Marriott Sees Record Direct Bookings at Its Hotels
Photo Caption: An exterior view of the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort at dusk, with its ocean-view infinity pool and open air bar overlooking the sea. Source: Marriott International.
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Take that, online travel agencies. The world's largest hotelier not only drove more direct bookings but also saw strong growth in its loyalty program.
When the pandemic crushed demand, many analysts predicted that one of the victims of covid would be the hotel chains' multi-year push to drive direct bookings. Past crises prompted hotel brands to use online travel agencies to get guests. But Marriott International said on Wednesday it has so far avoided leaning on that higher-cost, third-party distribution.
"The first quarter marked our best quarter ever for direct digital bookings, which helped drive owner and franchisee profitability," said CEO Anthony Capuano during an earnings call. "Digital bookings were up 14 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019, partially driven by meaningfully higher downloads of our redesigned Bonvoy app, which were 70 percent above pre-pandemic levels."
Direct bookings avoid the commissions of between 10 and 30 percent that online travel agencies charge. Marriott may have been helped by Google's decision in the quarter to waive fees to participate in its price-comparison search. Google-referred leads also count as "direct."
Surge in Loyalty and Co-Branded Card UseMarriott's push of its Bonvoy loyalty program and its co-branded credit cards helped encourage direct traffic to its app and sites, t
