Enhanced Reservation Solution (ERS) Update
Marriott launched Enhanced Reservation Solution (ERS) earlier this year with the goal to maximize revenues by allowing customers to choose the room features they are willing to pay for and want guaranteed at the time of booking. This launch took longer than planned due to a key dependency with having the new Marriott.com platform in place but has been worth the wait. Now with ERS, hotels can capture additional demand through guaranteed “attributes” (e.g. a specific view, high floor, balcony, connecting rooms, etc.) and the new reservations platform creates the foundation for future experiences reserved beyond the room, such as beach cabanas, dining, spa, golf and more.
ERS is transforming the customer booking experience by offering more choices and flexibility. We now have over 360 hotels live on ERS and the results are positive:
- Through September 2018, ERS hotels have booked $6.6M in revenue related to room attributes of which approximately $3M was incremental (retail rates only)
- Overall results are expected to increase significantly in future months with more hotels on ERS and starting in 2019 with more rates and more attributes being sold
- The feedback from live hotels has also been positive. For example, we’ve heard the following: greater customer satisfaction, being able to deliver what the customer wants, and improved ADRs.
Benefits:
- Improves customer satisfaction and maximizes revenues by letting customers customize their stay with more premium pricing options
- Enables hotels to inventory, price and sell guaranteed room attributes (currently bed type, corner room, larger room, sofa bed, view, high or low floor, near elevator, tub or shower, accessible, balcony) and bundle as a unique room type and rate when presented to the customer and guaranteed at check-in
- Increases the likelihood of upsell by offering the next best room and other upgrade options at the time of booking and pre-arrival; the possibilities accelerate with future enhancements, such as non-room product and service offerings (beach cabanas, spa, golf, dining, etc.), and the ability to choose room numbers on Marriott’s mobile app
- Unlocks new ways to merchandise rooms with the ability to use filters to search for room features and utilize more prominent photography and matching descriptions
- Differentiates and delivers exclusivity with new attributes only available on Marriott’s direct channels – Marriott.com, Customer Engagement Centers (CEC), and Marriott’s mobile app
- Introduces a retail shopping experience design – with an upcoming “booking cart” and the ability to handle multiple room types and connecting rooms all as part of one reservation, then proceeding to “check-out” on Marriott.com
Next Steps:
Approximately 800 hotels will have the ERS functionality by year-end 2018, as SPG Lightspeed and SPG Opera pilot hotels receive ERS as part of the Big 4 | Platform Integration. The continuing rollout to remaining hotels globally is targeted for Q1 2019. Marriott Select Brand (MSB) properties on FOSSE PMS are targeted for Q4 2019 – Q2 2020.
A rollout schedule with properties targeted to activate ERS in 2019 will be available later this year, along with Prepare Now activities that will help prepare for a successful rollout in 2019.
Resources:
Watch this one minute ERS Video on MGS or visit MGS for additional ERS resources. For questions about ERS, contact: ERSTeam@marriott.com.
