An Autograph Collection hotel in Detroit – the Hotel David Whitney – is playing an interesting game with denying elite breakfast benefits to guests, and it underscores just how confusing and messy the Marriott Bonvoy program has become.
- Autograph Hotels in the U.S. have to offer a Welcome Gift of points or breakfast if they’re a resort.
- If they’re not a resort, they can offer points or a $10 food and beverage amenity.
This hotel is not a resort. They offer points or a $10 food and beverage amenity for use at their market.
U.S. Autograph Hotels generally have club lounges where Platinum members and above can have breakfast. If they do not or the lounge is closed – and they’re not resort – then they have to offer points or restaurant breakfast.
When a Participating Property’s Lounge is closed, or property does not have a Lounge or approved alternative, the property will offer a daily continental breakfast in the restaurant for the Member plus one (1) guest, or Member can choose 750 Points per night of Stay.
These are two separate benefits. At this U.S. hotel, which is not a resort, guests either get club lounge access or a choice of points or breakfast, and they get a welcome gift of points or a food and beverage credit.
The hotel doesn’t have a club lounge. So they have to offer restaurant breakfast if the guest wants it. Except they don’t. And Marriott’s rules say the hotel should compensate guests $100 for this.
Pursuant to section 4.1.c., if Lounge Access (or alternatives or exceptions as outlined above) is not available, Platinum Elite Members will be compensated $100 U.S. dollars for the inconvenience.
The property is a rebranded Aloft (the former Aloft Detroit at The David Whitney). Based on correspondence I’ve reviewed, their position seems to be:
- They don’t offer a lounge, so they offer points or a food and beverage credit valid at their market.
- They do not allow restaurant breakfast because the restaurant is operated by a third party.
- “The guest choice of where breakfast is offered is not included in the guarantee and many of our guests are very satisfied with the market’s breakfast offerings.” (Emphasis mine.)
The hotel conflates the two benefits. This hotel is required to provide points or a food and beverage credit as a welcome gift choice, and because they have no club lounge they must provide restaurant breakfast.
- The welcome benefit doesn’t satisfy the ‘in lieu of club lounge’ benefit.
- It’s not the ‘guest’s choice’ where breakfast is offered, it’s spelled out in the Marriott Bonvoy terms and conditions.
The St. Regis Chicago tried this same excuse and it didn’t fly. The terms and conditions contain no exception for situations where “the restaurant at the hotel is operated by a third party.” Also, ownership of a restaurant is beside the point to the guest. Any restaurant that accepts room charges is a hotel restaurant for this purpose.
Presley’s Kitchen + Bar is the hotel’s restaurant. It is advertised on the hotel’s Marriott.com page. If a hotel is supposed to be exempt from honoring the benefit, that should be in the program terms and conditions. In fact there are a handful of exempt properties, each listed individually in the terms (with the exemption lasting only through June 30, 2024). The David Whitney is not in that list.
The David Whitney, by the way, also refused to upgrade this Ambassador member at check-in. Only after the originally-assigned room was found dirty were they willing to assign a junior suite, also in contravention of Marriott’s terms.
Back in the Starwood days, the Starwood Preferred Guest program could actually enforce its brand standards. They’d compensate a guest for the hotel’s failures, and bill the hotel for the cost plus an administrative fee. Even with Ambassador customer service, Marriott pushes the issue to the hotel.
The Marriott Bonvoy program is too complicated, with too many asterisks, and hotels don’t always understand it. Marriott customer service associates don’t understand it, and they’re trained to follow the lead of the hotel. The hotel explains they’re in compliance, that seems to be enough for front line customer service (and even managers) and it takes real corporate escalation to get anything beyond that fixed.
The hotel company is not trying to piss people off. It’s not personal either. Calm down…
Thank you so much for this article. I have been an Elite Bonvoy member for years have had many different experiences at hotels and resorts. It’s very confusing and misleading. Where should I direct my complaints/concerns for the best outcome?
When will you learn ?! That claim is simply not true, for the very simple reason that hotels have full and sole DISCRETION to decide “if [an upgrade] is available for the duration of the stay”, and no amount of cyber-ink spilling will change that.
It is simply nonsensical to keep claiming or making up benefits that are clearly not yours to claim!
Hotels are Bonvoys customer.
Hotel guests are Bonvoys product.
Bonvoys model is to satisfy the customer while cheapening the product.
I am a lifetime Gold member and one year away from lifetime Platinum. Just got off the with their customer service in regards to rooms I bought and paid for but they won’t give me credit for all three rooms even though I stayed in one room and my family stayed in the other. Very disappointed with their customer service.
This is why I stopped staying at hotels and just so Airbnb unless for a points redemption. I had good luck with international lounge access as IHG Spire Ambassador sometimes but it was so inconsistent and domestically it sucked. Had 300 nights/year for 3 years and was an average Joe to them. Hilton Diamond same thing…lackluster upgrades or none at all even when website showed available inventory, no more lounges in the USA, some breakfast benefits okay and others not…but it’s all so inconsistent.
It’s not a good game to play when I can pay the same amount roughly and get a whole house.
Agreed. Marriott and Bonvoy customer service have really taken a nose dive in the last decade. I had points forfeited even though I had proof of staying several times over the course of the prescription period. Their customer service just.have me the runaround for 2 months until I gave up. I feel that the benefits have actually become worse over time. Never booking with them ever again.
Yes it’s really confusing these so called Elite members benefits
Marriott should simply it
I avoid Marriott properties like the plague. Because they usually are overpriced in comparison to all the competing properties in a given market.
Some background is needed here. I was a travel agent for 30 years. At one point, I was an agent for Amex. Amex had a “do not book Marriott properties unless the client requests them” policy. Why? Marriott was notoriously slow to pay comissions. People forget that the only reason there are Marriott Amex Bonvoy CCs is because these used to be Starwood Preferred Guest Amex CCs. Covering a large part of that 30 years, I also worked for a large US airline that does not carry passengers. Internationally, the flight crews loved Starwood and Hilton. The company signed huge agreements to provide X nights because those 2 brands catered to the needs of an overnight freight carrier. I know for a fact there was only one Marriott property that the crews preferred, the Marriott SkyCity in HKG. The company had a contract with just that Marriott property. Fast forward to 2018, when many corporations had to update their contracts because of the Marriott/Starwood merger. Guess who became the preferred supplier for hotel nights for flight crews? Easy, Hyatt! Everyone knows why?
Marriott was always known in the travel agent community as a cheap ass company run by very greedy founders of a certain religion. Their history was well known to corporate frequent guests and travel agents. We all knew what would happen. Why is everyone surprised now? The writing was on the wall for the last 30 years.
P.S.-Another example is how MGM left the agreement with Hyatt to go with Marriott. That marriage was bound to end. Hyatt wasn’t happy with earning of elite nights for a piddling. While the agreement with Marriott offers essentially nothing for Bonvoy frequent guests. Wonder why?
yes. I booked and stayed at Moxy Amsterdam from Bonvoy. I have Titanium status. I didn’t have the breakfast. they said they aren’t not Marriott.
I worked in executive management at a Marriott hotel for 10 years. Truth be told….unless you are an Ambassador or the elusive Cobalt status Marriott does not care about your loyalty tier. There are many benefits promised to lower lever tiers but most of them have asterisks by them. Plus there is such a push for front desk associates to pull in extra money from “upswells” that they will lie about room inventory or use excuses to not give the promised benefits If you flash a gold or platinum status the desk will laugh at you when you walk away. You may have some less laughs if you are titanium. Marriott customer service is just people working from home who know less about the brand than the people who work the front desk, which isn’t saying much most of the time, so again…they will be no help unless you are ambassador or above. I lived and breathed Mathis for 10 years. Marriott will find a loop hole 95% of the time.
It seems it comes down to personal expectations. I enjoy Marriott and the experience of the different brands. I just spent the last month on the road in Europe and didn’t have a bad experience. Did I get upgraded, no….I booked the room I wanted. I received outstanding service from the staff. I am a lifetime Platinum who earned status before the credit card shenanigans made it easy for people to hit thresholds. The writer seems to have some level of entitlement…perhaps he should have been greeted with the royal guard♀️and trumpets. Maybe I’m different but have no expectations of freebies and upgrades. My trips are always pleasant.
I stay at Marriott brand hotels as a “last resort” I was an ambassador for 3 years and was voluntarily offered an upgrade to a suite just one time and that was with an Ambassador assistance. Most check in staff follow NONE /NO guidance of the Bonvoy program and in fact have no knowledge of it. Most responses of staff are, “the day managers set the rooms”, when asked if an upgrade was considered. I am 2 years from lifetime platinum, yet Marriott is truly my choice of no other resort. The hotels fail to follow their own program . I’ve returned to IHG where my Diamond ,Royal Ambassor status gets me upgraded 80-90% of the time and for which I am absolutely appreciative .
Ambassador Elite member here, as well. A technical correction; per the Bonvoy Terms and Conditions, upgrades are guaranteed– but only to the extent that a room or room category has been designated by the hotel to be part of the complimentary upgrade pool. Of course, this restriction is maddening, and I suspect the criteria by which any given hotel decides whether any room is part of that pool are so mutable as to make it eminently possible to deny upgrades on a whim. That said, there are certain hotels where they’ll actually tell you when you ask which room categories are part of the upgrade pool and which aren’t. The Chatwal in NYC, for instance, when it was a Bonvoy property, was quite transparent about the fact that their upgrade pool did not include junior suites or higher category rooms (except for Ambassadors, at the General Manager’s discretion.) I found that policy sufficiently annoying that I chose not to stay there when there were other viable options.
Keep calling them out hotels that play games with elite benefits.
I am a lifetime hold member and have been faithfully staying at Marriott for over 40 years especially Maui . They have 6-7 resorts and the rooms in most other than Westin Kaanapali are disasters along with service – room cleaning at 3-4 .,, if ??
What do you want us to do for $600-$ 1000 per night ? I know and am going to another resort next time vs 27 at Marriott in Maui
Greed is terrible ! .
The Marriott BONVOY program is a bogus program and a rip-off, almost a scam. The so-called “nights” rewards are inflated benefits which you can’t really use to the extent advertised. For instance, I earned five nights in elite status and nearly 90,000 points. Yet, when I tried to book an ocean-front room, it is not available on points. Only rooms with a partial view of the ocean and eligible for BONVOY members using points. Moreover, you don’t get to stay five nights. You can stay just one night with 90K points and have to pay some $650 for the second night. A total rip-off. I will be cancelling membership just as soon as I can use the “benefit”, cut up their card and say bye-bye. A total scam.
I miss the days when we had a Westin Starwood rewards program and our AM EX provided a great value when racking up points and using them. Always reminded of all the perks for being a gold member and did reciece them. Now, I only hear crickets when I ask for any upgrade, member floor level upgrade or lounge area and we are lifetime titanium now and receive fewer benefits and limited choice of rooms when using points.
Can anyone recommend a better rewards program?
The situation is more bizarre for Autograph non-resort properties outside of the USA, Canada and Europe. No “Lounge Offer” is mandated by term 4.3.c.iv (“Guaranteed Lounge Access”) for these regions, but the compensatory offer of US$100 for not providing some form of breakfast in lieu of a lounge *is* mandated “globally”!
I recently encountered this issue at The Brix hotel in the capital city of Trinidad. (This is not a resort property). They even make you sign a declaration at check-in that you understand that breakfast is not a Platinum (and above) benefit. They are under the misapprehension however that it is the Welcome Amenity benefit that this would be part of were it offered.
Just stayed at the Marriott at RTP. That place is nosediving. My coworker fled the hotel because they wouldn’t change her room or her bloodstained mattress and sheets. They told her no other rooms were available. We pulled up the booking app and showed them that rooms were available and they still refused to give her a new room. My room was filthy as well. For $300 a night you would think you could expect better service. After 10 years and lifetime Platinum status I’m saying bon voyage to bonvoy.
Same thing at Hotel Cleveland that used to be Renaissance. Disappointed that they didn’t have lounge for platinum members. Copout by Marriott.
I’ve experienced this at the Courtyard in Sedona, AZ. Management claims they are exempt from offering Elite benefits and that they are a resort. Bonvoy agreed with me, but deferred to the hotel and closed the case without resolution. Only after calling the property out via reviews/surveys, did they later provide me a credit for what is supposed to be included-breakfast.
I agree. The Bonvoy Program requires a refresh as well as some consistency across all the brands. We had an issue with late checkout (we are Titanium) benefit at the Residence Inn Augusta, GA. Even after calling Titanium Support, the GM would only allow us late check out till 1:00pm. First he insisted that rooms were not available. The benefit again does not have conditions, it is guaranteed. He did offer us 4:00pm checkout if we paid an additional half-day rate. Another call to Titanium support and that was reversed quickly. I think alot of that has to do with actual owners who try to skirt the Bonvoy rules. We all should report these to Marriott. Hopefully somewhere these reports are documented.
I’m going to write a negative review about the hotel in Tripadvisor and Google Maps
GM Response: “Thank you for the feedback regarding your recent stay at Hotel David Whitney. We extend our sincere apology for not meeting your expectations as a valued Marriott Bonvoy Member.
Hotel David Whitney transitioned to Marriott’s Autograph Collection in March, and we are very aware of the benefits extended to Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador Bonvoy guests. To clarify, upon arrival we offer a welcome gift of 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points or a ten dollar food and beverage credit. Although most of our guests prefer additional points, if the food and beverage credit is their preference it is reflected on the guestroom folio upon departure.
The second benefit offered to meet Marriott’s concierge lounge guarantee is the choice of 750 points or a complimentary continental breakfast for two from our Capper & Capper market. Our guests may choose from a variety of options including bagels, fresh baked pastries, gourmet oatmeal, protein bars, fresh fruit, yogurt, juice and specialty coffee.
I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your experience in more detail to determine where there may have been a disconnect. We have located your record in our system and I will reach out to you today. If we did not offer the benefits as described above, I would like to correct our oversight and we will properly compensate you.
Also for clarification our in-room dining is offered by Presley’s and a menu is placed on the night stand in all of our guest rooms.”
Ambassador Level here and Lifetime Platinum. Thanks for this article. The other comments are also very insightful and not surprising.
They need to revamp the program or do a better job of policing it across different hotel brands and locations. I travel the world and it’s hit or miss with service. Latin America is the worst.
Marriott is quite simply too big. Basically, they have lost control of the brand and couldn’t care about it in any case. Amoral, mercenary cheapskates.
I choose Marriot for nights other than another I thought about. I booked Marriot because they advertised free breakfast. Then was told I couldn’t receive it. I booked two months ahead and payed in full. I wonder what else isn’t true.
It’s been years since my room has been upgraded, I feel lucky if the room is cleaned daily, and the quality of breakfasts at Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, and Marriotts are practically inedible. I am lifetime Titanium and notice that even the cost of using points has gone up while service has gone down. Time to get it together Marriott!
They pulled the same thing with me at the Hotel Parada (autograph collection) in Santa Cruz, California. Refused to give me anything, especially the $100. Marriott corporate did absolutely nothing except for 6000 “I’m sorry points”
Bonvoy is a Marketing program for Marriott, a Business. The goal of the marketing program is to create loyalty, which Bonvoy has done very successfully. The goal of the hotel business is to provide services to guests for profit (collect more than you spend providing such services). Short term, this appears to be a very successful business model. Who’s the pawn?
Thanks for writing this article as it is really an issue. I am a titanium member and most stays I have now breakfast is not an option. I used to be pretty reliable at Marriott proper hotels, but just last month I stayed at a Marriott proper in Orange county, they didn’t have a lounge so they gave me a voucher for a continental breakfast. I was able to get a beagle and a coffee, a big difference from what I used to get.
This was one of the Marriott benefits I really enjoyed, it’s a real shame they are slowly getting rid of this benefit one hotel at a time.
Considering the fact that Marriot rents there Suites through Airbnb, I’m surprised anyone ever gets the upgrades they tout as a benefit… It’s crazy they get away with this… Especially when you consider the fact they led the push to ban Airbnb in NYC. For reference is the article from this blog where I learned about this.
https://viewfromthewing.com/save-big-on-marriott-hotels-by-booking-them-through-airbnb/