It sounds like Marriott customer service will go from bad to worse, as Marriott seems to be rolling out some significant corporate job cuts. While the hotel brand is confirming this is happening, it’s not sharing the exact details.
Marriott makes job cuts in “some corporate disciplines”
Marriott has confirmed that it’s making corporate job cuts in “some corporate disciplines.” This shouldn’t come as a big surprise.
First of all, we’re talking about Marriott, a company where customer service simply isn’t a priority. Second of all, in late 2024, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said this was coming, indicating that “it felt like the right time to look across the enterprise and figure out what adjustments we can make to enhance and improve our efficiency.”
There’s a big discussion about this on Reddit, with one person suggesting that the entire US-based office of consumer affairs and customer relations team is being laid off. This is on the corporate level, and not the property level.
Let me emphasize that this is just one report — Marriott has confirmed that cuts are coming, but has refused to share the scale of the changes. Reports also suggest customer service roles are increasingly being shifted to lower cost markets, with a large portion of the Anytime Ambassador Team being moved to Cape Town.
My thoughts are with those losing their jobs…
Obviously it sucks to lose your job, especially in this rather confusing economic time. As someone in the Reddit thread comments, “from a guy who got axed in the 2024 layoffs, I’m truly sorry,” adding that “my life got way better after Marriott.” Hopefully that’s the case for others as well.
Many layoffs are reportedly happening as of mid-November 2026, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a noticeable drop off in customer service. I have to imagine that Marriott is increasingly leaning into AI customer service as well, which typically leaves quite a bit to be desired.
In mid-2025, Hyatt outsourced most of its customer service roles. I actually probably haven’t called the Globalist line in about a year (thanks to Hyatt increasingly making functions available online), but the change in quality was noticeable. I ended up on a 74-minute call to try to apply a suite upgrade (which should take a few minutes).
This is just the way of the world for publicly traded companies. Investors want growth, growth, and more growth, and when that becomes tougher to achieve (due to lack of appetite for newly built properties), they feel like the best way to boost margins is to cut costs at the expense of customers.
Bottom line
Marriott is laying off corporate employees, and while the company is refusing to share numbers, it sounds like the cuts are substantial. The biggest cuts are reportedly to the US-based office of consumer affairs and customer relations, because who needs those departments anyway? Or at least that’s what Marriott thinks…
My thoughts are with those losing their jobs, and here’s to hoping there’s a better life beyond Marriott.
What do you make of Marriott’s job cuts?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.