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December 10, 2020 Owner & Franchise Webinars, Management Company Webinars, COVID-19 FMC Webinars, FMC Weekly Webinars

December 10, 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, December 10 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. Clarity around vaccine production and distribution will better enable consumers to plan travel.
  2. The CDC travel advisory continues to temper consumers’ intent to travel during the holidays.
  3. Digital health passports are gaining traction in some markets.

COVID Modules – Premium & Luxury

The Hotel Alerts on Hotel Website pages in the RED alert box, putting the onus on the customer to stay aware of the State specific COVID travel/dining restrictions with a link to travelguidance.Marriott.com that links to each state’s governors site to always be the most up to date in this fluid environment.

The property specific COVID Modules were launched in August for Premium & Luxury hotels that had additional content they needed to share on their multiple outlets & ancillary or resort services/offerings. There is no cost for Premium & Luxury hotels, if MSB hotels are interested, they can build modules if necessary, at $250 cost for 6 months.

Property COVID Module:

  • Keep Property COVID Module updated for Premium & Luxury Hotels
  • Request updates in MDS Tool changing requirements in your city/state here
  • Update change in ancillary services/outlets hours or limited services
  • Update changes in Elite Benefits if offerings Example:  Free Breakfast item & drink at Starbucks instead of restaurant or lounge buffet
  • Update Resort Fee change in offerings
  • Update Lounge closure information
  • Property POC that built the Module in Salesforce can request edits here. Updates live within approx. 24 – 48 hours Monday – Friday

Marriott Bonvoy Escapes Solicitation

The solicitations for the next 3 waves of the Marriott Bonvoy Escapes promotion, including an opt-out survey, were emailed to HPP contacts the week of Nov. 30 and again on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10.

Opt-outs are due by Dec. 16 for hotels solicited to be part of the following 3 waves:

  • Dec. 23-27
  • Dec. 30-Jan. 3
  • Jan. 6-10

Hotels included in the Dec. 23-27 wave should note 7 day/week availability and will include stay dates of Dec. 28-Dec. 30. Hotels should review and opt-out by Dec. 16, if desired. For more information about Marriott Bonvoy Escapes, visit MGS.

Cancellation Policy & One Yield Demand Forecast Updates

For all Marriott International hotels worldwide, we are extending our flexible reservation policies as follows:

  • In general, for guests with existing reservations made before July 6, 2020, for any future arrival date, the policies that were in place at the time of reservation, or as previously communicated, will continue to be honored.
  • For guests with reservations made on or after July 6, 2020, for arrival dates through March 31, 2021, we will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before the scheduled arrival date.
  • For guests making new reservations for arrival dates on or after April 1, 2021, individual hotel cancellation policies in place at the time of reservation will apply.

One Yield Transient Demand Forecast has launched:

  • Validate Forecast – See Change Guide for recommended actions
  • Review with Strategy Teams – See Change Guide for resources
  • ACTION – Acknowledge completion of these items through the link on page 3 in the Change Guide 

Community Caregiver Vaccine Rate

Account leaders within the Global Sales & the US/Canada Sales Organization have been meeting regularly with government and private companies involved in the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, including those involved in Operation Warp Speed in the United States. Account leaders are discussing how our hotels can meet the needs of companies at all phases of the supply chain including hotel rooms, meeting or parking lot space, storage/refrigeration, etc.

  • For non-deployed accounts, the Community Caregiver Rate will be leveraged in order to expedite the booking process, using the cluster code QWO.
  • Updates will be made to this rate offer centrally by Dec. 18 to indicate that companies involved in vaccine development, manufacturing, and distribution will also be eligible.
  • More details will be provided in Next Week’s weekly update for hotels who currently do not have the rate loaded but wish to participate.

Cvent Negotiations

Marriott reached an agreement on terms with Cvent for Diamond Packages and Passkey for hotels wishing to purchase these products or hotels seeking relief under existing agreements.

  • Terms for Diamond Packages and Passkey are available to all Managed by Marriott and Franchised hotels.
  • More contract options are available than usual due to varying expiration dates of existing property-level agreements and an effort to provide hotels with relief opportunities based on the current business environment.
  • For Diamonds, Cvent is offering free months of Diamond Package listings in exchange for contract extensions at the same Diamond levels or higher. One-Year and Three-Year extensions are available.
  • For Passkey, Cvent is offering free months of Passkey usage and introducing a new variable cost model in exchange for a contract extension of one-two years.

Details of these offers and pricing will be found on the Cvent page on MGS. Hotels will contract directly with their Cvent account representative and must contract with Cvent by Dec. 31, 2020 to take advantage of these terms.

Operations Updates

Hotel Pet Policy

Recent surveys and engagement with members who are travelling revealed that a key trip purpose is “an escape from working from home.” Increasingly, guests are bringing pets with them on trips.  Hotels that are pet friendly add value, and customers desire more pet friendly facilities from which to choose. The brand standard has been updated to eliminate any language previously discouraging pet acceptance. The new language is now available and reads “It is the preference of these brands to accept pets to remain competitive in the market.”

Review Pet Policy standard (OPS-FRO-119) on MGS to understand cleanliness standards, best practices and pet fee pricing. If your hotel determines accepting pets would be an advantage for the hotel based on customer profile or competitive set strategy then update Pet Policy descriptions within EPIC.

Global Quality Program Updates

2021 Global Audit Program:

  • The Self-Auditfor January will be available on the QA site and app beginning January 1st and must be completed no later than 5pm ET on January 31, 2021.
  • Virtual Audits will begin in Q1 2021. Further information about scheduling and expectations will be communicated at the beginning of the year.
  • Audit content – for both the Self and Virtual audits – will be published on MGS within the week
  • Updated 2021 Global Audit Program FAQs will soon be available on MGS

2021 Global Accountability Program:

The Global Accountability status for each property will remain frozen at the December 2019 zone through at least June 30, 2021. During this time, properties will not be charged the red zone fee or escalate in red zone accountability.

  • Activation of the Interim Accountability Programbegins in January 2021
    • Global Quality will monitorproperty performance using the following metrics and thresholds:
    • guestVoiceIntent to Recommend (ITR) – threshold is 50 
    • Self-Audit – threshold is completion of the self-audit for each month the property is open
    • Missing on either metricmay cause you to receive a notification of low performanceat quarter end, offering opportunities to support performance improvement.
  • Updated 2021 Global Accountability Program FAQs will soon be available on MGS

2021 Guest Satisfaction Survey (GSS):

In January 2021, two changes will be taking place with the guestVoice program: 

  1. Reinstate Marriott Verified Reviews (MVR): to drive bookings with relevant/recent ratings and reviews; guests will have the option to complete a review at the end of the GSS survey.
  2. Add three questions to the Guest Satisfaction Survey (GSS) to fill gaps in measurement
  3. Add Maintenance & Upkeep to high-level metrics: to discern between cleanliness and property condition
  4. Add Elite Appreciation: to measure staff delivery of the Elite experience on property
  5. Add Reason for Trip (including travel companions): given changes in guest mix and travel behavior, it will be crucial to capture primary reasons to act on targeted opportunities 

Updated guestVoice FAQs are available on MGS.

Resources & Reminders

Date

Details

Link

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. 14

Complete GXP Health Check Refresh

Currently 95% of hotels do not have the appropriate GXP set up to assist all guests. To review your properties GXP health, review wellness checklist and recommendations: Use the GXP Health Check Dashboard to review user access, escalations and users with CEC visibility (remember to refresh your dashboard to view your most up to date setup); Confirm a minimum of 2 Property Admin and 2 Property Champions are identified; Use the Service in 60 Seconds training videos to ensure you are setting your hotel up for success.  

  

Dec. 15

Opt-In to Extended Booking.com Preferred PLUS Program
Marriott and Booking.com will continue the limited time “Preferred PLUS” program designed to further increase a participating hotel’s visibility on Booking.com search results. The program is now extended to cover the Jan. 1- March 31, 2021 period. Hotels must opt-in by Dec. 15 to participate in the January period. Review the guidelines on MGS for further details and opt-in procedures.  

  

Dec. 15

Canada Hotels: Prepare For Web Check-In Kick-Off and Activation

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 is already available.

  

Dec. 17

Register for Cleanliness Champion Office Hours 

If you missed this week’s Office Hours, or want to share with your team, a recording is now available. The next Office Hours will be held Dec. 17 at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET. The content covered will be the same in both sessions so please join the one that works best for your schedule. The series has been extended through Q1 2021 and you can use these new links to register for the entire series at once.  

  

Dec. 26

Complete mHUB Pre-Launch Training before Dec. 26 

In preparation for the transition from myHR to mHUB on Dec. 26, associates should complete the required mHUB training, accessible via the Digital Learning Zone (DLZ), to learn more about the platform. Managers of Others, HR professionals, and Recruiters, as well as Finance professionals and Payroll Administrators in the U.S., will see additional pre-launch training in their mHUB learning path to teach them how to execute key transactions. Point-of-need training on specific functions, like Recruiting and Explore, will be made available at launch. Use the Preparation Flyer (US | CAN) to share upcoming deadlines with associates. 

  

Dec. 31

Review New Cvent Pricing and Contract Accordingly 

New terms and pricing have been agreed upon with Cvent for Diamond Packages and Passkey. Hotels should work with their franchise management companies to review the contract options and terms prior to entering into or extending contracts with Cvent. The deadline to contract with Cvent is Dec. 31, 2020. 

MGS I memo

Now – Mar. 31, 2021

Cancellation Policy

The flexible reservation policies are being extended as follows:

•In general, for guests with existing reservations made before July 6, 2020, for any future arrival date, the policies that were in place at the time of reservation, or as previously communicated, will continue to be honored.

•For guests with reservations made on or after July 6, 2020, for arrival dates through Mar. 31, 2021, we will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before the scheduled arrival date. Reservations with pre-paid rates and other limited exclusions will be subject to the rate offer rules communicated at the time of reservation. Please note that changes to the reservation will be subject to availability and any rate differences.

•For guests making new reservations for arrival dates on or after April 1, 2021, individual hotel cancellation policies in place at the time of reservation will apply.

  

Please also note the following resources: