Once Again, Frequent Travelers Award Marriott International’s Loyalty Programs Top Honors at the Coveted Freddie Awards

Just days after Marriott International’s historic announcement that it will unify its loyalty programs under one set of benefits, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), the most awarded hospitality programs, took home a combined six awards last night, at the 28 th annual Freddie Awards in Seattle. Over the past twenty-two years, Marriott Rewards, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG have won an astounding 211 Freddie Awards combined, as voted on by travelers.

The Freddie Awards are the most prestigious member-generated awards in the travel loyalty industry with 4.4 million members casting ballots for their 2018 awards. Again this year, Marriott’s loyalty programs dominated with Marriott Rewards being named Program of the Year, Americas, for a record 11th consecutive year. The other awards included:

  • Best Elite Hotel Program, the Americas (Marriott Rewards)
  • Best Elite Hotel Program, Middle East, Asia and Oceania (SPG)
  • Best Elite Hotel Program, Europe and Africa (Marriott Rewards)
  • Best Hotel Customer Service, the Americas (Marriott Rewards)
  • Best Hotel Redemption Ability, the Americas (Marriott Rewards)

In addition to Marriott International’s 2018 Freddie Awards for excellence in frequent travel programs, Flyertalk, an interactive community of travelers, earlier this week announced the 2018 FlyerTalk Awards naming SPG the Best Rewards Program for both the Americas, and the Middle East, Asia and Oceania regions, and Marriott Rewards won Outstanding Benefit for both the Americas, and the Middle East, Asia and Oceana regions.

“We’re honored travelers continue to recognize our programs which are the most awarded in the industry. In August we’re bringing together the best of Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG to create a unified program under one set of benefits second to none,” said David Flueck, Senior Vice President of Loyalty, Marriott International. “Our members are the beating hearts of our programs and we are driven so they find endless inspiration to travel the world among our 29 participating brands and 6500 hotels in 127 countries.”

The new program will offer the richest benefits in which members will earn points faster -- on average 20% more points for every dollar spent – and they will be able to achieve elite status sooner than ever before. In August, members can combine their separate accounts into a single account to seamlessly earn and redeem points for stays across the entire loyalty portfolio for the first time, as well as book stays portfolio-wide on Marriott and SPG booking channels.

Additionally, the Moments experiential platform is expanding, with more than 110,000 experiences in 1,000 destinations from must-see attraction tickets and tours for purchase with cash by all guests on Marriott Moments, to 8,000 once-in-a-lifetime experiences only available to members using points, including the new bespoke Moments Live event series, on Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments.

About Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 6,500 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 127 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at  www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit  www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on  Facebook and @MarriottIntl on  Twitter and  Instagram.

Media Contact:
Ericka Acosta
301-380-4467
Ericka.Acosta@marriott.com

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