The hospitality brand has introduced many mobile features in recent years, including keyless check-in, which allows consumers to skip the check-in at the registration desk and unlock hotel room doors with their phones. Although its app has a low Apple app store rating, Marriott, with about 4,100 properties in 80 nations, is a model for hotel brands that are working to shift bookings back to their own court as consumers gravitate toward online travel agencies such as Priceline and Expedia.

?Consumers have been turning to OTAs [online travel agencies] such as Priceline, Expedia and Kayak to book a lot of their travel,? said Shuli Lowy, marketing director for mobile with Ping Mobile. ?Those OTAs take an average of 15 to 35 percent of the room rate as a commission for closing the sale. 

?That commission cuts dramatically into hotels' revenue streams,? she said. ?In an effort to shift the bookings back to their own court, hotel brands such as Marriott are working to step up their digital experience and recreate an allegiance to their brand.?

Marriott, Bethesda, MD, did not respond to media inquiries.

Marriott?s Bluetooth-enabled keyless check-in service that links a smartphone to a room keypad is an example of the kind of mobile conveniences that hospitality companies are leveraging to encourage travelers to book directly with a hotel.

Marriott?s other mobile moves include releasing a mobile concierge service that lets consumers ask that an array of specific items be placed in their room ahead of a stay. The personal concierge allows guests to have a two-way dialogue with a host to make sure they get the desired personal care.  

?Bringing these features to the market is no simple task,? Ms. Lowy said. ?It not only requires platform updates but it also takes a coordinated effort to train staff on a local level around the world.?

Although Marriott focuses on finding ways to simplify the customer experience at a hotel, the ratings and reviews for its app on the Apple app store suggest it needs to strive to perfect the user experience on the platform.

?The app currently has a one star ranking in the Apple app store,? Ms. Lowy said. ?Consumers are giving lots of specific notes on what they?d like to see in the app, such as the ability to request loyalty room upgrades and access to consistent corporate rates. 

?Interestingly, the app has a 3.8 star rating on Google Play,? she said. ?The brand will have to continue to innovate and provide a superb user experience in order to retain and encourage direct bookings for the brand.?  

Marriott?s long-term dedication to mobile strategy kicked off in 2013, when it first launched mobile check-in and check-out options on its mobile application.

This past March, it geared up to streamline the check-in process even more for travelers by becoming the first global hotel brand to integrate Apple Pay, displaying further evidence that the mobile payments sector and the hospitality industry are becoming steadily more intertwined.

The move allowed customers to use the mobile payments platform via their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch while checking in at Marriott hotel lobbies. 

Travelers could wave their smartphone near the front desk?s contactless reader to complete a quick payment process, bypassing a complicated experience before going up to their rooms.

Marriott also is integrating Apple Pay with its loyalty platform by enabling members to load their Marriott Rewards credit cards into Apple Pay and select it as the primary form of payment, earning rewards points.

And seeking to redefine the hotel visit, Marriott enabled members of its loyalty program to engage in real-time conversations with staff before, during and after a visit through the brand?s application.  

For on-the-go guests, that meant being able to simply tap once on the Marriott Mobile app icon to be instantly connected to their hotel rather than having to find the hotel?s phone number and key in the digits. 

To reach customers, especially the 75 percent of whom travel with at least one mobile device, and the millennials who are set to become a significant portion of Marriott?s guests over the next several years, Marriott this year entered a new sector of digital marketing with a trailer for its original short film Two Bellmen.

The film, featuring the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles property, was the first original production to come from the hotel brand, and built upon its initiative to leverage digital storytelling in a bid to connect emotionally with consumers as well as highlight its properties in a creative manner. 

The film which made its debut in March, was available for streaming on a variety of digital and online platforms, including Marriott.com, in-room televisions and the film?s own mobile-optimized site.

While Marriott has leveraged innovation to better engage guests, the degree to which they are paradigm-shifting mobile initiatives is open to question.

?Sometimes it is the simple and intuitive mobile channels that are game-changers,? said Gary Schwartz, CEO of ImpactMobile. ?For example, travellers still select their destinations based on social 1.0 images aggregation and reviews. 

?Where are the 2.0 journeys and narratives we now expect from SnapStories?? he asked. ?Hotels have an opportunity to use mobile to truly disrupt the way we make our decisions.?