Marriott Hotels want bigger market share

Feb 25, 2008

MARRIOTT Hotels International is to intensify awareness efforts about its brand in Uganda. “We are creating awareness of our brand in our Africa as well as to the average individual Ugandan who may plan for a holiday or honeymoon, providing comfort and excellence in hospitality away from home,”

By James Odomel
in Bangkok, Thailand


MARRIOTT Hotels International is to intensify awareness efforts about its brand in Uganda. “We are creating awareness of our brand in our Africa as well as to the average individual Ugandan who may plan for a holiday or honeymoon, providing comfort and excellence in hospitality away from home,” the regional director of market sales, Brenda Salira, said after the successful partnership with Unilever during the Geisha mothers competition.

Unilever’s marketing manager, Margaret Kigozi, said the two-month Geisha promotion was the biggest and most successful in the last three years.

The top prize was a song recording with artiste Juliana Kanyomozi and a five-day trip to Thailand for Vicky Nakayiza and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Semboga plus a media team.

The group stayed in a cross-section of the Marriott hotels, which offered them a feel of what each of the Marriott brands entails. These included the moderate business hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok, which goes for an average rate of $90, the luxurious JW Marriott Bangkok Hotel at $170 and the holiday Marriott Pattaya Resort and spas, which cost an average of $220 per day.

Salira said: “Although we do not yet have property here and the competition in the international hospitality industry is quite steep, we are confident we can meet the needs of Ugandans in the field of individual business or leisure travel and corporate incentive travel where companies purchase incentive awards for their employees at different budgets to be redeemed in any of our properties worldwide at any given time in the year.”

“The advantage we have is our dedicated global sales team in each country who have a close interaction with each of our 3,000 hotels, and sell not just a hotel room, but an experience.”

She added that Marriott’s spirit to serve ensures that every need of the guest is met, whether it involves getting a ticket to a sold out football game.

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