Making Sense of Marriott’s Commission Cut for Meetings
Photo Credit: A promotional shot of a group of business travelers at the Bangkok Marriott. Commission cuts in North America could threaten the business models of many third-party planners. Marriott International
Skift Take
It looks like what happened to travel agents 20 years ago is about to happen to meeting and event planners.
Marriott International will reduce the commission it pays meetings planners for U.S. and Canadian bookings to seven percent on Mar. 31, and planners should be worried about the hotel giant setting a precedent for the industry at large.
Marriott claims it will use the money it's not paying out to planners and agents to improve its digital booking tools for the trade. That's nice, but it won't help those reliant on commission payments to pay employees and run their businesses.
Marriott is using its strength in the North American hotel market to discourage those who plan
