Marriott Partners With Samsung & Legrand, Launches IoT Room

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) has entered into a partnership with Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) and Legrand to introduce IoT rooms, which is expected to enhance guest experience.

Powered by Marriott's Innovation Lab at its corporate headquarters, The IoT Guestroom Lab looks for concepts to revolutionize guest experience. The features range from intuitive lighting, voice-activated room controls to virtual assistants. They also offer more efficient designs and construction.

The lab provides many responsive IoT systems, devices and applications that enrich communication and optimize hotel operations. With this partnership, Marriott aims to leverage mobile and voice-enabled technology to better serve guests.

It is to be noted that in today’s world of price comparison and shared economy, hotels are pushing their boundaries via digital innovation to retain customers. Basic functionalities such as hotel check-ins, shopping and booking capability through smart apps are becoming the norm. Thus, hoteliers will now have to leverage the power of mobile phones to take on-property experience to the next level. A confluence of technologies, including faster processing power, cloud computing and IoT, is thus set to enhance the mobile channel.

Introduction of this smart technology is therefore in line with Marriott’s relentless effort to enhance guest experience across 30 of the company’s brands.

Also, Marriott is working toward a future where hotel owners will have a seamless, end-to-end solution with minimal equipment, and customers will enjoy unified experience by accessing their own data and information, as well as accessible voice and mobile-optimized controls. Such systems are expected to improve hotel operations and strengthen personalized service to guests.

Notably, Marriott, Samsung and Legrand will be analyzing feedback to the room over the next three months to continue innovation via IoT. Customers are expected to start enjoying the benefits of this technology over the next five years.

We believe Marriott’s focus on a re-imagined technology strategy and differentiated offerings to provide unmatched travel experiences will continue to draw guests.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Marriott carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A couple of other companies with the same Zacks Rank are Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, current-year earnings estimates for Hilton and Choice Hotel have increased 3.8% and 1.4%, respectively.

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