Face to face connections matter the most, says Marriott International

A new Asia Pacific survey by Marriott International revealed that over 81% of respondents believe that in-person engagements with clients is vital for business recovery. 

Launched earlier this year, the survey, which reached more than 300 business travellers and MICE professionals, is part of Marriott International’s initiative to better understand local market needs and demand.

The findings also revealed that 53% of respondents felt face-to-face activities were important to motivate and establish bonding among teams and building company culture. Over 60% of the respondents elaborated that restrictions on social gatherings and uncertainties regarding international travel remain a concern. A further 40% also stated that providing unique meeting activities and experiences pose a challenge when faced with these restrictions.

Ramesh Daryanani, Vice President of Global Sales, Asia Pacific explains: “The desire to stay connected with each other has always been there in the past two years. When travelling and meeting face-to-face were not possible, the industry adopted to hybrid meetings and other virtual activities to keep people engaged. With the ease of travel and social gathering restrictions, the pent-up demand for face-to-face meetings is set to accelerate.”

Aligned with the theme of human connections, Marriott International recently launched The 5Gs of Human Connection – a campaign that aims to remind people of the warmth of human connection and encourage people to meet face-to-face again. The 5Gs represent Gather, Global, Gratitude, Giving and Gourmet, and highlight the various moments in which connections are made in meaningful and memorable ways.

Each pillar is designed to meet the evolving requirements of professionals and support meeting planners in crafting a memorable experience for their attendees:

• Gather – Meeting international hygiene standards and safety regulations, Marriott International’s company-wide ‘Commitment to Clean’ empowers guests to travel, and professionals to gather together with confidence, from large conventions, incentives to leadership retreats.
• Global – As borders begin to open across Asia Pacific, Marriott Bonvoy welcomes travellers with its diverse portfolio of hotels and resorts across the region, including on-demand destinations like Singapore, Japan, Maldives, Australia, and many more. Each hotel is able to craft unique experiences for guests based on their destination of choice.
• Gratitude – Over 70% of professionals feel expression of gratitude is better conveyed through face-to-face interaction, according to Marriott International’s survey. Supporting organisations that want to rebuild team belongingness and togetherness again after a long travel standstill, Marriott Bonvoy delivers a wide array of offsite meetings and corporate retreats.
• Giving – Recognising the growing demand for purpose-driven travel, Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy offers guests the opportunity to create a positive impact in the communities they visit. Experiences range from planting mangroves in Langkawi, to temple preservation in India to caring for fish species in China, and more.
• Gourmet – The survey also revealed more than 66% of respondents agree that curated food & beverage experiences can help create memorable moments for the meetings or event attendees. Marriott Bonvoy provides planners with the convenience of seamless booking from a varied array of world-class restaurants and bars, including six establishments that have been awarded a total of seven diamonds in the recently announced Black Pearl Restaurants Guide 2022, as well as 25 MICHELIN recognised restaurants in Greater China.

Additionally, to better support recovery of MICE in APAC, Marriott International is offering enticing rewards through its “The Time Is Now – Where Can We Take You?” group offer. The rewards can be redeemed when booking an eligible face-to-face meeting or event at participating hotels and resorts.