Skift Take
Booking meeting space online has tempted planners for a long time; it is now a reality. With Marriott becoming the first major hotel brand to offer instant booking on Groups360, this could soon become the standard way of booking small meetings.
Marriott International and group-focused hotel booking platform Groups360 announced on Wednesday the launch of Instant Booking for Marriott’s portfolio of hotels in the United States and Canada. Marriott International becomes the first brand to offer the “Instant Book” functionality for both guest rooms and meeting space at scale on Groups360’s GroupSync Marketplace.
Groups360 is bullish on its approach to simplifying the sourcing and contracting process for small events. It aims to turn hotel sourcing into an experience similar to online shopping.
“This offers our group customers what they have told us they are looking for, which is a much more seamless and efficient booking experience,” said Drew Pinto, Global Officer, Global Sales, Distribution and Revenue Management, Marriott International.
This new integration gives planners access to inventory at over 1,500 Marriott properties across the United States and Canada, with more coming online throughout 2023. “We anticipate that over 20,000 leading hotel properties will be equipped to offer online group booking in the months ahead,” said Kemp Gallineau, CEO, Groups360.
Planners can view available inventory before submitting an RFP at all Marriott locations. ”Event organizers benefit not only from instant booking for rooms and space but from à la carte catering and equipment ordering, too,” added Gallineau.
Groups 360 already works with over 200,000 hotels worldwide.
“Our industry-leading integration with Groups360 will also allow all Marriott hotels globally to receive and respond to RFPs quickly and efficiently through a two-way response process. This will be a win-win for both planners and hotels,” said Pinto.
Bookings made via the platform are received instantly by the individual property. This enables faster handling and execution of small meetings. Small meetings are defined as 10-25 guest rooms on peak and/or events for up to 50 attendees, starting four days out and up to 1 year out, with a maximum stay of 7 days.
Marriott is celebrating the GroupSync Marketplace launch by giving away 1 million Marriott Bonvoy® points with the Plan to Win Giveaway.
