Marriott International Launches Home Rentals In Over 100 Markets

BETHESDA, Md., April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) announced Homes & Villas by Marriott International, a home rental initiative offering 2,000 premium and luxury homes located in over 100 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Starting next week when the offering launches, we expect members of Marriott Bonvoy can earn and redeem points at these highly-curated homes, providing even more choice of accommodations that suit a range of travel needs around the world.

"The launch of Homes & Villas by Marriott International reflects our ongoing commitment to innovation as consumer travel needs evolve," said Stephanie Linnartz, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Marriott International. "What started out as a pilot a year ago is now a global offering, providing our guests with the space and amenities of a home backed by a trusted travel company, and the very best in loyalty benefits."

Marriott's expansion into home rentals was developed as a result of the 2018 pilot under the brand extension Tribute Portfolio Homes. Of the guests who booked a home during the pilot, which was only available in select European cities, nearly 90 percent were members of Marriott Bonvoy and over three-quarters were traveling for leisure with family and friends. During the pilot, the average guest stay was more than triple the typical hotel stay. These insights, along with Marriott's commitment to providing travelers with unique and different accommodations including spacious homes with one or more bedrooms, large kitchens, in-unit laundry and more, played an important role in guiding the selection of luxury and premium homes, as well as the key leisure markets available at launch that complement the core offerings of Marriott's hotel portfolio. 

Luxury & Premium Offerings
The introduction of Homes & Villas by Marriott International adds nearly 40 new leisure destinations for Marriott Bonvoy members to earn and redeem points, including Sorrento, Italy and the Amalfi Coast, Italy; North Lake Tahoe, California; and St. Barts in the Caribbean. This curated selection of homes aims to connect travelers to thousands of rental properties around the world and sets the stage for guests' most treasured travel moments - home-cooked dinners with extended family, lawn games in the backyard or celebrating a milestone birthday with family and friends. Homes include:

• A four-bedroom cottage on six private acres of California wine country.
• A six bedroom villa in Sorrento, Italy with an infinity pool overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and a wood-fire pizza oven.
• An oceanfront villa in Anguilla with private beach and a personal butler and house staff. 
• A 18th century Irish Castle that sleeps 17 and features a private lake for boating and fishing.
• A six-bedroom townhouse in London with a children's playroom and climbing wall.

Marriott is launching Homes & Villas by Marriott International with select property management companies that are already managing these homes. These trusted property management companies provide guests a professionally cleaned home with 24/7 support, high speed Wi-Fi, premium linens and amenities, and family-friendly conveniences upon request. At launch, the property management companies selected by Marriott include TurnKey Vacation Rentals, LaCure, Loyd & Townsend Rose, Veeve, London Residents Club as well as current hotel owners and operators like Mainsail Lodging, and Reserva Conchal. Over time, Marriott expects to introduce Homes & Villas by Marriott International in additional markets as well as increase the number of homes offered in these launch destinations.

"Our approach to home rentals allows us to curate an incredible collection of homes that deliver an elevated travel experience," said Jennifer Hsieh, Vice President, Homes & Villas by Marriott International. "By working with a select group of professional management companies that understand and operate in this dynamic landscape, we are able to focus on what we do best – selecting a breadth of homes in inspiring destinations, setting standards for responsive service and designing a seamless booking experience that helps our guests navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain set of home rental choices."

How to Book
Starting next week, we expect travelers can search and book homes on the Homes & Villas by Marriott International site – www.homesandvillasbymarriott.com. At that time, travelers searching on Marriott.com for accommodations for three-plus nights in markets where home inventory exists will see links to Homes & Villas by Marriott International, promoting home rentals as an offering to meet their needs. Marriott is in the process of determining how it will sell Homes & Villas by Marriott International through other channels, including the Marriott Bonvoy app and travel advisors, and will provide an update in the near future. 

Marriott Bonvoy
Members of Marriott Bonvoy, the new name of the travel program replacing Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, will be able to earn and redeem points for every Homes & Villas by Marriott International stay.  Today, Marriott Bonvoy members can earn points at Marriott's 29 hotel brands including The St. Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Westin Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott, Moxy Hotels, Tribute Portfolio, Edition, Element, AC Hotels and others. Just like with Marriott's lodging brands, members will have a choice to pay with either cash or points when booking. Other benefits for loyalty members staying at Homes & Villas by Marriott International include:

• Members will earn points based on the same criteria as Marriott's long stay hotel brands – 5 points for each $1 spent
• Members will be eligible for Bonus points based on Elite status
• Eligible members will receive an Elite Welcome Gift of special amenities or points
• Members can use the points they earn on redemption stays at all participating hotels around the world, as well as experiences exclusively available on Marriott Bonvoy Moments.

Marriott Bonvoy Moments
Homes & Villas by Marriott International will be the setting for experiences exclusively available to members by using their points on Marriott Bonvoy Moments. This platform provides members with access to more than 8,000 exclusive experiences that tap into their passions for sports, music, culinary or the arts. The Moments developed in conjunction with Homes & Villas by Marriott International will amplify the memory-making events and activities that take place in homes around the world like game nights, gourmet cooking, backyard sports, BBQs and more. Additionally, through Marriott Bonvoy Tours & Activities, anyone can discover and book attraction tickets and tours in over 1,000 global destinations. All 120,000 of these experiences can be booked using a credit card. Members will earn points on each purchase.

Note on forward-looking statements: This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, including the number and location of homes and villas that may be added in this and future years, and similar statements concerning possible future events or expectations that are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including changes in market conditions; changes in global and regional economies; supply and demand changes for hotel rooms and home rentals; competitive conditions in the lodging industry and the home rental industry; relationships with clients and property owners; and other risk factors that the company identifies in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q.   Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this communication. We make these forward-looking statements as of the date of this communication, and undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Homes & Villas by Marriott International
Homes & Villas by Marriott International represents Marriott International's entry into the home rental space, providing travelers access to 2,000 curated premium and luxury homes located in over 100 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. This new offering, backed by the trusted reputation of the Marriott brand, delivers travelers the space and amenities of a home, all while connecting seamlessly to the travel program Marriott Bonvoy. Stay connected with us @HomesandVillasbyMarriott on Instagram and Facebook.

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 130 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company now offers one travel program, Marriott Bonvoy^TM, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG). For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

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