kaaria

If the deal is to close April 1, I wonder when they will open up the reservation system to allow bookings hotels in Africa

SkiAdcock

I'm going from memory here on other acquisitions but I think usually pretty quickly after the deals actually close, so I'd expect maybe the first week of April. That's just a guess though.

Cheers.

GetawaysRus

Just saw this item on Gary Leff's blog: One hand giveth the other taketh away: Marriott completed its acquisition of South African chain Protea today and updated its terms and conditions to make clear that Protea hotels do not participate in Marriott Rewards.

You will find that quote at:
http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthew...-april-1-2014/

Now today is April 1. I'm hoping that I'm not being fooled, but I don't think Gary is bluffing us. Read item #11p on this page:
http://www.marriott.com/rewards/terms/default.mi

I hope this is subject to change as Marriott integrates with Protea Hotels.

EasyStreet

It will get integrated in MR per Loyalty Traveler
http://t.co/12CDpRxeUb

SkiAdcock

"According to the press release, Marriott expects that the Protea portfolio will be available for booking on Marriott.com or via Marriott International’s Global Reservations Centers toward the end of May, and the hotels will join the Marriott Rewards guest loyalty program at a later point, to be announced."


I think that's the way it worked when Marriott acquired AC, so not totally surprising.

Cheers.

kaaria

Still not dice on booking online. So I called reservations and they indicated online reservations will be made available starting May 22

FTcadence

kaaria, reservations gave you the right date.

Today Marriott announced that Protea's hotels will be available for booking on Marriott.com.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...260299781.html

SkiAdcock

Yes you can book as of today, but earning Marriott points, elite bennies, and redeeming awards will not happen until sometime in 2015. Just noticed it on Loyalty Lobby:

http://loyaltylobby.com/2014/05/22/p...metime-in-2015

Cheers.

kaaria

kind of defeats the purpose if you can't get benefits nor any points.

Also on the link I noticed you can't book in Tanzania where there were three Protea locations .

SkiAdcock

This is only a guess but I think the hotels get listed on the Marriott website once the deal goes through, but it takes longer to sort out the hotel ressie systems/coding for points etc so the points, bennies, etc, don't happen until later. IIRC that's what happened when Marriott bought AC. They were available for booking but it wasn't until the following spring or summer that you could earn points, etc.

Cheers.

bentrmpt

So my question is when in 2015 will we be able to use points to book these hotels.

Will be doing a SA vacation in July 2015. I would LOVE to book some of these hotels w/points.

Also, any idea what category the hotels will run?

Thanks!

SkiAdcock

Since Marriott hasn't yet announced a date in 2015, no way to know. When I hear I'll post an update. And no idea on what category they'll be; might vary.

Cheers.

SkiAdcock

Saw this on the Marriott website:

"Joining U.S. President Barack Obama, 200 corporate CEOs from the U.S. and Africa and over 45 African heads of state at the US-Africa Business Forum tomorrow, Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) President and CEO Arne Sorenson will share the company's plans to reach over 150 hotels across 16 African countries, resulting in more than 25,000 jobs, between 2014-2020.

This growth comes on a base of 14 hotels and 10,000 employees prior to the company’s acquisition of South Africa’s Protea Hotel Group in April. The Protea investment lifted Marriott into position as the largest hotel company in Africa, with the addition of 116 managed and franchised hotels, approximately 10,000 rooms and 15,000 employees across seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to its recent Protea acquisition, Marriott International has plans to open nearly 40 additional hotels with more than 6,000 rooms, adding more than 10,000 employees, at both its managed and franchised hotels in the following 13 African countries by 2020: Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gabon, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia.

In Rwanda, Marriott has partnered with a vocational school, Akilah Institute for Women, to bring 41 women from the school to work and train in Marriott hotels in Dubai. The women are getting on-the-job skills, leadership training, and will be prepared after 18 months to return, as part of the management team, in 2016 to open the company’s first new-build Sub-Saharan Africa hotel – the Kigali Marriott Hotel."


No word yet on when Protea properties join MR in 2015.

Cheers.

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

ZA has been a gaping hole for a while...

bhrubin

I think the Protea acquisition is a good get for Marriott...but it merely reinforces Marriott's continued march to the middle. Marriott's biggest weakness IMO is its lack of aspirational properties, aside from its Ritz Carleton hotels. There just are no particularly amazing Marriotts or JW Marriotts anywhere that make me really fantasize about Marriott.

Having been many times to Africa, and going again in Dec/Jan to Rwanda, Madagascar, and South Africa, I am aware of the Protea hotels...and that they are middle of the road properties for the most part. There are a few exceptions that I might call upscale...but just a few. Hopefully, Marriott will spend some money to bring the Protea properties up to the Marriott standard, though that doesn't always impress IMO.

I will be curious to see what Hilton, SPG, and Hyatt do in response.

SPG's Sheraton brand is already in Africa and has a solid international presence in general...with a much better reputation and product than Protea on average. (Sheratons abroad are far better on average than Sheratons in the USA, much like Radisson properties.) Westin only has the property in Cape Town, but it is an excellent Westin, one of the best, I'd actually say. There are plans for several more Sheratons in Africa, most notably in central Africa and west Africa. SPG seems to have the second most properties and upcoming properties after Marriott with their Protea acquisition.

Hyatt and Hilton have practically no presence in Africa--just 4 hotels each, though Hyatt does have a Park Hyatt Zanzibar that looks very nice. That's aspirational.

It seems that Marriott will own the middle with Protea in Africa..and Starwood will be next in line to compete, but at a better, more upscale level, among US hotel chains.