Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Hilton Raises Award Prices To Over 100,000 Points Per Night At Popular Resorts

by Gary Leff on March 10, 2022

Mar 10 2022

Marriott is getting heat for eliminating award charts at the end of this month, but Hilton already did this in 2017 while claiming award prices wouldn’t go up. And every time a program has dropped published price lists, that’s meant an irresistible temptation to raise the cost of awards. They don’t even have to tell members that they’re doing it.

Hilton has just increased pricing at some of their best properties, though it will take a comprehensive review to identify just how many and how much.

All Major Hotel Chains Except Marriott Have Suspended Development In Russia

by Gary Leff on March 9, 2022

Mar 09 2022

Surely they won’t be able to ‘stand alone’ continuing to develop in Russia, even if the moves competitors made are mostly symbolic. On the other hand perhaps their press release was delayed having to check first to make sure it didn’t list Taiwan as a country.

No Blog Reader Would Ever Fall For This Housekeeping Tourist Scam, Right?

by Gary Leff on March 9, 2022

Mar 09 2022

A woman dressed up as a Marriott housekeeper to convince a guest to open the door to their room. She rummaged around the room at the Four Points Sheraton Bellingham, Washington while pretending to provide ‘service’ – and stole car keys, a wallet, credit cards, and $2300 in cash.

The arresting officer told her to turn the engine of her vehicle off – but she slammed it into reverse and drove off and led police on a high speed chase at over 100 miles an hour.

Marriott Elite Breakfast Doesn’t Have To Include Coffee, That’ll Be Extra For Juice Too Ms. Titanium Elite

by Gary Leff on March 6, 2022

Mar 06 2022

Your ‘free breakfast’ as a Marriott Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador member is allowed to come off of a special limited menu. And it does not even have to include juice or coffee.

And here’s the important context. Hotels can get away with virtually anything at Marriott, and hotels in this particular ownership group usually try.

Marriott Surveying Members On How To Improve Ambassador Status

by Gary Leff on March 6, 2022

Mar 06 2022

Marriott’s top tier Ambassador status requires 100 elite nights and $20,000 spend to earn. And they’ve failed to deliver benefits consistently to Ambassador members, and reduced the service provided as well over the past two years. Now they’re surveying members to see what’s important to them as they consider whether to invest more in their best members.

People Are Booking Airbnbs In Ukraine As Charity, But Maybe That’s Not A Good Idea?

by Gary Leff on March 4, 2022

Mar 04 2022

This is being promoting on social media by Airbnb’s CEO. But Ukranian refugees need a place to stay and this can easily take inventory off the market (restrict supply) and raise price.

Marriott Dynamic Award Pricing Devaluation Starts March 29, Will Be Worse In 2023

by Gary Leff on February 25, 2022

Feb 25 2022

Marriott has shared that they’re dropping award charts in March and moving to dynamic pricing. We now know that the date this goes into effect will be March 29, though the transition will be gradual and spread into March 30. And we also know how much more expensive some properties may become.

This Marriott Strictly Limits Each Club Lounge Guest To Two Snack Items

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2022

Feb 19 2022

Here’s something of a new one as hotels begin re-introducing services that guests demand. The London Marriott County Hall has opened up its club lounge but they reportedly want to strictly limit costs. “the happy hour at the M Club [is] table service only…[and you’re] limited to two canapes per person.”

This Marriott Hotel Assesses A Fee To Cover Property Tax Debt When Members Redeem Points

by Gary Leff on February 18, 2022

Feb 18 2022

The Marriott Courtyard Jefferson City in Missouri adds $4.90 onto award bookings, and that’s strange since the hotel doesn’t have a resort or destination fee. The website doesn’t tell you what this fee is for. But it’s really quite interesting – and galling.

Is TripAdvisor Still Relevant?