A lot of Vegas hotels will soon be added to the portfolio.
Marriott and MGM Resorts announced earlier this month that the two hospitality brands will create a new partnership for distribution and loyalty program benefits. Set to launch in October 2023, the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy will group together most of MGM’s North American casino resorts in Las Vegas and in other U.S. cities, closely aligning their distribution and loyalty strategies with Marriott.
“We are excited to make MGM Resorts’ incredible properties available on Marriott channels, allowing our members to enjoy Marriott Bonvoy benefits when they stay at MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy resorts,” said Anthony Capuano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International. “We look forward to increasing our global rooms distribution by 2.4% as we grow our presence on the Las Vegas Strip and in other compelling destinations across the U.S.”
Three MGM properties will reflag as Marriott-branded resorts outright. Bellagio Resort & Casino will join The Luxury Collection; ARIA Resort & Casino will join Autograph Collection; and Park MGM will join Tribute Portfolio. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which is already part of Autograph Collection, will continue that relationship.
Eight other Las Vegas resorts will remain independently managed and branded, but will join the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy: Vdara Hotel & Spa, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, NoMad Las Vegas, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino, and Excalibur Hotel & Casino.
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Five resorts outside Las Vegas will also join the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy: Borgata (Atlantic City, New Jersey), Beau Rivage (Biloxi, Mississippi), MGM Grand Detroit (Michigan), MGM National Harbor (Maryland), and MGM Springfield (Massachusetts).
MGM Resorts in China and Macau SAR are not included in the Marriott deal.
Member Benefits
Marriott and MGM have been short on specific details regarding member benefits, but the agreement will likely look similar to the agreement MGM Resorts recently cancelled with World of Hyatt. Under the terms of that program, World of Hyatt members didn’t have the ability to book MGM properties, but could earn points at MGM properties. World of Hyatt elite members could also get similar status with MGM Rewards, which would confer certain on-property benefits ranging from free self-parking to room upgrades, and waived resort fees.
MGM Resorts members will also likely benefit from status matches to Marriott Bonvoy, and members of both programs will be able to transfer loyalty points between programs.
Resort casinos on the Las Vegas strip have oftentimes operated outside the sphere of loyalty programs operated by global hospitality brands. Caesars and Starwood were in and out of partnership programs over the years before Marriott acquired Starwood and created the Marriott Bonvoy program from Starwood Preferred Guests and Marriott Rewards.
A Better Value Las Vegas Vacation
The relationship between Las Vegas resorts and the large loyalty programs has always been tenuous. As the largest resorts in one of the world’s top entertainment destinations, the Strip’s casino resorts have had little difficulty drawing business during boom times, but can still benefit from the gigantic distribution networks and loyalty appeal of the world’s largest hospitality brands when demand falters. The tradeoff is that the resorts must provide for free or at a discount some value-adds to a loyalty program’s elite members that they would normally monetize for non-members: parking, breakfast, room upgrades.
With the partnership, Marriott Bonvoy members in particular may be able to claw back some of the value that has gone out of a Las Vegas vacation. Casino resorts on the Strip have introduced revenue-generating, but unpopular charges like resort and parking fees that could be included in a reciprocal loyalty agreement.
The Las Vegas Strip has long been a gap in the product suite for Marriott. The only large resort casino on the Strip currently available to Bonvoy Members is The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Once the agreement is implemented, Bonvoy members will have some of the Strip’s largest and most famous resorts at their disposal, offering a significant improvement to Marriott’s portfolio in Las Vegas.