SPECIAL REPORT
MARRIOT TALKS DIRECT BOOKING SUCCESS
Marriott International in 2015 made WiFi perks its first direct booking differentiator , followed by “ It Pays to Book Direct ” campaign later that year and then a member rate program by April 2016 . Marriott Senior Vice President of Distribution Drew Pinto says , to date , customer response has surpassed expectations and the qualitative feedback will allow the giant to better tailor direct offers . “ The amount of customer confusion out there and the lack of awareness of the differences in the channels and what you get is still significant ,” he says . “ Our programs have really raised engagement .” HOTELS interviewed Pinto in July to find out how Marriott ’ s direct booking program is faring . HOTELS : How are you raising awareness of your direct booking program ? Drew Pinto : Merchandising . We ’ ve emphasized this message and we ’ ve made it very simple , which is , ‘ This is what you get if you come direct .’ We only have so much marketing that we can do , so this is going to be a continual process to keep educating our customers . H : Can you quantify results ? DP : I don ’ t have anything publically I can share . Generally , we have seen our direct channel penetration of our members increase significantly – in the double digits in terms of the amount of growth in how often they book through our direct channels . H : Can you elaborate on your marketing strategy ? DP : We went more social and targeted efforts through digital channels . We ’ ve reinvested in the channels that have worked the best . A good example : Our Facebook dynamic ads for travel . We have expanded what we ’ re doing with Facebook because we ’ ve been pleased with the results . Our
“ A BASKET OF BENEFITS IS IMPORTANT , BUT
PROBABLY EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY , WHAT GUESTS ARE REALLY
TELLING US IS THAT THEY WANT TO
HAVE A PERSONALIZED , FRICTIONLESS STAY .”
— DREW PINTO
ROI on Facebook has exceeded some of the paid search by pretty good-sized double digits in terms of the return on ad spend . H : How does your direct booking evolve from here ? DP : A basket of benefits is important , but probably even more importantly , what guests are really telling us is that they want to have a personalized , frictionless stay . So , more and more it ’ s about the value and service that they ’ re going to get , and that they ’ re recognized and have a superior stay experience . H : How do you quantify the costeffectiveness of the direct program ? DP : I won ’ t give you the number but we can very clearly stage that it ’ s more profitable than OTA bookings – even with fully loaded costs , we think it ’ s still more profitable on that first booking if someone books one of our member rate versus booking through an intermediary ... We ’ ve also realized double-digit lifts on inactive members becoming active – particularly with the member rate program . H : Are you considering alternatives to direct booking discounts ? DP : We feel it ’ s in its early stages and there ’ s more to be done . H : How is the direct booking program impacting OTA negotiations ? DP : We want to work with intermediaries in a way that we find mutually beneficial , but certainly beneficial to our hotels . If they ’ re willing to work with us , support us and find ways that we can grow together within that strategy , then let ’ s continue . If they ’ re not , then they ’ re going to be at odds with our long-term strategy , and that isn ’ t going to work out . But to their credit , they ’ ve been very open to it … We are exploring ways that we can grow business with them in ways like customer acquisition .
Another a good example is our partnership with Expedia on our Vacations by Marriott product , where they ’ re providing technology to help us grow what is , in fact , a direct booking site for us . H : What else is important to note ? DP : I want to continue to raise awareness . I ’ m still concerned that customers believe they get a lower price through other sites . There ’ s a lot of confusion .
34 hotelsmag . com September 2017