IHG Is the Model for Hotel Chains on Cancellations as Crisis Mounts
Of the big global hotel chains, IHG is so far leading the way in terms of a customer-centric cancellation policy. Its rivals should take note.
Marriott International News
The journey of the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott International, Inc. – now with more than seven thousand hotel, residential, and timeshare properties – began with a root-beer stand in Washington, D.C. in 1927 started by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Following its $13.3 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, it became the largest global hotel company. It currently commands a mammoth portfolio of more than two dozen hotel brands such as JW Marriott Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection, Delta Hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, Le Méridien, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard, Fairfield, and W Hotels. Its properties contain nearly a million and a half rooms worldwide. Through its premier loyalty program Bonvoy, it is engaged in partnerships with the likes of United Airlines, Uber, American Express, Hertz, and others to optimize customer engagement.
How Travel Companies Themselves Are Taking Coronavirus Precautions
Travel companies are having to adapt not just to a new world for their customers, but for their staff too. This might be a temporary change, but when things return to normal, will our working habits revert as well?
Oyo’s Post-Coronavirus Valuation Could Fall to Around $6 Billion
Numerous travel companies, private and public, have seen their valuations taken down a peg by coronavirus. But Oyo's China business, where it fields about 60 percent of its rooms, and its ongoing operational problems in other regions exacerbate its likely valuation decline.
Marriott Is Already Reopening China Hotels During Coronavirus Crisis
Marriott was already having trouble in Asia-Pacific in 2019 before the coronavirus impact hit. The company isn't forecasting a major impact outside of Asia, and it's already reopening hotels inside China. It pays to collect fees — and not actually own or run hotels — during a crisis like this.
5 Takeaways From the Year’s Largest Hotel Industry Conference
The hotel industry is expected to have a slowdown in profits this year, yet companies keep starting new brands and expanding existing ones. Where is this optimism coming from?
Tourism’s Healing Ways in Japan Show the Flip Side to the Travel Backlash
Tourism is key to the revival of Japan’s marginal villages, in the process unlocking not only precious living cultures and traditions but people’s sanities.
Opening Closed Doors: Can Hotels Do More to Fight Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking touches every corner of the travel industry — especially hotels. And while the accommodations sector didn't create the problem, it does have an elevated responsibility to put an end to it. The question is: How effective have the industry's efforts been so far?
What This Minor Vs. Marriott Lawsuit Reveals About the Hotel Biz
Minor is a step closer to getting its case against Marriott heard in a Thai court, probably a nightmarish scenario for hotel management companies if only because it bares open fault lines.
Will Marriott and British Airways Ever Pay Those Huge Proposed Data Breach Fines?
Those headline fines were pretty jaw-dropping, but it seems more than likely that they will be massively reduced whenever they are finally rubber-stamped.
How Much Did Big Travel Companies Spend on TV Ads in 2019?
Airlines, hotels, and booking sites have divergent reasons for leaning into or out of TV advertising. Attracting more direct bookers is always a goal, but sometimes competitive reasons, or the emergence of new platforms, skew the TV budgets.