Grab, Marriott announce partnership in Southeast Asia

Grab and Marriott International have announced a partnership that would see the Singapore-based super app integrate accommodations and experiences from the luxury hotels giant into its platform in Southeast Asia.

Photo credit: Marriott International

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding, Grab will be rolling out Marriott offerings in phases across food delivery, payment, transport, loyalty, rewards, and advertising.

GrabFood will start featuring roughly 600 restaurants and bars from Marriott International’s portfolio in six different countries in the region this month. Grab’s users will also be able to pay via GrabPay at selected Marriott hotels starting in the first quarter of next year.

Starting Q1 2021, users of the super app that have accumulated GrabRewards points will be able to convert it to Marriott Bonvoy points (and vice versa), which are used to avail exclusive member benefits at Marriott-branded hotels and resorts in 135 markets worldwide.

Grab and Marriott’s partnership also extends to advertising, where the two companies will together create marketing campaigns using GrabAds’ solutions.

“The breadth of our collaboration reflects our value as a platform of choice in supporting global brands on their digitalization journey in the new normal, and in particular, represents a milestone for our fast-growing GrabAds business,” said Grab’s group managing director for operations, Russell Cohen.

See Also: Ads could become Grab’s $245m-plus cash cow

Launched in 2018, Grab’s advertising unit takes advantage of the ride-hailer’s big data capabilities and huge local presence, offering mobile billboards, in-car engagement, and in-app engagement for brands. GrabAds further expanded in 2019 after the company made a strategic investment into Jakarta-based vehicle ads firm StickEarn.

The partnership comes after Grab recently announced a recovery in its business from the impact of Covid-19. The startup said its group revenues for the third quarter have climbed to over 95% of its pre-pandemic levels, with its food business generating over half of its total revenue.