The Road To World Domination

Marriott international has a new hotel launching every 14 hours, somewhere on the map. it just opened its 100th property in india—the first chain to make it to this milestone. The group has its sights trained on india now, but will it be able to turn Taj and oberoi loyalists? Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International, speaks to BlackBook in an exclusive interview.

- Pankti Mehta Kadakia

Just a few days ago, Marriott International unveiled a unified loyalty programme that will roll out in August 2018—it doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s making big news already. Members will get access to more than 6,500 hotels across 127 countries, with a single set of benefits encompassing the Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) portfolios. The mega-programme is meant to empower as many as 100 million travellers.

It’s a huge deal, even if you’re not one to geek out on points. One in four hotels being built in the world right now belongs to the Marriott empire. The chain opens a new hotel every 14 hours, on average. It’s the first hotel company to reach the 100-property milestone in India, chalked with the opening of the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center earlier this month. More than 50 other Indian properties are in the pipeline. While growth in India is steered by its midmarket brands including Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton, demand is also growing for its upscale and luxury brands; for instance, three Ritz-Carlton projects are under development in Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi.

A lot has changed for Marriott since its smashing acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in September 2016, of course. The road to getting there had all the trappings of a corporate thriller—a gritty bidding war, an unpredictable Chinese opponent and an abrupt ending. Chinese insurance company Anbang had, at a crucial time, emerged with an all-cash offer—reportedly 10 figures higher than what Marriott had put forth. Marriott offered a stock-and-cash counter—a war ensued, but lucky for Marriott, Anbang pulled out abruptly at the last minute. The acquisition closed at about $13 billion.