MARRIOTT International has announced its inaugural participation in Alibaba’s Tmall Super Brand Day, the first hospitality company to do so. Tmall is Alibaba’s Chinese-language e-commerce platform for brands and retailers, with access to over 500 million annual active consumers across Alibaba’s China retail marketplaces. Introduced in 2015, the Tmall Super Brand Day is a campaign driven by Tmall which spotlights select brands for Chinese consumers. Each participating brand has a 24-hour period to offer unique experiences, promotions, flash sales and special offers on the Tmall storefront. Themed “Boundless Experiences, Extraordinary Travels,” Marriott International kicked off its Tmall Super Brand Day debut July 28 in an offline ceremony in Shanghai. The event was graced by international Chinese supermodel Liu Wen, who is also featured in a series of collateral to commemorate the occasion. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Tmall to bring our 30 distinctive brands and global travel experiences to Chinese consumers,” said Peggy Fang Roe, chief sales and marketing officer of Marriott International’s Asia-Pacific division. “Through our joint venture with Alibaba, we have curated special offers, dining benefits and travel experiences just for Tmall members who join Marriott’s loyalty program. We are delighted to share Tmall’s vision of providing extraordinary experiences for sophisticated and affluent Chinese travelers.” As one of the highlights of its Tmall Super Brand Day offer, Marriott International unveiled exclusive “Black Cards.” Holders of these limited-edition cards can enjoy unique hotel packages with curated experiences across five destinations — Thailand, Japan, Maldives, Britain and the United States — top destinations for Chinese travelers; and five of Marriott International’s luxury brands — W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Edition. These unparalleled experiences include Broadway VIP backstage access and cast meet-and-greets, stunning private helicopter tours over the city, personal shopper with skip-the-line service at a hip shopping collective, and exclusive artisanal chocolate-making workshops. A dedicated travel consultant will be available to help with travel arrangements. To celebrate the Tmall Super Brand Day, Marriott International offered special promotions featuring F&B, hotel packages with local experiences and opportunities to win lucky draw prizes. Member rates of up to 10 percent off were also be available at select Asia-Pacific properties.(SD News) | 