Marriott International branches out with brands to attract young guests

Hotel group Marriott International will continue to expand in China by introducing more new brands, entering new destinations and catering to the needs and wants of millennials.

Craig S. Smith, group president and managing director of Marriott International for Asia-Pacific, said millennials are looking for something different during their travels, which has brought change to the hotel industry.

"The younger travelers really want something a little more sexy," he said.

Marriott International will debut six Moxy-branded hotels in cities including Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen in 2021 to satisfy the appetites of the younger generation.

"We created a brand called Moxy. We realize that kids (young adults), like my children's age, don't want a big check-in counter," he said. "It's vibrant and stylish. It's for people that probably don't sleep very often. It's really for that generation."

An AC Hotel in Ganzhou of Jiangxi province, featuring modern design, collaborative spaces and refined offerings, will also start operating in 2021.

"For younger generations, the size of the rooms for all brands is now less important than style," he said.

"The core of the room is we have to get smarter about where we place things and how people work," he added.

Marriott also plans to debut Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province. China will be the first market in Asia to have all eight luxury brands of Marriott International with the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, according to the group.

"More than 30 percent of our luxury hotels and nearly 50 percent of our luxury pipeline are in Asia-Pacific," Smith said.

To date, the company operates more than 390 hotels and resorts in nearly 90 destinations in China, with more than 360 in the pipeline. It will celebrate its 50th hotel in Shanghai soon.

The group started to see steady occupancy pick up from March. In September, occupancy in the Chinese mainland was 67 percent, ahead of occupancy from the same time last year and up from 9 percent in February. In the third quarter, leisure bookings in the Chinese mainland were over 25 percent ahead of last year's. Leisure travel recovered first, followed by business travel and group travel, according to Smith.

"We bounced back in China faster than we did anywhere else in the world," he said. "The third quarter, we know we had 61 percent occupancy."

Smith said the virus outbreak brought a change in demand to the hotel industry. For instance, people have embraced digitalization and have higher cleaning standards. Meanwhile, there has been increasing demand for domestic travel because "people have realized that there's a lot to see in their home countries".

Marriott International has taken standards of hygiene and cleanliness seriously. It has developed the Commitment to Clean initiative and Global Cleanliness Council to ensure new standards are applied properly.

Smith, who has worked at Marriott International for 32 years, will take on a new role as group president and managing director for international business. He will promote localization in China and grow local talent to better serve the local market.

"We want to be in China for the long run and localization has been our strategy here. We are committed to grow local talents," he said.

To date, about 73 percent of general managers in the group in China are Chinese. They are playing significant roles in supporting Marriott's growth in the country, according to Smith.

Efforts will also be made to grow Marriott International's travel program, Marriott Bonvoy, according to Smith.

"It is not just about transactions and giving people points for staying with us," he said. "It's about getting to the heart of the customer, knowing them better and marketing directly to them when we need to."