Unlocking Seamless Stays: Marriott's Digital Transformation In APAC
In today’s fast-moving world of digital travel, Marriott International is setting a new benchmark for seamless, personalized guest experiences. In this exclusive interview, Mark Shrives, Vice President, APEC Digital, shares how Marriott is transforming the end-to-end guest journey across the APEC region through omnichannel innovation, mobile-first engagement, and AI-powered personalization, while staying true to its core values of trust, comfort, and hospitality.
The Foundation of Omnichannel Comfort
What sparked Marriott’s focus on building a unified guest journey across platforms and properties?
At Marriott, our guests have always been at the center of everything we do. As our brand portfolio grew and traveler expectations evolved, we recognized the need to better connect the entire travel journey, not just within a single brand or platform, but across our full ecosystem.
We are currently undergoing our largest tech transformation to date, shifting away from traditional legacy technology systems and towards new advanced technologies that remove friction, modernize and integrate our systems. From updating our reservations and property management platforms to tapping into AI and cloud innovation, our focus is on delivering more seamless, personalized experiences that make every guest feel recognized and valued, wherever they travel to.
What were some of the biggest operational or tech challenges in moving from siloed to seamless guest experiences?
One of the most complex challenges has been the scale of transformation required across a company as large and diverse as Marriott. Moving from siloed systems to a unified, guest-centric experience isn’t something that happens overnight — it’s a multi-year effort involving significant investment, global coordination, and deep operational change. We’re still in the midst of this journey, and one of the key tensions we face is balancing the need to optimize and grow performance today, while also building toward future solutions. It’s a constant prioritization exercise: how do we modernize the now without slowing down what comes next?
You can see this balance in action through two key tracks: Today, we’ve rolled out a new digital experience platform that improves the shop-and-book journey while unlocking more revenue for owners. We’ve also introduced retail capabilities like room attribute pricing, flexible payments, and support for non-room product sales. Meanwhile, we’ve embarked on a multi-year digital transformation journey to elevate the customer experience, empower associates, and drive future topline revenue laying the groundwork to win tomorrow while still delivering results today.
On the digital side, we’ve made major strides by consolidating our websites, apps, and guest data into a single ecosystem. This gives us a solid foundation to deliver more personalized and consistent experiences, and to integrate seamlessly with future system upgrades across property management, reservations, and CRM. It’s a long-term commitment, but one that will ultimately redefine how we engage with guests at every stage — from inspiration to check-out.
Mobile as the Guest Control Hub
How has mobile behavior shifted among Marriott Bonvoy members, particularly in APAC? *without China
The shift to mobile in Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) hasn’t just accelerated — it’s completely transformed how members engage with Marriott. A few years ago, most digital bookings in the region happened through web browsers. In 2019, 65% of APEC room bookings were made via web channels, and just 35% through the Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App. Fast forward to 2025, and those numbers have flipped dramatically: over 60% of bookings are now made through the app, with web accounting for just 37%. This shift is fueled by increasing trust in mobile transactions, targeted app-only promotions, and a demand for on-the-go flexibility.
What’s especially notable is that APEC is now among the global leaders in app booking share — a clear sign that mobile is no longer just a convenience, but a dominant channel for our members in the region. In 2024 alone, Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App downloads in APEC surged by 78%, while active users increased over 20% and app bookings by members nearly doubled, showing that more guests are not only engaging on mobile, but also transacting with confidence.
The bottom line is, mobile isn’t just the future — in this region, it’s already here.
Can you share how the app is designed to deliver comfort from booking to check-out? Any features travelers love most?
Our vision is to the be first place people come for travel, offering delightful experiences for new and returning guests on Marriott.com and the Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App. From discovery to check-out, the app is designed to deliver comfort, control, and a more personalized experience.
It starts with inspiration: tailored content helps guests explore destinations and offers based on their preferences. The booking experience is simple and flexible, with access to member rates, cash and point redemption options, and instant confirmations, even for redemption stays and upgrades.
As travel begins, features like mobile check-in allow guests to plan their arrival on their terms. One moment that stands out for me personally was after a long-haul flight from Bangkok to Washington, DC. I was able to check in from the airport, use my phone as a mobile key, bypass the front desk entirely, and head straight to my room with no lines, no delays. After hours of travel, that seamless access was a welcome relief. And once I’d rested, I could still enjoy the warmth of human hospitality when I was ready. It’s really about freedom and flexibility.
During the stay, guests can use Mobile Requests and Chat to order amenities, message hotel teams, or even redeem points for dining by scanning a QR code. Travelers especially love the mobile chat function!
Even after check-out, the journey continues. Guests can view their points, track rewards, and enjoy personalized touches that celebrate their loyalty.
Flexible redemption options within the Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App, allowing guests to use points or a combination of cash and points for their stays
Personalization at Scale
How are you using data and AI to tailor digital experiences while still respecting guest privacy and comfort?
At Marriott, we see AI as a powerful enabler to enhance and create seamless guest experiences, not replace the human touch. We also see AI as a way to empower our associates with the tools they need to make their jobs easier, and to allow them to spend more time with our guests.
One current example is an AI tool we’re preparing to deploy that will assist front desk teams with room assignments, reducing complexity and allowing associates to focus more on welcoming guests. This is part of our broader GenAI innovation work, launched in 2023 through our internal GenAI Studio, where we prototype and scale ideas that benefit guests, hotel teams, and owners.
Across all initiatives, we apply a structured governance process to ensure AI is deployed safely and ethically. We're excited to continue to explore the opportunities AI presents as technology continues to quickly evolve.
What makes personalization successful in a travel context versus retail or eCommerce?
In travel, personalization is about anticipation, not just recommendation. Unlike retail, where purchases are often transactional, travel is emotional and experiential. Success comes from understanding intent, timing, and context — recognizing not just what a guest might want, but when and why it matters in their journey.
Commerce that Respects the Journey
With the Marriott Media Network in play, how do you maintain trust and comfort while offering ad experiences?
While the Marriott Media Network isn’t live in APEC yet, guest trust remains central to its design. The platform uses only first-party, consent-based data and ensures transparency through clear opt-out options. Ad experiences are thoughtfully integrated into brand-safe, travel-relevant environments — like Marriott.com or the Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App — to enrich, not interrupt, the guest journey. Marriott is also selective with brand partners, focusing on relevant categories like travel, wellness, and dining to ensure ads feel helpful, not intrusive.
How do you measure success - clicks, engagement, partner interest, or something else?
We focus on meaningful impact, from brand lift and awareness to attributable conversions, helping partners connect with travelers in ways that go beyond clicks. We also look at downstream effects like loyalty engagement, booking uplift, and partner satisfaction across campaigns.
Outcomes & What’s Ahead
What have been some standout results or surprises since launching your omnichannel and media initiatives?
APAC has led Marriott’s global digital growth over the past five years — a clear sign that our omnichannel and media strategy is working. This success is the result of strong cross-functional collaboration, with sales, revenue, loyalty, and partnerships all driving digital channel performance. We’ve seen especially exciting momentum in India and Indonesia, and growing engagement from next-gen travelers with our digital and loyalty offerings. In 2024, we saw combined room night growth from digital channels in these two countries increase by over 20% year-over-year adding more than 500,000 incremental room nights. This performance outpaced both global and regional averages, and the momentum has continued through the first half of 2025.
What’s next for Marriott’s digital guest experience - what trends are you watching closely?
We’re focused on how AI is reshaping search, content discovery, and real-time personalization — and exploring how to integrate these shifts into scalable, seamless guest experiences.
Continued development of the Marriott Bonvoy Mobile App is also a priority, as our broader digital transformation unlocks new capabilities across trip planning, on-stay interactions, and ancillary revenue opportunities.
Hyperlocalization remains a key focus — especially around language, payments, and UX — to ensure our platforms feel intuitive and native in every market.
Final Takeaway
As digital adoption accelerates across APEC, Marriott’s transformation is setting a new standard for what seamless, mobile-first travel can look like. With a focus on personalization, ethical AI, and experience-driven commerce, the future of travel isn’t just digital, it’s deeply human.
Our contributor:
Mark Shrives, Vice President, APEC Digital, Marriott International