khabah

With all the threads dedicated to properties and specialized issues, I figured I would create one for more general Marriott-related banter - corporate, financial, investor talk, whatever doesn't fit into the other boxes can fall into here.

So without further ado, I'd like to launch with this article from VFTW about CEO Tony Capuano having the audacity to say how companies like Amazon pay their entry-level workers too much and that that puts pressure on companies like Marriott in certain markets. For a fat cat who makes a high seven figures and buckets of bonus annually, this is so very beyond disgusting. The way I see it, his tenure at Marriott so far is coming off as flaccid and ineffective; he didn't make any announcement when he was appointed saying something staged along the lines of having big shoes to fill post-Sorenson or promising to uphold the company's strengths/take the company further, his first statement was the controversial and US-centric "Stop Asian Hate", he's been woefully silent and reticent all this time and if anything, IT and customer service are sinking to newer lows under his leadership.

Article at this link with an embedded video. Sigh... not a good look/outlook.

khabah

WasKnown

Capuano is a true hotelier with a background in real estate. Not quite on the level of Nassetta as a hospitality REPE veteran but about as close to one as possible for someone that spent the majority of his career at Marriott.

I know ppl here really fixate on Arne Sorenson’a noise around the edges comment. IMO he was someone that seemed to genuinely care about the guest (different from elite loyalty) experience. To be fair though, I doubt his bg in corporate law contributed to that though.

I wonder what this says about the nature of hospitality in the US (where wages are extremely high) and Asia (where labor is a commodity). As the US continues to automate basic functions, I actually think things will begin to improve dramatically in terms of the overall guest experience.

MSPeconomist

I heard him speak to a group on zoom and he said that he thinks Marriott IT is good.

Tanic

Why are there so many untrained FD employees?

cfabar1

I think given how high room rates are looking (at least int eh US in most places) right now, this might not be the best thing to say. Of course, Marriott doesn’t directly pay most of these employees, but the sentiment is still the same.

UA-NYC

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

VA1379

Sounds like he knows about as much about IT as Smisek did when he was CEO of United Airlines and famously blew off the advice of a former IT head who told him to not adopt a GUI less SHARES. That IT head said that Apollo was more efficient for the United based reservation agents to use, but Smisek didn't want to spend the extra money for Apollo or to write a GUI over SHARES which some other airlines did. Naturally, bad weather at major United hubs caused major problems when United employees who were not proficient in SHARES had to rebook a ton of passengers. There was also a mess in trying to merge the Continental and United IT systems. I had an award ticket that I started right before the merger, and it took 4 additional calls to get every segment ticketed and confirmed. I spent almost 9 hours on those 4 additional calls being on hold and talking to United Reservations.

cfabar1

There is an interview hosted on a major site about Points oday with Tony Capuano. Take away from me, he totally gets that Marriott Bonvoy is not as strong as SPG. Has no interest in enhancing it for the benefit of the customer. Said the SPG program was too customer centric, and not owner centric. Also said that the geographic enhancement of the Bonvoy network outweighs the lack of benefits.

Also implied in the interview is that Daily Housekeeping will be going the way of Hilton soon…

WasKnown

Why not just link it? From TPG: https://thepointsguy.com/news/marrio...ano-interview/

Capuano deferred any specifics about Bonvoy to the executives he has running the loyalty program. But he did share his overarching philosophy about loyalty.

Capuano said he wants guests to have a much more emotional relationship with Bonvoy. He noted that there were things, such as bonus points for grocery purchases on Bonvoy credit cards throughout the pandemic, that helped people maintain a connection when they weren’t traveling.

He’s also proud to have launched new credit cards in South Korea and Mexico, plus the Uber partnership, all during the pandemic.

But nearly six years after the Starwood acquisition closed, Capuano acknowledges there’s still work to be done.

“We get a bit of an incomplete,” he said. “I think we’ve made terrific progress. The integration of Marriott Rewards and SPG was a monumental task. And it’s quite interesting. You hear SPG loyalists say, ‘My goodness, what have you done to our program?’ The program was very guest-friendly. It was less owner-friendly.”

Which all goes back to the struggle between the guests and the owners. And now that Marriott is the world’s largest hotel brand, that footprint gives it more freedom to tip the scales toward owners, compared to the much smaller Starwood brand.

Capuano said many of his big decisions are unsolvable. He needs to consider guests, associates, owners and Marriott’s shareholders to find the right balance.

Yes, Bonvoy isn’t as generous as SPG, he said, but its members now have access to a much larger pool of hotels with many more choices.

“What some of those SPG loyalists may have lost, a bit, in terms of the richness of the program, we hope that breadth of choice, whether it be brands or geography, is a bit of a mitigating factor,” Capuano said.

Another great interview here: https://www.hospitalityinsights.com/...ing-challenges

khabah

Love it.

I get he’s running a **business**, but it’s good to know that Marriott isn’t even trying to woo customers. They’re the biggest, and that’s good enough for them.

Sorenson set up the attitude that customers and guests are noisy, and Capuano is knocking them down. The speed at which customer service has deteriorated under his leadership is astonishing, and paints a telling picture of where things at Marriott are going. Honestly, I hope their arrogance comes back to bite them where it hurts: their bottom line.

Yeesh.

khabah

rylan

Anyone who thinks that loses all credibility with me.

f0xx

Choice is great... But when you're paying Westin prices for Springhill Suites. It sure puts a bit of sour in your mouth.

margarita girl

Thank you for admitting what SPG loyalists knew all along.

And thank you for all the Residence Inns, Fairfield Inns, SHS, and Courtyards, all of which I avoid to the best of my ability.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Maybe, I'm in the minority, but I love many of the Marriott additions to the portfolio, such as mainline Marriotts, JWs, and Autograph Collection properties.

However, I do echo the sentiment that leadership's feelings towards Bonvoy is disappointing.

WasKnown

I mean, it's not news to anyone, right? Arne Sorenson has essentially said the same thing in every interview he's given about Starwood.