Marriott Is Officially Getting Into the Homesharing Business

Marriott, the world's largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels around the world, is officially getting into the homesharing business with the launch of Homes & Villas by Marriott International in 100 destinations. A year after it began conducting a homesharing pilot, the 91-year-old hotel group appears convinced it can compete with travel disruptors Airbnb, HomeAway, and others in the space. As Marriott did with its pilot, it's enabling its loyalty members to earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points when they book and stay in these 2,000-plus homes. What started in 2018 as a small pilot with just a little over 200 homes in London in partnership with UK-based property management company Hostmaker has now evolved into a global business operating in more than 100 different markets, from the U.S. and Europe to the Caribbean and Latin America. Of these markets, 40 are markets in which Marriott has never had a presence, including the Amalfi Coast in Italy, North Lake Tahoe in California, Saint-Tropez, France, and St. Barts among them. While Marriott's nearly year-long pilot yielded "great results" for Marriott, according to Marriott Global Chief Commercial Officer Stephanie Linnartz, the company ultimately decided not to continue its partnership with Hostmaker for the official launch of this "separate offering" that Marriott isn't quite ready to label its 31st brand. "They were good partners to us in the pilot in London," Linnartz said. "But they are not part of the launch of this." Instead, Marriott is continuing with the same business model it more or less used with Hostmaker for the pilot, but is now working with a variety of different property management company partners whose respective inventories run the gamut from castles and beach houses to urban apartments and country homes. Initial partners include TurnKey Vacation Rentals, LaCure, Loyd & Townsend Rose, Veeve, London Residents Club, Mainsail Lodging, CPG, and Reserva Conchal. What Marriott Learned From Its Pilot With Hostmaker Although Hostmaker isn't continuing on as partner with Marriott for Homes & Villas, Linnartz said that the information Marriott gathered from its pilot with Hostmaker was invaluable. It gave Marriott the data it needed to pursue homesharing officially: It showed there is consumer demand for this type of product. The pilot, she said, "was a real opportunity to learn from Marriott's customers" and especially its loyalty members. Nearly 90