MGM-Marriott licensing deal delayed: Could cyberattack be to blame?

The cyberattack that crippled MGM Resorts International in September may have taken another financial bite out of Nevada’s largest private employer.

The launch of MGM’s licensing agreement with Marriott International, expected to attract thousands of Marriott customers to MGM properties nationwide, has been postponed until 2024.

The companies announced in July that the deal was expected to take effect with new details to be publicized in October.

While the companies, in a joint statement issued earlier this month, said the agreement would take effect in 2024, it gave no explanation about why the delay is occurring.

“Marriott International and MGM Resorts International are creating an extraordinary experience for our loyalty members with the introduction of MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy,” the companies’ statement said. “Our two companies are excited to deliver world-class offerings and benefits for our guests. We look forward to debuting MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy by early 2024.”

Trade publications that follow the resort industry earlier this month speculated that the delay resulted from the cyberattack that hobbled MGM for nine days beginning Sept. 10.

Travel Market Report said, “A possible reason is last month’s cyberattack that shut down MGM Resorts’ computer systems, which could have cut into time needed to finalize the partnership.”

The company and Marriott on Friday did not respond to requests for comment about the specific reason for the delay.

MGM’s licensing agreement with Marriott was jointly announced July 17. MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle and Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said several MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy resorts would be available for booking on Marriott’s digital platforms, including Marriott.com and the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app, with all properties expected to be available by the end of the year.

MGM’s resorts would continue to be available on MGM Resorts’ channels, including MGMRewards.com and the MGM Resorts mobile app.

The MGM sites were among those affected by the cyberattack.

“Between now and the go-active date in October, we’re going to roll out all the details on how the reciprocal benefits work, the ability to transfer points between the Bonvoy platform and the MGM Rewards platform and how the pairing of accounts will work, and all those details will be made available to the respective programs in the coming weeks and months,” Capuano said in a July interview in Las Vegas.

Hornbuckle said at the time that the deal represents “the opportunity to get scale and velocity with a customer that is excited about Las Vegas, the high-end spending customer that likes to come here.”

The deal is significant to MGM because it replaces a similar but not as extensive agreement it had with Hyatt Hotels Corp. that ended in September.

A Las Vegas-based gaming industry analyst said in July that he expected the deal would reap benefits because guests affiliated with Marriott are likely to spend more than others that book through other online travel agencies.

“Previously, management indicated that Marriott Bonvoy members accounted for nearly 20 percent of room nights at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas,” John DeCree, a gaming analyst with CBRE Equity Research, said in a report to investors.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.