News - Company

Marriott makes a reservation

Leisure business Marriott Hotels has signed an exclusive fleet management contract with ING Car Lease, appointing the top ten leasing specialist to handle its contract hire, risk management, accident management and rental needs.

Marriott, which operates nearly 60 hotels in the UK and Ireland, runs a fleet of approximately 220 cars, with a handful of light commercial vehicles, which will also be covered by the new contract. The fleet will be gradually transferred over to ING when vehicles reach the end of their four year contract hire cycle. All new vehicles will be operated on the same four year term.

George Rose, company car co-ordinator at Marriott, said: “What is so special about the solution from ING is their ability to co-ordinate all the elements of the company car strategy via a single source. Previously, we dealt with different providers for risk management, rental and leasing, which was not very efficient. Being able to liaise with a single point of contact at ING to manage all of our needs is a real attraction.”

Voted fourth in the table of best big companies to work for by the Sunday Times in 2009, Marriott takes the issue of staff welfare seriously and is committed to establishing a more rigorous risk reduction strategy for its fleet. ING’s joined up approach to risk management enables Marriott to draw a clearer line between incidents and specific drivers, enabling more targeted, bespoke training to be developed. The easier, online vehicle procurement process operated by ING also enables Marriott to carry out DVLA and other licence checks far more easily than with a paper based system.

Hilary Martin, corporate account manager at ING Car Lease, said: “We are seeing a lot more businesses fully outsourcing the various elements of the fleet management function as a way of reducing costs and cutting out inefficiencies. With the increasing awareness of the need to manage the grey fleet more proactively, we’re also seeing a rise in the number of fleets looking for innovative ways to reduce their exposure to risk in this area.”

ING works with partners DriveTech, Roadmarque and IDS to provide its comprehensive Risk Assist service to fleets. Online rental services will be provided to Marriott via ING’s association with National Car Rental.