Marriott partners Alipay to attract Chinese visitors

Via the agreement, Marriott guests will now be able to pay for their hotel stays, book meetings and events, and purchase food and beverage items through the Chinese e-payments provider using their smartphones. Hotel guests can scan their unique QR code or barcode at checkout to settle their bills, or pre-pay before arrival, travelpulse.com reports.

Alipay will initially be activated at 10 hotels in Greater China, gradually expanding to other hotels in China and across Asia by mid-2016, according to a release. Marriott also plans on rolling out Alipay to “properties in key markets outside Asia” by the end of 2016.

The first Marriott International hotels to offer Alipay will be The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya, Yalong Bay; The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong; JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong; JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square; Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre; Shanghai Marriott Hotel Pudong East; Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel; Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel; Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel; and Courtyard Hong Kong Sha Tin.

For a limited time at participating hotels, Marriott Rewards members who book through Marriotts direct channels like Marriott.com or Marriott.com.cn and use Alipay can enjoy a discount of up to 8% on “best available rate” or “best available rate with breakfast (excludes group bookings).” Marriott Rewards Members will also receive 888 Marriott Rewards points upon first time use of the Alipay service Spotpay.

The 2014 Chinese International Travel Monitor reported that 59% of Chinese international travelers rate local payment solutions as the second-most important feature a hotel should have (after free Wi-Fi). Alipay has a network of 400 million registered users and 200 financial institution partners. It handles more than 120 million transactions each day, with mobile payment accounting for more than half of those transactions.

China is expected to record 200 million outbound tourists by 2020, according to “Chinese Tourists – Exploring New Frontiers (CLSA January 2014).” Marriott expects Alipay to become an important payment method for the travel and meetings industry in Asia, with increased adoption outside of China.