Eyeing the lucrative Chinese market, global hotel group Marriott is embracing Alipay mobile payments.
The online payment platform backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings will be roll out in phases at Marriott hotels.
It will launch at 10 Marriott hotels in Greater China, in Shanghai Beijing, Sanya, Hainan province and Hong Kong.
By the middle of 2016 it is slated for all hotels in Asia, and then globally by the end of next year.
Alipay can be used to pay for Marriott hotel reservations, in food and beverage outlets, and for conferences.
Alipay says it has 400 million registered users responsible for 120 million transactions every day.
Alipay reputedly has a 80% share of China’s mobile payment market, a major motivation for Marriott to adopt the service.
"We have chosen to work with Marriott because of its highly celebrated brand image as well as its grand expansion plans both in Asia and the world. "This is what we are looking for in our strategy," said Peng Yijie, president of international business at Ant Financial, the Alibaba affiliate which operates Alipay.
In the recent Chinese International Travel Monitor 2015 report nearly 60% of outbound Chinese travellers said the availability of online payment options such as Alipay was the second most valuable hotel service behind Wi-Fi.
