Introduction
The Internet revolution and evolving market dynamics in the 21st century have altered the modus operandi of several enterprises in contemporary marketplaces. The rising significance of reputation in the internet world is one of the most significant transformations. As a result, hotel reputation management is the process of monitoring and influencing how hotel properties are regarded on the Internet (Hotel Reputation Management, 2022). The notion originated in public relations but transferred its emphasis to review sites, social media platforms, and search engines that were only developing at the time. Given how simple it is to share thoughts, user evaluations of various items have become more popular (Jezierski, 2020). With respect to hotel reputation, Marriot hotel businesses must adopt effective reputation management techniques that enhance their image and protect their identity from being damaged or diminished. Hence, hotel reputation is a fundamental facet that the hospitality industry must possess; thus, its deficiency may have catastrophic implications on a company’s operations and income.
Marriott Hotel
Marriott International is included in the Fortune 100 list of the most valued corporations. It is the global powerhouse in the hotel industry, managing over fifteen different labels, including The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, and Residence Inn, throughout the globe. Since its establishment, Marriott has been synonymous with the most excellent hospitality standards. According to Wei (2018), J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott formed the firm in 1927, and their son, J. W. “Bill” Marriott, contributed to its development and success via his hard work and commitment. In 2021, Marriott Hotels’ business employed roughly 120,000 people in 134 countries (Lock, 2022). Marriott Hotels boasts great name awareness in the hotel business, with over 6,906 worldwide facilities and 30 brands (Marriott, 2022). Due to its robust nature, Marriot has precisely placed much emphasis on its brand reputation; the firm ensures that its image is positively portrayed through hotel norms, reputation management, and client loyalty retention. Consequently, the hospitality industry has been enabled to protect its reputation through some elements, including brand consistency, standards grading system, and corporate culture.
Brand Consistency Standard
One of a company’s most precious assets is its brand. Branding now covers topics like interactions, services, and the internet in addition to consumer products and services (Nyangwe & Buhalis, 2017). The branding strategy has clearly changed due to building connections with customers. For example, Nyangwe and Buhalis (2017) emphasized that it entails manipulating customers to involve them, from telling and selling to communicating and sharing information. Furthermore, it includes the short-term transactional strategy to a longer-term relational approach (Nyangwe & Buhalis, 2017). Equally, the market has recently been revived in terms of brand consistency. As a result, a brand is no longer only an asset possessed and delivered by the company but a collaborative activity that is co-created by the company and its stakeholders.
Marriott has been at the forefront of the hotel business for many years. The hospitality organization was the first to diversify its hotel services and provide rewards for regular travelers across different brands. Moreover, Marriott was the first accommodation firm to enter the timeshare sector and the first to employ yield management ideas in hotels. The company continues to lead the industry by using award-winning methods to attain global markets and provide better advantages and acknowledgment to its clients.
With millions of members, Marriott Rewards is the world’s biggest and most popular frequent guest program in the hotel sector. The organization established elite membership tiers to distinguish their finest customers better and launched new global businesses and travel associates. Moreover, the firm unveiled a more customer-centric marriott.com that offers tailored web page content and e-mail promotions. They also created information technologies that will enable the business entity to give individualized service to each client. For instance, Marriott has undertaken several significant technology-enabled efforts in this field. Numerous more models, like the development of tailored applications, encounters with Mobile Check-in, Mobile Requests, and Mobile Keys, have been crucial to enhancing the business reputation (Carson, 2019). Hence, they highlight how the corporation attempts to use technology to engage with customers in novel ways.
Additionally, their Sales Force Automation technology puts client data at the disposal of their sales representatives, allowing them to acquire more business for all of their hotels. They are speedier, more adaptable, and better capable of meeting or surpassing the requirements of their consumers, owners, and franchisees due to these and other creative applications of technology. This progression in service, supported by its image of honesty and dependability, offers Marriott a competitive edge and a higher return on investment for its partners.
Key Trends and Adaptability
The Covid-19 pandemic triggered devastating effects on the hospitality industry. Therefore, it prompted Marriott to adapt by diversifying its economy. In this sense, Marriott persisted its increasingly rapid advancement into prospects market economies, having approved 256 pacts for nearly 51,000 apartments in international destinations outside the United States and Canada in 2021 (Pacheco, 2022). Marriott entered Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Turks & Caicos in the past year (Pacheco, 2022). In 2022, the luxury hotel chain also intends to enter Albania and Honduras. Overall, Marriott retains investments in seven exclusive products in 69 countries and destinations.
Grading System
The grading system of hotels influences the quality of the hospitality offerings at a location and the availability of accommodations that fit those needed expectations. Grading of hotels informs customers on how to identify excellence, differentiates all tiers of amenities and services, and provides openness, all of which are essential for business and pleasure travelers (Nunkoo et al., 2020). As a result, the framework is advantageous in several ways, such as providing confidence to both domestic and foreign visitors that a business has been evaluated and certified by an impartial third party. In addition, it provides a reliable indicator of anticipated services and amenities and assists customers in locating hotels of the required level.
Key Trends and Adaptability
A user experience revolution has fueled the expansion of digital platforms such as Amazon in e-commerce and TripAdvisor in the hotel sector. A century ago, individuals only knew about hotel properties, service levels, and guest rooms based on what hotel brands or acquaintances told them. Presently, visitors can rapidly find out what tens of thousands of people think about a facility, thanks to the hotel industry’s increasing adaptability to the use of cutting-edge technology (Moyeenudin et al., 2021). As for Marriott, the grading system will be crucial for its reputation. For example, routinely rated positively for client satisfaction, Marriott International’s facilities continue to rank among the best in the industry. Recently, JW Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Marriott Hotels, and Courtyard have been among the leading hotel brands for customer happiness.
Undoubtedly, Marriott must work on comprehending and effectively satisfying visitor demands. In particular, the business must create a system known as the Marriott guestVoice that has proven to be incredibly effective (Guest Voice at Marriott, 2020). This guest feedback platform improves Marriott’s real-time understanding of its guests. Marriott guestVoice is a customer feedback service developed by Medallia in collaboration with Marriott. GuestVoice is a brief, easy-to-use exceptional service survey that allows guests to send feedback directly to the business (Guest Voice at Marriott, 2020). Furthermore, guestVoice synchronizes social media comments with survey results to unearth additional feedback and insights, providing Marriott hotels with the resources necessary to make changes that will directly increase guest satisfaction rankings.
Corporate Culture
The Marriott Company’s dedication to maintaining its core corporate values and principles, such as prioritizing people first, enhancing employees’ performance, adapting to change, behaving ethically, and serving the world, is shared by its employees. As a result, Marriott holds a multigenerational team to guarantee that the company retains skilled employees who are able to provide clients with remarkable service. In addition, the company inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art lobby at its head office to inspire innovation and collaboration and attract the best and most brilliant talent.
Additionally, Marriott emphasizes the significance of ethical concerns. According to Marin-Pantelescu (2021), the company conducts training on ethics and participates in initiatives such as the Youth Career Initiative and SOS Children’s Villages. Furthermore, recently implemented software enables disabled users to navigate the internet with the aid of tailored customer service and cutting-edge assistive technology. Other vital programs included Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative and the Energy and Environmental Action Plan (Latif et al., 2020). In addition to its ethical standards, Marriott is distinguished by its multicultural workforce in that minorities are a considerable number in the company’s management roles. Consequently, Marriott’s many attractive characteristics encourage prospective employees to join its team.
Key Trends and Adaptability
Whether it is reverting to on-site employment with restrictions, giving remote or hybrid work alternatives, or establishing part-time and job-sharing possibilities, the truth is that businesses must now provide greater flexibility in the workplace. However, flexibility is not limited to where or even when an individual works. It also entails giving workers a say in whether they do work from home or in the office. Importantly, jobs demanding concentration or inventiveness are simpler to do at home, but those needing teamwork and engagement are easier and more effective in the workplace. Marriot must adapt to such changes; for instance, the firm should allow workers as much control over where and when they work as possible but establishes clear expectations for when and how they must be accessible. This ensures that personnel remains accessible while also providing limits to avoid burnout. Specify which tasks are better performed on-site as opposed to at home.
Conclusion
Evidently, hotel reputation is a fundamental facet that organizations should incorporate into their operations to ensure their sustainability and resilience in customer loyalty. As such, based on this research, Marriott International, a robust hospitality industry, has been one of the leading market players in the sector since its inauguration. The organization has instilled ways to enhance brand reputation, from vast brand consistency standards to grading systems and corporate culture. In this view, Marriott has identified and capitalized on various sectors of the mentioned elements of reputation. As a result, it has ensured its market dominance is maintained. However, the market continues to shift, and Marriot needs to adapt to various changes. For instance, the ramifications of navel COVID-19, technological changes, and corporate culture adjustments.
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