Marriott Is the Latest Travel Brand to Launch Its Own Startup Accelerator
Photo Credit: Marriott Hotels launched its TestBed accelerator this month in Europe to help the brand test and learn new technology. Pictured is a mentoring session that's part of the program. Marriott Hotels
Skift Take
Having an accelerator program lets a brand have more of a say in the future of startups that they're interested in rather than merely investing and stepping back. Especially now that Marriott is the world's largest hotel company, Marriott Hotels' accelerator program is an opportunity for it to glean all of the smart ideas it can get its hands on to help improve the guest experience.
Several travel brands have launched their own startup accelerator programs in recent years and that trend has become more pronounced in 2016 with Marriott Hotels, for example, launching its Marriott TestBed accelerator in Europe.
As Marriott International's flagship brand, Marriott Hotels' wade into the hospitality startup ecosystem underscores the value many major travel brands see in startups for their nimble thinking and ability to fill in technology gaps that brands themselves have been slow or unable to adopt.
Osama Hirzalla, who heads up the Marriott Hotels accelerator and is vice president brand marketing and eCommerce Europe for Marriott International, points to Marriott Hotels' healthy vending machines experiment in 2014 as a catalyst for doing more work with startups.
The Marriott accelerator chose startups Jambo, a business traveler networking mobile app and Dazzle, an in-room voice activated personal assistant, to participate after about 150 applied for the progr
