https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a8323211.html
Excerpt:
"Launching Tributeportfoliohomes.com on 23 April,
Marriott has a selection of more than 200 specially selected homes in London to choose from. The service is initially a six-month pilot scheme in partnership with Hostmaker, a London home rental management service. Guests can expect added extras such as a guaranteed in-person check-in and 24/7 phone support should there be any issues. They will also receive loyalty points for Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest schemes.
Marriott isn’t creating a new brand or relying on the Hostmaker name to sell its product, but is instead using one of its existing brands – Tribute Portfolio, a collection of 28 independent hotels around the world. Marriott says guests should get a similar experience in a homestay property as they’d get at a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. The average nightly rate for a one or two-bedroom home in the pilot is between £200 and £250; more upscale than budget. The Marriott offering differs from Airbnb in several ways, the main one being quality control. Hostmaker offers on the ground maintenance and regular checks to ensure homes continue to meet its standards
As Tributeportfoliohomes.com is in its beta phase, the website, although attractive, doesn’t quite have the functionality of bigger homestay brands yet. For example, there’s no way of filtering by price, and users have to click through to the property to view pictures. However, if the pilot is successful, Marriott will no doubt tweak and improve, plus consider expanding into other markets."