Case on Marriott for running a cafe during lockdown

A case has been registered against the director of JW Marriott on SB Road, following a report published in Mirror about how this plush hotel was running its cafe, violating lockdown norms in the process. The outlet was entertaining customers from different parts of the city, with many people huddling n a table without masks; thus, butchering the prescribed social distancing regulations.

Cops have said that they had received complaints about JW Marriott from two to three people. The Mirror report prompted them to take the issue in all seriousness. The officers checked the CCTV footage of the hotel, wherein different patrons were seen entering and exiting the premises at different patrons were seen entering and exiting the premises at different times. Cops had also found more than five people sitting at a table.

According to the rule, the hotel can serve only 30 customers who have been staying at the facility.Case has been registered against the hotel director.

Verma has been booked in accordance with section 3 of the Epidemic diseases Act, 1897, section 51 (1) (b) of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the Maharashtra COVID-19 Rules, 2020.

A case has also been registered under Indian Panel Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life). 

Samira Clarke Appointed Director of Sales At Residence Inn by Marriott Long Island Garden City - NY, USA

Clarke brings her nearly 15 years of experience in the New York hotel industry, including most recently at OTO Development's AC Hotel New York Times Square, to the new Residence Inn as the director of sales.

Prior to her time with OTO Development's properties, Clarke built tremendous experience in the New York hotel industry with stints at the Courtyard Times Square West, Allegria Hotel, Hilton Garden Inn Times Square Central, among others.

She has served in a variety of roles, including front office coordinator, sales manager, and catering sales manager.

Marriott International Ranks #1 On DiversityInc Top 50 List

Marriott International, Inc. was recognized as the #1 company for diversity across industries on the 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. The ranking also makes Marriott the highest-ranking hospitality company on the list for more than ten years and the only one to have achieved the top ranking. 

Marriott's success in the diversity and inclusion space is based on a 360-degree cultural approach encompassing results-oriented metrics and initiatives supporting associates, customers, suppliers and owners. This approach had led to signature accomplishments such as collaborating with leading human rights nonprofits on human trafficking prevention training and leveraging TakeCare, its award-winning employee wellbeing program, to advance the practice of diversity and inclusion in the modern workplace.

 The company has been recognized for its talent development programs with a long list of notable and lifetime achievement awards, including - Working Mother 100 Best Companies Quarter Century and Hall of Fame, Black Enterprise Best Companies for Diversity, a repeat LATINA Style Company of the Year, Asia Society Best Companies for Asian Pacific Americans, National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) Top Companies for Executive Women Hall of Fame

An Update from Marriott’s CEO on Commitment to Cleanliness

Marriott International has always placed an emphasis on health and safety for our guests and associates. Our founder, J.W. Marriott, used to personally inspect kitchens and guest rooms for cleanliness during his hotel visits. A high standard of cleanliness is in our DNA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to raise our demanding standards to an even higher level with new protocols for the current circumstances.

Marriott has put in place a multi-pronged approach designed to meet the health and safety challenges presented by COVID-19. Below is an overview of the key components of Marriott's Commitment to Cleanliness.

• Marriott Global Cleanliness Council: Consisting of in-house and outside experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention, and hotel operations, the council will work to develop a new generation of global hospitality cleanliness standards, norms and behaviors for our more than 7,300 properties around the globe.

• New Cleaning Technologies: While our council develops its work, we have initiated plans to roll out enhanced technologies at our properties over the next few months, including electrostatic sprayers and the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization to sanitize surfaces throughout hotels.

• Cleaning Regimen Changes: When guests check into our hotels over the next few months, they will notice a number of additions to our cleaning regimen designed to set an even higher standard of cleanliness for the hotels as well as modifications to associate-guest protocols developed to be consistent with recommended social distancing guidelines.

  The steps we're taking on cleanliness and new hospitality norms are as much about the health and safety of associates as they are about our guests. 

  By taking care of associates and following these new protocols - we will be collectively taking care of our guests and the global community.

Luxury Hotel Group Caves to Pressure, Returns $59 Million in Relief Funds

Three publicly traded Texas-based hospitality firms that collectively received nearly $59 million in coronavirus relief funding and are tied to hotelier Monty Bennett announced that they would return the funds after Bennett earlier said he would not turn back the money.

Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust, and Braemar Hotels & Resorts released a statement saying the return of Paycheck Protection Program loans under the $2 trillion coronavirus economic relief package stemmed from “the agency’s recently changed rules and inconsistent federal guidance that put the companies at compliance risk.” 

The trio of luxury hotel real estate firms garnered scrutiny for receiving funds, one of the largest amounts delivered by the program, at a time when tens of thousands of small businesses are still locked out from receiving government assistance. Large companies like Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steak House received, and later agreed to return, PPP funding

The Ashford Group of Companies still maintained they would keep the funds, part of a $660 billion program meant for small businesses to maintain payrolls through the ongoing economic crisis.

The group of companies asserted the nature of the hotel industry, where smaller ownership groups typically operate under the flag of a global brand like Marriott or Hilton, qualified them for PPP funds. Since mid-March, the companies have furloughed or laid off 90 percent of their workforce due to coronavirus hindering business. The Small Business Administration has not publicly released a list of PPP loan recipients, but Ashford claimed the hotel industry received less than 3 percent of the initial $350 billion round of PPP loans.

The promise to return the PPP funding comes after travel industry groups like the U.S. Travel Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association called for the government to discourage unaffected businesses from applying for PPP loans. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the government will perform a full audit on any company taking out more than $2 million in the small business loan program.

The Ashford companies stated they would return all PPP funds by May 7.

Major Brands Offer Relief in COVID-19

Major global hotels brands have implemented a number of fee reducttions and relaxed several standards and initiatives amidst the coronavirus outbreak

Marriott

• Fee Relief

  50.0% credit for the fixed portion of the PSF for April and May ,with payment deferred until 9/1/20

  60.0 -70.0% reductions in shared services costs ,including RMAS and Field Marketing

• Cycle Renovations

  Deferring all cycle renovations that are due in 2020 by one year

• FF&E

  Walving required funding of FF&E reserves for six months with ability to borrow FF&E for working capitals needs,with lender consent as needed

• Brand Standards /Initiatives

  Guest Satisfaction Surveys will be suspended for Wave 1,2020(1/1-6/30)

  Deferred all brand and global initiatives with only mission -critial areas

• Audits and PIPs

  Brand Standard Audit activities are paused until 6/30/20 .This include BSAs asa well as audits for beverage and experientials

• Meeting & Training

Paused all mandatory ,in-person,off-site training classes and will instead leverage Digital learing Zon

Hilton

• Fee Relief

  RMCC hotels -50.0%fee for 90 days for any hotels with occupancy <50.0% over that time period

  Suspended RMCC hotels will receive a 75.5% fee reduction while out of operation

  Temporary suspension of guest assistance intervention fees

• Cycle Renovations

  Awaiting Annoucement

• FF&E

  Does not have an FF&E reserve in franchise agreement

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  SALT scores have been suspended

  Reassessing compliance dates for technology refreshes ,as well as suspending all OnQ refreshes for atleast 60 days

  Deferring the launch of several product initiatives as well as extending compliance dates until further notice

• Audits and PIPs

  For any items due in 2020 -there is a potential to extend by 12 months

  It will adjust the frequency to accommodate the current business climate,QA penalities waived for 2020

• Meeting & Training

  All in-person training will be put on hold until after June .Those who require training to do so via Hilton University online where appropriate

  IHG

• Fee Relief

  Fee Relief and Fee deferral options from 3/1/20-5/31/20 (excluding KIpton Hotel & Restraurants )

  SERVICE CONTRIBUTRION :50% discount throuGH 5/321 and deferrable for 90 days

  Technology fee :25 .0 % discount 5/31

• Cycle Renovations

  Mid -cycle renovatios are deferred until 1/21

• FF&E

  Waiving FF&E and Capital reserve requirement through 12/31/20

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  Love scrores remain in operation

  IHG will defer the publication of any new standard until 11/20

  Relaxing brand standard in Multiple areas ,including F&B Operations,Training, Technology and Loyalty ,with compliance dates extented to later this year and others into 2021

• Audits and PIPs

  Any PIP milestone dates due between now and 12/31/20 ,will get a nine month extention to that due date

• IHG is currently designing vir]tual touchpoints to support cleanliness and brand safely standard until 6/30/20

  Meeting & Training

• IHG will suspend all in-person training and move to all -virtual training sessions.Cancellation fees will be waived for current registered courses ,the training credit standard for hotels will be reduced by 25%

  Hyatt

• Fee Relief

  Centralized Revenue Management Fee (applicable to all select service proporties participating in Hyatt’s CRM services)

  50% relief in April and May or $775 per month .

• Cycle Renovations

  Deffering all cycle renovations that are due now through 6/30/21

• FF&E

  Deferring FF&E deposits for the remainder of 2020.Hotels may use the amount on deposit in replacement funds to cover general operating expenses ,which may be subject to lender approval

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  All brand initatives with budgetary implication will be postponed for the remainder of 2020

  For hotels with temporary suspended operations post surveys will restart upon resuming business operations

  For operating hotels -Hyatts surveys will restart on 5/31/20

• Audits and PIPs

  Will suspend formal brand standard audit activities for 2020,and will suspend PIPs,as approved by Hyatt,through 12/31/20

• Meeting & Training

  Suspended all in-person and off-site Hyatt meeting and training classes ,and will instead leverage Hyatt connect and digital training tools to conduct all manadotory and recommended training .

Here's how hotels are redefining the tea experience for their guests while adding to their revenues

The entire process of growing, hand-picking of leaves, careful sorting and harvesting is fascinating and a premium-grade cup of tea commands a fitting price

Tea is not just therapeutic, but great to taste, besides being zero calories.” The rise and rise of gourmet tea Hotels serving teas beyond the regular Earl Grey and Darjeeling have helped popularise gourmet teas. Cafes and restaurants in hotels now serve single estate teas and unique blends

The making of a gourmet tea

Brewing a good cup of chai is an art and everything lies in how well it is balanced. Bala Sarda, Founder & CEO, Vahdam Teas believes gourmet tea is much like fine wines

At the Emperor Lounge, The Taj Mahal Hotel - Mansingh Road, 26 tea varieties are served, from Panch Dhatu Tea to Rooibos Apple

“A good cup of tea should be brewed at the right temperature, served in beautiful teacups from a stunning teapot, and feel fresh to the palette.”

As wellness finds its way to the centrestage of people’s lives, particularly after the COVID-19 scare, tea, with its various health benefits, will find increased acceptance.

The hotel tea experience 

At Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, guests are treated to an unusual tea tasting session at Kettle, the tea lounge. The cellar holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage. Jasmine, a common flower around these parts, lends itself to a delicate tea. Hibiscus-imbued tea leaves, a green variant flecked with saffron, the not-to-be-missed blue tea made by infusing tea leaves with the butterfly blue pea flower, and lavender-infused teas are part of the extensive cellar.

The cellar at Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage.

With Mister Chai, we went all out to ensure that the typical chai time is a far more luxurious experience.” Among its offerings is Kali Mirch Chai, served with the Colaba Fish Fry Sandwich. ITC Maurya's rooftop Pan-Asian restaurant - Tian, asked Anamika Singh of Anandini Tea to work with its chef de cuisine to put together a tea-paired menu. The hotel now has a regular teatime service delivered at the room by designated butlers, exclusively for those who check-in at the women-only Eva Floor. For its executive floor guests, it has a dedicated tea lounge named Samaya, where the house blends are particularly popular.

The Lounge & Terrace on the lobby level of Four Seasons, Bangalore introduced the rarefied experience of loungy, relaxed afternoon teas to Bengaluru. In-house tea sommelier Mousumi Sharma has put together blends such as Apple Cinnamon Dust, Wild Berry Tales, Chocolate Mint and Orange Blossom, along with the classic

The art of pairing

Nair believes that each tea has its defined list of food accompaniments. High-Tea in Britain is said to be an extravagant and lavish affair,  accompanied by garden sandwiches,  scones, tarts, pies and cake. The rise and rise of High-Tea show how widely appreciated and accepted this mid-evening meal is.

The art of pairing the right food with the right cup of tea requires the sommelier to have some practice and a well-defined, sensitive palette

They  are best paired with very light food  such as white fish like sea bass or mild cheeses and desserts. Pakoras or a hot plate of vegetarian fritters go incredibly well with a piping cup of spiced chai, according to Samuel Massey, Director of Food &Beverage,Vivanta New Delhi, Dwarka.

Marriott plans to spray disinfectant in guest rooms, sanitize keys to stop COVID-19

From spraying guest rooms with disinfectant to sanitizing room keys, hotel giant Marriott International became one of the first major hotel groups to outline how it plans to reassure guests of cleanliness in the age of the coronavirus

Guests may notice some of the changes from the moment they step into a Marriott property: Furniture in public areas will be rearranged to promote social distancing.

Marriott's promise of a new level of cleanliness may be an early sign of changes that will sweep the hotel industry as chains and individual properties compete to lure guests by offering the most coronavirus-resistant environment. The strategy could be critical to trying to create a rebound for hotels as stay-at-home orders are lifted and travel resumes.

In perhaps the biggest change, Marriott said it will use electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectants to sanitize throughout the hotel. Besides guest rooms, the sprayers will be used in lobbies, gyms and other public areas. It said the cleaning agents used would be those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to kill all known pathogens.

The company is testing ultraviolet light technology for sanitizing room keys, and adding hand sanitizer stations and signs in the lobby to remind anyone who enters to keep their distance from others. Marriott is also taking a look at what to do at properties that offer buffet service.

HVS Hotel Transaction Activity: The Factors Influencing a Return to Normalcy in a Post-COVID-19 Time - By Drew Noecker

The year-over-year individual property transaction volume in Q1 2020 was down 61.4% from the same period in 2019, as COVID-19 became a major concern in the second half of the quarter; thus, this portends a large drop in Q2 2020 with a full impact of COVID-19 disruption. With our industry’s already-realized transaction volume drop and the continuation of this trend, we wanted to look at a few conditions that we believe will need to be present for a return to a robust hotel transaction market. Selected Important Factors for a Consistent, Stable Market After COVID-19 Cases Wane

• Availability of Traditional, Stabilized Financing
  There are multiple transitional, or bridge, lenders with which HVS is currently working. However, to return to a healthy market, the CMBS market, SBA lenders, and traditional balance-sheet lenders need to return to lending. 

• Understanding of the Volatile Environment by the Lending Community
  HVS is working with many companies who have “paused” hotel lending until a clearer RevPAR trajectory emerges. When lenders feel comfortable with a specific uptrend, the traditional debt market will reopen.

• Return of Broader Commercial Real Estate Investors to the Hotel Market
  One of the significant drivers of the growth in hotel transactions over the last 8+ years was the entry of traditional real estate private equity firms into the hotel ownership space. Those firms are currently concerned about the occupancy volatility of hotels during this health issue, but once the broader real estate private equity firms are again comfortable, the transaction market will improve.

• Solidification of the Concessions Available from Franchisors 
  Major franchise companies such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice, and IHG have discussed possible concessions for their franchisees. Once these concessions regarding fees and renovations are understood, owners can safely bid on available assets and return the market to a healthier state.

April 14, 2020 – Updated Transaction Data

India's top hotels will now deliver meals at lower rates amid lockdown

With social distancing becoming the new normal, hotels such as Indian Hotels, Marriott, Grand Hyatt and Accor Group Hotels are ensuring their meals reach the doorsteps of guests. For an industry that counts heavily on the overall experience, a personalised touch and ambience to pamper its guests, this is a first.

Guests can choose their favourite cuisines from a specially curated compact menu at a tad lower price than what they would have paid when dining at the hotel restaurants.

 The owner of Taj hotels is offering confectionary and gourmet hampers and a hamper for spa at home

Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, too, is pulling all plugs for its guests to beat the lockdown blues. Its brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, and Four Points are giving the guests an option for a take away or home delivery.

The hotels have introduced a compact menu of their signature dishes and are already seeing a positive response from local residents in their vicinity, she said. Stringent checks and safety measures are being taken while preparing, packaging and delivering these meals across homes.

Marriott reveals another security breach: 5.2 million guests exposed

A Marriott International franchise property may have been the source of a data leak that compromised information on up to 5.2 million hotel guests The breach involved the login credentials belonging to two employees; the incident happened in mid-January and was discovered by Marriott in late February 2020. The intruder’s access has since been disabled.

The latest breach

The security breach was discovered when Marriott found that ‘an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed’ using the two aforementioned compromised employee credentials. Those logins have since been disabled and the company has been investigating the security breach, as well as increasing its monitoring

If there’s an element of good news regarding this latest Marriott data breach, it’s that for now, at least, ‘the company currently has no reason to believe’ that certain vital guest details were accessed, including things like driver’s license numbers, bank card info, PINs, passport data, or national ID information. Certain sensitive details were potentially exposed, however.

Going forward

Security breach involved things like gender, birth dates, work company, loyalty account points and numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and names.

Not the first time

This isn’t the first time Marriott has faced a large security breach. In early 2019, for example, the company revealed that up to five million unencrypted passport numbers belonging to hotel guests had been exposed by its system. That breach involved the Starwood reservation system and impacted up to 383 million guests who stayed at one of the properties before September 11, 2018.

We Will Travel Again - An Update from Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson

I want to let you know how we’re focused on supporting the communities where our associates live and work. I also want to provide you with an update on our room cancellation policy and Marriott Bonvoy status and points expiration dates.

In the Community

Marriott understands that the pulse of the world beats as one to overcome COVID-19 and its devastating impact around the globe.  To that end, we have established the following programs to aid in the urgent fight against the pandemic.

With support from our credit card partners, American Express and JPMorgan Chase, Marriott has committed to provide $10 million worth of hotel stays for healthcare professionals leading the fight against COVID-19 in the United States. The initiative, called Rooms for Responders, will provide free rooms in some of the areas most impacted including New York City, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Newark, N.J. To implement this initiative, we collaborated with the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association to match doctors and nurses with free accommodations at participating hotels.

In a separate effort for frontline healthcare workers, we have joined with a number of our hotel owners and franchisee partners to launch the Community Caregiver Program. This initiative, available in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, provides significantly discounted rates for first responders and healthcare professionals who want to book rooms at hotels in close proximity to the hospitals where they’re working. The rate is available on Marriott.com at nearly 2,500 hotels.

With both initiatives, our goal is simple – we want to support the frontline heroes who are selflessly supporting us.

For Our Customers

We remain committed to ensuring our customers experience flexibility during these challenging times, so we have further extended our cancellation policy and I wanted to give you an update on those changes.

For guests with existing reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates that are typically more restrictive, we will allow full changes or cancellation without a charge up to 24 hours prior to arrival, as long as the change or cancellation is made by June 30, 2020. Please note that any changes to existing reservations will be subject to availability and any rate differences.

For guests making new reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates, between March 13 and June 30, 2020, we will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival date.

For Our Marriott Bonvoy Members

• Status Extension: We want you to be able to enjoy the status that you earned in 2019. With that in mind, the status you earned in 2019 will be extended to February 2022.

• Points Expiration: To provide you ample time to redeem points, the expiration of points will be paused until February 2021. At that time, your points will only expire if your account has been inactive for at least 24 months.

Marriott International Lights Up Across Asia Pacific To Spark Hope

Hong Kong -- Marriott International across Asia Pacific will light up its properties to send a positive message, offering a ray of hope to the communities they are in for locals and travellers alike. The "Light for Hope" initiative looks to spread positivity amidst the challenging times the world is currently facing.

 Over 270 hotels across various cities and regions, from Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Saigon, Jakarta, Maldives, Mumbai and many more have lit up their hotel rooms to the symbol of a smiley face, as seen from the façade of the hotel. The symbol was chosen to project a happy demeanour radiating positivity, with hopes that it brings a smile to the faces of everyone who sees it.

"In times of uncertainty one thing remains certain - we are in this together, and we will come out stronger", said Craig S.

Putting people first is at core of Marriott International. Hotels across Asia-Pacific have been going above and beyond to demonstrate the extraordinary collective power of people to help others

In these challenging and unprecedented times, associates from hotels across Asia Pacific have volunteered over 40,000 hours to serve their communities

Throughout April, guests and travellers can view the "Light for Hope" initiative at select Marriott International hotels across Asia Pacific.

Steven Drewery Named Executive Assistant Manager for the Pan Pacific London Hotel

Pan Pacific London announced the appointment of Steven Drewery as Executive Assistant Manager for Pan Pacific Hotels Group's first London property, opening in Autumn 2020.

Steven joins from The Biltmore Mayfair, where he was an integral part of the pre-opening and operational activity for the first London outpost of Hilton's most upmarket brand, LXR Hotels & Resorts.

In the new Executive Assistant Manager position, he will support Anne Golden, General Manager, on strategic decision making in addition to overseeing all Pan Pacific London's food and beverage operations. A highly established professional within the industry, Steven has an exemplary background in luxury hotel management and F&B operations, which includes positions at JW Marriott Grosvenor House; Fairmont Bab Al Bahr; Giorgio Armani, Ritz-Carlton and Conrad in Tokyo; Swissotel Singapore; and Peninsula Hong Kong.

Set to open its doors in Autumn 2020, Pan Pacific London will be taking reservations from Spring 2020. Located in a mixed-use development at One Bishopsgate Plaza, the City's new landmark tower, the hotel is currently under construction and will provide a new hospitality offering to The City of London. 

Lodging Partners Announces Sale of Residence Inn Durango

Lodging Partners, LLC, a member of Hotel Brokers International, announced the 66-guestroom Residence Inn located in Durango has sold to a regional owner/operator of premium-branded select-service hotels.

Lodging Partners along with HREC Investment Advisors represented the seller on this transaction. The marketing and negotiations were led by Ford Barton of Lodging Partners and Jeffrey Duni at HREC Investment Advisors.

Durango is considered to be an authentic Colorado town with a rich history and an endless supply of recreational activities, making it an exceptional tourist destination with diversified demand drivers. 

 The Hotel recently completed a major renovation of all guest rooms and public areas. The Hotel is in great physical condition and is well-positioned to capitalize on the market’s continued economic growth and expanding leisure demand.

"This is the second Marriott property that Lodging Partners has represented for the seller, and we were pleased to assist them in reaching their goals and objectives," said Ford Barton, Principal of Lodging Partners.

Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection in Orlando, Florida Sold

Waramaug Hospitality announced that it acquired the Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection, located in Orlando, Florida.

The 214-room lifestyle getaway property, part of the Autograph Collection by Marriott, offers boutique hotel rooms adorned with luxurious bedding and ample workstations, providing a seamless stay for both business and leisure travelers alike.

The property is conveniently located along International Drive moments from the Orange County Convention Center, Wheel at ICON Park, Pointe Orlando as well as Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld, and Walt Disney World. Universal's newest theme park, Epic Universe, currently scheduled to open in 2023, is located across the street from the hotel.

The property will continue to be managed by Schulte Hospitality Group. 

Marriott in Strong Position to Tackle COVID-19

As even the largest players are forced to contend with unprecedented levels of disruption thanks to COVID-19, Marriott has announced mitigation plans that outline a number of strong measures to minimize the impact of coronavirus. This swift, decisive action should stand the company in good stead, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

“Marriott is in the fortunate position of having large cash reserves and has just under 50% of its $4.5bn revolving credit facility left to tap into. This is a huge advantage for Marriott as it attempts to overcome the inevitable financial hardship caused by COVID-19.”

Marriott’s strong brand image, across 30 brands in 130 countries, will work in its favor and enable loyal customers to return safely to travel while making the most of the company’s feted loyalty scheme. Marriott is the second largest hotel chain in the world. This brand and market power puts Marriott in prime position to cope with the impact of the coronavirus, compared to other competitors.

Marriott International Notifies Guests of Property System Incident

Hotels operated and franchised under Marriott’s brands use an application to help provide services to guests at hotels. At the end of February 2020, the company identified that an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property. The company believes that this activity started in mid-January 2020. Upon discovery, the company confirmed that the login credentials were disabled, immediately began an investigation, implemented heightened monitoring, and arranged resources to inform and assist guests. Marriott also notified relevant authorities and is supporting their investigations.

Although Marriott’s investigation is ongoing, the company currently has no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs, payment card information, passport information, national IDs, or driver’s license numbers.

At this point, the company believes that the following information may have been involved for up to approximately 5.2 million guests, although not all of this information was present for every guest involved:

• contact details (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, and phone number)

• loyalty account information (e.g., account number and points balance, but not passwords)

• additional personal details (e.g., company, gender, and birthday day and month)

• partnerships and affiliations (e.g., linked airline loyalty programs and numbers)

• preferences (e.g., stay/room preferences and language preference)

  Marriott is sending emails to guests involved. Marriott has also set up a dedicated website (www.mysupport.marriott.com) and call center resources with additional information for guests. The call center resources can be reached by calling the numbers listed on the dedicated website. The email sent to guests and the website also contain a list of steps guests involved can consider taking and information about enrolling in a personal information monitoring service that Marriott is providing.

Tribute Portfolio Continues to Grow Its Global Family of Hotels. First Outpost in Frankfurt, Germany

Tribute Portfolio, Marriott International’s newest collection of characterful independent hotels, continues to expand its European footprint with the opening of Gekko House, the brand’s second hotel in Germany and first in Frankfurt. The 128-room urban-designed hotel is situated in the heart of Frankfurt’s up-and-coming Gallus district known for its converted warehouses and factories, which is now home to eclectic music venues and theatres. Frankfurt-based Morgen Interiors led the design, creating a captivating urban aesthetic reflective of Frankfurt’s open-minded culture whilst inviting spontaneity and fun, inspired by the hotel’s motto, ‘life is crazy.’

It is set to be a hot spot for both guests and locals alike with its characterful and cosmopolitan design, sincere service, and lively ambiance at their Chicago Williams restaurant and bar

Marriott International grows footprint in Bali

Aloft Hotels, Marriott International’s very trendy hotel brand, announced the opening of Aloft Bali Seminyak. Located in the heart of vibrant Seminyak, the brand-new, urban-inspired hotel features interactive social spaces and modern style, along with a fresh new social scene to Bali as the first Aloft hotel to open on the island.

It is set to own the stage as the hottest gathering hub for travelers visiting the well-known social scene of Seminyak.