BETHESDA, Maryland—The integration of Starwood Preferred Guest into a combined loyalty platform with Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards is perhaps Marriott International’s most important ongoing concern following the 2016 acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

As the executive in charge of the process of creating and unveiling a unified loyalty platform, Global Chief Commercial Officer Stephanie Linnartz said SPG was a key piece of the Starwood acquisition and the most common talking point among consumers following the announcement of the deal.

“SPG was the crown jewel, or at least one of them, from the Starwood organization,” she said. “It’s a powerful platform.”

Ongoing integration
She said the SPG and Marriott Rewards programs have already benefited from their connective tissue.

SPG picked up mobile check-in and check-out from Marriott Rewards, and elite-tier benefits from SPG like late check-out were ported over to Marriott Rewards.

Linnartz said that was done in part to send members the message that the result of the combination will be the “best of both worlds.”

Now the company is moving into the next stages of loyalty integration.

In August, the company’s three existing loyalty platforms, which also includes Ritz-Carlton Rewards, will share the same back-end system for the first time. Linnartz described this new structure as the three programs as three doorways that lead to the same place.

And while the current level of integration allows members to link Marriott Rewards and SPG accounts and transfer points between the two as they are earned either at legacy Marriott or Starwood properties, the August integration will mean each of the programs contribute to the same pool of points and status recognition and can be accrued across Marriott’s portfolio.

Guests will see several benefits from these changes.

“One account will be so much easier to manage,” she said. “And on average (guests) will earn 20% more points. And from a consumer standpoint, they’ll be able to earn elite status faster.”

Getting to that point was no easy task, as the company spent a considerable amount of time negotiating things like new branded credit card deals to pave the way to a higher level of connectivity.

The next major step is the rollout of an as-yet-unnamed fully integrated loyalty platform. Linnartz said the exact date of the launch has not yet been determined.

“It will be a new face to the world, and we’re excited about that,” she said. “We’re constantly thinking about ways to innovate.”

Offering experiences
Linnartz said one of the big changes in consumer behavior and desire for loyalty programs is the ability to redeem points for things that enhance the travel experience beyond hotel roomnight redemptions. She said this will include things like a points-based experience platform and home-sharing options, which Marriott is currently piloting in London.

“It will be a platform for our most loyal guests to engage for things other than hotels,” she said. “That’s the picture that’s coming together.”

She said offering experiences is already key in the hotel industry but will grow ever more important in the loyalty space. Some examples she offered of possible redemptions include boat tours in Boston or tours of Highclere Castle, the filming location of “Downton Abbey.”

“The bread of experiences is growing more and more every single day,” she said. “And part of the reason is it going up and up is people want experiences as much as they want things.”

Data is key
Linnartz said the rise of experience platforms will make the use of data and insights even more vital so companies like Marriott can do a better job targeting offers that are relevant to individual guests to boost conversions.

“You’ll see us increasingly improving our capabilities with machine learning and data analytics,” she said.

She said the kind of personalization a higher level of data analytics provides is one of the top trends in industries outside of hotels. The hotel industry sits on a treasure trove of data provided by guests and—especially—loyalty members, but the proliferation of legacy systems across the industry can make it difficult to get that information to the right people at the right time to make a difference.

“That’s where I think our industry is more complicated than pure digital players,” she said.

Linnartz noted there are efforts underway to offer better tailored results on Marriott.com and a new property-level customer relationship management system currently “rolling out globally” at Marriott hotels to get better information on guests “in the hands of associates.”

She said that will get to the key balance of the opportunities from new technologies and high-touch hospitality.

“It all doesn’t matter if at the hotel there isn’t a warm smile,” she said.

Opportunities in home-sharing
Linnartz said part of the opportunity in the home-sharing space will be providing a sense of consistency and order to a space that is relatively chaotic. From a consumer perspective, it’s hard to sort through the large amount of inventory of varying quality.

“It’s not organized well, and that’s overwhelming for consumers,” she said.

She also noted that the space doesn’t currently have “a ton of qualified third-party managers to help hosts get (their properties) cleaned and organized,” which will be key in order for more established hotel companies like Marriott moving into the space.

Marriott is working with a startup that provides just that service for its London pilot program. She said the company will prioritize quality over quantity in the home-sharing space.

“We’re careful about what’s selected,” Linnartz said. “It has to fit our branding. It has to follow the local laws.”

Marriott’s home-share properties—which are currently branded under the Tribute Portfolio brand—also will offer instant booking, which is not an option on most home-sharing competitors. She said that pilot is “going well so far.”

“It’s an interesting test for us,” she said. “It will keep running through the fall, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Linnartz said one of the appeals of moving into home-sharing is that it offers guests the opportunity to stay within the Marriott ecosystem and enjoy the loyalty perks during occasions that wouldn’t typically fit into a hotel stay, like when they’re traveling with large family groups.

“People want choice,” she said. “They want options.”

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—As mobile apps providing at-your-fingertips travel information have proliferated, the role of the hotel concierge has evolved with this growing high-tech trend.

Guests at luxury hotels and resorts and smaller boutique properties will now gather information online about restaurants, shows and attractions themselves, and then combine what they have found with the expertise and connections that the concierge offers.

“The work of the concierge is definitely changing from what it used to be; we are the filter of information from the internet,” said Roberts Marks, president of Les Clefs d’Or USA, the prestigious national association of hotel concierges. “Guests will come to us, for instance, with the names of three restaurants they found on different websites and ask us which would be best suited for them.” Marks is also the chef concierge at the Omni San Diego Hotel.

But, the growth of internet research has led to some job loss among concierges. At other hotels, they have distributed the concierge role among several employees, who add those responsibilities to their other ones around the hotel. Still, even though traditional concierge jobs continue to ebb and flow, Marks said that Les Clefs d’Or USA continues to see yearly incremental growth, and with 650 members, the organization is larger than it has ever been in its 40-year history.

“One of the biggest assets we give guests is one thing you can’t buy, and that’s time,” Marks said. “If you have to work to find out information yourself, you are using your precious time, which no one has enough of these days.”

Relationships matter
For one hotel, choosing to open without a dedicated concierge on staff proved to be a negative. The 111-room boutique CIRC Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, originally opened in May without a concierge. The mindset was that the property has multi-functional employees who could have handled some of the concierge duties. That lasted just four weeks, said GM Kara Lundgren.

“Guests were looking for the concierge to assist them,” she said. “The (return on investment) on having a concierge is infinite.”

And while guests can use mobile devices to request an Uber or order show tickets, the concierge has the relationships and connections to get guests into top restaurants or score tickets to the hottest show in town, said Frederik Houben, director of sales and marketing at the 389-room Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta St. Louis.

“You want to be everybody’s favorite hotel, and being a favorite means you want to offer the level of personal connections that an experienced concierge can provide to your guests,” Houben said. “Technology can’t and will never take that place.”

The evolution of personalization
Jeanne Venn, chef concierge at the Chase Park Plaza and Les Clefs d’Or member since 1986, said the role of the concierge has become more and more personal.

“Since guests are already coming to you nowadays with information and are more educated, you have to be able to ask pertinent questions to know what to best recommend to a guest and what really matters most to that particular person,” he said.

He added that since there is so much “garbage” and erroneous information on the internet, the concierge can help decipher what makes the most sense for a guest.

While younger guests rely heavily on mobile apps for finding information on shows, restaurants and attractions when traveling, they are now combining that with a final seal of approval from concierges.

“The millennials want our opinion and are asking if a certain restaurant or attraction they have researched themselves is really right for them; they are still seeking that human connection,” pointed out Ryan Lettier, concierge at the 117-room Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland in Oregon.

That human connection that Lettier mentioned is especially important to foreign travelers, noted Tory Criss, guest services supervisor at the 44-room beachfront Tower23 Hotel in San Diego, California. About 40% of the property’s guests come from Europe, Asia and South America.

“These international travelers want more than just brochures and online reviews,” Criss said. “They really seek out the concierge to recommend unique dining options and special experiences while they are here.”

New technology can actually enhance the work of concierges, and allow them to serve guests even before they arrive on site, said Jonathan Wilson, VP, customer experience, food and beverage and wellness at Hilton. Hilton’s Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand offers Conrad Concierge, which allows guests to request amenities and communicate with a concierge pre-stay.

“Five years ago guests would ask a concierge for a recommendation for a good place for dinner; now they want to dine at a restaurant that has the top new chef in town,” Wilson said.

Another value concierges provide, which is technically not part of their job descriptions, are the unique and long-lasting relationships they have built up with repeat loyal guests at their properties. Because they are so visible in hotel lobbies, guests may turn to them to lend an ear in a way that they wouldn’t with other hotel employees.

“I have had guests in town for a funeral or for treatment for stage four cancer come over just to talk to me as a friend,” Lettier said. “No app can do that.”