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November 19, 2020 Owner & Franchise Webinars, Management Company Webinars, COVID-19 FMC Webinars, FMC Weekly Webinars

November 19, 2020 | Franchise Management Company Webinar – COVID19

 
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, November 19 for the Franchise Management Company Webinar – COVID-19. 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:

Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management Updates

Topline Trends

 

  1. Consumer perception about travel is changing.
  2. Air travel searches continue to decline or stay flat in most key markets.
  3. Some travel companies are connecting their customers to COVID-19 tests.

Demand Capture – Community Caregiver Rate

Marriott International invites first responders and support staff providing medical, relief, and support services to book designated hotels nationwide as a part of a community caregivers program. This will provide health care and relief professionals, and those supporting them, a place to stay in close proximity to hospitals and government buildings as they aid in COVID-19 response efforts. This rate will be available through March 31, 2021.

To book a group: For stays longer than 30 days, or to book a block of rooms, email CVHelp@marriott.com or call Marriott National Group Sales, Coronavirus Helpline at 888-206-9600.  

To book individual rooms: To reserve individual rooms for up to 30 days, book through Marriott.com.

  • Go to Marriott.com and enter the appropriate code.
  • The Community Caregiver Rate will populate in the search results for participating hotels.
  • Upon check-in, guests should be prepared to show company/medical, government, military, or relief organization identification to confirm eligibility for the Community Caregiver Rate.

Marriott Email Template Tool

Marriott Email Template Tool (METT) is a web-based tool that offers Franchise Management Companies and their hotels the ability to create and launch targeted email campaigns featuring hotel offers and content.

How to Deploy a METT Campaign for U.S. & Canada:

  1. Create landing page via NGOP in English (Brandworks in other languages if applicable
  2. Submit the METT Email Content form, located at http://mett.netlinkrg.com/
  3. Approve proof within 2 weeks
  4. Once approved, the campaign will be added to the launch schedule

Note: Space is limited and available on first-come, first-served. For deployment dates and submission deadlines refer to MGS.

Best Practice: Cluster campaigns tend to perform better than single property as they provides more choices with multiple offers and tend to reach a larger target audience. We highly encourage multi-property offers when possible.

Visit MGS for more information or email the METT team at METTMarketing@marriott.com

Operations Updates

Procurement Update

  • Electrostatic Sprayers are now approved for use in Canada (including Ecolab chemical)
  • Hotels can purchase sanitization wipes from approved vendors  to reduce costs:

Meetings & Events Update

Connect with Confidence Resources:

Chip and PIN Update

As part of Marriott’s Payment Fraud Mitigation Strategy, properties in the US and Canada will transition to EMV/NFC devices to support secure, contactless payment authentication on property (PMS, GPOS, & Spa).

Project Timeline:

  • Q4 2019: Project kick off & property completion of Site Survey, Participation Agreement
  • Late Q4 2019 – Early Q1 2020: GPOS Chip and PIN deployed to 350+ franchise properties
  • Late Q1 2020: Project paused due to COVID-19 impacts
  • Q3 2020: Project relaunched with an opt-in model for interested hotels
  • Q4 2020:Begin deployment of PMS & GPOS Chip and PIN to opted-in hotels

Impacted Hotels & Systems:

  • Chase Acquired, Legacy Marriott Rewards Properties in the US
  • Opera, FSPMS, FOSSE
  • GPOS/Micros Simphony
  • Spasoft
  • Lightspeed (Legacy SPG) and Canadian hotel engagement will begin in 2021

Downstream Initiative Dependencies:

  • Digital Self Service Arrival (DSSA) Kiosk
  • Opera 5.6

Properties must first complete 4 pre-requisite steps in order to be scheduled for Chip and PIN deployment. The pre-requisites are self-service and self-paced.

  1. Device Survey & DocuSign Participation Agreement/ACH
  2. Installation of Pay@Table Firewall
  3. Procurement of FCC Listener/ M720 “Tiny” Device via Insight
  4. Complete Online “Opt-In” Form

Detailed instructions for each of the above tasks can be found on the Chip and PIN Opt-In Prerequisites document on the Chip and PIN MGS Page.

Once pre-requisites are completed, properties will be scheduled to convert to Chip and PIN
 as part of a waved deployment. Deployment activities will take 6-8 weeks.

  1. Project Team Schedules Deployment & Notifies Hotel
  2. Land It Readiness Process
  3. Go Live: PMS, POS, & Spa
  4. Post-Cutover Transaction Validation

Resources and Reminders

Date

Details

Link

Nov. 9

Joy Is Near Campaign Launch

Joy is Near Campaign applies to stays Nov. 9 – Apr. 4, 2021. All hotels are automatically enrolled in the promotion and no further action is required.  View creative samples on MGS or visit the promotional landing page.  

  

Nov. 20

Attend the Awards of Excellence Ceremony

The Awards of Excellence will be virtual this year. The Awards will be Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. ET.  Visit the MGS page at 9am ET to watch the awards. There will be a ‘Watch Now’ button to click that will directly link to the event.

MGS

Nov. 22-28, Dec. 20 – Jan. 2

Marriott Bonvoy™ Escapes Cyber Sale

Marriott Bonvoy™ Escapes Cyber Sale applies to all weekend stay dates through Jan. 2, 2021, as well as the weekday stay dates of Nov. 22-28 and Dec. 20 – Jan. 2. Details, including an opt-out survey, were emailed to HPP contacts this week. For more information about Marriott Bonvoy Escapes please email MarriottBonvoyEscapes@marriott.com. 

MGS

Nov. 30

Commitment to Clean Certification Due

Complete November Commitment to Clean Certification by Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. ET.

  

Dec. 1

Microsoft Windows Server 2008

By Dec. 1 all hotels operating Windows Server 2008 on the Marriott network must take one of the following actions: Upgrade to Windows Server 2012 or 2016 by Dec. 31, 2020; Retire the server – Guestware and ScerIS servers should no longer be active and should be decommissioned; Purchase Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Extended Support Year 2 through Marriott’s Insight eProcurement portal by Dec. 1, 2020. All Opera hotels (regardless of whether the server is on or off the Marriott network) must purchase their own Microsoft Extended Support Year 2 license through Insight’s eProcurement portal.

  

Dec. 3

Review October Chargeback Guarantee Performance Eligibility 

Mobile Key reservations arriving on or after Sept. 15 are covered under Marriott’s CBG program in the US and Canada. Hotels with Mobile Key must meet 85% Mobile Key delivered to be covered by the program.  Review the October 2020 performance report and review the one-pager / CBG FAQ’s.  For performance assistance, join the Ask The Experts call on Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m ET.

 

Dec. 3, Dec. 9

Join Webinars for Connect with Confidence Updates

As previously communicated and highlighted in a recent Meetings Today article, Marriott has introduced digital content about redefined processes and reimagined spaces guided by cleanliness experts and best practices to help hosts, organizers, and attendees plan and execute meetings. Event planning, event operations, and culinary teams are encouraged to register for an Event Leader Webinar on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. ET to learn more. Sales teams are encouraged to register for an overview of the Connect with Confidence Sales Resources on Dec. 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET to review the resources developed on hosting protocols, eProposals, and how to sell and deliver Virtual + Hybrid meetings.

MGS 

Dec. 11

Opera 5.6 Upgrade Infrastructure Assessment Survey

Hotels running Opera PMS on version 5.4 or earlier are required to upgrade to Opera 5.6 by July 1, 2022. Hotels that have not yet done so should coordinate with their iT support to complete Infrastructure Assessment and upload to the Infrastructure Assessment Submission Form (note: in-scope hotels received a direct email earlier this week) by Dec. 11.

MGS

Dec. 15

Prepare For Web Check-In Kick-Off and Activation on Dec. 15 

Web Check-In will launch at hotels in Canada (excluding Quebec) on Dec. 15, expanding the Contact Lite Arrival strategy to all guests, including non-members. This program will be deployed via Land-It and should take hotels 6-8 hours to complete over the course of approximately 4 weeks. The Program One Pager, FAQ’s, and the Pre-Recorded Kick-Off Webinar will be available on Nov. 16.

  

Please also note the following resources: