Marriott partners with Hostmaker to launch homesharing in London

Marriott International has partnered with third-party company Hostmaker, a London-based home rental management service, to launch a home-sharing website in London, UK.

Tribute Portfolio Homes was launched on April 23 and offers guests more than 200 homes to choose from and the website, Tributeportfoliohomes.com, is currently in a six-month pilot beta phase. The home-sharing brand is an offshoot of the company’s existing hotel brand, Tribute Portfolio, which operates 28 independent hotels around the world according to a report by Skift.

Both similar and different to the Airbnb model in several ways, guests can expect added amenities in the homes such as guaranteed in-person check-in and 24/7 phone support. Other guaranteed features include: high speed WiFi, full kitchen, in-unit laundry, bed linens, towels, bathroom amenities, hair dryer, fan, heating, carbon monoxide and smoke detector and professional cleaning pre- and post- stay according to the home-sharing website.

Users can access the home-sharing options through either Marriott or Starwood websites and book directly and also receive loyalty points for Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. “For each night that is stayed at with Tribute Portfolio Homes, guests will earn one elite night towards their account,” the website states.

“Hostmaker already does an incredible job of curating a great portfolio of homes, and we added other types of design, safety, and security criteria that meet our standards,” Marriott chief customer experience officer Adam Malamut said to Skift of how they selected the 200 homes for the pilot.

“Through curation among curation that already exists within Hostmaker, and our serious experience and amenities, and earn-and-redeem capabilities, all of that comes together in creating, maybe not an exclusive home, but an end-to-end exclusive brand experience for the customer,” Malamut said.

Currently in the beta experience phase, the average nightly rate for one or two bedrooms listed on the site ranges from US $230 - $290.