Marriott.com Hits Online Booking High

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Marriott International said that on June 4, 2001 its Marriott.com website set a single-day booking record logging more than 10,000 online reservations. According to Bruce Wolff, senior vp/distribution sales and marketing for Marriott International, online reservations are tracked on a daily basis. Wolff declined to comment, however on the exact number of reservations for the record-breaking day as well as the former record for online reservations. While the company’s website offers travel planning resources, including a vacation planner, destination information, driving directions, route planner, golf site, resort finder, high-speed Internet location finder and Marriott Rewards Award Redemption, it does not offer incentives for online booking. So if the site doesn’t offer incentives, one might wonder how Marriott was able to achieve single-day bookings of more than 10,000 reservations. Wolff said the company attributes its online booking record to its “strong name in the lodging industry. People feel safe and secure booking on Marriott.com. It’s the well known brand name and reputation that drives bookings to the site,” he said. Wolff told HOTEL BUSINESS® that the site has a similar ratio of business and leisure travelers to that of its other distribution channels, ” it’s close to a 50/50 mix,” he said. Wolff added that although this was a worthy achievement, “Marriott will continue to encourage customers to book reservations in the way that is most convenient for the customer— whether it be the 800-number, a travel agent, Marriott.com or a reservation site such as Travelocity.com or Expedia.com. If customers request other ways to book reservations, we will look to meet those needs.” —Rebecca Ordon