Vacation.com added Marriott International
as a preferred supplier, marking the first time the country's
largest agency consortium has had a preferred-supplier pact with a
hotel chain.
The deal includes
access to favorable rates and incentives when selling 11 of
Marriott's brands.
Stephen
McGillivray, Vacation.com's vice president of marketing, said the
group already has a partnership with SuperClubs and that it
promotes other inclusive brands through its preferred tour
operators. Marriott represents a new direction for Vacation.com
because it is a large chain with worldwide reach and nearly 2,800
properties that run the gamut from luxury resorts to city-center
business hotels.
Travel Weekly's
2006 Power List said Vacation.com reported 5,700 locations and more
than $15 billion in volume.
Prior to this,
McGillivray said, Vacation.com has had more modest marketing
alliances with some hotel chains but never a "full
preferred-supplier relationship."
"Marriott
believes we can move market share, and we love it that our first
deal is with Marriott because it is so agent-friendly."
The alliance will
include custom marketing products and packages plus enhanced
business-building training programs, the partners said.
"The quality of
[Vacation.com] support programs gives us the confidence that our
two organizations will complement each other and will provide
resources to the agency membership that ensures profitable
business-building opportunities," said Fred Miller, vice president
of global sales, Marriott International.
Brands
participating are Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton,
Courtyard by Marriott, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn &
Suites, Residence Inn, Towneplace Suites, Marriott Executive
Apartments and Marriott Vacation Club International.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Nadine Godwin at [email protected].