Grab and Marriott International have established a wide-ranging strategic partnership that will see both companies integrating their offerings.
Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Marriott International will integrate into Grab’s platform in phases across food delivery, payment, transport, loyalty and rewards, as well as advertising. Marriott International will have access to Grab’s customer base via GrabFood, GrabPay, and GrabAds, enabling them to serve a growing pool of customers who are increasingly transacting online.
GrabFood will feature approximately 600 restaurants and bars from Marriott International’s portfolio in six different South-east Asian markets. In addition, customers will be able to pay for their dining experiences through GrabPay at selected Marriott International hotels.
Customers will earn GrabRewards points for all transactions on the Grab platform, which can be converted to Marriott Bonvoy points (and vice versa). Marriott Bonvoy is the travel programme of Marriott International that encompasses the company’s global portfolio of 30 hotel brands and home rental offering, Homes and Villas by Marriott International.
Grab and Marriott will also link their respective loyalty programmes to offer expanded benefits to both membership pools. Starting in 1Q2021, Grab customers and Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to enjoy two-way points transfer. This will allow consumers to convert GrabRewards points to Marriott Bonvoy points and vice versa.
Next up will be GrabPay. Piloting in 1Q2021 in Singapore, travellers will be able to make cashless payments through GrabPay at participating Marriott International hotels. F&B outlets that accept GrabPay can soon also access Grab’s Merchant Discovery feature to notify guests in the vicinity of participating hotels about ongoing promotions and events.
Aside from the creation of joint marketing campaigns, both companies will also launch more loyalty initiatives in the coming months.
The strategic partnership will begin in Singapore in November 2020, with Marriott International and Grab to roll out more products and services across South-east Asia in multiple phases.
