A reader shared a bizarre email exchange with the general manager of a full service upscale Marriott hotel.
He’s a lifetime Platinum member. His corporate rate at this property is $200. And he had been shorted points on his stays there. After much investigation it was determined that:
- His $200 was earning points only off of $185.
- The hotel was treating $15 as an internet charge
- And not awarding points for internet.
Marriott members who book direct (or through a corporate booking tool) receive internet regardless. Platinums receive ‘enhanced internet’ at no charge. The company, though, has internet as a throw-in with their corporate rate which makes sense in case an employee doesn’t register for the program.
Marriott Rewards awards points for all in-room spending except internet. They award points for phone calls, faxes, and room service. A program member earning points for their stay wouldn’t be paying for internet.
By allocating a portion of the corporate rate to internet — even for a lifetime Platinum booking direct — the hotel saves on fees to Marriott, which are based off of room rate and qualifying spend. They avoid paying a percentage of the $15, and the guest gets no points. Of course the rate that shows up at booking, and on the receipt is the full $200.
A loyalty program should set clear expectations and deliver on or exceed those expectations. The last thing a loyalty program should be doing is making a customer feel cheated. In this case, the consultant was irked enough by the cost-shaving the hotel was doing that they didn’t just stop staying at this hotel, but at Marriotts generally. He status matched to Hilton Honors and has “spent the last 3 weeks at Hiltons for the first time since 2012 after over 700 consecutive nights at SPG and Marriott.”
It wasn’t even about the points to this member, who says “I have close to 1,500,000” but no longer any “desire to set foot in a Marriott for the foreseeable future.”
He got Bonvoy’d before Bonvoy even existed!
I’m currently staying at Hyatt’s Grand Hotel Minneapolis on an award night. As a Globalist, you’re supposed to get “complimentary parking on free night awards.” But they only have valet parking, and they tell me it’s not free for Globalists. I feel honestly like you can rely on basically nothing loyalty programs tell you when it comes to benefits.
@steve i would not accept that answer unless the policy states free self-parking.
One of many games indeed. Room fees, global warming polar bear cards in the bathroom, internet fees in general, resort fees. Sad.
I used to reserve my Marriott rooms using the travel industry rate, for which I qualified. And after doing so for several years, noticed that I was not getting my points. After months of enquirer I was finally told that Marriott no longer gives any points for stays booked at the travel industry rate!
Hyatt’s parking policy on seats nights definitely includes valet when that’s all that’s offered. I’ve asked the myhyatt concierge and experienced it.
I have noticed some randomness as well. In Tampa at a Marriott they did not award me for a Starbucks charge to the room. Even though it was in the hotel, charged to the room, and was run by the hotel. Wasn’t going to argue as it’s minimal, but I imagine the hotel saves quite a bit over the course of a year with not crediting points for all of its guests. And, like in my case, are you really gonna argue for points on a $10.00 Starbucks charge?
Some of the Marriott SNAFU has improved recently. But 2 things they get very badly wrong, probably the fault of the hotels rather than Marriott central: 1 They seem incapable of sorting out upgrade priority. Seriously, how difficult is it: as per the SPG program, get a list of arrivals for the day and assign upgrades based on status ( perhaps with some tweaking to allow for regular/return guests). Instead they persist with the first-come-first-served method, or some variation on it, or so it seems. 2 they still can’t get properties to post correctly: dodgy exchange rates to covert $$$ to points, abject, pathetic fail in posting Green Choice points.
I do not want to have to ask for an upgrade on arrival, rather expect it to be done in advance. Nor do I want to check and doublecheck every folio and conversion to points.
These 2 things are basic ‘bread and butter’ of the program and I can understand the feelings of the guy cited in the story.
I wish you would name and shame the property or at least the third party management company since presumably the property in question is not managed by Marriott.
No wonder so many hotels are charging resort and destination fees. Marriott doesn’t get any of that revenue. It goes right to the owners.
Let’s ask, better yet BEG, Bob Crandall to step in and save us, as he asked, before this drunk bum of a CEO got here.
@ Gary — This person must have alot of free time. If they stayed at this hotel 50 nights per year and were shorted 15×15×50 = 11,250, points, they are out $.007 x 11,250 = $78.75, or $1.58/night. Hardly worth getting that angry over. Plus, I’m betting they aren’t being chatged full hotel tax on that same $15 per night, which should save them more than the $1.58. So, they are likely mad they can’t save their tax AND earn extra points. I’m sure the hotel is happy to lose them as a customer.
I can’t begrudge them a little grifting. They rightly figured that those little things would be ignored/overlooked. Most people who get their hotel bill paid for them don’t even collect a receipt yet alone scrutinize it in any way. All the world’s a racket of sorts you’ll learn once you’ve been out in it for some decades, especially if you have to rely on your own wits like I do to make a living.
The pros at these types of “games” are in government. I’ve had government customers and contracts and they’re far and away the best thing going if you’re on the receiving end. I can imagine to a hotel chain, corporations are one step down the ladder. However, if you knew how governments sling money, you’d all be libertarians in a minute.
The challenge for any business is how to avoid stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. The accounting person says “we can make 7¢ more on every stay by doing X”. The marketing person says “We can make $7 a year by not doing X. Probably.” It takes a good CEO to know which to bet on.
@Gene
I seriously doubt the hotel is not charging tax on $15. This is a carve out for points. If this was me, I would give them 3 chances to fix and then be gone. Jackasses that run this hotel, do not realize how much money and effort it takes to gain a new customer. Or trying to entice an old disgruntled customer back!
IHG Rewards cheated me out of 1,000’s of points for lack of use over a 1 year period. ( I tried twice to stay at their brand, and they had no vacancy.) So, I needed a room recently, noticed a zero balance, and thought this must be a mistake.
I chose Hilton that night because adding points to that would be more useful.
I emailed IHG and they did not apologize for taking back hard earned points. Not that Chase Bank cares, but eventually I will move to AMEX and Capital One. I regard Chase as an unwitting accomplice in this heist. They could easily tell their travel partners that their customers come first.
I may move my bookings to Expedia and avoid brand lock-in.
@JohnB — Without knowing where the stay occurred, I have no way on knowing if the hotel charged the tax or not, but in my experience, items like this that are carved out are charged 7-8% sales tax and not 14-16% hotel tax. Just my experience. As the business owner paying the bill AND earning the points, I will take that deal every time.
If this was already the best hotel choice for you, you would seriously move your business over a $1.50 per night? That is insane.
I would check into the St Regis Maldives for a month ands use all those points!
“I would check into the St Regis Maldives for a month ands use all those points!”
Seems there will likely be increased availability: https://corporatemaldives.com/sri-lanka-to-lose-us-1-5-billion-in-tourism-revenue-affecting-maldives-tourism
Got 1,500,000 points without ever spending a dime of his own money.
Entitled Whiner.
Time for corporate rates to earn zero points period.
I guess I’m the only one that thinks this acceptable. Marriott and the guys company made an agreement. He is staying on the rate the company arranged with marriott. The terms of the agreement indicate $15 of room stay goes to internet for the company stay and internet fees do not earn points. It doesn’t matter that he already has internet.
Marriott has some situations where special rates do not earn any points. The terms of the special rate indicate what the benefits and earnings are.
I also don’t think Marriott is skimping on the customer instead they are making money on the company. The company is agreeing to pay $15 dollars for everyone to have internet even if they already have their own.
Marriott is both unethical as well as incompetent.
Happily ensconced at Hyatt now.
@deltahater – and regarding my comment (#2 above) about Hyatt GH Minneapolis parking – apparently they read comments here!! bc they responded to what I wrote above by email to me this morning. The issue with parking got cleared up positively.
@gary – Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to follow-up with my ambassador to get the correct points posted to my account. Had a stay a couple of weeks ago where only $700 of $2000 posted. Not to mention the posting time for last two promos is absurdly long.
I honestly can’t imagine dealing with being Bonvoyed, or the new program in general, without a single point of contact like my ambassador. I would’ve already left Marriott if it weren’t for her.
@Paolo, Gary and the others have not replied to your interesting comment on upgrade priority. My response is “What upgrade priority?” I’ve questioned the idea of an upgrade priority in previous comments on this blog. There has been no response from Gary or other commenters. Unlike airlines, to my knowledge, Marriott/SPG has no written or enforced upgrade policy. Room upgrades seem to be doled out at the whim of the hotel, or even worse, at the whim of the front desk clerk.
I’ve asked Ambassador and Platinum/Titanium reps about this and received conflicting answers. Of course, even if there is such a policy, it would be practically impossible to know if it was being correctly applied. Does anyone know how hotels, Marriott or others, prioritize room upgrades? Thanks in advance for any responses.
Marriott may be a lousy chain for all I know (don’t stay with them) but this particular issue is most easily explained by data processing rather than the idea that management is deliberately shorting people $15 worth of points. If their systems treat $15 as internet charges and internet charges don’t earn points then I wouldn’t expect the points to show up.
That said, one assumes that after having received an email the GM if the hotel would be able to push $15 pretty night worth of points into the users account. If an affront occurred it’s the failure to respond to the complaint.
Gary: How about a simple recap of the most popular loyalty programs and their expiration dates or points forfeited dates for lack of use? And how to avoid that unpleasant situation? In my case, had I transferred a point to the program, or used up a point, somehow, I would have kept my IHG Rewards.
Does Award Wallet track that sort of data?
@LarryinNYC hits the nail on the head with how little it would have taken the GM to make this customer happy. Increasingly, large corporations are nickle and diming and generally irritating their customers with a take it or leave it attitude. I guess that is okay for them as long as the economy is strong.
Small insults and poor attitude does cost business. Some years ago, after I had accumulated a lot of HHonors points, I was downsized out of my job and off the road for for a couple of years. As a result, they eliminated my bank of points. It felt like getting kicked when down and I have never stayed at a Hilton property since.
So this entitled idiot blames all of Marriott for the actions of one franchisee and refuses to stay at any of their properties all over something that, as others have stated, is likely codified in the corporate rate agreement his company has.
It is whining losers like this who want to complain about any micro aggression (to use a SJW term) who make me sick. Sad his life is so pathetic he obsesses on something this petty. SMH
My situation is a bit different. Lots and lots of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Finally made Marriott/SPGo Platinum for Life but most of my recent stays have been at Hyatts. Why? Park Hyatt NY is 30,000/ night while St Regis/Ritz Carlton is 85,000/night. Yes, I have to pay for breakfast but I’ll do that to save 55,000 points/night.
Fun to read the strong opinions here.
For those readers pounding at their keyboards about how absurd it would be to move business over a single incident and a few points, you are of course right. Gary presented the facts about this bizarre points irregularity, not my biography.
I quit Marriott because I had spent more time dealing with basic issue resolution and horrendous customer service since august ’18 than my entire lifetime relationship with SPG. As any business traveler knows, one of the primary functions that a loyalty program performs is to remove stress and uncertainty from business travel. The new Marriott was actually adding stress and unwanted variation to my travel, so after a few months I gave up waiting for them to fix their IT/operations/customer service and moved on to Hilton. I can’t be Bonvoyed when I’m staying at a Hilton!
Is Marriott the only chain not to offer points on the cash portion of a Cash & Points stay?