When the pandemic hit, Marriott had to rethink guest communications. It was critical to efficiently (and empathetically) share updates and evolving health and safety measures with guests. Enter: Email. Communications for Homes & Villas by Marriott International are one strong example of how this hospitality leader used the power of AI-driven email to successfully connect with their guests as individuals and increase bookings.
Of all the industries impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, the travel industry was one of the hardest hit. The ability to connect with customers in a human way during challenging times required a major shift in messaging. It had to be timely, and it had to be personal—which made email the right channel for the job. Working with long-time partner Epsilon, Marriott leaned more heavily into the channel to meet the changing demands of their guests.
Instead of the cross-border, business or air travel messages they would typically serve, Marriott shifted their messaging to:
Even as recovery began, business travel was much slower to resume than leisure travel. To reach the leisure audience, they created a program to drive brand awareness and bookings for their luxury private home rental brand, Homes & Villas by Marriott International (HMVI). First, Epsilon curated collections of properties and handpicked destinations based on the individual. Then, using Epsilon PeopleCloud Messaging and its powerful AI engine, Marriott served personalized email communications explaining the benefits and safety of choosing HVMI over other rental options.
The team was able to build out a flexible, mobile-optimized email architecture for HVMI (as most of their bookings are done on mobile). This allowed them to create visually compelling, brand-compliant messages easily and at scale.