Marriott Reveals Its Second Customer Data Breach In Two Years
April 1, 2020
Marriott International: Incident Notification
Hotels operated and franchised under Marriott’s brands use an application to help provide services to guests at hotels. At the end of February 2020, we identified that an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property. We believe this activity started in mid-January 2020. Upon discovery, we confirmed that the login credentials were disabled, immediately began an investigation, implemented heightened monitoring, and arranged resources to inform and assist guests.
Although our investigation is ongoing, we currently have no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs, payment card information, passport information, national IDs, or driver’s license numbers.
At this point, we believe that the following information may have been involved, although not all of this information was present for every guest involved:
- Contact Details (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, and phone number)
- Loyalty Account Information (e.g., account number and points balance, but not passwords)
- Additional Personal Details (e.g., company, gender, and birthday day and month)
- Partnerships and Affiliations (e.g., linked airline loyalty programs and numbers)
- Preferences (e.g., stay/room preferences and language preference)
Guest Notification
On March 31, 2020, Marriott sent emails about the incident to guests involved. The email was sent from marriott@email-marriott.com because this is the standard email account used to communicate with our guests.
Self-Service Portal
We have set up a self-service online portal for guests to be able to determine whether their information was involved in the incident and, if so, what categories of information were involved. This portal can be accessed here.
Dedicated Call Center Resources
We have established dedicated call center resources for guests to obtain more information, which can be reached by calling the following numbers:
The call center resources will be staffed during ordinary business hours in the United States, 8:00am-8:00pm EDT Monday through Friday. Language support will be provided in English and French, and additional translation services will be available upon request.
- Where available, Marriott is offering you the option to enroll in a personal information monitoring service, free of charge for 1 year, as described below.
- If you are a Marriott Bonvoy member and we have determined that your information was involved:
- We have disabled your existing Marriott Bonvoy password, so when you log in to your Marriott Bonvoy account at Marriott.com, you will be prompted to change your password.
- You will also be prompted to enable multi-factor authentication to further protect access to your account.
- We have notified relevant authorities and are supporting their investigations.
Free IdentityWorks Enrollment
To use IdentityWorks to start monitoring your personal information please follow the steps below:
- Ensure that you enroll by June 30, 2020 (your code will not work after this date.)
- Visit the Experian IdentityWorks website to enroll:
- US Residents: https://www.experianidworks.com/identity
- Non-US Residents: http://www.globalidworks.com/identity1
- Provide your activation code:
- US Residents: To be provided in the email notice or self-service portal communication
- Non-US Residents: To be provided in the email notice or self-service portal communication
A credit card is not required for enrollment in Experian IdentityWorks.
Frequently Asked Questions
These Frequently Asked Questions May Be Supplemented From Time to Time
Hotels operated and franchised under Marriott’s brands use an application to help provide services to guests at hotels. At the end of February 2020, we identified that an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property. We believe this activity started in mid-January 2020. Upon discovery, we confirmed that the login credentials were disabled, immediately began an investigation, implemented heightened monitoring, and arranged resources to inform and assist guests.
Although our investigation is ongoing, we currently have no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs, payment card information, passport information, national IDs, or driver’s license numbers.
At this point, we believe that the following information may have been involved, although not all of this information was present for every guest involved:
- Contact details (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, and phone number)
- Loyalty Account Information (e.g., account number and points balance, but not passwords)
- Additional Personal Details (e.g., company, gender, and birthday day and month)
- Partnerships and Affiliations (e.g., linked airline loyalty programs and numbers)
- Preferences (e.g., stay/room preferences and language preference)
If you are uncertain whether your information was involved in the incident, we have set up a self-service online portal for guests to be able to determine whether their information was involved and, if so, what categories of information were involved. This portal can be accessed here.
What steps did you take in response?
Upon discovery, we confirmed that the login credentials were disabled, immediately began an investigation, implemented heightened monitoring, and arranged resources to inform and assist guests. Internal and external security teams have been working hard to investigate the incident, implement additional security measures, and address what was found.
In addition, if you are a Marriott Bonvoy member and we have determined that your information was involved:
- We have disabled your existing Bonvoy password, so when you log in to your Marriott Bonvoy account at Marriott.com, you will be prompted to change your password.
- You will also be prompted to enable multi-factor authentication to further protect access to your account.
On March 31, 2020, Marriott sent emails to guests involved. We have also set up a self-service online portal for guests to be able to determine whether their information was involved in the incident and, if so, what categories of information were involved. This portal can be accessed here.
Was my Marriott Bonvoy password or PIN involved?
No. We currently have no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs. Nonetheless, we encourage you to take steps to protect yourself and your account and have described those steps below under the heading “What other steps can I take?”
No. We currently have no reason to believe that the information involved included any payment card information.
No. We currently have no reason to believe that the information involved included any driver’s license or national identification numbers.
No. We currently have no reason to believe that the information involved any passport information.
Although Marriott’s investigation is ongoing, the company currently believes that information may have been involved for up to approximately 5.2 million guests.
We are providing guests involved with information about steps they can take, including enrolling in the IdentityWorks online information monitoring service.
Marriott is also working hard to ensure that our guests have answers to questions with a dedicated website and call center resources.