Marriott International Inc, the United States hotel brand, is to allow the use of Alipay, the online payments service owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, at its hotels and resorts.

Guests and clients will be able to use the system for reservations, in food and beverage outlets, and for conferences at Marriott hotels, via the Alipay smartphone application.

The payment method, operated by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, will first be introduced to 10 Marriott hotels in Shanghai and Beijing, in Sanya, Hainan province and Hong Kong.