Marriott International said on Monday it entered a licensing deal that will allow its loyalty members to earn and redeem existing points for booking stays at MGM Resorts International's properties.

The pair launched 'MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy', which will entail 17 MGM resorts in Las Vegas and other cities across the U.S.

The program will let travelers book rooms at MGM properties through Marriott's website from October.

The move comes as the Marriott looks to expand its presence in the Las Vegas strip, tapping into the gaming resort sector, following a post-pandemic travel boom and also amid a funding crunch for hotel operators in constructing new hotels.

"We look forward to increasing our global rooms distribution by 2.4 percent as we grow our presence on the Las Vegas Strip and in other compelling destinations across the U.S.," said Marriott's CEO Anthony Capuano.

Under the deal, MGM's 40 million members will also be able to gain access to Marriott's Bonvoy loyalty program.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)