Category Archives for Hotels.
Wyoming’s cronyist approach to alcohol licenses is hard to dislodge because it benefits prominent incumbents (who have the licenses, and the most political influence) and benefits state revenue (since they’re the only wholesale supplier of spirits and wine).
Now Marriott Bonvoy even promises less to its members for what rooms they’ll get as an upgrade, based on a change to the program’s terms and conditions. Although honestly the rules change simply reflects what I’d understood to always be the case.
This hotel charges an amenity fee that covers an on-site minimart to sell you bags of chips? And they appear to add a credit card surcharge that is expressly illegal under state law.
Hilton has jacked up the top redemption price of a room from 150,000 to 200,000 points. That’s a 4x increase in prices in 12 years which is a 300% cumulative increase or average Honors inflation rate of 41.4% – sitting between the current inflation facing Turkey and Argentina.
This property has a club lounge, honors elite breakfast there, and refuses restaurant breakfast as outlined by the Marriott Bonvoy terms.
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce gives a guided tour of the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, an informercial from the official government account on Twitter. Bruce accompanied President Trump on his four-day visit to the Middle East.
The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh was used as a government torture site and Marriott never spoke up about its brand being used this way.
A guest was at Marriott’s AC Veracruz hotel in Mexico when the bathroom sink in his room collapsed – causing, he says, a muscle tear and hernia. This happened in February and he still can’t get a response from the hotel or from Marriott over the incident.
At this point it takes a lot to shock me with the petty mandatory add-on fees some hotels can charge. The Staybridge Suites Tulsa Woodland Hills manages this feat quite easily with a “service fee” that “assists to invest in upgrades and initiatives for guest security.” There’s a mandatory safety fee, because apparently you aren’t assured a safe room as part of your rate at this property.
You earn your points and status on business trips, slogging it out on the road, and the ultimate reward is that special trip to Hawaii. When you arrive and find your loyalty worth so little, that puts a damper on the whole enterprise.
Marriott promises that if an upgraded room is available for the length of your stay when you check in, then it is yours free if you’re a Platinum member or above. But that’s not actually how Marriott upgrades work.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
