NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Marriott (MAR) announced the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) for $13 billion Friday morning, making it the world's largest hotel operator. The deal gives Marriot 1.1 million rooms at 5,700 hotels in 110 countries.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson joined this morning's "Squawk Box" on CNBC to discuss the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and the company's updated loyalty program.
Marriott has updated its loyalty rewards program to allow for a more seamless transition for customers previously under the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program.
Some of the features of the program are that it will include both members of the Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG. The accounts will be linked at Marriott.com. Customers will have immediate match status across the programs. Customers will be able to transfer points between the programs, and will be eligible for free Wi-Fi when booking direct.
"The loyalty program strength depends on knowing our customers, delivering value to the customers, but a lot of that value is about the range of choice. If we can offer them a place to stay no matter where they're going physically, no matter what level of luxury they want, we make that program that much stronger," Sorenson said.
By strengthening the loyalty program, it allows the company to create a vast ecosystem of a direct relationship with customers, he noted
When describing how the program will work, Sorenson says there's a high level of functionality already.
"Last night we announced that customers can go online and link their accounts. If their elite in either program, we'll match that highest elite level in the other program. They can transfer points from one program to the other so that they can redeem those at any one of the 5,700 plus hotels," he explained.
