What Marriott Learned From Starwood's Loyalty and Digital Expertise

Marriott International, like every other hotel company on the planet, is taking a very intense look at loyalty these days, and asking themselves the following questions: Namely, how do we define it? How do we build it? How do we keep it? And specific to Marriott, there's also the very big challenge of eventually merging three different loyalty programs — Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Ritz-Carlton Rewards — by next year. With the company's newest updates for the Marriott mobile app, we're getting a tiny glimpse into what the company is planning to do — essentially trying to personalize the guest experience with the help of technology. That means more Mobile Key access at more than 500 hotel properties worldwide, having access to curated destination content from Marriott's Traveler digital magazine, and the ability to submit mobile requests directly to hotel staff before, during, and after a stay. Going forward, Marriott plans to use artificial intelligence to anticipate exactly what their loyalty members want in their hotel stays. Eventually, the app will also enable real-time messaging, called mPlaces, which will be powered by Marriott's LocalPerks beacon technology. Given Marriott's intent and focus on using technology to improve the guest experience and build loyalty, Skift spoke separately to Thom Kozik, VP of global loyalty, and George Corbin, senior vice president of digital, to learn more about where they see the convergence of mobile technology and loyalty headed in the near future. Here's what they had to say about the future of loyalty in the digital age. The Hotel App Can't Just Be Used for Booking Anymore "I hate to use this cliché term from Silicon Valley but it is a bit of a paradigm shift now," said Kozik. "It changes how gue