Hotel Excellence! FAQs

Marriott’s Preferred Travel Agency (PTA) program allows ARC/IATA/IATAN/TIDS/CLIA accredited travel agencies to earn a preferred commission (currently 10%) for all transient commissionable bookings made across Marriott’s portfolio of brands worldwide. The PTA program has two criteria: (1) An agency owner or manager must electronically agree to the PTA commitment, and (2) the agency must have at least one qualified travel advisor for each IATA/ARC/IATA/IATAN/TIDS/CLIA number. To be a qualified advisor, the advisor must:

• Be a Marriott Bonvoy® member.
• Create or update their MI Partner Partner Privileges profile.
• Complete the Hotel Excellence! Core training and the latest Continuing Education training requirement.
• Travel advisors associated with an IATA/IATAN or CLIA location in the U.S. must have a valid IATA/IATAN VER or CLIA EMBARC ID number on their profile.

Agencies not fulfilling the criteria will be a Standard Travel Agency with Marriott and receive 8% commission on all transient commissionable bookings.

Design Hotels, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy®, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, and MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy do not participate in the program.

Annually, an agency owner/manager must: 1) agree to the terms of being a Preferred Travel Agency and update their personal profile; and 2) have at least one qualified graduate of Marriott’s Hotel Excellence! training program that includes the “Core” training and the annual Continuing Education training for the certification cycle. Agencies that have not met both criteria by the end of the certification cycle will revert to Standard Travel Agency status. Travel agency owners/managers can view their Preferred Travel Agency status on their Dashboard at https://hotelexcellence.marriott.com. Fulfillment of these requirements must be met for each agency ARC/IATA/IATAN/TIDS/CLIA number. Please note, by registering or updating your profile, you agree that we may provide your agency owner with your Hotel Excellence! graduation status as it relates to your agency maintaining their Preferred Travel Agency status and benefits.

PTA status is valid for the current certification cycle, typically one year. Agencies must act by the current recertification deadline to maintain their status for the next cycle. Recertification requirements are communicated to the email provided by the agency owner/manager in sufficient time for the criteria to be met by the recertification deadline. However, each agency owner/manager should log in to their Hotel Excellence! account to review their PTA status and ensure all requirements have been met.

The Preferred Travel Agency Terms can be found by clicking on the “PTA Commitment” badge on the agency owner/manager’s dashboard at hotelexcellence.marriott.com. This badge will only appear if you answer “yes” to the question on your profile, “Are you the Owner, Manager, or Senior Executive of this Company / Agency?”

If an agency does not fulfill the PTA criteria by the end of the recertification deadline, they will default to Standard Travel Agency status and receive an 8% commission on all transient commissionable reservations until such time as the requirements have been fulfilled.

If the recertification deadline is missed, agencies can recertify at any time. However, any lapse in PTA criteria will change an agency’s status to Standard Travel Agency with an 8% commission. Once the PTA criteria has been met, Marriott will elevate the agency to Preferred Travel Agency status and 10% commission will apply for stays departing from that point forward on all transient commissionable reservations, provided these requirements are maintained.

Marriott will send three email reminders  to the email address on file as the PTA Commitment signer for the Preferred Travel Agency owner/manager before the recertification deadline. It is the responsibility of the owner/manager to have a valid email address in their profile and to log in to their Hotel Excellence! account before the recertification deadline to ensure all requirements have been met.

Agency owners/managers should create a MI Partner Privileges profile with their email address, and attest that they are the owner/manager or other senior executive affiliated with the agency location so they can agree to the Preferred Travel Agency terms.  A verification email will be sent requesting confirmation of receipt.  Once verified, the email address will be used to communicate important information about that agency location's PTA status; therefore, it is recommended the email be updated as needed.

Each ARC/IATA/IATAN/TIDS/CLIA number must register at https://hotelexcellence.marriott.com and agree to the PTA terms individually.

Each agency owner/manager should create an account at https://hotelexcellence.marriott.com to access their Agency Dashboard. The Dashboard will clearly indicate the following for each ARC/IATA/IATAN/TIDS/CLIA location: a) If a qualified graduate of the training is needed; b) whether the PTA terms have been agreed to; c) whether the agency is “Preferred” or “Standard”.

No. The Preferred Travel Agency program applies only to commissionable transient bookings. Group commissions will be paid in accordance with the signed Group Sales Agreement.

View Marriott’s Commission Policy and Commission FAQs to link to frequently asked questions regarding commissions.

Marriott's acclaimed Hotel Excellence! (HE!) training program helps professional travel advisors navigate the ever-changing hotel industry landscape and be better informed to help their clients choose hotels that best suit their needs and style. The program features micro-learning modules on a streamlined technology platform to allow travel advisors to customize their learning journey in a flexible and convenient format. In addition to the “Core” training, Continuing Education recertification training is required for eligibility for Fam-Tastic benefits. There are also supplemental modules available that are optional and allow travel advisors the opportunity to customize their learning to best fit their needs.

Marriott Bonvoy® membership is a requirement to access the Hotel Excellence! training and receive all Hotel Excellence! benefits

In addition to the robust knowledge provided within HE!, qualified graduates gain exclusive access to Marriott’s industry-leading Fam-Tastic familiarization rate program, offering discounted rates at the majority of Marriott properties. (See the Fam-Tastic topic for more details on this exclusive program.) Graduates also receive Continuing Educations Units: 10 CEUs towards the maintenance of the Travel Institute’s CTA/CTC certification, or 8 CEUs for Association of Canadian Travel Agencies certification or 10 CLIA credits for CLIA agents.

The training will familiarize agents with Marriott’s robust portfolio of brands and what makes each brand unique. It will also help travel consultants work more efficiently, close more sales, and benefit your agency’s bottom line. This is important as the travel and tourism landscape changes, customers book travel in new ways, and new waves of travelers are emerging. More than ever before, travel agencies must demonstrate their value and expertise, and the HE! training is a smart investment for your agency. The HE! training is available at no cost, and agencies who employ travel professionals that are qualified advisors who have successfully completed the training are eligible to become a Marriott Preferred Travel Agency.

Hotel Excellence! training is accessible at hotelexcellence.marriott.com after creating your MI Partner Privileges profile. Marriott Bonvoy® membership is a requirement to access the Hotel Excellence! training and receive all Hotel Excellence! benefits, including Fam-Tastic rates. All Core, Continuing Education and optional training modules can be found via the Hotel Excellence! dashboard. Log in to hotelexcellence.marriott.com and from the top of your dashboard at the top right, click the “?” icon to view a site tour on how to access the training as well as a quick tour of other features available on your HE! dashboard.

No. The training has been designed to allow travel professionals the flexibility to choose their own learning journey. To satisfy the requirements for the Core training, complete one module from the Introduction section, two modules from the Brands Training section and three modules from the Foundational Training section. There are also optional modules in the Supplemental Modules section to help travel professionals strengthen their industry knowledge.

Yes. The training is accessible from most web-enabled devices and browsers. Advisors can learn at their own pace by stopping and restarting the training seamlessly.

No. HE! training is accessible on the following browsers and devices. The website and training will adapt to any web-enabled device the agent is using.

Browsers: Chrome & Edge (83+), Safari (14+), Firefox(77+), Opera (68+), Samsung Internet (11+), Android (81+)

Devices: Android 8.0+ (Oreo), iPads® (Except The iPad® Mini) And iPhones® (version iOS 13+)

On average, users take just under two hours to complete the Core HE! training and 30 minutes to complete the annual Continuing Education training.

Privacy and security are a top priority for Marriott, and we know how important it is to protect your data. We've changed the sign-in process to be more secure, ensuring the highest standards of security, while streamlining your experience across all of our Intermediary Partner Program websites.

Marriott will use your email address to send you important updates about your Hotel Excellence! recertification status. Your email address will also be used to send you Reserved for You, the exclusive e-Newsletter for graduates of Hotel Excellence!, should you opt in. From time to time, and only upon request by your agency, Marriott may identify you to your agency as a graduate of Hotel Excellence! to confirm your agency is meeting the requirements as a Preferred Travel Agency (PTA) and receiving the PTA status and benefits.  View our Terms of Use and Privacy Center for additional information.

The statuses that display under the Core Training and Continuing Education icons update based on your completion of the training assessments at the end of each training module. The "Not Started" status on your dashboard is an indicator that the assessment was not attempted/completed. Upon successful completion of the assessment, the status under the Core/Continuing Education icon on the dashboard will update to “Completed” and a certificate displays in the HE! Curriculum pane next to the title of the completed module(s). If you do not successfully complete the assessment, the progress gauge on the HE! Curriculum pane will display at 85% complete, and the status under the Core Training/ Continuing Education icon on the dashboard will display as “Partially Completed”.

The statuses that display under the Core Training and Continuing Education icons update based on your completion of the training assessments at the end of each training module. The "Partially Completed" status on your dashboard is an indicator that you did not pass the assessment. Upon successful completion of the assessment, the status under the Core/Continuing Education icon on the dashboard will update to “Completed” and a certificate displays in the HE! Curriculum pane next to the title of the completed module(s). If you have not successfully completed the assessment, the gauge in the HE! Curriculum pane will display at 85% complete and the status under the Core Training/ Continuing Education icons on the dashboard will remain as “Partially Completed”.