Big interview “I’m a big believer in the hospitality industry
and that it really provides all those opportunities for people to grow.”
New year optimism
As we look forward to the year ahead, Aguilar is very optimistic. With promising Q3 results, the previous year saw a spike in demand with recent areas of travel reaching 2019 or above levels throughout Europe. “It’s really been an outstanding pickup and recovery,” he adds.
“Based on everything we’ve seen and learned over the last three years, we feel confident that pent up demand is still there, that travellers and consumers have to really focus on experiences, not just on purchasing goods.” However, Marriott and Aguilar continue to keep an eye on the current economic environment, planning for all- manner of eventualities.
But the demand for holidays is still there, he says,
as research under Marriott Bonvoy found around 14,000 loyalty members across EMEA markets are “ring-fencing” their funds in order to secure future holidays. “That gives us quite a bit of optimism, not just for 2023 but also for the future and how the travel industry will continue to grow and fully recover,” adds Aguilar. On the development side of this, Aguilar claims Europe has some exciting openings on the way. “We have our JW Marriott in Madrid coming later in Q1, we also have our addition in Rome coming later this year, as well as in Morocco [where] we’ll be opening our St. Regis into Tamuda Bay in the second half of the year, and a W in Budapest and a W in Prague. “We’re also opening a fabulous Marriott in Munich
that will open up probably in Q2 this year,” he continues. With such a diverse portfolio of hotel openings in 2023, it looks to be an exciting year of development for the hotel group. After the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and world alike, Aguilar’s optimism for the future comes as a relief against the backdrop of hard decisions made across the industry during the crisis. “It’s actually amazing to sit here after our Q3 and really reflect back on what we’ve gone through over the last three years,” he admits. “At one point we had about 70% of our hotels closed, so we needed to take action to reduce costs and keep our business alive. So, they were not easy days.” As Aguilar points out, there was a great deal to learn from the pandemic that Marriott, and many hotels in the same position, had to embrace. Now, post-pandemic, the industry is continuing to adapt with attention focused on environmentally friendly practices and heightened hygiene standards. But, as the industry moves towards recovery, the priority
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
for Marriott is its customers and regaining their loyalty as they return to travel. “Obviously, connecting with [guests] during the pandemic wasn’t always easy due to travel restrictions or government lockdowns,” explains Aguilar. So, it is clear that building back this relationship and prioritising the customer experience is top of mind for Aguilar and Marriott for recovery.
Seeing green Sustainability is a buzzword on everyone’s lips that crosses industry and sectors, but for Aguilar it’s more than a trend. “It’s actually come to the centre of many of our business decisions and our focus from our consumers as we look to how they’re planning their travel.” The research undertaken by Marriott has shown that travellers do, in fact, factor in sustainability to their holiday plans. “Taking that into consideration and understanding their impact on the environment, and you know that needs to be part of the decision,” explains Aguilar. Marriott is continuing its focus on its commitment
to reaching net zero by 2050 or earlier, as announced in September 2021, and it has a great deal of work contributing to such targets, says Aguilar. “We are
Above: The King Suite at Marriott Budapest, offering views over the Danube River.
Below: The Junior Tent Suite at the JW Marriott Masai Mara, due to open in south Kenya next year.
Opposite: Gonzalo Aguilar, chief operating manager, Europe, at Marriott Hotels.
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Marriott International
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