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March 5, 2021 Uncategorized, Owner & Franchise Webinars, Management Company Webinars, FMC Weekly Webinars

March 4, 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, March 4 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:

Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management Updates

Topline Trends

  1. Air travel & hotel search trends are mixed; several markets declined compared to 2 weeks ago but there are some notable increases 

  2. Flight capacity for domestic & international routes in key countries was -34% & -74% YOY, respectively

  3. Industry-wide occupancy reported declines in several key markets & on-the-books room nights for the next 365 days declined to 59.8% YOY

SMR Spotlight: Account Sales

Account Sales: Government

  • A chance for your hotels to discover how they can partner with the Account Sales team deployed to U.S. Government opportunities.
  • A call was held March 3 and will be held quarterly going forward.
  • The recording will be posted on MGS the week of March 8.
  • 3 Key Takeaways

1. Ensure hotels are signed up for SAM.gov and renew annually in order to bid on federal government group business

2. Updates provided on FEMA, National Guard and Fedrooms

3. Section 889 National Defense Authorization Act of 2019

Preferred Business Pilot Overview

  • Customer Perspective

    • Marriott has an opportunity to expand their reach and gain market share by offering a B2B discount program

    • It’s easier to do business with partners that offer a fixed Enterprise discount

    • TMCs and technology disruptors continue to get between Marriott and the Customer

    • We will offer Marriott an “Online Booking Tool” preferencing advantage

  • Customer Deliverables

    • All Marriott properties are flagged as “preferred chain” in Online Booking Tools

    • Marriott Bonvoy program promotion within internal travel sites

    • B2C promotion consideration to travelers (Corporate and Leisure)

Preferred Business Pilot Details

  • 5% dynamic float off retail, LRA, across all property-established MarRFP room pools, bookable in GDS and m.com

    Program Dates:

    April 1, 2021 – Dec. 31, 2021

  • Includes all brands and properties  (U.S. + Canada) to ensure broad adoption and acceptance from customer

  • 30 pilot mid-market accounts across diverse verticals and production revenue

  • For hotels that ARE NOT in the Account’s Preferred Negotiated 2021 Corporate Travel Program

Logistics/Next Steps

  • Rate Loading

    • Discounts will be centrally loaded at all Non-Preferred Program hotels

      • 5% discount is non-modifiable

      • 30 participating pilot accounts

      • All U.S. + Canadian hotels

      • Loaded on all available room categories in MarRFP

  • Next Steps

    • Opt Out Option :  Due Date – March 19

      1. Details of the program, including the opt out survey link, will be included in the Weekly Update today, March 4

      2. A direct communication from Pricing and Account Services will be sent to all MarRFP users the week of March 8 with program details and the opt out survey link

Distribution Update

Execution Approach

  1. Lead with Direct Channels
  2. Partner with Intermediaries who Help Us
  3. Ensure Hotels’ Compliance with Marriott Channel Standards

  • Aggressively leverage intermediaries for recovery within the boundaries of Marriott’s Channels Standards

  • U.S. & CAN Recovery: Led by OTA and Wholesale

OTAs: Expedia, Booking.com, Priceine/Agoda

    • DO

Participate: Confirm participation in eFast

Review Content:

      • Check Expedia Partner Central (EPC) for missing elements (photos, etc.)
      • Booking.com extranet: Check property page score, audit taxes and fees (also feeds Priceline/Agoda content only, not rates)

Rate Parity: Check observations report, fix discrepancies, address Supernova findings

Approved Marketing:

      • Priceline Sponsored Ads, Expedia Travelads through PLUS platform
      • Booking.com Preferred and Preferred Plus Program (through June)
    • DON’T

Participate in Non-Approved Rate Programs:

      • Expedia Member Rates
      • Booking.com Genius Rates
      • Priceline VIP (member rates)

OTA Mobile rates or region-specific rates

Extranet Promotions & rates loaded directly into OTA extranets

Participate in Extranet Commission Overrides:

      • Expedia Accelerator

Agoda Growth Express (AGX)

  • Marriott’s Wholesale Distribution Solution distributes inventory directly to end-sellers, bypassing redistributors using a single, Marriott-controlled connection through a partnership with Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS).

Wholesale

    • DO

Participate:

      • Tour Operator Dynamic (TOD), T4B (TOD + Breakfast) for tour operators, WDC for Expedia/EPS, Marriottwholesalers.com for long-tail
      • Evaluate room pools for loading

Optimize content:

      • Via Expedia extranet for EPS and MDAM / SAL for tour operator images
      • Update value adds in eFast for EPS

Maintain parity across bundled discount offers: Expedia Bundled, TOD/T4B and Marriottwholesalers.com

    • DON’T

      Sign property-level agreements with redistributors (i.e., Hotelbeds) or centrally connected tour operators

      Set it and forget it: Wholesale segment has long booking windows

Support

Channel/Segment Pages on MGS

E-Channels support: echannels@marriott.com

Wholesale support: Dynamicwholesaleprograms@marriott.com 

Supernova support: Rateintegrity@marriott.com

PLUS Marketing (Travelads, Priceline Sponsored Ads): PLUS@Marriott.com

Resources + Reminders

#ForwardForArne

Arne loved being active and exploring new places. His passion for community, curiosity and discovery continues to inspire us each day. Even as the pandemic keeps people apart, we wanted to find a way to come together virtually and around the world to celebrate Arne’s life and legacy.

March 18 would have marked Arne’s 25th anniversary with Marriott. For the week of March 18-25, we invite all associates, customers, partners, family, friends and supporters, to run, walk or wheel in Arne’s honor. Wherever you are and however you choose, be active, capture the moment, and use the hashtag #ForwardForArne to share your experience with others who hold Arne in their hearts.

A downloadable event prep packet will be made available next week on MGS and will be shared via the March 11  U.S. & Canada Franchise Update. We look forward to joining the global community in this celebration of life.

Marriott’s Vaccination Care Program for MxM Properties

  • Strongly encourage associates to get vaccinated
  • Instruct leaders to allow schedule flexibility to provide associates the time away from work needed to get vaccinated
  • To offset time needed to schedule and attend appointments, a vaccination award* equivalent to 4 hours of pay (or half day for exempt managers) will be processed once vaccine regime is completed and documented
  • This one-time offer will be in effect until July 31, 2021, (Sept. 30, 2021 for Canada) but may be extended based upon vaccine availability

*Applicable to associates at all MxM properties in the U.S. and Canada

Resources for Franchise Properties

  • Vaccination Toolkit is available on MGS for optional guidance and industry best practices

  • Toolkit includes links to CDC resources (U.S.), Public Health Agency of Canada (CAN) and the American Hotel Lodging Association (AHLA)

  • POD Toolkit for Franchise

Key Actions

U.S. & Canada Franchise Update | March 4, 2021

Review and Share COVID-19 Vaccination Educational Resources
​Resources include information on vaccination from the CDC, Public Health Agency of Canada, and the American Hotel Lodging Association. Hotels should review and share this information with associates and encourage vaccination. Marriott understands that vaccination, along with testing, mask wearing, social distancing and enhanced cleanliness protocols and hygiene practices will be a key measure to helping our industry recover.

Submit Nominations for Marriott Awards of Excellence by March 26
​The Marriott Awards of Excellence were established to recognize the “best of the best” each year for outstanding customer service and corporate citizenship. Use the online process to nominate for the following awards:

•J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence

•Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service

LightSpeed Hotels: Prepare for Credit Card Configuration Beginning March 8
Beginning March 8, LightSpeed is updating the Credit Card Configuration for all hotels on a waved approach through April 1. Once configuration is complete, hotels may receive a pop-up message when completing certain functions in the system. LightSpeed users should review Knowledge Base articles How To: LightSpeed – Credit Card Configuration; Linking the PC to a PIN pad and Credit Card Configuration prior to March 8 to understand how to resolve the issue should it impact the hotel.

Webinar Opportunities

Date

Details

Link

March 4

Q1 Brand Management Update Video Now Available
Watch the videos to hear updates to brand standard programs, access support resources and get answers to top asked questions.
CY | FF | FP | RI | SHS | TPS

  

March 9 & 11

Q1 GM Brand Webinars Scheduled for March
​Use the links below to register for the appropriate brand webinar; registration not required. The webinars will be recorded and posted on the brand MGS page after the session.

•Tribute Portfolio: March 9 at 1 p.m. ET (Join | Add to Calendar)

•Delta Hotels: March 11 at 1 p.m. ET (Join | Add to Calendar)

  

March 9 & 10

Optional Revenue Management Training Webinar on Effective Execution on Deals, Special Offers, and Loyalty Offers Available March 9 & 10
Four identical sessions will be offered at different times to provide guidance on how to effectively execute deals and special offers and strategically determine what to offer and how to pull it through. Visit MGS for the schedule and registration links.

MGS

March 16 & 17

Marketing Educational Webinar for Property Marketing Contacts on March 16 & 17
​Join the appropriate regional/brand Teams Live Event using the links below to learn more about media. No pre-registration required; webinars will be recorded and published to Marketing Central. 

•U.S. Select Brands: March 16 at 3 p.m. ET (Join | Add to Calendar) 
Canada: March 17 at 2 p.m. ET (Join | Add to Calendar)

•U.S. Premium & Luxury: March 17 at 4 p.m. ET (Join | Add to Calendar)

Note: If the Marketing Central or ‘Add to Calendar’ links do not open, try a different browser as they may not work in all browsers.

  

Key Dates + Deadlines

Date

Details

Link

March 7

Marriott Bonvoy™ Escapes Spring Break Sale Available until March 7
​​The sale extends additional marketing support to hotels, including email marketing, paid social media, placement on marriott.com and public relations support at no additional cost. United Airlines will also be promoting the offer in their marketing channels. The promotion booking window is open until March 7 and applies to weekend stays March 4 – April 11 and weekday stays April 1–11. Resort stays are available seven days a week from March 4 – April 11. There is no action required to participate. Details, including an opt-out survey, were emailed from Smartsheet to HPP contacts this week.

MGS

March 15

Opt In to Extended Booking.com Preferred PLUS Program by March 15
​​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 April 1 – June 30. Hotels must opt in by March 15 to participate in the April period. Review the program guidelines for further details and opt in procedures.

MGS

March 19

Marriott Account Sales Preferred Business Pilot Program; Opt Out by March 19
As part of the Business Transient segment focus, Marriott is piloting a North American Preferred Business Program within a select group of Account Sales Mid-Market customers.  The Pilot includes a discount of 5% off retail rate, effective April 1 – Dec. 31. Hotels wishing to opt out can do so via survey response by March 19. No action is required for participation; the 5% discount will be automatically loaded. Program details and opt out instructions will be communicated to all MarRFP users on March 8 and can also be found on MGS.

MGS

March 31

Global Quality Audit Process Updates

•March Self-Audit now available and due by March 31 at 5 p.m. ET. Associates that cannot access the site or need to modify their access to reflect a different property should use the QA Site Access Guide to submit an access request. It can take several days for access to be approved and reflected on the QA site.

•Virtual Audits began Feb. 1 and will continue to take place throughout 2021. Beginning March 15, hotels who do not schedule a Virtual Audit within two weeks of receiving the scheduling email from Deloitte will be assigned a date and time for their Audit. Once scheduled, changes cannot be made to the date and/or time. Hotels that cancel or do not show up for their Virtual Audit will be assessed a $300 fee and the Virtual Audit will be rescheduled. This is consistent with the BSA program, where a hotel would be charged for the BSA if they refused the auditor. Watch the video and review the FAQs for further information on scheduling and expectations. 

  

April 30

Updated COVID-19 Public Space Signage Now Available

The COVID-19 public space signage related to protocols and standards has been updated and consolidated to provide more consistency for guests and ease of use for associates. Segment-specific placement guidance and signage packets are now available on MDAM and MAL to make it easier to print high-priority signage locally, if needed. Guidance for temporary FF&E and interiors interventions are also consolidated into a separate guide on MGS. Hotels that have not printed signage, have worn out signage, or have signage that does not align to the guidance provided should plan to print at least high-priority signage by April 30. Visit MGS or the FAQ for more detail.

MGS

Ongoing – June 24

2021 Leisure Recovery Offers Extended; Now bookable through July 5
Refer to the survey for a list of recommended offers and respective rate codes. If you are opting in for the first time, Topline Teams should ensure rates are loaded in HPP.  If your hotel previously opted in, confirm your set up in HPP is correct. Current offers are now bookable through July 5 with stay dates through September 6, 2021 and will be supported by email marketing, paid social media, placement on marriott.com and public relations support at no additional cost. Hotels can use the opt-in survey through June 24.  Submissions made before Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET will be added to marketing channels each Thursday throughout the booking window.  

  

Please also note the following resources: