The actual date for Marriott Homes & Villas has not yet been announced, although it is anticipated that the initial scheme will feature 2,000 selected homes, orientated towards the slightly higher end of the market. According to The Wall Street Journal, Marriott International Inc. is positioning itself to take on Airbnb and the other home rental scheme startups in what it developing into a very lucrative part of the travel and tourism sector.
Marriott has taken its time with moving into this sector, according to CEO Arne Sorenson. This was to ensure that the market was ready and the group could secure sufficient homes of the right quality . Quoted by Markets Insider she states: “One of the reasons we didn’t jump into this quickly is we thought this is a business that is not made for us.” There were also several legal issues that needed to be resolved.
The company also wished to test out how the scheme might work and for this it selected some European countries, focusing on the cities of Paris, Rome, and Lisbon. Marriott have indicated that the homes that it offers via the scheme will be required to meet certain quality standards.
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Part of the promotion of the new scheme will be orientated towards Marriott Bonvoy members (Marriott’s loyalty program), who will be able to earn and redeem points on stays.
In related news, Airbnb is making moves in the opposite direction and look set to enter the the hotel space. The company has announced plans to acquire Hotel Tonight, a hotel-booking service that analyzes hotel inventories and uses data analytics to offers discount hotel rooms to those who sign up to the digital self-service.
