The Marriott way: In sync with time

With a portfolio ranging from hotels, vacation ownership resorts, serviced apartments, furnished corporate housing, conference centres and now, a new concept resort, Marriott International has all its fingers in the hospitality pie. Samir Daqqaq, vice president for international sales (Middle East, Africa & Subcontinent), speaks with Neeti Mehra.

Nineteen brands and counting. With yesterday's toddler becoming tomorrow's future traveller, Marriott International recently unveiled 'Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott' to attract younger adults, the young-at-heart, and meeting travellers, especially people who travel on business with their families.

This is a testament to its constant innovation to explore new markets and segments, delivering a product in sync with time. India has been on the radar as a destination of the future for the group which is diversifying its destination reach, which stands at 69 countries today. Says Samir Daqqaq, "Marriott International sees great potential in India for the travel and hospitality industry. This is driven by an ever-expanding middle class, strengthening of the commercial and economic sectors and growing global interest in all things Indian."

Development in India

Commenting on the market scenario, he points out that the perception of India has undergone a drastic transformation. And the influx of hotel chains and global travellers to India, he points out, is due to Brand India's promotion in key travel trade marts and global trade shows such as ITB Berlin.

Marriott International currently has six hotels in operation in India - three in Mumbai and one each in Goa, Hyderabad and Chennai. Says Daqqaq, "As an operator of hotels (as opposed to investor), we see a lot of opportunity for a number of the 19 brands in our portfolio, especially in the luxury, deluxe, upper-moderate and extended-stay categories. These brands include our luxury JW Marriott brand, our deluxe Marriott and Renaissance brands, upper-moderate Courtyard by Marriott brand and Marriott Executive Apartments brand for extended-stay travellers."

But the hotel major does not rule out the possibility of bringing other brands to the Indian market in the near future. Adds Daqqaq, "We feel that the entire country is ripe for future developments. Our growth strategy is to focus on major cities and established resort destinations with our luxury and upper-tier brands followed by our upper-moderate Courtyard brand."

He believes that brand familiarity will attract loyal customers to new destinations. Explaining this, Daqqaq says, "The influx of global lodging brands into India will help make tourism to India easier to navigate especially for those travellers who are not familiar with the country. A brand is a promise and travellers outside India will tend to gravitate towards brands they are most familiar with." Invariably, this applies for the outbound tourist as well. "With global brands proliferating in India, Indian travellers too will seek out the global brands when they venture beyond their borders," he adds.

Adding to that comfort level, the group is focused on consolidating and diversifying its portfolio by establishing presence in the metro cities and the NCR. It plans to add nine additional hotels to its portfolio through 2010 in key cities such as Bangalore, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Pune and Noida with more to come.

On the horizon

Adaptation and change is a necessity to survive rapidly evolving customer tastes. Its latest brand, Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott, is an agreement with Nickelodeon and Miller Global Properties, and uniquely pairs a hotel chain with a children's entertainment brand. This includes elements like a kid's suite, children's café, and state-of-the-art pools, indoor water parks, coupled with meeting space.

The group over the year has been innovating across segments. To compete effectively, the management and franchisee route as opposed to ownership has enabled the brand to leverage its brand building capabilities. The changes aim to enhance the entire guest experience. These include luxurious bedding, technology infusion such as the new 'plug and play' connectivity panel and a completely smoke-free environment in the US and Canada. On the agenda for this year include the introduction of the 'great room' that signals the transformation of public space in select Marriott and Renaissance Hotels.

Despite the transformation, the core purpose of the hotel will remain unchanged. "For their money, guests expect the 3 Cs - cleanliness, consistency, connectivity," he says. This percolates to Corporate Social Responsibility on part of the hotels. "Increasingly, travellers expect their hotel choices to be demonstratively environmentally friendly; to be involved in the local community (helping to make it a better place to do business in, to visit and to live in) and to have a great reputation for treating their staff well," says Daqqaq. In its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, Marriott joined the US Environmental Protection Agency Climate Leaders Programme, pledging to reduce greenhouse gases by six per cent per available room by 2010. The company has also committed to have 500 minority and women-owned hotels in its system by 2010, and to spend US$1 billion with diverse suppliers.

Daqqaq believes…

Marriott believes all Indian hotel segments will benefit from the strengthening marketplace - at all price points. "As the old axiom goes, a rising tide raises all boats," explains Daqqaq. He sees opportunity knocking on India's door, and adds, "As the industry expands, it will open a lot of opportunities for jobs with a tangible economic and career growth future."

Background is no impediment to future growth in the company. "At Marriott, 50 per cent of all our hotel general managers around the world began as doormen, housekeepers, bellmen, dishwashers, restaurant servers and the like," he says. Marriott sees a rosy future ahead. He concludes by giving India a thumbs up. "All in all, we see a bright future for Indian tourism and hospitality and look forward to playing a vibrant role in the years ahead," he says emphatically.