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Marriott International, Inc vs Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc

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1 Executive summary
This paper analyses and compares two major global hotel chains, Marriott International, Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Both chains have extensive investments in and outside the US. They have very strong brand names and are quite competitive. However they differ in their strategies, like the market segment each one targets, the role of technology in the business, the financial efficiency of their systems etc. The paper discusses the extent of globalisation that each firm has taken and what is their strategy in terms of global expansion. The paper also analyses the benefits and demerits each chain faces as a result of the individual strategy they had adopted. They also analysed the effect the recent
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In 2009, 27.81% of its total revenue came from international markets.
5 Critical Factor Analysis
5.1 Critical Factors of Marriott’s Global Success
5.1.1 High Brand Recognition
Marriott is well known for its strong brand portfolio in all the major markets around the world, through its luxury brand like Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and mid-priced brands like Courtyard. As global communication increases, these highly recognized brands are definitely the first choice for many businessmen and travellers, for their global reputation and guaranteed quality.
5.1.2 Technical Factor
Marriott adopts a series of technical programs to support its customer service. One of them is Marriott’s’ Automated Reservation System for Hotel Accommodations (MARSH), which include a database of all its customers around the world.2 When a guest enters the Marriott in New York, the system recognizes that she stayed in Courtyard Tokyo last month and then she would receive a personalized service. This way Marriott can provide a better customer service through information technology, which is better than its competitors.
5.1.3 Economy Factor
The hotel industry is highly dependent on the economic scenarios. In the past few years, the fast developing economy in Asia had strong positive influence on Marriott’s globalization. “The Asia-Pacific hotels industry grew by 21.7% in 2008 to reach a value of $116.5 billion.”4 While the hotel industry in US is almost mature and
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