SWOT
Marriott International logo

Marriott International Engineering

To connect people through the power of travel by becoming the world's favorite travel company through personalized digital experiences

Stay Updated on Marriott International

Get free quarterly updates when this SWOT analysis is refreshed.

Marriott International logo
Align the strategy

Marriott International Engineering SWOT Analysis

|

To connect people through the power of travel by becoming the world's favorite travel company through personalized digital experiences

Strengths

  • PLATFORM: Robust global digital reservation system handling millions of bookings
  • SCALE: Tech infrastructure supporting 8,600+ properties across 139 countries
  • LOYALTY: Marriott Bonvoy app with 79M+ active members generating direct bookings
  • DATA: Extensive customer data warehouse enabling personalization opportunities
  • INTEGRATION: Successful tech integration of acquired brands (Starwood, etc.)

Weaknesses

  • LEGACY: Aging core technology systems requiring significant modernization
  • SPEED: Slow deployment cycles compared to digital-native competitors
  • TALENT: Challenges attracting top-tier engineering talent vs. tech companies
  • FRAGMENTATION: Disparate systems across property management and reservations
  • MOBILE: App experience lags behind OTAs in user experience and functionality

Opportunities

  • CLOUD: Accelerate migration to cloud for improved scalability and resilience
  • API: Expand API ecosystem to enable third-party innovation and integrations
  • AUTOMATION: Implement AI for operational efficiency across 8,600+ properties
  • PERSONALIZATION: Leverage customer data for hyper-personalized experiences
  • CONTACTLESS: Expand mobile key and check-in technology across all properties

Threats

  • OTAS: Booking.com and Expedia capturing increasing share of bookings
  • CYBERSECURITY: Growing sophistication of attacks targeting customer data
  • ALTERNATIVES: Airbnb and other alternatives disrupting traditional lodging
  • SKILLS: Widening tech skills gap as AI and cloud technologies advance
  • EXPECTATIONS: Rising customer expectations for digital travel experiences

Key Priorities

  • MODERNIZE: Accelerate legacy system modernization and cloud migration
  • MOBILE: Overhaul mobile experience to exceed OTA booking functionality
  • PLATFORM: Create API-driven platform for innovation and third-party services
  • TALENT: Implement aggressive tech talent acquisition and retention strategy
Marriott International logo
Align the plan

Marriott International Engineering OKR Plan

|

To connect people through the power of travel by becoming the world's favorite travel company through personalized digital experiences

MODERNIZE CORE

Transform our legacy systems into cloud-native platforms

  • MIGRATION: Complete migration of central reservation system to AWS cloud with 99.99% availability by Q3
  • ARCHITECTURE: Implement microservices architecture for 70% of customer-facing applications by Q4
  • PERFORMANCE: Reduce average API response times by 40% across all digital platforms by end of Q2
  • DECOMMISSION: Retire 25% of legacy systems while maintaining full business continuity by year end
ELEVATE MOBILE

Create industry-leading mobile guest experiences

  • EXPERIENCE: Increase Bonvoy app store rating from 4.2 to 4.7 across iOS and Android platforms by Q3
  • ADOPTION: Grow mobile check-in usage to 60% of all eligible stays across global properties by Q4
  • CONVERSION: Improve mobile booking conversion rate by 25% through UX optimizations by Q3
  • FEATURES: Launch mobile room service ordering and issue resolution in 3,000+ properties by Q4
BUILD PLATFORM

Develop open API ecosystem for innovation acceleration

  • APIS: Launch developer portal with 50+ well-documented APIs for third-party integrations by Q3
  • PARTNERS: Onboard 25 strategic technology partners to build on our platform by year end
  • DEVELOPERS: Attract 1,000+ active developers to our platform ecosystem by Q4
  • INNOVATION: Generate 10+ new guest experience enhancements from third-party developers by Q4
SECURE TALENT

Build world-class engineering team for future success

  • HIRING: Recruit 150 experienced engineers across cloud, mobile, AI, and security domains by Q4
  • RETENTION: Improve engineering team retention rate from 82% to 90% through new initiatives by Q3
  • SKILLS: Ensure 100% of engineering staff complete cloud certification programs by year end
  • CULTURE: Achieve 85%+ satisfaction score in engineering team engagement survey by Q3
METRICS
  • DIGITAL BOOKING SHARE: 50% of all bookings through owned digital channels
  • SYSTEM AVAILABILITY: 99.99% uptime for all customer-facing digital platforms
  • DEVELOPMENT VELOCITY: 35% increase in feature delivery throughput
VALUES
  • Put People First
  • Pursue Excellence
  • Embrace Change
  • Act with Integrity
  • Serve Our World
Marriott International logo
Align the learnings

Marriott International Engineering Retrospective

|

To connect people through the power of travel by becoming the world's favorite travel company through personalized digital experiences

What Went Well

  • REVENUE: Q4 2023 worldwide RevPAR increased 7.3% compared to 2022 Q4
  • EXPANSION: Added nearly 400 new properties with 65,000 rooms to portfolio
  • LOYALTY: Bonvoy membership grew to 192 million members, up 10% year-over-year
  • DIGITAL: Direct digital revenue increased to 37% of total bookings volume

Not So Well

  • CYBERSECURITY: Data breach affected approximately 5.2 million guests
  • TECHNOLOGY: Mobile app stability issues during peak booking periods
  • INTEGRATION: Delayed integration of recently acquired property systems
  • INNOVATION: Slower than expected rollout of mobile key technology globally

Learnings

  • CLOUD: Cloud migration delivers 40% improvement in booking system stability
  • AGILITY: DevOps implementation reduced feature deployment time by 65%
  • COMPETITION: OTAs gaining market share due to superior mobile experiences
  • TALENT: Engineering talent retention directly impacts delivery timelines

Action Items

  • SECURITY: Implement enhanced data protection protocols across all systems
  • MOBILE: Accelerate mobile app performance and stability improvements
  • ARCHITECTURE: Fast-track legacy system modernization initiatives
  • TALENT: Launch engineering talent acquisition program with competitive comp
Marriott International logo
Drive AI transformation

Marriott International Engineering AI Strategy SWOT Analysis

|

To connect people through the power of travel by becoming the world's favorite travel company through personalized digital experiences

Strengths

  • DATA: Massive customer dataset spanning 8,600+ properties globally
  • SCALE: Enterprise-wide implementation capabilities across all properties
  • TESTING: Established infrastructure for piloting new AI technologies
  • BRANDS: Diverse portfolio to test AI applications across price segments
  • INVESTMENT: Increasing technology investment budget for AI initiatives

Weaknesses

  • SKILLS: Limited in-house AI/ML engineering expertise vs competitors
  • LEGACY: Outdated systems limiting AI integration capabilities
  • GOVERNANCE: Underdeveloped AI ethics and governance frameworks
  • SILOS: Data fragmentation inhibiting unified AI strategy implementation
  • ADOPTION: Slow corporate adoption cycles for new AI technologies

Opportunities

  • PERSONALIZATION: AI-driven hyper-personalization across customer journey
  • PRICING: Dynamic pricing optimization using real-time market data
  • OPERATIONS: Predictive maintenance and staffing through AI analysis
  • EXPERIENCE: Voice assistants and smart room technology in properties
  • EFFICIENCY: Automated business processes reducing operational costs

Threats

  • COMPETITORS: OTAs rapidly deploying advanced AI travel recommendation tools
  • PRIVACY: Evolving global regulations restricting AI data usage
  • EXPECTATIONS: Customer expectations for AI experiences outpacing delivery
  • DISRUPTION: AI-driven startups disrupting traditional hospitality models
  • DEPENDENCE: Over-reliance on limited AI vendor ecosystem

Key Priorities

  • TALENT: Build specialized AI/ML engineering team through hiring/upskilling
  • PLATFORM: Develop unified data platform to enable AI applications
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Strategic AI tech partnerships to accelerate capabilities
  • EXPERIENCE: Prioritize customer-facing AI applications for differentiation