NEW YORK -- Not one hotel company has acted to match Marriott's
move to trim commissions to 8%. Furthermore, some hoteliers have
spoken out vehemently against Marriott's decision.
As reported, Marriott will only pay 10% commissions to those
agency locations that have a graduate of its training course, Hotel
Excellence. For its part, Choice Hotels even ran a trade ad that
told Marriott, "Shame on you."
Bob Moore, senior vice president of global sales for Starwood
Hotels & Resorts, White Plains, N.Y., said Marriott's Preferred
Travel Agency program was, to his knowledge, the first time a major
company will pay less than 10% pay for a booking.
Moore restated Starwood's position, which he gave immediately
after Marriott's announcement, that Starwood would continue to pay
10% commissions for any business coming from agents.
Moore said Starwood's global portfolio, which includes many
resorts and city hotels, is well-served by agents. "We still
believe there is a solid business place for the agency," said
Moore. "There's no reason to go to that group and tell them they're
of lesser value and therefore worth less money."
Forte Hotels, the British company that owns the Forte and
Meridien brands, also said it will stick with its 10% pay policy.
"We haven't taken the same tact as the airlines and we don't intend
to change the ways we do business," said Fran Brasseux, Forte's
senior vice president of sales and marketing, adding that 80% of
its business comes from agents.
The most vocal critic of the Marriott's program is Silver
Spring, Md.-based Choice Hotels International. Bill Todd, vice
president of sales for Choice, said he has been "deluged" with
thank you calls and letters from agents for Choice's initial
response to the Marriott announcement. The prevailing theme, on his
end, was that agents were taken aback by the news.
"The Marriott cut surprised them," said Todd. "They did not
think the hotel industry would nickel and dime them."
Todd went on to call Marriott's agency training program a
"commission cut in sheep's clothing," and he was insistent that
Choice will maintain 10% commissions.
In addition, he warned that the Preferred Travel Agency program,
which is what Marriott's two-tiered system is called, might be the
first snowball in the proverbial avalanche. "If agents don't speak
up by changing booking patterns it's my belief that several chains
will follow," said Todd.
"I think you'll see, three years down the road, hotels will be
offering commissions on leisure, while trying to reduce commissions
on business travel," said Todd. "If people are looking in a crystal
ball, that's what we'll see. The growth market is the leisure
market. That's where the money of the future is, especially for
agents."
Meanwhile, back at Marriott, the company said travel agents are
signing up for its Hotel Excellence at a fast clip. Terry Lee,
senior director of travel agency programs and relations for
Marriott, said the company is signing up about 1,500 agents a day
for Hotel Excellence. More than 75,000 agents have signed up for
the self-study course, and these agents will maintain 10%
commissions after Nov. 15 even though they may not have completed
the course.
Lee said the airline commission cuts swallowed up news of the
Preferred Travel Agency program, and prevented Marriott from
telling its full story. To make up for this unforeseen problem,
Marriott has been calling agents who have expressed their concerns
about the program and to highlight Hotel Excellence.
"Those that know about the program are the ones who are most
favorably disposed," said Lee. "The biggest liability are the
people who look at it on a superficial level."