July 23, 2021 Owner & Franchise Webinars, Management Company Webinars, FMC Weekly Webinars

July 22, 2021 | U.S. & Canada Franchise Management Company Webinar

Publication of new Owner & Franchise Communications on mi360 continues to be temporarily suspended. Important information is communicated to owners, franchisees and franchise management companies through other channels including the weekly U.S. & Canada Franchise Update email, Franchise Management Company webinar, and monthly webinar for Marriott Managed Owners in the U.S.

Thank you for joining us on Thursday, July 22 for the U.S. & Canada Franchise Management Company Webinar. If you were unable to join, a recording and PDF of the presentation are now available (EID and password required).

This webinar covered COVID-19 updates and resources, including:

U.S. & Canada Franchise Update | July 22, 2021

Follow Trash Removal Guidelines to Properly Address Potential Negative Guest Sentiment
With an increase in leisure travel and continued interest in contact-lite experiences, the volume of trash being left in hallways and corridors has increased at many hotels, resulting in negative guest feedback. All Premium and Select Hotels should follow these best practices to ensure mitigation of guest trash and deliver a positive guest experience. MSB hotels are required to implement guest room trash guidance included on page 2.

CEC Case Management: Ensure Hotel is Set Up Correctly in GXP to Avoid Takeover Charges

Hotels should ensure they have a process in place to respond within 72 hours to CEC cases sent via GXP. As a best practice to avoid takeover charges, hotels should review GXP daily. Ensure Contact Information is Updated in EPIC so the GM will be notified of cases without a status change in 24 hours. Resources include a Best Practices Guide and Video, Customer Care Case Management job aid, Customer Issue Resolution FAQs and Leading the GXP Culture for CEC cases approaching takeover. As a reminder, users must log into GXP once every 30 days to remain active. Users who become inactive are automatically removed for any escalation rule they are affiliated with and they must be re-added once they have re-activated their access via IDenity Center.

Monitor Supernova Rate Shopping Platform for Mobile Violations; Charges Begin Aug. 1
Hotels (including those supported by RMAS) should review the Supernova Rate Shopping platform daily and resolve any violations as charges for mobile violations begin Aug. 1. As a reminder, on June 1, mobile point of sale rate shops for Expedia, Agoda and Booking.com were added to the Supernova hotel dashboard with a two-month grace period ending on July 31. Refer to the Best Rate Guarantee page and the Supernova User Guide for additional information.

Sales, Marketing, & Revenue Management Update

Travel Trends

Consumer confidence in travel continues to improve globally.
Four categories of business travelers are driving the return to corporate travel.
“Near future” resumption of domestic and international business travel is increasing.

Business Travel Updates (Sources: GSO U.S. & Canada Weekly Update: Week ending July 16)

Major Corporate Accounts Policy Changes Since Last Week:

Accenture: Travel remains restricted to essential or business critical only and is dependent on regional restrictions. No update expected before end of fiscal year in August.
Deloitte: U.S. firm lifted all travel restrictions as of June 30, 2021. Meetings and events postponed until at least Q1 2022.
Microsoft: Has loosened their policy for both transient and M&E via an internal notice to their workforce.
PwC: Has relaunched their Regional Event Teams who will now be sourcing smaller local programs.
TD Bank: as of July 12, online booking tool reopened with automated pre-trip approval process requiring the traveler to enter the name and contact details of the Executive who approved the trip.