Marriott invests in tours search platform PlacePass
Sunday, 22 Mar, 2017
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Marriott International, already the world largest hotel group with more than 6,000 hotel locations wants to up the ante further by offering guests thousands of new destination experiences.
Bethesda, MD based Marriott is making a strategic investment in PlacePass, an online metasearch platform for tours and activities.
Marriott guests will soon be able to search and book more than 100,000 local experiences across 800 destinations worldwide when booking direct on Marriott.com, SPG.com or via one of the apps, providing another incentive for guests to book direct.
"The addition of PlacePass activities and tours beginning later this year reflects Marriott’s commitment to giving our guests a complete travel experience, whether they are in planning mode, staying in our hotels and even in-between stays when they’re thinking about travel," said Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott’s global chief commercial officer.
"We want our guests to count on Marriott to give them access to more of the destinations and things they love to do when they travel."
Marriott revealed more about the kind of in-destination experiences the new service will offer.
There are a host of unique activities such as sumo wrestling in Tokyo, a champagne picnic in the Grand Canyon, a private viewing of the crown jewels at the Tower of London or camel riding in the Dubai desert.
"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to partner with Marriott, an innovative hospitality leader. Together we will connect guests to great experiences so they make the most of their travels, connect with locals, and discover the world in new ways," said PlacePass co-founder Emily Bernard.
Meanwhile Marriott announced its loyalty programs – Marriott Rewards, including The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) – have now surpassed a combined 100 million members.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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