Daily Newsletter

08 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

08 August 2023

Marriott Bonvoy expands with addition of City Express by Marriott hotels

This addition enables members of the Marriott Bonvoy travel programme to earn points at almost 150 more hotels.

Umesh Ellichipuram August 07 2023

Marriott International has announced the transition of City Express by Marriott hotels into Marriott Bonvoy, which is the hotel major’s travel programme and marketplace.

This transition enables members of the Marriott Bonvoy to earn points at almost 150 more hotels across the Caribbean and Latin America.

Currently, the City Express by Marriott portfolio consists of about 150 hotels in 75 cities in countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile.

In May this year, Marriott International completed the acquisition of the City Express brand portfolio. Following the closure of this deal, Marriott International entered into the midscale affordable segment with the launch of City Express by Marriott, its 31st hospitality brand.

Marriott International chief sales and marketing officer for Caribbean and Latin America Diana Plazas-Trowbridge said: "We're thrilled to welcome City Premios members to Marriott Bonvoy, allowing access to nearly 8,600 properties and extraordinary experiences.

"With the transition of these hotels, our Marriott Bonvoy family in the region has grown even more, and we are excited to be able to offer more choices to our guests and more ways to earn and redeem for our members."

Positioned as a travel programme and marketplace for Marriott’s portfolio of 31 hotel brands, Marriott Bonvoy provides guests ways to use their membership to avail more rewarding travel and member-only experiences.

Members of this programme can earn points for their stays at hotels and resorts as well as via purchases with co-branded credit cards. 

The City Express loyalty programme, called as City Premios Rewards, has now fully merged with Marriott Bonvoy and does not exist as an individual programme any longer.

After this transition, Marriott Bonvoy now has more than 186 million members worldwide and more than six million in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Some City Premios benefits such as gift card redemptions will be available through Marriott Bonvoy.

Furthermore, all the City Express by Marriott hotels are available for booking via the Marriott Bonvoy app and Marriott.com.

Demand for upscale and luxurious products has been rising steadily in the travel and tourism sector

The theme of premiumization, and the upscale and luxury markets, now have the opportunity to thrive in an industry that has had to rapidly change to meet new changes in traveler demands. The increased need for privacy, a greater focus on health and wellbeing, a desire to tick off ‘bucket list’ experiences, unintentional saving of money, the tendency to take longer trips, the focus on eco-tourism, and an increase in millionaires means the theme of premiumization will continue to grow in importance. The travel industry will experience a surge in demand for higher-end and customized offerings as experiential consumption keeps growing. For many, ‘premium’ means a variety of things. However, it refers to first-rate service, extreme comfort, and one-of-a-kind experiences in travel and tourism. Premiumization is closely linked to luxury travel. While premiumization attracts only a small number of global travelers, it is important for companies as it is a valuable revenue stream that is unlikely to be impacted by external factors like economic downturns. Personalization is key in premium offerings, the shift from focusing solely on premium products to an emphasis on delivering exclusive and personalized offerings is apparent. Therefore, smart destinations can help to create hyper-personalized services and products. Leveraging the Internet of Things, destinations can curate offerings based on gathering real-time data on guest preferences and behaviors. This enables the industry to transcend typical offerings and remain competitive.

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