I spent a few nights this past week at Marriott’s The Alexandrian Autograph Collection hotel in Old Town Alexandria (Northern Virginia). And it really stood out just how much Marriott, and the property, thinks it can get away with.
At check-in I was told that as a Platinum member I was upgraded “to a king room.” That’s what was booked, and had shown in my account for a month. I asked whether there were any other upgrades available, and the agent at the desk didn’t even look, didn’t even let me finish the (short) sentence. He abruptly interrupted, “no, no upgrades, nothing.” He’s been clearly trained. Reports from Ambassador members are that upgrades aren’t provided even when the hotel is empty.
Platinums can’t really expect upgrades. Marriott markets Platinum as though it’s a form of elevated status. In reality, it’s like Hilton Gold. It comes with a credit card, and really is lounge access at those hotels that still have lounges and 4 p.m. late check-out at non-resort properties.
The hotel does offer a happy hour with free drinks. Well, it’s not really a happy hour. It is for a strict period of 30 minutes.
The hotel’s restaurant is actually next door, though it can be reached through the back of the lobby. Elite breakfast here is $15 per person, up to $30 for two people. That’s not enough to cover the cheapest item on the menu (yogurt) and a coffee so they’re clearly not complying with Bonvoy program terms. It doesn’t matter, they’ve apparently been doing this for years and getting away with merely offering a restaurant discount to encourage paid business, like they might with a free appetizer.
This is also another property that doesn’t understand the difference between a Welcome Gift and the benefits choice in lieu of a lounge.
- Marriott requires Autograph Collection hotels to offer 750 points or breakfast as a choice when there’s no lounge. This hotel does that, but their breakfast is not compliant since the $15 credit doesn’t cover the cost of a continental breakfast.
- Marriott separately requires a Welcome Gift of “1,000 points per stay or $10 USD Food & Beverage (“F&B”) credit per stay” but this hotel does not do this. They treat the 750 points or breakfast as the welcome choice.
- Platinums and above are entitled to $100 compensation for each of those failures. Since I was on property for an event, and didn’t want to create friction for my host, I did not claim it (which would certainly have entailed an argument).
My room was small, and the hotel feels incredibly dated. It’s the former Kimpton Hotel Monaco property, but before that it was a Holiday Inn Select. Walls here are thin. I heard everything from the hallway while in the room.
The toilet handle sticks in the bathroom, so each time I flushed I had to manually put the handle back in the upright position to stop water flow in the tank.
You have to crawl under the desk to reach an outlet. There are no complimentary bottles of water in the room – not even for the in-room coffee maker.
The hotel does provide daily housekeeping, though I’m not sure it leaves the property tidier.
There’s a nice interior courtyard, though too cold and overcast while I was there for anyone to be taking advantage of it.
Somehow rates here run from the mid-$200s to mid-$400s. There’s actually another Autograph Collection property just a few blocks away. You’d probably like the Morrison House much better.
Marriott CEO Jim Capuano once said, “When I die, they’ll put the net-rooms growth number on my tombstone.” Marriott will seemingly take a fee from any hotel, of any quality, diluting their brands in the process.
At the end of the stay I did speak with a manager at the hotel about their benefits. They acknowledged that $15 does not cover breakfast, but expressed no interest in addressing this. They did understand my point about separate breakfast versus check-in amenity benefits, however.
It’s funny that you compared Marriott Platinum to Hilton Gold, sort of belittling status via credit card; yet, the Amex Hilton Aspire gives automatic top-tier Diamond status, which should provide upgrades. I have both the Aspire and the Amex Marriott Brilliant, which includes Platinum status, as well as are all aware. I like both cards for their respective free nights and status. Clearly, Hilton is more generous. Still, if the terms state that Platinum is eligible for upgrades, then properties should be providing them when available. Thank you for calling out the Alexandrian for its clear violation of policy. Now, will anyone actually do anything about it? Time will tell. I bet, probably not. Accountability and enforcement are about to be drawn and quartered. We’re about to enter an era of peak corruption. Greed is king.
Morrison House and The Alexandrian are operated by the same company, Sage Hospitality Group.
I haven’t stayed at The Alexandrian but I did a stay at Morrison House in 2018. They were cheating back then. Same thing. You couldn’t actually get breakfast because they refused to provide a credit that was sufficient for the actual cost of breakfast. Back then, the credit was only $10.
As I read the Bonvoy rules, you were entitled to claim $200 in cash compensation. $100 for no breakfast benefit and $100 for no elite welcome gift.
@1990 – Hilton’s program does not promise suite upgrades, even if base level suites are unoccupied – it is entirely at the discretion of the hotel. Hilton also does not guarantee late checkout, also at the discretion of the hotel.
Sadly, this is now the norm for most Autograph Collection hotels. When the brand was introduced, the benefits were generally in compliance. Since I love the uniqueness of Autograph properties, I intended to stay in as many as possible. That goal has long since been abandoned as, collectively, the Autograph Collection Brand became stingier and stingier. So many other hotel choices offer consistently greater value than Marriott.
Hilton rarely upgrades to suites. Marriott in Europe and Asia usually does if you ask. Marriott always provide 4pm checkouts Hilton is a toss up depending on the hotel so if you really need it go Marriott. Also Hilton lounges are really second tier compared to Marriott.
This is why God invented Hyatt.
I didn’t know that Delta possibly owns and/or manages certain Marriott properties…no upgrades being consistent with its core brand value.
@captain, I saw what you did there and I’m not amused
The best comment about thin walls was made by a co-worker at a team meeting in Rochester. She arrived for the morning session looking rather tired and explained that while the husband in the room next door may be in town for business his wife was definitely there for pleasure.
Yet despite all the complaining, Marriott shares are hovering near all-time highs at $287 (Hilton and Hyatt are close to those highs as well), and there is almost no difference in revenue performance between the major hotel groups.
This gets back to a point I have mad before… In the past, you have claimed that the Anbang offer for Starwood was “superior” to the Marriott offer. In September 2016, Starwood shareholders received $21 per share, plus 0.8 Marriott shares per share (Marriott shares were trading at $68.44 at the time the merger closed), resulting in total value of roughly $76 ($21 in cash, $55 in Marriott shares). The first Anbang offer was $78, the second was $82.75 (though who knows if those deals would have ever closed). Let’s assume the $82.75 Anbang deal would have went through – $82.75, invested in the S&P 500, would be worth about $231.17 today, given the S&P 500 is up 280% since then. Nice. However, let’s look at the Marriott deal – assume the $21 cash portion was also invested in the S&P 500, and you get $58.70… But given Marriott shares are up 419% since the Merger, the Marriott share portion of the deal would be worth $229.66, resulting in a total value of $288. The Marriott merger for Starwood was the better deal then, and is the better deal today.
And in terms of overall customer preference, hotel customers today are savvy and know that loyalty programs are designed for earning and redeeming points, and that you have to look at each individual hotel to determine what you should expect.
Welcome folks to The Marriott Ponzi Scheme Rewards program
Bernard Madoff is back now running Bonvoy
Imagine having been an Ambassador and having stayed at a specific property multiple times.
Now, imagine that at check-in, there are several upgrade-eligible suites available for the entire duration of your stay. The front desk does not offer any upgrade. Noting that there are several upgrade-eligible suites so available, you ask for an upgrade. And, the on-duty manager actually says to you, “We’re not going to simply give you a suite.” In another instance, the on-duty manager actually says to you, “The room we gave you is good enough.” (****) me!
The simple question is this: Given that there were several upgrade-eligible suites available, what harm would there have been to granting the upgrade. The property would have lost no revenue.
Imagine the good will it would create. Or, alternatively, the bad will it would create. We stay in that property’s location 40-50 nights per year. In the end, we’ve established a very good relationship with another (non-network) property that treats us over-the-top good. And, in the end, the property and Marriott has lost our revenue.
As this property is not the exception with Marriott, I’ve moved on. But, Marriott will be absolutely fine without me.
@Gary
Thanks for the clarification. I’d say the most generous program for guaranteed late-checkouts is definitely the 4PM offered by Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts; I believe a few other programs offer similar benefits, but ironically, none of them are the branded hotel programs, like Marriott, Hilton, etc. How on earth do the hotels that participate in FHR stay afloat? That’s so late. I mean, I usually take full advantage of it when I book through them. You basically get your room for upwards of +24 hours.
I’ve sort of trained myself to not extrapolate a single hotel experience onto the brand itself as a whole. But there are certainly general trends that are quite concerning.
Also, I’m kind of surprised there isn’t a brand-wide flag on Gary’s account to be extra courteous to him and go the extra mile as an influencer in the industry. Can’t change the physical aspects of the hotel but the customer service and upgrades can definitely be enhanced.
Thanks for sharing this.
Reinforces that dumping Marriott after thousands of nights was the wise choice.
I will remain Titanium for life anyways for the odd stay, but don’t have to deal with the constant mistreatment of customers, crappy website, and overall contempt for doing the right thing.
How do you know there isn’t
Gary got out a partial sentence before he was interrupted
Joe Schmoe wouldn’t have been allowed to speak at all
@L – there was a hotel-wide flag on my reservation to be extra nice to me because of the specific event I was on property for, but I’ve only ever seen two hotels treat me better because of my platform and that was about 8 years ago, both in the Mideast.
Personally, I think it’s a good thing that the hotels treat Gary like the rest of us. I’ve stayed at a few of the better Marriott properties and have noticed an employee of that property looked me up prior to arrival on LinkedIn. I think at the best hotels a guest relations manager may do this. Especially if you have top-tier status with the chain. I also had one property where I had an awful experience creep me on LinkedIn for about a month after my stay. Every few days for that month a different employee looked me up on LinkedIn.
Interesting window into the Marriott mindset.
I’ve done small corporate and nonprofit board meeting and event planning. I build into the contract the requirement that anyone with us paying the contracted group rate individually gets their full elite benefits including an upgrade to the best available room or suite on the day of arrival. Some of these meetings or events have involved 13-15 rooms and others 30-40 rooms. So not super small, but not insignificant either. Especially when you add in meeting rooms, food and beverage, etc. And yet, I’ve had multiple hotels attempt to cheat us out of not just elite benefits but the provisions of the contract. Some intentionally and some unintentionally. I really think it’s a North American and especially an American problem. There is high turnover among employees at US hotels. Working at a US hotel is hardly seen as a career. Most people view it as a job. Even among managers, few went to a proper hotel school. By contrast, in most other countries working in a hotel, especially a big international chain, can be quite prestigious. You need to know at least a second language. Most of the staff at the front desk and in management will have went to a hotel school. It’s a real career. And hospitality is taken seriously.
I’m not sure why anyone who cares about hotel loyalty and elite experience is pursuing status with any program other than Hyatt. It’s an exceptional program and the consistency of recognition and of delivery of benefits is 100%, in my experience. It’s incredibly nice to see.
I moved to Europe almost 15 years ago and back to the use 2 years ago. The most liberating thing was cutting the cord on all loyalty programs. I started staying in a variety of interesting properties and focused on quality airlines and flexibles schedules. This article reminded me of how good a decision that was. The loyalty game seems soul sucking these days.
Marriott Bonvoy is a mixed bag. There are some awesome hotels that deliver on enhanced benefits and too many that don’t. Unfortunately this likely won’t change. If we can compile a list of good Bonvoy hotels vs bad Bonvoy ones, that will save guests a lot of aggravation and disappointment. I have been quite satisfied this year with my Bonvoy Platinum benefits including suite upgrades, particularly in Asia. It will help knowing which hotels to avoid. Thanks for calling out the Alexandrian. I won’t stay there the next time I’m in the area
That egg white omelette looks ridiculously detailed and well prepared with much lovely sublety and taste.
$16!!! In San Francisco where I live, it would be double!!!
Want to stay there for the lonely looking $4 dollar homemade jam. Yum!
That egg white omelette looks ridiculously detailed and well prepared with much lovely sublety and taste.
$16!!! In San Francisco where I live, it would be double!!!
Want to stay there for the lovely looking $4 dollar homemade jam. Yum!
That is a lie. If it is not a lie then provide a source. What I can source is the following, and it is on Hilton’s website that lists Diamonds’ benefits:
That is Hilton’s “promise” that they delivers on without any fanfare. Please provide your source or just can it for once and for all.
What is certain, Gary, is that as a Hilton Honors (LT) Diamond, I spend more nights in complimentary suites than you do your so-called ‘confirmed’ suites.
Just within the last couple of weeks:
— I was at the Waldorf Astoria Chicago where I spent the night in a suite into which I was upgraded a day before I got to the hotel.
— Right now, I am at Conrad Singapore Orchard in a suite that I was upgraded into three days before I checked in, automatically.
I can provide hard evidence supporting the above if you care.
The truth of the matter is that no program “promises” suite upgrades and in every program suite upgrades are at the discretion of each property. That you keep telling those lies 20 years after you first fabricated them is a reflection on just how intellectually dishonest you are.
G’day from complimentary suite upgrade at Conrad Singapore Orchard!
After tons of complaints by my colleagues, my company mercifully no longer books Marriott. As long as occupancy remains high, Marriott will exploit and defraud customers.
Oh, I did not address the one about “guaranteed late checkout”, a perk that I rank very low and I am frequently asked as a LT Diamond if I care to request, including yesterday while checking in at Conrad Singapore Orchard.
As I have stated countless times, I have never been denied a late checkout request as a top HH elite, including requests as late as 6pm, which programs that “guarantee” late checkout to 4pm will easily swat away (“Sorry, cahn’t do because checkout is guaranteed only to 4pm”). And don’t even get me started on getting my 3pm check-in delayed until 6pm at Hyatt Regency Tokyo because some fat ass Globalist had been granted late checkout in the room I was supposed to be checked into. The “guarantee” rewards guests checking out while penalizing those checking in, which is why Hilton, a better run hospitality company will never ever “guarantee” late checkout.
Call the hotel police for not kissing your a…
I have Bonvoy Gold status and considering it to be functionally meaningless. For me, Bonvoy exists solely for earning and burning points. It’s sad, because SPG and Marriott Rewards were both programs where status meant something.
@Gary Interesting! I’m no marketing expert but seems like a no-brainer to give you for them to give you some extra attention when they see you’ll be staying haha
@FNT Very fair point — hotel stalking people on Linkedin is creepy, yikes.