Marriott International, a global hospitality giant with over 8,000 properties in 139 countries, is making significant strides in the business travel sector. As the world’s largest hotel chain, Marriott is leveraging its extensive reach and industry clout to revolutionize corporate travel management. Marriott business travel platform

The company’s latest technological innovation, a comprehensive travel tool suite, is set to transform how businesses book, manage, and expense travel. With millions of business travelers relying on Marriott’s services annually, this new platform promises to enhance their travel experience by eliminating the need for third-party services.

Let’s explore what makes this new platform a game-changer for road warriors everywhere.

A New Era for Business Travel Management

Introduction to Marriott’s New Platform

Marriott has partnered with the business travel startup Spotnana to create an online booking portal tailored for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This platform aims to streamline the often fragmented process of managing business travel. Now, travelers can book hotels, flights, and car rentals all from one place, without the need for middlemen like SAP Concur and American Express Global Business Travel.

Key Features of Marriott’s Business Travel Tool

With a seamless experience at every step, companies can now take their travel to the next level and benefit from the following features:

• Discounted Marriott Bonvoy Rates and Awards: Small to medium-sized businesses that join Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy will be eligible to select a discount at hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio around the world (subject to availability) while earning points for future stays at participating hotels, room upgrades, and more. Participating businesses can also receive Marriott Bonvoy Elite status awards after certain companywide usage thresholds are reached. These status awards can be gifted to employees, who can enjoy the benefits that each Marriott Bonvoy Elite status level provides to members.

Small businesses that have the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card from Chase are also invited to apply for Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy. All Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card Members who join the Program can continue to enjoy the benefits of their Cards.

• • Elevated Shopping Experience: The online booking tool serves as a one-stop shop for small to medium-sized business travelers to compare, book, manage, and change Marriott Bonvoy hotel, flight, rail, and car rental reservations all within one integrated platform that supports compliance with their companies’ travel policies.
  • Customizable Travel Policies: Travel managers can take control of their companies’ travel policies and ensure compliance with spending limits. From setting clear guidelines for their unique needs to managing expenses, the self-service tool makes it easy for managers to make changes.
  • Global Travel Policy Management and Reporting: Real-time analytics empower managers with detailed insights on travel spend, sustainability reporting and behavior so they can make policy adjustments.
  • Traveler Health and Safety Monitoring: The travel insights tool gives managers the ability to monitor the well-being and safety of employees on the move. Managers can view interactive maps to stay informed of potential disruptions and proactively mitigate risks, helping keep teams safe and their businesses running smoothly.
  • Expense Management Solutions: Businesses that sign up for Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy will have the option to use an expense management tool. Travelers can choose to integrate the Program with existing expense management platforms and submit payments with a virtual credit card They can also automate expense reports based on set policies, making it easy for managers to approve and reconcile expenses.
  • Access to Marriott Bonvoy Benefits: Employees of small and medium-sized businesses who join Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy will have full access to the offerings of Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program and marketplace. Members can take advantage of benefits such as member rates, free breakfast, late checkout, mobile check-in, mobile keys, and mobile chat on the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app, free in-room Wi-Fi, room upgrades and more, subject to availability. Additionally, members can earn points at properties participating in Marriott Bonvoy globally and enjoy free stays by redeeming points or a combination of points and cash or use points to bid on Marriott Bonvoy Moments® experiences.

Smoothing Out Business Traveler Pain Points

Addressing Common Challenges

Business travelers often face a slew of challenges, from coordinating travel plans to managing expenses. Marriott’s new platform is designed to address these pain points, offering a comprehensive solution that makes business travel more efficient and less stressful.

The Competitive Landscape

Hilton’s Efforts

Marriott isn’t alone in this space. Hilton has been rolling out its own platform, Hilton for Business, which aims to simplify corporate travel bookings and recently expanded its events booking capabilities.

Wyndham’s Innovations

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has also updated its platform, WyndhamBusiness.com, enabling companies to directly book meetings, events, and business travel at its North American hotels. Additionally, Wyndham offers reward points in its loyalty program for bookings made through their platform. Marriott business travel platform

Accor’s Business Travel Solutions

Accor, another major player in the hospitality industry, has introduced its own suite of business travel solutions. Accor’s platform, Accor Business Travel, provides comprehensive tools for booking accommodations, managing travel policies, and accessing exclusive discounts and loyalty rewards. Their platform is tailored to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, aiming to streamline the corporate travel experience.

Conclusion

Marriott’s latest venture into the business travel management space is a bold move that promises to streamline the travel experience for corporate travelers. By offering a one-stop shop for booking and managing travel, Marriott aims to drive more direct bookings and provide greater value to its business clients. As the competition heats up, it will be interesting to see how other major players in the industry respond.

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