Millennium Hotels and Resorts signed an agreement with Ctrip.com International to develop a global distribution strategy promoting MHR properties to Ctrip’s more than 300 million customer base.
It marks the start of an alliance enabling Ctrip to offer MHR’s portfolio of hotels in the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia to its China-based business and leisure travel clients. Through the aegis of a strategic collaboration agreement, MHR will partner with Ctrip’s membership program, which will certify its properties as “Chinese-friendly hotels” and enable them to benefit from Ctrip’s influential ranking system.
MHR and Ctrip also will work toward customer initiatives such as the launching of a flagship store on Ctrip’s digital platforms, joint marketing campaigns as well as knowledge-sharing and cross-exposure programs for team members.
About one in four Chinese citizens use Ctrip to book and search for outbound flight tickets. According to Ctrip, its customers’ top destinations are England, France, Germany, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and the U.S., all of which are home to hotels owned or operated by MHR and its associates.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with Ctrip and thus raising the profile of our hotel offering in the large and fast-growing China travel market,” Nayan Peshkar, MHR SVP, digital, distribution and revenue strategy, said in a statement. “Asia is our second biggest region of operations, so we already have a deep and embedded experience of what it takes to meet the high demands of business and leisure travelers from China.”