Dive Brief:

• Technology provider SevenRooms will become a preferred restaurant technology for Marriott International, the company announced Thursday. 
• The guest experience and retention platform tracks customer data from their initial reservation through to their return visits, enabling restaurant staff to more easily engage and retain guests. 
• SevenRooms’ technology is already in use at Marriott brands spanning 25 countries, including The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Westin and more. SevenRooms’ new “preferred” status will open it up to an additional 8,500 Marriott properties worldwide. 

Dive Insight:

SevenRooms’ technology, designed to help hotels, restaurants and bars increase revenue and build long-term relationships with guests, will give Marriott managers “a 360-degree view into the guest journey to foster deeper guest loyalty,” the statement said. 

With SevenRooms, Marriott properties will have access to customer relationship management software, as well as programs for on-premise table management, waitlist management, email marketing and review aggregation. 

SevenRooms will be employed primarily in Marriott’s F&B concepts, where Marriott hopes to "leverage a robust suite of tools to help turn one-time guests into lifelong guests," according to Matthew Von Ertfelda, senior vice president, food and beverage, in a statement.

Joel Montaniel, SevenRooms’ co-founder and CEO, said SevenRooms’ softwares can strengthen guest relationships “at scale, automatically.” Though the technology is already in use at certain Marriott hotels, its new status as preferred restaurant technology provider will see it extended to an additional 8,500 Marriott locations. 

"Today, consumers expect more out of their F&B experiences whether they're staying local or traveling abroad. They want to engage with hotels, restaurants and bars on their own terms, and are increasingly discovering and booking where to eat and drink across an array of channels,” said Montaniel in the announcement. “With SevenRooms, operators have access to tools that help them reach these guests while driving operational efficiencies by connecting F&B into their overall hotel strategy to generate revenue and increase profitability.”

Customer relationship management softwares such as SevenRooms are increasingly popular across an array of industries. Per a Grand View Research report, the global CRM market was valued at $58.82 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 13.9% from 2023 to 2030. Hospitality is one of the sectors that will propel its growth in North America, alongside banking and retail, the report found. 

Earlier this week, Marriott added end-to-end guest experience responsibilities to Brian Povinelli’s role as senior vice president and global head of marketing and brand. 

Outside of Marriott, SevenRooms’ technology is also in use at Mandarin Oriental, Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.