Marriott reaches out to agents after ‘Book Direct’ backlash
Hotel group Marriott has moved to reassure travel agents they are still valued as an important distribution channel, following a travel trade backlash to Marriott’s ‘It Pays to Book Direct’ campaign.
The company recently launched a YouTube campaign encouraging customers to book direct on Marriott.com to secure the best rates.
The campaign was criticized for being ‘misleading.’
"Suppliers have the right to market their product however they choose, as long as the advertisements are legal and truthful," said Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA.
"Marriott’s new marketing campaign, which tells consumers that they can only find the best rates on Marriott.com, is not only disparaging to travel agents, but also misleading to the traveling public."
Marriott issued a statement outlining the strategy behind the campaign and to reinforce its support for the travel agent community.
"We highly value our relationship with travel agents and recognize the service they offer to customers. The current digital marketing campaign is simply another common practice effort to create awareness of our existing site to inform customers who choose to make their own reservations," the statement said.
"The travel agency community is an important distribution partner for all our brands on a global basis. We believe they provide a valuable service to customers who prefer personal assistance in their travel planning and for those agencies that support our important B-to-B corporate customers’ managed travel programs. "
"Marriott values these relationships, sincerely appreciates the support to our brands and looks forward to continuing to serve our mutual customers."
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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