Marriott International has launched Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy, a comprehensive online travel booking programme designed as a direct channel for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

According to a global survey commissioned by Marriott Bonvoy and conducted by Wakefield Research among business travellers at SMBs in the US, the UK, Canada and Mexico, 75% report experiencing frustrations with their travel booking platforms.

More than half (56%) say they are difficult to use, 27% are unhappy with the inability to book travel and hotels from the same place and more than a quarter (27%) express disappointment with the platforms’ lack of integration with their travel expense programmes.

58% are so unwilling to work within their current programmes that they would rather book outside their companies’ travel management platforms.

With Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy, companies can book hotels in the portfolio at a discounted rate, along with flights, rail and rental cars, within one multilingual tool.

The platform includes additional features to satisfy business needs, such as access to live traveller data, real-time reporting and expense management.

It is available to SMBs based in Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the US.

Marriott International executive vice-president and chief revenue and technology officer Drew Pinto commented: “We recognise the significant value small businesses provide to the hotel industry. The all-in-one platform, merged with our portfolio of hotel brands around the world, provides everything they need to manage their business travel needs.”

A recent ranking of 2024’s top-performing hotels for group business recognised Marriott hotels in North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.