From Spreadsheets to Automation: How Marriott International Scaled With Caspio  

At a Glance:  

• Company: Marriott International — the world’s largest hospitality brand with a global portfolio of hotels and resorts.
• Industry: Hospitality & Tourism
• Challenge: Manual, spreadsheet-based processes for goal setting, sales approvals and performance tracking were inefficient and error-prone.
• Solution: 15+ internal apps built with Caspio, enabling real-time automation, centralized data and cross-functional visibility.
• Results:
  • Significant time savings across teams
  • Reduced human error and data inconsistencies
  • Scalable solutions adopted company-wide

Rethinking Goal Setting Without the IT Bottleneck

How do you modernize enterprise goal setting without a full development team? For Marriott International, the answer came from empowering a single employee with the right low-code tools.  

In 2019, Spring Hall joined Marriott’s global goal-setting team and took on the challenge of streamlining performance tracking across multiple business segments. At the time, the team relied on Excel spreadsheets and manual coordination, with each segment operating independently. This made it difficult to consolidate data, track performance and collaborate effectively.  

While Marriott had been using Caspio’s low-code platform since 2015, the goal-setting team had yet to fully adopt it. With her experience in Excel, Access and VBA, Spring saw an opportunity to modernize workflows, reduce repetitive tasks and build a unified system — without needing a dedicated development team.  

From Spreadsheets to Custom Web Apps  

While not a developer by title, Spring had a self-starter’s mindset. She dove into Caspio with curiosity and determination, teaching herself through how-to articles, community discussions,  video tutorials and a lot of hands-on experimentation. “If I could do it in Excel or Access, I figured I could probably do it in Caspio too,” she shared. “There are so many guides out there, and the Caspio team has been helpful when I needed support.”  

Her first project leveraged the platform’s automation capabilities to consolidate segmented performance data into a single report, eliminating hours of manual work and improving visibility for leadership. It replaced the tedious task of pulling and piecing together numbers from three different systems.  

“That was a huge opportunity,” she said. “The next year, the teams were really excited to have everything in one place.”  

Encouraged by the results, Spring began applying the same low-code approach to other operational challenges. Over time, with her team they developed a suite of more than 15 Caspio-powered apps tailored to Marriott’s evolving needs — from performance tracking to streamlined sales approvals and more.   

Inside Marriott’s Custom App Suite  

What began as a single reporting tool quickly evolved into a full suite of applications, each designed to simplify a specific business process. Below are a few standout examples that have helped Marriott accelerate operations and scale smartly using Caspio’s low-code platform:   

Sales Communication & Approval Tracker  

One tool they created functions as a dedicated communication and decision-tracking platform for sales teams. Instead of digging through old emails to recall agreements or approvals, team members can now submit requests through a shared app. Caspio automatically notifies leadership, captures feedback, and — when all leaders approve — sends a confirmation to the requester and logs the decision in a centralized list.  

“All the business decisions are kept in one place,” Spring explained. “As the teams are executing, they have a place to go with their approved list, so they know what to do with the accounts.”  

Key Features:  

• Centralized request form – Sales teams submit standardized business decisions in one unified interface.
• Automated email notifications – Caspio triggers instant alerts to copied leaders for quick action.
• Approval and comment interface – Leaders can approve, deny and add comments directly within the tool.
• Conditional auto-responses – When all approvals are received, an automated email is sent back to the requester.
• Approved decision log – Automatically compiles approved actions into a central, searchable list.

Rate Program Submission System  

Another standout example is the rate program submission tool. Previously, users had to manually input the same details repeatedly in SharePoint. Spring streamlined the process with a smart Caspio form that auto-fills known data, lets users submit multiple requests in one go and splits them into separate backend records for processing.  

Key Features:  

• Smart form with auto-filled data – Automatically pulls in sales rep name, email and leader details from a preloaded roster.
• Account selection dropdown – Users select from an existing list of accounts to avoid input errors.
• Batch request support – Enables submission of up to 20 rate program requests within a single form.
• Record-splitting automation – Caspio back-end logic separates each request into individual entries for IT processing.
• Request validation routing – IT team receives each request itemized for approval or denial.
• Process transparency and tracking – Maintains a full audit trail from submission to final outcome
• Conditional logic with DataPage Rules – Dynamically shows or hides fields based on user selections for a guided, intuitive experience

Sales Performance Review & Discrepancy Resolver  

Reps use this tool to review real-time performance dashboards and submit correction requests in a single click. Caspio auto-populates the form and sends it to the appropriate reviewer, simplifying a previously manual process.  

Key Features:  

• Live performance dashboard – Sales reps can instantly view metrics tied to reservations and achievements.
• One-click issue flagging – Each entry includes a button to report inaccuracies directly from the dashboard.
• Pre-filled correction form – System auto-populates known data fields, reducing user input time.
• Targeted field editing – Users only adjust the inaccurate field instead of re-entering all details.
• Streamlined submission process – Requests are routed directly to the goal-setting team for review.

“We got huge time savings for the team,” said Spring. “This app allows them literally with a click of a button and a few updates to give us what they want.”  

Scalable Apps With Measurable Impact  

By automating key workflows with Caspio, Spring has built scalable applications that deliver real, measurable results.  

Her apps have reduced time spent on data entry and approvals, improved data accuracy across departments and enabled faster decision-making through centralized, easy-to-access tools. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve empowered teams to launch and manage internal solutions without needing developer support.  

Some of Marriott’s apps have remained consistent year after year, continuing to serve their purpose effectively, while others have evolved based on user feedback — thanks to Caspio’s flexibility and ease of iteration.  

Growing Demand and a Look Toward AI  

As the benefits of Spring’s applications became clear, adoption quickly spread across departments. What began as a solution for goal setting has evolved into a broader low-code movement within Marriott. She is now a trusted low-code resource for internal innovation, regularly collaborating with stakeholders to enhance and scale systems company-wide.  

“Now, because leadership loves the applications, they’re coming to us asking, ‘Can Caspio do this too?’” she shared.  

Looking ahead, Spring is also exploring how Marriott might leverage AI-powered workflows within Caspio to automate decision-making and enhance workflows further.  

“I’ve seen some of the newsletters about AI. I haven’t dug in yet, but I’m certainly looking to see what we’ll be able to do with that,” she said.  

Featured on Caspio’s Podcast  

Spring shared her experience on an episode of “Low Code/High Impact”, Caspio’s official podcast. Learn how she developed more than 15 custom apps and helped scale Marriott’s internal systems.

Listen to the episode on your favorite streaming platform.

Final Takeaway   

Marriott International’s success story highlights how low-code platforms like Caspio can enable business teams to take control of their own innovation — building scalable tools, streamlining operations and driving meaningful results without the need for traditional development resources. With the right platform and a mindset of curiosity and initiative, anyone can create enterprise-grade solutions that make a lasting impact.  

Ready to turn your vision into applications? Start your free Caspio trial today and see how quickly you can go from idea to real-world results.