[NEW] Tribute Portfolio Homes: Marriott dabbles in homesharing
Apr 23, 2018, 5:15 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Kuwait (KW)
Programs: Qatar Airways, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 2,712
[NEW] Tribute Portfolio Homes: Marriott dabbles in homesharing
This is a total surprise: Marriott has partnered up with London-based Hostmaker to try its hand at the home sharing business, taking the fight to Airbnb.
Official press blast from Marriott pending, but I’ve attached the Skift article I heard this from below. Super exciting - I love everything about this!
khabah
***
The largest hotel company in the world is putting Airbnb, HomeAway, and Booking.com on notice — along with fellow hoteliers AccorHotels and Hyatt.
Marriott International today is launching its official foray into the homesharing market via a six-month pilot in partnership with London-based home rental management company, Hostmaker.
Travelers can log onto TributePortfolioHomes.com and book a stay in more than 200 homes in London, each of which has been chosen specifically by Marriott and Hostmaker.
These homes, all of which have one or more bedrooms, full kitchens, and laundry facilities, adhere to Marriott’s exacting standards regarding safety, design, security, and service. Guests who stay in them also receive additional services and amenities, such as 24/7 dedicated phone support and an in-person check-in/welcome experience.
Guests who book Tribute Portfolio Homes can also earn loyalty points for both Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest, and beginning next month, they can redeem points for homestays as well. The average nightly rate for a one- or two-bedroom home in this pilot is 200 to 250 pounds sterling, or $280 to $351.
For one thing, Marriott is using one of its own existing brands to market the homes, and not using the Hostmaker brand or creating a new brand. AccorHotels, for example, combined all three of its homesharing acquisitions — Onefinestay, Squarebreak, and Travel Keys — into the Onefinestay brand last year. Hyatt houses Oasis under its own soft brand, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, but still uses the Oasis name to market the home rentals.
“Instead of creating a new brand, Marriott has this great collection of brands already,” explained Nakul Sharma, the founder and CEO of Hostmaker. “This extension of Tribute Portfolio made a lot more sense to us than trying to create a brand from scratch. It’s a seamless experience for guests when they come onto Marriott’s booking platform.”
Tribute Portfolio, a soft brand collection that Marriott inherited in its $13.3-billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, currently consists of 28 independent hotels around the world. The youngest of Marriott’s three soft brand collection brands, it has a relatively smaller footprint than Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand, and it skews toward the upper upscale category, which sits just below luxury.
Guests who book a Tribute Portfolio Home should expect, more or less, the same kind of experience that they’d find in a Tribute Portfolio hotel. And that’s because Marriott is also exercising control over which homes can be a part of the collection and is working very closely with Hostmaker to ensure quality and service.
Marriott chief customer experience officer Adam Malamut said the company handpicked each of the more than 200 homes that are participating in the pilot. “Hostmaker already does an incredible job of curating a great portfolio of homes and within that portfolio, and we added other types of design, safety, and security criteria that meet our standards.”
Although these same 200-plus homes can also be booked on Hostmaker’s own site, as well as other short-term rental platforms, Booking and Airbnb included, Marriott said guests who book stays via TributePortfolioHomes.com will receive an “exclusive experience.”
“Through curation among curation that already exists within Hostmaker, and our serious experience and amenities, and earn-and-redeem capabilities, all of that comes together in creating, maybe not an exclusive home, but an end-to-end exclusive brand experience for the customer,” Malamut said.
Another distinguishing factor of this experiment is the immediate loyalty tie-in. Hyatt extended its World of Hyatt loyalty program to include Oasis in March, months after announcing its initial investment in Oasis. AccorHotels has yet to include Onefinestay in its LeClub AccorHotels loyalty program, nearly two years after its initial acquisition.
And if this Marriott-Hostmaker pilot sounds a lot like what Airbnb is doing with its own selected, curated collection of verified homes, called Airbnb Plus, that would be an accurate comparison. However, unlike the homes in Airbnb Plus, the homes here will have consistent quality control measures and maintenance carried out by Hostmaker’s on-the-ground teams. With Airbnb Plus, only a one-time inspection and guest-host review system are in place to maintain quality control.
“We’re learning from other companies playing in this space, whether it’s AccorHotels or Hyatt. We all have to learn in this space,” said Malamut. “This is a distinct space within travel and hospitality, and partnership is key. That’s why we did a lot of due diligence to find the right partner to create this end-to-end customer experience that we wanted to have.”
The pilot is not without its risks. As Skift noted previously, there are a number of challenges when it comes to ensuring quality control of homes. The involvement of a hotel company that has access to professional resources like housekeeping staff could provide some solutions. Malamut noted he and Hostmaker have been thinking of ways to make their current partnership even more “synergistic.”
Official press blast from Marriott pending, but I’ve attached the Skift article I heard this from below. Super exciting - I love everything about this!
khabah
***
Marriott Experiments With Homesharing
Deanna Ting, Skift - Apr 23, 2018 6:30 amThe largest hotel company in the world is putting Airbnb, HomeAway, and Booking.com on notice — along with fellow hoteliers AccorHotels and Hyatt.
Marriott International today is launching its official foray into the homesharing market via a six-month pilot in partnership with London-based home rental management company, Hostmaker.
Travelers can log onto TributePortfolioHomes.com and book a stay in more than 200 homes in London, each of which has been chosen specifically by Marriott and Hostmaker.
These homes, all of which have one or more bedrooms, full kitchens, and laundry facilities, adhere to Marriott’s exacting standards regarding safety, design, security, and service. Guests who stay in them also receive additional services and amenities, such as 24/7 dedicated phone support and an in-person check-in/welcome experience.
Guests who book Tribute Portfolio Homes can also earn loyalty points for both Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest, and beginning next month, they can redeem points for homestays as well. The average nightly rate for a one- or two-bedroom home in this pilot is 200 to 250 pounds sterling, or $280 to $351.
WHAT MAKES THIS PILOT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
With this pilot, Marriott certainly isn’t the first major hospitality company to dip its toes into the sharing economy or professionally managed home rentals. Other hotel companies, such as Wyndham and Choice Hotels, have participated in the vacation rental market for years. And AccorHotels and Hyatt have made investments in the homesharing space with Onefinestay and Oasis. But what Marriott is doing here differs somewhat slightly.For one thing, Marriott is using one of its own existing brands to market the homes, and not using the Hostmaker brand or creating a new brand. AccorHotels, for example, combined all three of its homesharing acquisitions — Onefinestay, Squarebreak, and Travel Keys — into the Onefinestay brand last year. Hyatt houses Oasis under its own soft brand, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, but still uses the Oasis name to market the home rentals.
“Instead of creating a new brand, Marriott has this great collection of brands already,” explained Nakul Sharma, the founder and CEO of Hostmaker. “This extension of Tribute Portfolio made a lot more sense to us than trying to create a brand from scratch. It’s a seamless experience for guests when they come onto Marriott’s booking platform.”
Tribute Portfolio, a soft brand collection that Marriott inherited in its $13.3-billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, currently consists of 28 independent hotels around the world. The youngest of Marriott’s three soft brand collection brands, it has a relatively smaller footprint than Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand, and it skews toward the upper upscale category, which sits just below luxury.
Guests who book a Tribute Portfolio Home should expect, more or less, the same kind of experience that they’d find in a Tribute Portfolio hotel. And that’s because Marriott is also exercising control over which homes can be a part of the collection and is working very closely with Hostmaker to ensure quality and service.
Marriott chief customer experience officer Adam Malamut said the company handpicked each of the more than 200 homes that are participating in the pilot. “Hostmaker already does an incredible job of curating a great portfolio of homes and within that portfolio, and we added other types of design, safety, and security criteria that meet our standards.”
Although these same 200-plus homes can also be booked on Hostmaker’s own site, as well as other short-term rental platforms, Booking and Airbnb included, Marriott said guests who book stays via TributePortfolioHomes.com will receive an “exclusive experience.”
“Through curation among curation that already exists within Hostmaker, and our serious experience and amenities, and earn-and-redeem capabilities, all of that comes together in creating, maybe not an exclusive home, but an end-to-end exclusive brand experience for the customer,” Malamut said.
Another distinguishing factor of this experiment is the immediate loyalty tie-in. Hyatt extended its World of Hyatt loyalty program to include Oasis in March, months after announcing its initial investment in Oasis. AccorHotels has yet to include Onefinestay in its LeClub AccorHotels loyalty program, nearly two years after its initial acquisition.
And if this Marriott-Hostmaker pilot sounds a lot like what Airbnb is doing with its own selected, curated collection of verified homes, called Airbnb Plus, that would be an accurate comparison. However, unlike the homes in Airbnb Plus, the homes here will have consistent quality control measures and maintenance carried out by Hostmaker’s on-the-ground teams. With Airbnb Plus, only a one-time inspection and guest-host review system are in place to maintain quality control.
“We’re learning from other companies playing in this space, whether it’s AccorHotels or Hyatt. We all have to learn in this space,” said Malamut. “This is a distinct space within travel and hospitality, and partnership is key. That’s why we did a lot of due diligence to find the right partner to create this end-to-end customer experience that we wanted to have.”
The pilot is not without its risks. As Skift noted previously, there are a number of challenges when it comes to ensuring quality control of homes. The involvement of a hotel company that has access to professional resources like housekeeping staff could provide some solutions. Malamut noted he and Hostmaker have been thinking of ways to make their current partnership even more “synergistic.”
WHY DID MARRIOTT CHOOSE TO WORK WITH HOSTMAKER?
Hostmaker was an ideal partner for Marriott for two primary reasons, the first being that Hostmaker founder and CEO Sharma had extensive previous experience working at InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.Even though Marriott recognizes that “home management is very different from managing a hotel,” the company felt strongly that Sharma’s hospitality experience would be “vital,” Malamut noted. It also helped that Hostmaker was also a finalist in Marriott’s Travel Experience Incubator program that it launched last year with Accenture and 1776, a startup incubator.Secondly, Marriott liked that Hostmaker is a professional home management service with an on-the-ground presence, and one that places a heavy emphasis on the design of each and every home.“We will not take a home unless it meets the design criteria that we have,” Sharma explained. “We help design the homes and we have relationships with the homeowners. We offer this up front to owners if they are looking for it, and we advise them on how their home would even more attractive if they were setting it up for a homestay.”Sharma also said, “None of our competitors really offer this.” In piloted versions of Airbnb Plus, Airbnb did experiment with giving its hosts access to virtual interior design services, however.Marriott and Hostmaker decided to launch the pilot in London specifically because they felt it was a market that is “conducive to learning quickly and complementary to our hotel inventory.” AccorHotels’ Onefinestay was also launched in London, and when Hyatt was an investor in Onefinestay, it also conducted its own pilot in the city in 2015.London is also the headquarters city for Hostmaker, as well as a destination where short-term rental regulations are fairly straightforward; there’s a 90-day cap. Both Malamut and Sharma said they are being vigilant about making sure all Tribute Portfolio Homes are complying with local short-term rental regulations.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE PILOT ENDS IN OCTOBER
Marriott and Hostmaker didn’t divulge the exact measures by which they hope to define the success (or failure) of this pilot, but they did say they would look closely at customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and the financial impact of the business model, as well as return on investment.If the pilot is successful, Marriott may consider expanding this into other markets. When asked if the company would consider buying Hostmaker or other management companies like it, Malamut said, “We’re testing and learning, but we haven’t ruled out any approach.”POINTING TOWARD THE FUTURE OF PRIVATE ACCOMMODATIONS
Homesharing has certainly been on Marriott’s mind for the past few years. The company’s CEO Arne Sorenson has often noted that in public interviews. So, why decide to enter the market now?“We’ve been thinking about this for a while, and how this type of business affects ours,” Malamut said. “Timing is about finding the right partner to bring an idea to life that makes sense for our business. That’s what we’re offering here.”There is no better time for companies like Marriott, Airbnb, and others to play in this space. Homesharing is no longer in its infancy. Products like Airbnb Plus, Onefinestay, Oasis, and now, Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio Homes, are indicative of the increasing professionalization, standardization, and maturation of private accommodations.And it’s clear that consumers want this type of product, even if they’re not quite sure what to call it or how to define it.“All different types of hospitality are becoming one, depending on the consumer’s requirements,” Simon Lehmann, the CEO and co-founder of AJL Consulting and former CEO of Interhome, a Swiss home rental platform told Skift previously in a conversation about “convergence” in accommodations. “The consumer is looking for whatever he or she requires at that moment. Most people don’t even know what they are booking, whether it’s a serviced apartment, vacation rental, or a hotel.”Tribute Portfolio Homes, Airbnb Plus, and other more professionally managed and curated short-term rentals are exactly what the hospitality industry needs to bring homesharing into the mainstream at a time when it’s clear that consumers want to be able to find any and every type of lodging that suits their specific trip needs. On some occasions, travelers may prefer a hotel. And in others, they may prefer to stay in a home.If companies like Marriott, AccorHotels, and Airbnb are successful in making these types of curated, verified homes more accessible and more appealing to consumers, they’ll have a direct hand in shaping the future of this sector of the hospitality industry.A company like Marriott is particularly poised to benefit from the years of homesharing business that companies like Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO have cultivated among consumers for the past decade. Having been a brand that consumers have looked to for their lodging needs for the past 90 years, Marriott also has the global scale and a massive 110-million-member-strong loyalty program that can only boost its prospects for success in this space. If Marriott’s pilot with Hostmaker ultimately proves successful, it too could serve as a model for future hotel company investments in the sharing economy.Source: https://skift.com/2018/04/23/marriot...h-homesharing/
Apr 23, 2018, 6:58 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
Definitely giving this a try on my next trip into London. It is slightly weird for a London-only pilot to be quoting me prices in USD though.
Apr 23, 2018, 12:00 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
earn elite nights
earn about 5 marriott per dollar, like previous marriott monthly apartment partners
redemption not published yet
if they keep it going, would be interesting if marriott offered something to hosts
earn about 5 marriott per dollar, like previous marriott monthly apartment partners
redemption not published yet
if they keep it going, would be interesting if marriott offered something to hosts
May 13, 2018, 7:44 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: Bonvoy ambassador - lifetime plat / Hilton diamond / hyatt globalist / AA CK baby!
Posts: 890
Anyone have any interaction with this deal yet?
https://www.tributeportfoliohomes.com/
I tried contacting them via email to inquire about a booking. No response and its about a week later. not very impressed.
https://www.tributeportfoliohomes.com/
I tried contacting them via email to inquire about a booking. No response and its about a week later. not very impressed.
Sep 1, 2018, 5:47 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA GS, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 137
Mediocre Experience
Recently stayed at a 2BR flat in “Maida Vale.” Calling the location was a bit of a stretch. It bordered Maida Vale, closer to Regent Park and the Cricket Grounds.
Pre Arrival Communications: It was a good experience. Asked for normal stuff like arrival time and any special requests (all of which were in the flat upon arrival - extra towels, fans, extra toiletries). 24 hours before, they emailed to assign a “wizard” and his contact info.
Check In: The process was ok, not too unlike an Airbnb. I texted with the “wizard” upon arrival at LHR. We planned a meeting time. Then, as we were approaching, I got a text that he would be about 15 minutes late. Usually not an issue except we had our young kids with us and our arrival was around 10p.
Flat: Yes, it was the flat we booked, but the pictures were taken with a skilled photographer and heavily touched up. The walls were scuffed up and the rooms were much smaller than what the pictures would lead you to believe. If the post had scratch and sniff, it would have been a deal killer. The couch had a stench of spoiled food and the entire complex smelled of mold.that being said, the towels and sheets were clean. I’m not so sure about the rest of the flat.
Check Out: Easy. Just close the door and drop the keys in the mail slot.
Strangely, some points posted on the day of checkout, but it was for fewer points than I was expecting. Just off given they say you should expect points to post after something like 3-4 weeks. I’m planning on following up.
Would I do it again? Maybe, but not until they institute some type of review system and I would have a much more critical eye.
Pre Arrival Communications: It was a good experience. Asked for normal stuff like arrival time and any special requests (all of which were in the flat upon arrival - extra towels, fans, extra toiletries). 24 hours before, they emailed to assign a “wizard” and his contact info.
Check In: The process was ok, not too unlike an Airbnb. I texted with the “wizard” upon arrival at LHR. We planned a meeting time. Then, as we were approaching, I got a text that he would be about 15 minutes late. Usually not an issue except we had our young kids with us and our arrival was around 10p.
Flat: Yes, it was the flat we booked, but the pictures were taken with a skilled photographer and heavily touched up. The walls were scuffed up and the rooms were much smaller than what the pictures would lead you to believe. If the post had scratch and sniff, it would have been a deal killer. The couch had a stench of spoiled food and the entire complex smelled of mold.that being said, the towels and sheets were clean. I’m not so sure about the rest of the flat.
Check Out: Easy. Just close the door and drop the keys in the mail slot.
Strangely, some points posted on the day of checkout, but it was for fewer points than I was expecting. Just off given they say you should expect points to post after something like 3-4 weeks. I’m planning on following up.
Would I do it again? Maybe, but not until they institute some type of review system and I would have a much more critical eye.
Oct 7, 2018, 2:25 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: La Jolla, CA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, Lifetime Titanium, Delta Plat, Hilton Diamond , Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,615
Looks as if this program is expanding from London to Paris, Rome and Lisbon. Just looked through some of the Paris offerings and they look very interesting. I am here now at the Prince de Galles and considering arranging a family trip next year. We adore the PdG but with grandkids a home might make more sense.
Here is the link to the Beta Site:
https://www.tributeportfoliohomes.com/
Mar 3, 2019, 10:12 pm
#7
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: AA EXP, DL-Plat, WN-CP | Hotels: Choice-Gld, IHG-Plt, Rad-Gld, HH-Dia, Hyatt-Glob, Marriott-LtPlt
Posts: 2,889
I'm looking at a stay with my family in Lisbon later this year and considering Tribute Portfolio Homes. Have more folks used these? What have experiences been like?
Did points and elite night credit eventually post correctly? And, I wonder whether the spend counts toward the $20k Ambassador requirement?
Did points and elite night credit eventually post correctly? And, I wonder whether the spend counts toward the $20k Ambassador requirement?
May 28, 2019, 6:06 am
#8
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 1
Awful accommodation, worse customer service
We stayed at a Tribute Portfolio home in Lisbon and had an AWFUL experience. Mold in the washer, food stuck to pans, one of the bathrooms smelled so bad it was unusable while we were there, beds were missing sheets. It was like someone had moved out of the apartment and it hadn't been cleaned in a month. After complaining and escalating the issue, they offered us a tiny refund that they then made very difficult to claim. We used Marriott points for the stay, but Marriott would not help with any of the issues and Tribute Portfolio wouldn't refund the points. It was a nightmare and I would stay far, far away.