Marriott is planning to move further into home-sharing, hoping that its luxury properties and loyalty points can attract travelers away from rivals like Airbnb. The hotel company will soon start taking reservations through its website for 2,000 homes in 100 markets throughout the United States and Europe. It plans to expand its Homes and Villas program to other locations after the initial expansion.
The San Francisco-based company recently announced it’s working with a New York real estate developer to establish a hotel with 200 suites in Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. Airbnb, which plans to go public but hasn’t made clear when, also acquired Hotel Tonight, a last-minute booking service, in March.
Marriott is directing its focus toward families and groups, and the homes lean more towards the luxury market with prices ranging from $200 per night for a one-bedroom apartment to $10,000 for a full Scottish castle.
Marriott believes it has benefits that will allow it to succeed — unlike its home-sharing rivals, it offers a loyalty program that lets travelers earn and use points on its hotels and homes. Business travelers can accumulate points at Courtyard hotels, for example, and use them other vacations. Airbnb is working on a similar program but has yet to release more information on when it will roll out.
In addition to these benefits, Marriott also can offer hotel-like standards that aren’t often found in home-sharing. This includes Wi-Fi, crisp white sheets, bath amenities, baby cribs and smoke alarms.
