Marriott forms joint venture with Alibaba

Marriott has inked a joint venture with Alibaba Group aiming to “redefine the travel experience for the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers” who travel each year.

Marriott, which has a bevy of brand and deep hospitality experience, is facing intense challenges from online booking sites, price aggregators and new economy giants like Airbnb. However, consumerism in China is evolving. With earning powers rising, Chinese consumers want more. Marriott feels it can give them that.

The hospitality giant aims to use Alibaba as a gateway for all its international brand. It also gives the firm the ability to reach Alibaba’s 50 million mobile monthly active users.

“We are proud to join forces with Marriott International – combining our large-scale consumer base, leading-edge technology and consumer insights with their unparalleled hospitality expertise,” Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group said in a press release.

“Together, we are elevating and redefining the travel experience for Chinese consumers to be more seamless and personalized as they embark on adventures to discover the world,” he added.

The joint venture will use the resources of both companies to manage Marriott’s storefront on Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel service platform. Besides reaching directly to Alibaba’s customer base, the venture will see a link between Marriott’s popular loyalty programs and Alibaba’s loyalty program, and support Marriott hotels globally with content, programs and promotions targeting the Chinese traveler.

“By forming this partnership, we are pairing our hospitality expertise with Alibaba’s digital travel platform, retail expertise and digital payment platform, Alipay, and driving membership to our loyalty programs. With the growing number of Chinese consumers exploring new destinations, this venture will introduce our hotels worldwide to this new and growing traveling class,” Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson said.