MARRIOTT’S SUCCESSFUL CRM

IMPLEMENTATION JOURNEY
CRM PROJECT

Rama Ebdah & Abdul Aziz Abu Kosh

Introduction to Marriott:
Marriott is the largest hotel chain in the world by the number of
available rooms. It has 31 brands with 8,000 properties containing
1,423,044 rooms in 139 countries and territories. Of these 8,000
properties, 2,149 are operated by Marriott, and 5,493 are operated by
others pursuant to franchise agreements. The company also operates 20
hotel reservation centers.

Marriott was founded by J. Willard Marriott as a root beer stand in

Washington D.C. in 1927. In 1969, the company opens its first
international hotel in Acapulco, Mexico.By the 1980s, the company had
started targeting different groups of customers by opening hotels under
various brands such as Courtyard, JW Marriott, Fairfield Inn, and
Marriott Suites. In the late 80s and early 90s, the company expanded by
acquiring Residence Inn, Ritz-Carlton, and Renaissance Hotel Group.
The company was now known as Marriott Corporation until, in 1992, it
split into Marriott International, which consisted of hospitality
businesses, and Host Marriott, which concentrated on food businesses.

What makes Marriott Successful?

Marriott was founded on the principles that if you take care of
employees, they will in turn, take care of customers; employees feeling
good about themselves will be inspired to serve others.  It is this belief
that is utilized for business effectiveness. David shares what Marriott has
implemented, and gets personal as he shares how their programs literally
saved his life after his battle with leukemia.
The Importance of CRM in Hospitality Industry:
Customer relationship management in the hospitality industry is a very
important aspect of the industry. Customer retention and satisfaction is the key to
success in this industry. The hospitality industry can be divided into various sectors such
as hotels, restaurants, travel and tourism, and catering.

It’s a must for every company in the hospitality industry to have a CRM system in
place.And that can help in cost reduction and in creating a company culture based on
customer satisfaction.Customers in this industry have diverse needs.

Objectives and Goals of Implementing CRM:

1. IMPROVE BUYER'S JOURNEY
Reaching customers at the right time is key. Your CRM software
optimizes your marketing efforts and helps you reach customers at the
right time. A clear buyer's journey with integrated Customer
Relationship Management will identify opportunities for better
engagement with your customers.

2. INCREASE CUSTOMER RETENTION AND LOYALTY

Keeping your customers is always a good idea. Once you have satisfied
a customer, you can always count on them to return. Well-designed
CRM goals will help you keep track of your customers and their
preferences and help you manage your relationships with them better.

3. BOOST SALES OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

No matter what your sales process is, CRM goals will help you optimize
your efforts and achieve better results. It will also make your jobs easier
and help you focus on what’s important.
Alignment of CRM with Marriott business strategy:

Hotel giant Marriott International is working with Salesforce to create a

global platform to improve communication with members of its loyalty
schemes and deliver a more personalised service to them. Marriott,
which operates 30 brands across 6,500 hotels, will be using Salesforce’s
CRM platform to cover all communication channels with customers
including call centres, web, mobile and within its hotels. The new
customer recognition platform will use Salesforce’s Service Cloud to
create a “360-degree view” of guests, as well as allowing “continuous
interaction” across different messaging services, mobile apps, websites
and call centres. Members of Marriott’s loyalty programme will be able
to use the CRM platform to make requests for their hotel stay through an
online chat service, such as Apple Business Chat, which can then be
amended on the Marriott Mobile app the day before their arrival.