Marriott CEO to Unhappy Loyalty Members: ‘Hang With Us’
Photo Credit: Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson, right, spoke Friday with Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting at Skift Global Forum. Skift
Skift Take
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson knows that not everyone is thrilled with the merged Marriott-Starwood loyalty program. But at Skift Global Forum, he made the case for why they should be — and said he hopes they'll come around.
Marriott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson was in the back row of an early-morning shuttle from New York to Boston in early August when he found himself in the middle of a debate.
Also on the flight was the writer of an article for Bloomberg Businessweek about how the Marriott-Starwood merger was creating fear in points-obsessed travelers. As it turned out, actual points-obsessed travelers were there too.
“And suddenly, all around me, people are debating the loyalty program,” Sorenson said at Skift Global Forum in New York City Friday. “It is the greatest thing in the world. You cannot buy that kind of attention from customers. They were debating it because they cared about the way the program worked for them.”
When the two programs finally merged, nearly two years after Marriott acquired Starwood for $13.3 billion to create the world’s largest hotel company, the end result didn’t necessarily work for everyone.
Sorenson recalled spending time at the
