SAN FRANCISCO—Marriott International Inc. and Salesforce have rolled out the hotel brand’s new customer recognition platform. The platform enables Marriott to conduct one continuous interaction with members of its loyalty programs across guest channels, including call centers, on-property, web and mobile, on a global scale.
“Marriott’s vision is to be the world’s favorite travel company,” said Brian King, global digital and sales officer at Marriott International. “The best way to reach that goal is to employ a best-in-breed, global customer recognition platform that connects our guests at every possible touchpoint to our team of expert hospitality professionals who strive to delight our guests every stay. Our partnership with Salesforce is essential to creating a frictionless experience for our guests so they can spend more time pursuing the things that make them passionate about travel.”
The platform provides Marriott associates with an accurate, 360-degree view of each guests’ profile, as well as relevant, volunteered information that enables associates to provide personalized service at every touchpoint. Now all conversations, regardless of which channel they start from, continue from interaction to interaction across leading messaging platforms, Marriott mobile apps, websites, call centers and others. For instance, members of Marriott’s loyalty programs can, weeks before they check in, use Apple Business Chat to connect and chat with an associate in the company’s customer engagement center to make a special request for their stay. Then, a day before they check in, easily amend the request using the mobile requests functionality in the Marriott Mobile app. When they arrive to check in, the front desk associate will let them know the request has been fulfilled.
“There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ guest or traveler—everyone has unique needs, motivations and expected outcomes, and they want their travel partner to deliver a personalized experience,” said Taimur Khan, Salesforce GM/VP of travel, transportation and hospitality. “Marriott is redefining expectations across the traveler journey by using Salesforce to empower its guests with connected and personalized service, on the channel of their choice, from the moment they start planning their trip.”