guestVoice & Global Quality Program Changes Effective January 1, 2017
The guestVoice and Global Quality programs are vital to ensuring the health of Marriott’s brands and the continued loyalty of our guests. The programs continue to evolve based upon learnings from consumer insights, industry standards, and historical performance trends, as well as Marriott’s changing needs.
For the Marriott portfolio of hotels, the following changes will be effective January 1, 2017:
- The new guest satisfaction primary metric will be Intent to Recommend the hotel (ITRec)
The guest satisfaction (GSS) primary metric provided through guestVoice1 will change from Overall Satisfaction (OSat) to ITRec beginning January 1, 2017. ITRec is the most common metric used across industries to assess guest satisfaction. Furthermore, guest intent to recommend is more predictive of future spending behavior, providing a better measure of guest loyalty. In addition to becoming the primary metric for GSS, ITRec will also become the primary metric for event satisfaction (ESS).
- Accountability thresholds will be updated
The Global Quality accountability thresholds define the performance classification categories (Green, Clear, Yellow, and Red), which measure hotels’ compliance to guest satisfaction and operational standards. In addition to accounting for the change in the guest satisfaction primary metric to ITRec, the accountability thresholds will be reset in January 2017 to better align with current continent performance, and to incorporate this year’s addition of separate scores for Brand Standards Audit (BSA) Brand and Operations sections. As with past adjustments, the new thresholds will be set to achieve a target distribution of color classifications for each metric.
- Enhancements to audit database will be deployed
We will be upgrading the self-audit tool and reporting platform in January 2017, in time for properties to complete their next Property Certification. The enhancements will enable partial self-audits to be conducted by department, integration with EID login, and overall improvements to the user experience.
- Marriott Renovation Program begins for Select Service/Extended Stay properties
The Marriott Renovation Program is an integrated process for timely, compliant renovations to drive brand equity, improve guest experience, and protect owner investment. In January 2017, Red Zone accountability will begin for Marriott-branded Select Service & Extended Stay properties, and will expand to Marriott-branded Full Service properties in 2018.
- Branded Product category changing to Branded Feature in BSA
Beginning in January 2017, “Branded Feature” will be the new name of the category in the BSA, replacing “Branded Product”. This category describes audit questions that are brand differentiating, including brand voice items and collateral, brand program requirements and in-room amenities.
- Integration of Marriott and Starwood guest satisfaction and quality programs will begin in 2017
One global guest satisfaction and quality program is needed in order to drive fairness, cost efficiency and continued innovation across the newly combined portfolio. Additional communication will be provided later in Q4 that outlines the roadmap for the guestVoice and Global Quality changes for former Starwood-branded properties.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- For information related to guestVoice or accountability, visit the guestVoice and Accountability MGS pages.
- Attend a “What’s Changing for 2017” Ask the Experts Webinar. You are invited to attend an optional webinar, which will include details on the shift to ITRec, updated thresholds and next steps related to the implementation of the new audit database. Register for a webinar session:
- Marriott-Managed Owners: Monday, November 7 at 7:30 a.m. ET or 3:00 p.m. ET
- Franchisees and Franchise Management Companies: Wednesday, November 9 at 7:30 a.m. ET or 3:00 p.m. ET
Thank you for supporting the continued commitment to excellence and, and ultimately, helping Marriott become the world’s favorite travel company.