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Marriott International News

The journey of the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott International, Inc. Рnow with more than seven thousand hotel, residential, and timeshare properties Рbegan 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 M̩ridien, 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.

Hotels

First Look at the Exclusive Rates Hilton Wrested From Expedia

Rate parity and most-favored nation provisions are slowly fading as Marriott and Hilton offer lower rates to new and existing loyalty program members on their own sites than Expedia and Booking.com can. Don't underplay the power of a several-dollar discount in the race toward bolstering loyalty-program rosters through the lure of bottom-of-the-heap pricing.

First Look at the Exclusive Rates Hilton Wrested From Expedia

Airlines

Hotels and Airlines Test Loyalties of Business Travelers With Match Programs

Will 2016 be the year of loyalty poaching? It could make things very interesting.

Hotels and Airlines Test Loyalties of Business Travelers With Match Programs

Meetings

CES 2016 Review, GoPro Events and More in Skift MeetingsIQ

The 2016 meetings scene is all about making technology more seamless, user friendly and valuable for a broader spectrum of conference planners and attendees.

CES 2016 Review, GoPro Events and More in Skift MeetingsIQ

Business Travel

Understanding Marriott’s Vision of the Future of Meetings in 2016

The value of this meetings industry trends list over others is that it profiles the major macro level trends, versus all of the ancillary micro trends which stem from them.

Understanding Marriott’s Vision of the Future of Meetings in 2016

Hotels

The Inside Story of How Marriott Didn’t Want Starwood Until It Did

Marriott dueled with a U.S. hotel company, probably Hyatt, and a foreign one, for Starwood. In the end, Starwood liked Marriott's financial proposal, management and bigness.

The Inside Story of How Marriott Didn’t Want Starwood Until It Did

Hotels

7 Hotel Industry Experts on What It Means to Be Relevant Right Now

Brands refreshes are nothing new in the hotel industry, but what qualities make a hotel relevant today? Several industry experts weigh in on things like technology, design and how consumer behavior affects the ways in which trends get implemented.

7 Hotel Industry Experts on What It Means to Be Relevant Right Now

Hotels

Hotels Tried To Eliminate the Traditional In-Room Desk But Created a Backlash

Marriott and Holiday Inn Express are also looking to optimize space in guest rooms and appeal to changing traveler habits. The shift away from traditional desks got a failing grade from lots of customers.

Hotels Tried To Eliminate the Traditional In-Room Desk But Created a Backlash

Travel Agents

How Travel Agents Tried to Get Back on Track in 2015

Travel agents showed some resiliency in 2015. They need to work on becoming a whole lot more visible, and useful, to consumers in 2016.

Hotels

Hilton Worldwide To Spin Off Hotels Like Marriott Did Years Ago

Hilton Worldwide's pursuit of strategic alternatives, including spinning off its real estate business into a real estate investment trust, likely won't have a direct impact on guests but could make Hilton Worldwide shareholders, including its largest one, Blackstone, very happy.

Hilton Worldwide To Spin Off Hotels Like Marriott Did Years Ago

Hotels

Marriott Bought Starwood – 25 Moments in 2015

25 Moments that Mattered in 2015: To make our selection of 25 moments, we thought back to the stories that drove reader engagement and sparked discussion among both travel experts and the general public. Some stories were quick blips that represented bigger things while others were narratives that built slowly through out the year. Each one, though, spoke to where we are right now when it comes to the big business of global travel.

Marriott Bought Starwood – 25 Moments in 2015