17 July 2023
Hyatt’s loss is Marriott’s gain when it comes to Sin City.
On Monday morning, Marriott and MGM Resorts International announced a long-term licensing and loyalty marketing agreement across 17 MGM-branded casino resorts in the U.S. The announcement comes less than a week after Hyatt and MGM announced their strategic partnership will end in September.
The Marriott and MGM tie-up begins in October with the creation of a new platform — the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy — for some of the more than 40,000 MGM-affiliated hotel rooms across Las Vegas and other U.S. cities. Bookings for these 17 resorts will be accessible via Marriott’s website and the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app, as well as MGM Resorts’ booking channels.
Marriott already has a relationship with MGM Resorts via The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which is currently part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. This deal widely expands that partnership.
“This historic, long-term agreement brings together two of the most trusted and iconic brands in hospitality and entertainment,” MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in a statement. “We’ve seen first-hand the strong demand from Marriott International customers through our existing relationship at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and this new agreement will enable us to further optimize our overall profitability. We’re thrilled to now scale the relationship and offer Marriott Bonvoy members greater distribution access to our award-winning resorts – as well as exclusive event and entertainment opportunities – in Las Vegas and across the U.S.”
Loyalty benefits
Similar to how MGM and Hyatt’s partnership works through September, the Marriott deal will enable members of MGM Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy to link accounts and receive “select benefits.” Further details of how the loyalty tiers from each program will link were not immediately available.
Marriott also becomes a partner with MGM’s BetMGM online gaming and sports betting platform thanks to the new deal. This agreement means Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to earn Bonvoy points on certain BetMGM transactions and be able to participate in exclusive games and offers.
New options and challenges to overcome
The 17 MGM resorts across the U.S. linking up with Marriott will go into a mix of Marriott’s existing brands as well as the new MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy.
Bellagio Resort & Casino will join the Luxury Collection while Aria Resort & Casino will join the Cosmopolitan in the Autograph Collection. Park MGM will join the Tribute Portfolio.
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The eight MGM resorts in Las Vegas joining the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy include Vdara Hotel & Spa, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, NoMad Las Vegas, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino, and Excalibur Hotel & Casino.
An additional five MGM properties elsewhere in the U.S. — Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; MGM Grand Detroit; MGM National Harbor in Maryland; and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts — will also join the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy.
One area worth watching is whether the Marriott and MGM partnership will improve the lag time of seeing elite nights and loyalty credits appear that many guests experienced with the Hyatt and MGM partnership.
The Marriott deal seems to bring these resorts much closer into the mix than what was seen with Hyatt, so that challenge may already have found a solution.
“We are excited to make MGM Resorts’ incredible properties available on Marriott channels, allowing our members to enjoy Marriott Bonvoy benefits when they stay at MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy resorts,” Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said in a statement. “We look forward to increasing our global rooms distribution by 2.4 percent as we grow our presence on the Las Vegas Strip and in other compelling destinations across the U.S.”
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