Alibaba, Marriott Form JV To Redefine Travel Experience

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Marriott International Inc. established a joint-venture (JV) to redefine the travel experience for hundreds of millions of Chinese travelling abroad and domestically every year. In a joint statement Tuesday, Alibaba and Marriott said the JV would leverage Marriott’s global portfolio as well as Alibaba’s digital retail leadership and its role as a gateway for international brands to reach over 500 million mobile active users per month. It will also market directly to Alibaba’s customer base, provide a link between Marriott’s and Alibaba’s loyalty programmes, support Marriott’s hotels globally with content, programmes and promotions customised for Chinese travellers. “Together, we are elevating and redefining the travel experience for Chinese travellers to be more seamless and personalised as they embark on adventures to discover the world,” said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alibaba Group. Marriott International President and CEO, Arne Sorenson said the partnership would pair Marriot’s hospitality to Alibaba’s digital travel platform, retail expertise and digital payment platform, Alipay, and drive membership for the loyalty programmes. “With the growing number of Chinese tourists exploring new destinations, this venture will introduce our worldwide hotels to this new and growing travelling class.” -- BERNAMA