Marriott’s Apple Pay Play Is Part of a Bigger Mobile Strategy
Photo Credit: EDITION Miami will be one of the Marriott test properties accepting Apple Pay this summer. Marriott Hotels
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Marriott is the first large hospitality chain to market with mobile payment, offering another mobile arrow in the company's digital quiver that accounts for 1 out of 5 bookings group-wide.
Marriott International sold over $1.8 billion worth of room inventory on mobile last year, representing 19% of total digital revenue, which is up from 1% in 2009.
Last week, Marriott announced the next phase of its digital strategy involves mobile payments, beginning with Apple Pay this summer at a dozen U.S. hotels spread across different brands ranging from Courtyard by Marriott to Ritz-Carlton.
According to George Corbin, SVP digital at Marriott International, he says the introduction of mobile payments was a natural next step in Marriott’s digital evolution, and the process of introducing the Apple technology was fairly straightforward. The bigger picture, he emphasizes, revolves around Marriott creating a fully integrated mobile strategy to deliver a seamless digital user experience throughout the entire guest journey.
Presently, Apple Pay is offered only on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, and soon Apple Watch for use in U.S. retail locations. Marriot
