Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
They will lack the "Mom and Pop" managed feeling that we give to our renters. I can guarantee you that the manager of the Marriott is not going to invite some of his renters to his own house to shoot guns, drink beer from a kegorator and have a cookout, but I do.
Real Estate Agent · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2014 · 473 posts · 230 votes
7y
I saw the news about this in the Hustle email today. Sounds like Marriott is going with higher-end str's, and will seek to make them pretty uniform from one to another (so you know exactly what you are getting each time).
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
They will lack the "Mom and Pop" managed feeling that we give to our renters. I can guarantee you that the manager of the Marriott is not going to invite some of his renters to his own house to shoot guns, drink beer from a kegorator and have a cookout, but I do.
Rental Property Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2019 · 246 posts · 159 votes
7y
Just saw the article today on LinkedIn. Allows guest to use their reward programs. Meanwhile Airbnb is getting into the hotel business. Disruption everywhere,lol. Wonder if this drive prices up for SFH in certain areas.
Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 38 posts · 10 votes
7y
@Julie McCoy
From an email my wife received, she works in HR for Marriott
Today marks the exciting launch of Homes & Villas by Marriott International, the company’s global expansion into home rentals. We now offer our guests access to more than 2,000 premium and luxury homes and villas in over 100 destinations across the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America, with each property offering the space and amenities of a home, backed by the trusted Marriott International brand.
As one of our C.O.R.E priorities, Expansion is at the heart of what our Homes & Villas by Marriott International announcement is all about. This offering enables us to meet the diverse needs of our customers, while keeping pace with the changing competitive landscape. What started out as a pilot of 200 homes in London, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Rome in April 2018 with Tribute Portfolio Homes is now a global offering providing guests with what no other competitor does today – commitment to quality, consistency, service, standards and compliance.
With Homes & Villas by Marriott International, guests won’t need to scroll through hundreds of properties to find the one that is truly exceptional; they know they’ll receive a high-quality and consistent home rental experience with luxury and premium properties that have been hand selected, each meeting rigorous design as well as safety and security standards. This collection of properties includes private beach villas, countryside cabins, and stone castles as well as urban residences and lofts.
Just like in our hotels, we will strive to make our guests’ stays as stress-free as possible, offering 24-hour check-in, high-speed Wi-Fi, and premium amenities, helping set the stage for our guests to create special, lasting memories with family and friends.
Most importantly, our more than 125 million Marriott Bonvoy members have the ability to earn and redeem points for their stay. Marriott Bonvoy is the world’s premier travel loyalty program and through Homes & Villas by Marriott International, we will continue to offer even more exciting and amazing benefits to attract and retain our growing membership for all their travel needs.
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of what’s to come.
It takes a tremendous amount of work to launch an initiative like this. Please join us in congratulating our newly named Vice President, Homes & Villas by Marriott International, Jennifer Hsieh and her dedicated team on reaching this moment. They are bringing another form of good travel to our guests and we couldn’t be more excited.
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Thank you @Nancy Bachety for providing publicly available information. @Wyatt Degaine I'm not sure why you expected commentary on an internal email your wife received without us seeing it?
My opinion is the STR space is going to be constantly changing for awhile yet before it really stabilizes, and this is all part of it. However, I also believe that culturally, there's a demand for unique experiences and the opportunity to "live like a local" vs. the sterility of a hotel room (or a hotel-provided house). As always, there's going to be people who prefer one over the other, so I don't expect either side to collapse under the competition.
I do find it kind of hilarious that Marriott is positioning itself as competing with AirBNB, since IMO all Marriott is doing now is offering stand-alone hotel rooms (which will undoubtedly be priced accordingly), while AirBNB/VRBO are still focused on the individual owner-operator. But perhaps that will change too, with AirBNB venturing into the hotel space.
In short, I'm personally not concerned; I can see this being a good thing for Marriott but I'm not sure it'll take much of a bite out of the AirBNB space, and I definitely don't see it driving nightly prices down. Where it will most likely have an impact is in the real estate markets in the specific types they're targeting - developers are gonna LOVE this. It's bad news for people who are looking to buy into the particular markets Marriott is getting into, and possibly bad news for people who are already there.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
What would be interesting is if they offer investors like us to put our homes in the Marriott vacation rental pool.
It would provide them with a huge number of unique rentals right off the bat.
Of course it would have to work for us financially and I suspect they would want some kind of continuity between rentals (which might defeat the purpose of unique).
What also would be interesting is if local governments allowed this type of STR run by Marriott in the same space that they have banned others in. That opens the door for groups to sue the cities based on that happening.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
There is a variety of reasons people chose STR over hotels. That being said, let me share mine.
I am a heavy business traveler and I use Marriott chain regularly. For business travel, my company only uses hotels. We negotiate bulk rates with key chains. For business most hotels are close to main roads, offer 24 hour cancellation, no cleaning fees, private rooms, breakfast and coffee on site, exercise room, multiple rooms for coworkers if a group is traveling and they have consistency.
For personal travel, I use STR about half the time. There are three main reasons I do this:
1. Multiple bedrooms so children can go to bed early
2. Kitchen to cook meals
3. Pet friendly (occasionally need this)
All of the above can be found in extended stay hotel rooms, but it is not possible to find affordable rooms in every location. I honestly prefer the extended stay when I can find it, because of better consistency and friendly cancellation policy. Plus the rewards program, free breakfast, pool, gym, etc.
The hardest part for me about STR is the variety in quality. In a hotel if there is any problem, the front desk will relocate me to another room or onsite maintenance will fix the issue. At STR, I am stuck dealing with the issue. Most of the hosts are doing it on the side, so they often ask me to remedy issues. I have had issues like them asking me to move a sprinkler in the yard, put a bucket under a leak, make the bed because I didn't have time, we will bring a new coffee pot over tomorrow, etc. Nothing by itself is huge, but I don't have any of that at a hotel.
For me the Marriott properties may be a good option, offering more space and Marriott consistency. Cost and availability is the issue I see. The hotel industry will continue to evolve and STR regulations will continue to tighten. Ultimately hotels have scale which will always give them an advantage.
Realtor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 244 posts · 275 votes
7y
I'm with @Joe Splitrock. I vastly prefer to stay in hotels, but when I'm traveling with my family I need to be able to put the kid to bed in his own room and hang out in another room without disturbing him after bedtime. Kids also mean stuff, which means that parking close to the front door and not paying to park are important on family trips.
For now, we stay in AirBnbs when we travel, but I hate the whole AirBnb experience of browsing hundreds of listings, having maintenance issues, having to guess if the location is good, and knowing that I am likely displacing a local family (airbnbs are ruining the neighborhood I live in, so I am sensitive to this). I also hate that I have to pay for AirBnbs with money but I can almost always pay for my Marriott or Hyatt rooms using points. This is a very smart move by Marriott.
Will it impact people in our profession who are taking what used to be housing and turning those units into hotels? Possibly. The biggest impact will likely be that cities and towns that were cautious about regulating airbnbs will have more ammunition to do so if Marriott or other big chains get into the game.
Rental Property Investor · St. Augustine, FL · Member since 2017 · 189 posts · 127 votes
7y
@Wyatt Degaine I think it’s fantastic. Marriott will expand its network of luxury homes which will mean they will come to we, the homeowners. More competition and more access from travelers for our properties. Win win
Richland Center, WI · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 16 votes
7y
I have to agree with the above sentiments, this is a good direction. We split 50/50 for travel as we always go as a family of 5 (soon 6) and most of the time with the in-laws in tow also. In Europe it was all STR except for a couple nights on certificates because of room limitations. It comes down to the trip and our expectations at the end. I expect consistency and that is what takes the time to search for through Airbnb and now thinking about it, all but a couple of our stays have been hosted through professional management companies. We also really appreciate the offerings of a full service hotel at this stage in our live.
I drag this topic back up as our favorite resort is adding around 60 condos to their 85 key beach hotel location. Their hotel rooms are mostly suites, but limited in occupancy. We've stayed at several surrounding resorts and this one is by far the best of them. The thought is nice for us spending a few months on the beach in the down season. Rates are going to be interesting, I anticipate them to be 3-4 times the equivalent STR offering. They are also doubling the size of the amenities pool so it wont feel over-crowded. At the end of the day it's going to come down to offering a consistent product with the hotel features that many travelers are accustomed to and pay extra for.