As Real Travel Surges, Marriott Expands Into Virtual Worlds

The pandemic has challenged the travel and hospitality industries like nothing they've ever experienced before. However, according to Marriott's Brian Povinelli, the hospitality giant has been seeing continued resilience. "Demand across customer segments in many markets around the world continues to be strong," said Povinelli, Marriott's svp of global brand, loyalty and portfolio marketing. Povinelli will speak more about Marriott and the state of customer loyalty and connectivity with Adweek’s Ann Marinovich at Brandweek Miami next Wednesday, Sept. 14.The brand's marketing approach has continually evolved over the last year. Specifically, Marriott has been well-positioned to tap into the globe's incredible pent-up demand to explore again. But a rising tide doesn't lift all boats (or fill hotel rooms with travelers). Marriott's sharp focus on building out its loyalty programs is what's made the difference. Marriott's Q2 results offer proof: In the U.S. Marriott reports no signs of leisure travel abating. Non-business room bookings were more than 15% higher than second quarter 2019, meaningfully outpacing pre-pandemic levels. As its loyal guests get back on the road, penetration in the U.S. stood at 59% in the second quarter, topping 2019.On the development front, room signing activity has accelerated in 2022, setting a second-quarter record with more than 23,000 rooms. Still, while the nature of loyalty hasn't changed, the expectations and tactics designed to retain and attract devoted travelers have. As Marriott's loyal guests get back on the road post-pandemic, they have become more selective in their planning process, Povinelli noted. Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of 30 hotel brands and "endless experiences can cater to travelers’ changing needs with expansive options and guarantees," he said. Year-to-date, Marriott Bonvoy reached 169 million members by the quarter’s end. "Members are increasingly engaging with Marriott Bonvoy during and outside of hotel stays due to our various marketing initiatives, like our '30 stays 300 days' campaign, which inspires our current and future guests to follow our TikTok correspondents as they stay at all our brands around the world," Povinelli said. Even with Marriott's ability to capture greater growth than in the "before times," the competition is becoming more intense. As loyal as its members are, people are more willing to try different brands than ever before, Povinelli acknowledged. "But are also seeing people put more value on safety, trust and being cared for," he told Adweek. "This gives us confidence that loyalty is still available if the right expectations are met. This is part of what is fueling the expansion of our offerings to include things like Homes & Villas by Marriott International, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy, partners like Uber, and more." Capturing the power of travel After enduring a pandemic where travel all but ceased for the first time in modern history and society became more insular, Marriott Bonvoy made a bold declaration: Travel is an antidote to biases and narrow minds. That pronouncement was made manifest in Marriott's 2021 global “Power of Travel” campaign. "Marriott Bonvoy called on the world to embrace the transformative power of travel as a vital pathway to growth, healing and unity," Povinelli said. "As the world slowly continued to open again, Marriott Bonvoy championed travel with a renewed sense of purpose of not just to escape, but to discover—ourselves, each other, and the world everyone shares." The brand brought the campaign mantra to life through a custom-recorded sound made specifically for TikTok. Then, Marriott Bonvoy collaborated with 27 influencers to set their own travel memories to the inspirational soundtrack. The seeded custom sound had a domino effect, Povinelli said, with more than 200 videos being created across the platform. It also flooded onto Instagram Reels, where creators continued to share the sound with their audiences. Here too, the results speak volumes about the connection of loyalty and digital: TikToks posted: 200+Impressions/views: 13.5 million+Engagement: 270,000+Campaign clicks: 16,000+ "Technology has been an essential tool to expand the boundaries of our travel experience, and Marriott Bonvoy looks to use technology to speak to the wider digital community through a larger marketing perspective," Povinelli said. The campaign and its use of social media zeroed in on what was missing by the absence of travel during the pandemic, looking to the forgone milestones in travelers' lives. Marriott's vision was further shaped by the possibility of newfound work flexibility has resulted in travelers staying longer as they sought to create new family memories. The average length of stays increased from 2-3 to 4-5 nights at its hotels. "Guests are looking to our hotels to be a gateway for discovering all things local and authenticity, a desire for irreplaceable experiences," Povinelli said. "All that, and local pride, will carry into 2023 and beyond. One opportunity we see for 2023 is a rise in new types of travelers—we are seeing people look to explore via train to avoid airports, commuters who moved away from their offices returning for an extended period, and digital nomads looking to stay on the road and splurge during shoulder seasons." Having met those opportunities by immersing itself in TikTok during its "Power of Travel" campaign, Marriott is now preparing to see what the metaverse holds as a marketing tool. Exploring new (virtual) terrain For the moment, Povinelli said Marriott recognizes the metaverse as essentially uncharted territory. But what marketer isn't an inveterate optimist? He sees the virtual expanse represented by the metaverse as "filled with endless opportunities to express the transformative power of travel." And the brand has done some exploring of Web3's terrain. In 2021, Marriott Bonvoy became one of the few hospitality brands to create its own NFTs. In early December, it unveiled digital art inspired by its “Power of Travel” campaign during Art Basel. Three lucky individuals won those NFTs—along with 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. "As long as there are opportunities to organically link a metaverse activation back to broader marketing strategy and efforts, we will stay on the edge of discovery within the space," Povinelli said, "and market it as an opportunity for new and existing audiences to further connect with the brands they love." All Work and No Play Makes No Sense for a Hotel Stay

Brandweek

Road to Brandweek: As Travel Loyalty Surges, Marriott Seeks New Terrain in the Metaverse

There's plenty of vacancy in the virtual lands of Web3

David Kaplan

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David Kaplan