Marriott leaders are suggesting cost-cutting that will almost certainly have an impact on future hotel stays

In a time when the big hotel companies like it Marriott and Hilton are increasingly appealing to existing hoteliers to take on a new brand affiliation, the executives of these brands must do all they can to sweeten the deal.

On Monday morning, Marriott’s executive team indicated they were about to launch a major cost-cutting initiative to woo hoteliers and likely make the affiliation with Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company, even more attractive. Total cost reductions could reach $90 million across the organization.

Talk of the brand’s earnings call could lead some to speculate that the savings and efficiency initiative could target Marriott at the corporate level. If you think this doesn’t affect you, guess again.

“We’re looking at efficiencies and savings that we believe will have clear benefits for owners,” Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said during Monday’s earnings call. “We look at every aspect of our engagement with them and expect to have some tangible savings opportunities identified for them in the very near future.”

While Capuano and Leeny Oberg, Marriott’s chief financial officer and executive vice president of development, declined to provide many details while presiding over the investor call, it’s easy to assume the company will continue to explore ways to do more with more. little. at property level.

Much of the industry has moved away from full-service restaurants or even the heavily staffed breakfast bars of select service hotels in favor of lobby grab-and-go markets. It makes sense to think that further adjustments around food and beverage offerings could be in the works, as hotel restaurants often operate at a financial loss.

There could also be smaller adjustments to mandatory brand standards. The Marriott management team a few years ago even suggested it alarm clocks on guest bedroom bedside tables it might not be as useful these days since so many people bring their own smartphones.

While we’ll wait to hear the official cost-cutting details from Marriott management, we can’t help but think this could also help Marriott’s owners woo, at a time when its competitors are facing talks similar.

Hyatt’s management team late last month noted that they did lost some hotels to competitors because the owners found it too expensive to maintain the brand’s standards. Meanwhile, Hilton’s new Spark brand is growing rapidly due to hoteliers finding it easier and more affordable to convert to the demands of that brand rather than staying with the existing brand network.

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But speaking of Spark, Marriott’s plan to introduce The City Express brand from Mexico that it acquired last year in the US is a sign that the hotel giant increasingly sees an opportunity to strengthen its presence in the affordable hotel sector.

“Our progress in the midscale space worldwide has been remarkable, and we look forward to significantly improving our presence in this high-growth market segment,” Capuano said.

We’re humble at TPG so we won’t say we were behind this. But it was interesting to notice after a few quarters of “Is Hilton Honors About to Overtake Marriott Bonvoy?”-as headlines, Marriott executives spent a healthy amount of time on a call to investors, reminding people how and why Marriott Bonvoy Program is bigger.

The loyalty network now has 219 million members – more than Hilton Honors, which just passed the 200 million member mark. Marriott leaders routinely point to Bonvoy as a program that delivers as much in terms of experience as it does in redeeming award nights at your favorite hotel.

Capuano specifically mentioned Bonvoy’s raffle promotion, where members could bid on points for Taylor Swift concert tickets, and even the new tie-in partnership with Starbucks, where you can earn Bonvoy points with your daily latte purchase.

Additionally, there are newer ways to earn and redeem points such as Marriott’s partnership with vacation rental platform Sonder and with MGM Resorts International.

Expect more of these creative tie-ins and brand partnerships in the future.

“Marriott Bonvoy has never been stronger and we look forward to further expanding our presence around the world,” said Capuano.

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