As the Asia Pacific region continues to be the growth engine for luxury travel, a new comprehensive report from the Luxury Group by Marriott International has identified new expectations and travel preferences among high-net-worth (HNW) travelers in Asia Pacific. Across the region, 68% are planning to spend more on travel over the next 12 months – 89% among Indians - with 74% planning to travel within Asia Pacific and 88% prioritizing gastronomy as the reason to travel. One in four of all holidays planned (25%) are celebrations. Three distinct new groups of luxury traveler have emerged – the ‘Venture Travelist’ who seeks business opportunities when traveling, ‘Experience Connoisseur’ Millennials who are traveling for enrichment and ‘Timeless Adventurer’, over 65s who are building their own itineraries and exploring places before they become popular.
Marriott to Change Reservation System in Deal Over Accessibility
11.06.2024 - 22:13 / skift.com / Justice Department
Marriott has agreed to a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to address barriers faced by individuals with disabilities in booking accessible rooms.
The deal, reached quietly last week, ensured compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) across hundreds of Marriott-branded U.S. hotels. [See the settlement agreement embedded below.]
Marriott denied wrongdoing and admitted no liability, and paid a $50,000 civil penalty.
Many other hotel companies of all sizes will seek to follow Marriott’s adoption of practices to fit U.S. guidelines. The deal may help end a period of lack of agreement and legal clarity about the ADA guidelines.
The most critical issues appeared to be prioritizing that accessible rooms are set aside for the guests who most need them, displaying that inventory across all distribution channels (including online travel agencies), and adequately and accurately detailing which features accessible rooms have.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), via the Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, investigated Marriott’s reservation practices following complaints from individuals with disabilities.
Marriott contended it complied with all ADA requirements, and noted that its franchised hotels are independently owned and operated.
The DOJ had some different views. One was that Marriott’s reservations system often only said if a room was ADA-compliant, without details, while the DOJ contended that more details on each room were needed to comply with the law.
What’s more: Before October 2022, travelers allegedly couldn’t guarantee accessible room reservations through online travel agencies such as Expedia.
The hotel operator will pay a $50,000 civil penalty under the deal. It also agreed to report its compliance with providing a minimum number of accessible rooms at its properties and track complaints made via its call centers. The Justice Department has closed its investigation.
Marriott said it would make several changes to its reservation system. A few are listed below:
Marriott aims to list all accessible rooms through its booking system. This inventory will be available for booking on each hotel’s website and Marriott’s site and app. Listings will detail the accessible features in guest rooms.
Accessible rooms will be made available for booking through the largest online travel agencies, such as Expedia and Booking.com, “for the first time.”
The Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program will begin to let members use reward points to book accessible rooms.
Following is the settlement agreement:
What am I looking at? The performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets, including
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