Coverage + Hotel Accountability
Our U.S. sales organization has achieved strong revenue growth these last few years, nearly doubling group outbound booking and business transient revenue since 2012. This success is due in large part to our unique customer-centric operating model, which serves over 30,000 accounts in the U.S. Beginning July 1, we plan to introduce new leadership to our Area Sales organization at the national level who will work with our teams to grow international tour and travel, association, and mid-size corporate account business, which we believe will further increase account focus and capture a larger share of our customers’ business. This new account sales leadership support will also enable our hotel sales leaders to focus more time on hotel performance and accountability, and how they pull through national and global leads to your hotels.
Though former Starwood-branded hotels do not currently participate in Marriott’s account sales organization, this new structure will make it easier for us to refer leads and drive more revenue across the entire portfolio, including former Starwood and The Ritz-Carlton properties. Leads generated will carry the typical Marriott referral fees, providing a new source of revenue.
MARKETING
Enhanced Tactical Marketing Efforts: For Both Marriott + Former Starwood
The scale of our combined Marriott, former Starwood, and The Ritz-Carlton marketing programs has provided efficiencies that will enable us to introduce additional tactical marketing efforts across the Americas that will benefit all brands this year. For example, late last year we delivered our first joint Marriott/Starwood marketing campaign in the U.S. for Cyber Monday and on March 8 we launched our second integrated “Spring Sale” campaign. Additional promotions and media will be deployed to support the markets and brands that need it most, with an emphasis on weekends, resorts, and small group business. This is another example of an early integration win that will put more marketing force behind your hotels this year.
Field Marketing Transformation: For Marriott Only
We are launching new capabilities in field marketing in 2017 for U.S. Managed by Marriott and participating franchised full service hotels (excluding The Ritz-Carlton, Gaylord, and former Starwood). Over the last year we’ve been working on a plan to transform hotel support by introducing a new Digital Marketing Center of Excellence (COE). The COE will open April 1, bringing specialized digital marketing expertise and cutting-edge practices to your hotels. Having this support will enable our Field Marketers to spend more time on your hotel marketing strategy to help ensure your hotels are the best marketed in their destinations. Our regional leaders and marketing teams will be contacting owners, AVPs, and GMs in the coming weeks to discuss these changes and help hotels take full advantage of these new capabilities.
Former Starwood, The Ritz-Carlton, Gaylord, and Marriott Select Brands hotels will continue to receive the same field marketing support they currently receive. As we evolve our organization, we will leverage best practices and pursue an approach that works for all of our hotels, but with appropriate brand category nuances. Former Starwood, The Ritz-Carlton and Gaylord field marketing across the Americas will be integrated into the COE model in 2018, and we will keep you informed as we approach this date.
REVENUE MANAGEMENT
For Marriott Only | As you saw in the recent global announcement, Marriott’s Revenue Management organization will soon launch an enhanced version of our One Yield revenue management system to all Marriott-branded (prior to Sept. 23, 2016) hotels. We are planning significant training and education to help associates take full advantage of the new capabilities, and to limit any disruptions to operations. More detailed information can be found HERE.
In the coming weeks I look forward to sharing more about other initiatives underway, including the development of new reporting and analytics support for your hotels, and an enhanced luxury SMR strategy. Until then, thank you for your continued partnership and business. We look forward to big things in 2017!
Sincerely,
Steve Heitzner
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
The Americas
