SHANGHAI, Aug. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd. ("Alibaba") (NYSE: BABA) and Marriott International,
Inc. ("Marriott International") (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced the
establishment of a joint venture to redefine the travel experience
for the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers traveling abroad
and domestically every year.
The joint venture will leverage Marriott International's global
portfolio of brands and unparalleled hospitality expertise to
revolutionize the travel experience as well as Alibaba's digital
retail leadership and its role as a gateway for international
brands to reach over 500 million mobile monthly active users across
its platforms. Drawing on resources from both Marriott and Alibaba,
the joint venture will manage Marriott's storefront on Fliggy,
Alibaba's travel service platform. It will also market directly to
Alibaba's customer base, provide a link between Marriott's loyalty
programs and Alibaba's loyalty program, and support Marriott hotels
globally with content, programs and promotions customized for the
Chinese traveler.
As incomes rise, China's middle
class is looking for higher quality products and travel
experiences. This new venture is designed to satisify consumers'
expectations for seamless, integrated, personalized, and convenient
travel solutions that connect travelers directly to Marriott's
portfolio of international hotel brands. The travel industry is an
important growth opportunity as China's travelers are expected to take an
estimated 700 million trips over the next five years. Marriott's
owners and franchisees globally will benefit from the joint venture
by capturing a greater share of this growing Chinese travel market
and lower distribution costs associated with the joint venture.
"We are proud to join forces with Marriott International –
combining our large-scale consumer base, leading-edge technology
and consumer insights with their unparalleled hospitality
expertise," said Daniel Zhang, Chief
Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. "Together, we are
elevating and redefining the travel experience for Chinese
consumers to be more seamless and personalized as they embark on
adventures to discover the world."
"We have long admired Alibaba's digital expertise and deep
understanding of Chinese consumers' needs and behaviors," said
Arne Sorenson, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Marriott
International. "By forming this partnership, we are pairing
our hospitality expertise with Alibaba's digital travel plaform,
retail expertise and digital payment platform, Alipay, and driving
membership to our loyalty programs. With the growing number of
Chinese consumers exploring new destinations, this venture will
introduce our hotels worldwide to this new and growing traveling
class."
The joint venture will elevate the travel experience for Chinese
travelers in the following ways:
- Making Global Travel Easy: The joint venture
will provide newly-integrated functionality to make the entire
travel experience truly frictionless from planning, booking, paying
and managing a trip to all of the acitivities associated once at
the destination like shopping, dining and sightseeing. The joint
venture will deliver user-friendly technology solutions that will
open up a world of travel options for Chinese consumers.
- Personalized and VIP
Experiences: The joint venture will leverage
technology to curate customized experiences for Chinese consumers.
Marriott will offer access to private concerts, family-focused
experiences, and court-side seats at sporting and other events
through its Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Moments and Marriott
Rewards Moments programs. Eligible members from Alibaba's loyalty
program will benefit from personalized hospitality programs and
Marriott's award-winning SPG ambassador program.
- Wallet-free Travel: Alipay will be
accepted at Marriott hotels in select global markets with further
expansion expected around the world.
- Next-Gen Loyalty: Connecting Marriott's
award-winning loyalty platform – Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton
Rewards and SPG – with Alibaba's large-scale consumer reach will
establish a new benchmark for the next-generation loyalty
program.
In addition, in celebration of Alibaba's Members day on
August 8, Alibaba members will be
able to enroll in one of Marriott's loyalty programs - Marriott
Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards or SPG - and book exclusive
Member Rates through one of Marriott's digital channels, beginning
immediately. Special offers will also be available only on
August 8 for members on
marriott.fliggy.com.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group's mission is to
make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the
future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers
will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company
that lasts at least 102 years.
About Marriott International
Marriott International,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a
portfolio of more than 6,200 properties in 30 leading hotel brands
spanning 125 countries and territories. Marriott operates and
franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all
around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty
programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton
Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information,
please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the
latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition,
connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl
on Twitter and Instagram.
Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
U.S. federal securities laws, such as the estimated five-year
growth figure for Chinese outbound travel and the anticipated
benefits from the joint venture. These statements are made
under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by terminology such as "will" and
"expect" and similar statements. Forward-looking statements
are not historical facts, and involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results
to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statement, including in this case the risk that a new program such
as this joint venture may not be successful or fully achieve the
objectives of the participants. Further information regarding
these and other risks is included in Alibaba Group's and Marriott
International's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. We make those statements as of the date of this press
release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required under
applicable law.
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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.