Marriott makes $10M in rooms available for responders, medics
Marriott International is providing up to $10 million worth of hotel stays at various U.S. cities — including Las Vegas — for healthcare professionals fighting COVID-19.
The initiative, called Rooms for Responders, will provide free rooms in some of the areas most impacted including New York City, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Newark, N.J.
The company joins a growing list of hotel operators that are taking similar action.
Mariott is collaborating with the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association to match doctors and nurses with free accommodations at participating hotels, according to a statement from Mariott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson
The effort is being joined by Marriott’s credit card partners, American Express and JPMorgan Chase.
Mariott has also launched the Community Caregiver Program. This initiative, available in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, provides discounted rates for first responders and healthcare professionals who want to book rooms at hotels close to hospitals where they’re working. The rate is available on Marriott.com at nearly 2,500 hotels.
“Given the unprecedented disruption to the travel industry, a number of our hotels have, unfortunately, had to close temporarily,” Sorenson said in the statement “Even as the hotels were shutting their doors, associates from New Delhi, India to Santos, Brazil, have found multiple ways to support the communities in which the hotels are located. ”
Reservation changes
For guests with existing reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates that are typically more restrictive, Marriott said it will allow full changes or cancellation without a charge up to 24 hours prior to arrival, as long as the change or cancellation is made by June 30. Any changes to existing reservations will be subject to availability and any rate differences.
For guests making new reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates, between March 13 and June 30, Marriott said it will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before a scheduled arrival date.
