Marriott's plan to continue paying agencies ten percent only if
they complete a hotel-sales training course is not steamrolling
through the hotel industry.
Unlike the airlines, which seem to match each other's commission
cuts one after the other, hotel chains are showing no interest so
far in emulating the two-tiered Marriott commission plan that will
pay the ten percent to qualifying "preferred agents" and eight
percent to the rest.
Choice Hotels, the licensor for a number of hotel brands, fired
the first shot across Marriott's bow a few weeks ago with trade ads
headlined "Shame on You," denouncing Marriott's approach and
reaffirming Choice's policy of paying ten percent.
And here in Strasbourg at the ASTA World Travel Congress, Tom
Oliver, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Bass hotel
group, including Holiday Inns and Intercontinental, drew applause
when he said his company regarded all agents as "preferred" and
would continue paying ten percent.
Marriott officials didn't expect other hotel chains to match
their program, mainly because it is an elaborate one that requires
the preparation of educational materials to help agents learn to
sell hotels more effectively.
The Marriott brass expect to get at least their fair share of
whatever additional hotel sales business the program generates.
They believe that their competitors also will benefit to some
degree from the plan as agencies improve their sales skills in the
hotel category.
Marriott also insists that whatever commission payments it saves
by lowering the non-preferred agents to eight percent will be
reinvested in assisting the preferred agents with such incentives
as overrides and co-op advertising dollars.
But ASTA officials are unhappy with the two-tiered commission
policy, fearing that it will set a precedent requiring agencies to
requalify with a host of suppliers just to keep their present level
of commissions.
Meanwhile, Marriott says agencies are signing up in substantial
numbers to take its educational program in order to keep their ten
percent commission.
These days, with airline commissions down to five percent, the
25% difference between the eight and ten percent commission on
Marriott bookings is important to many agencies.