Marriott Bonvoy is looking to make a couple of hires that suggest changes coming to the program.
Here’s a role for Senior Manager – CEC Strategic Initiatives – Loyalty handling Marriott’s customer service channels for Bonvoy. It suggests handling upcoming program changes (emphasis mine):
This position will be responsible for successful implementation of all Loyalty-impacting programs and processes within the CECs. These include changes to currency and earnings, changes to program benefits, changes to program branding or structures, implementation of new partnerships or partnership benefits, program promotions, and changes to CEC-specific processes or systems (particularly reservation booking platform) that specifically support Marriott’s Loyalty program.
This role will also support co-brand credit card initiatives, including business-as-usual (BAU) operations and new card launches. This role will provide feedback on systems enhancement and requirements to HQ team to ensure the reservation booking platform is fully optimized and is nimble to respond to loyalty marketing and operations for our members. Finally, this position will play a critical role in supporting the Loyalty Business Transformation (LBT) as the program transitions to a new technology platform.
St. Regis Bangkok
Recently Marriott posted new reduced points-earning rates for several brands to its website, and then said it was an error, removing the changes. It always seems odd when a devaluation gets posted and the program says ‘nothing to see here’ because someone mocked up those changes for a reason.
Some of the specific additional background on this job includes,
Partner with Loyalty organization and other CEC functions to develop and implement plans to support loyalty program changes related to currency, redemption and earnings structure and member benefits (e.g., Peak-Off-Peak).
Collaborate with CEC functions including Business Analytics, Operations, and Strategy to identify need areas for improvements in Loyalty related processes (e.g., use of certificates, visibility into member history).
W Doha
Some of this may be old, recycled language as peak and off-peak redemption pricing was ditched in favor of completely opaque, frequently changing redemption prices. So not everything in the descriptions may be indicating of changes still in the pipeline. They do seem to recognize need for improvements in how they help members understand and use their accounts.
Meanwhile the second role worth flagging is FLEX Senior Manager, Loyalty Product Team.
The Senior Manager, Loyalty Product Team is responsible for evaluating and leading successful integration of new and existing brands/assets into the Marriot Bonvoy ecosystem—thereby enhancing the value of the Program to its millions of members. This associate will lead cross-discipline teams to define and activate all key components of brand/asset integration, including program economics, member experience, marketing strategy, change management, and owner engagement strategies, etc.
Loyalty Brand/Asset Integration
- Support Marriott Bonvoy senior leadership to evaluate potential new products for integration into Marriott Bonvoy
- Support overall brand/asset integration strategy for Marriott Bonvoy, working with Marriott Bonvoy senior leadership to prioritize brands/assets for program integration.
- Collaborate with key discipline partners to develop approach for specific brand/asset integrations to include program economics, loyalty business processing, member experience, marketing strategy, change management, on- and-above property training development, etc.
- Engage with Continent Teams to ensure regional relevance, as needed.
- Manage activation of new brands/assets into the Marriott Bonvoy ecosystem, and support shift to sustainment phase.
- Communicate program results and key trends to senior management.
Westin Austin
This suggests a vision for bringing even more brands into Bonvoy, and a suggestion that each might fit in differently. When a new brand gets added, the ‘program economics’ may vary – whether the brand earns points, earns elite nights, whether one night stayed actually earns an elite night (or owner pays less, so the member gets less) and what benefits will apply. With Mariott Bonvoy and the chain’s question for net rooms growth, everything is up for grabs.
Bonvoy is clearly the most devalued hotel loyalty program since it launched seven years ago. Even that 2018 version involved devaluation of legacy Marriott points and requiring more elite nights (and spend) to earn Starwood’s elite status benefits, and they added resort fees (cash co-pay) onto free night awards.
W Times Square
At the time, the most expensive award cost 60,000 points per night. Now it’s a hundred thousand to hundreds of thousands. They introduced a higher redemption category, added peak night award pricing, and then eliminated award charts altogether with variable pricing that changes frequently for every property and date.
Al Maha Desert Resort
Most of all, hotels don’t even deliver promised benefits and customer service ignores or gaslights member complaints.
Elite breakfast
Hotel chains serve owners, and guests are the product not the customer. However, in the long-term, the company needs to protect its brand because that’s what guests buy into and is what allows the chain to sway their business – without it they have nothing of value as a company.
Each chain finds itself on a different part of the spectrum balancing satisfying current owners and depreciating the brand, or protecting the brand and risking chasing owners elsewhere. Marriott has seemed to be in the former camp.
These jobs suggest more changes to the program – hires at a time off $100 million in cost cuts that includes layoffs and a push to drive down program costs for owners.
@ Gary — I think there’s a typo in the job description. Shouldn’t it say “This position will be responsible for successful elimination of all Loyalty-impacting programs?”
You do realize that people that focus on points/miles are a VERY small percentage of any airline or hotel company’s customers right? I’m sure every one of these modeled the benefits and decided it was worth it to make changes (or degrade elite experience). I traveled extensively for 40 years and am lifetime elite on DL, AA and UA plus lifetime Marriott Titanium and Hilton Diamond (plus 2nd level from top in 3-4 other hotel chains) so I have experienced many changes as a top level elite for a long time. Things change so you adapt.
Yes I appreciate it when I get an upgrade or some other benefit but I personally just book what I want to eliminate any doubt. That means US first class airline seats, international business or first class seats and a hotel room that I want (suite, room with club lounge access etc). Also I can easily afford breakfast if I want it so a “free” breakfast isn’t that big a deal.
You and many on here seem to be clutching your pearls over what isn’t happening and changes to programs you can do ABSOLUTELY nothing about. IMHO, it is better to just buy what you want to not worry about it. Makes life so much easier.
The model for all “loyalty” programs is the same.
1 Create a “currency” out if thin air
2 Backed by perishable/worthless assets (empty rooms/seats)
3 Partner with credit card oligopolies feasting on unregulated/uncapped fees
4 Get enough people invested in the program with initially low priced offerings (just like the best Marriotts were 60K points, you could fly halfway while lying flat around the globe for 65-70K miles as recently as a few years ago,)
5 Slowly boil the water so the frogs don’t realize the temperature is going up
What is true today was true 250 years ago. Historical allegory alert: “I am astonished at Bonvoy’s moderation”
If Marriott was remotely interested in actually enhancing their loyalty program then they could hire Gary as a knowledgeable but not directly involved consultant. Instead they’re using a bunch of euphemisms that illustrate that we’re going to get royally Bonvoyed in the next few years. I’m so happy that my Lifetime Platinum just came through so I don’t have to actually stay at Marriott hotels to accrue status.
The final shoe to drop (and I bet it’s coming) is revenue based qualification.
@rj123546 Preach! Say it louder for the folks in the back! You keep it a 100. Could not have said it better myself. No notes.
@L737 — Another reference for you. rj123456 is like Rick taking Roy off the grid. Like, by the way he’s shouting the truth about how these programs are inevitably depreciating, it’s like, ‘this guy doesn’t have an SSN for Roy!’
@DWT, As a multi-year Ambassador, I would welcome revenue requirements for all the elite tiers.
Regarding the certificate management part of the reservation—if one has a 25000 point certificate (from keeping a credit card open), can one use it and points to get a higher priced hotel? The hotels that I have tried to do this for are not letting me do that. If not, this really devalues the certificates.
MR is already just a shadow of its former self. Eventually people will widen up and dump the credit cards and then it will be game up
At this point was is needed is not more perks but just enforcement of brand standards. If I stay in a Westin I want Westin quality. And open the goddamn lounges 24/7.
@rj123546 Yep also agree that seems to be the name of the game, I like the frog analogy haha
@1990 Ha-haaa yep, gold! Honestly this situation would’ve been perfect for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry gets shafted on his elite benefits
Gary, take a chill.
Programs change all the time. The hiring of a person with change in their JD does not mean they are hiring someone TO change the program, especially at this relatively JUNIOR level. Put on your corporate hat for just a minute (I know you think you should be CEO of Marriott and American (simultaneously) but seriously, take a long, deep breath. Senior Managers (especially at Marriott) do NOT make these kinds of decisions.
And the other concern you have highlighted is simply the replacement of MARSHA with then Amadeus platform. Hardly simple but will not change the program at all as a result. It’s just back end change out.
RELAX – no need to be so alarmist over a couple of super junior job postings….
“If Marriott was remotely interested in actually enhancing their loyalty program then they could hire Gary”
I would immediately short the stock.
@AC Totally agree with you. I manage my expectations- if I want BC or FC or an ungraded hotel room, I pay for it. Loyalty programs are now a meaningless joke.
Interesting timing, with Starwood rebooting its brand.
I hope they end up duking it out over the loyalty programs, so we can all benefit from the competition. 🙂
Why does anyone bother with Marriott? I’m lifetime Plat and avoid it all costs. Here’s how I prioritize my bookings:
1) Hyatt
2) Hilton
3) IHG
4) Any independent hotel
5) Youth hostel
6) Marriott
The Marriott lounges have gone downhill across the continents, so even the benefit of higher end program status with Marriott is a shadow of its former self.
If the redemption rates go down much more, I’m going to be /sorely/ tempted to dump my miles to…probably United, given the de facto 2:1 redemption ratio (60k:(20k+10k)) even though I don’t usually fly United. BA->AY is another option (AA/DL don’t have the 5k bonus on every 60k points, which hurts).
Right now I’m really just limping through to LTP (I’m close enough), there are a few situations where Marriott fits due to holes in Hyatt’s footprint (Ocala is the most obvious case for me here; Peoria is a close second right now while Hammond, LA was a few years ago), and the double-nights times plus the CC night credits and FNAs mean that I really only need to spend like 35 nights per year with them (about 20, sometimes 25, being in those “hole in Hyatt’s footprint” situations – either there are no Hyatt properties or nothing but a stray HP while there’s a full-service Marriott property, or the only Hyatt has airs above its station in terms of pricing – the HP at LBV has gotten rather froggy about pricing at times when the Delta/Fairfield are more sanely priced). But if Hyatt has a decent footprint, unless Hyatt is insanely expensive (which happens more than I wish it did) then Hyatt wins every single time.
As it stands, they’re lucky for me to put a penny on their CCs. I keep the cards for the FNAs (basically, a free hotel night for…$95?) but nothing goes on there – partly because I’m still working down the Starwood pile that came in (low pandemic rates slowed my points use for a few years, and I got walked from a Westin once, which paid for like a week of free nights at the time) and partly because Marriott has put in some aggressive-enough points bonuses/night credit bonuses or redemption ratios have been “unusually bad” relative to what I’m usually able to get.
To be clear, I think they’re dragging the program down as fast as they can “safely” – going too much further might have invited “actual” legislative/regulatory action (as it was, they got their hand slapped over hiding/disguising resort fees, and hotels can’t hide behind the Airline Deregulation Act the way airlines can). Honestly, going “too fast” might have even made franchisees nervous – if I’m a franchisee, I’d be worried about traffic leaking to the other brands if Marriott took an overnight wrecking ball to the program, regardless of what I would save in direct costs – but I think the resort fee disclosure case probably scared them off of going much faster since someone at Legal probably whispered “Remember Caesar, thou art mortal” to someone in the C-suite.
Ugh…one addendum: There’s a Marriott near where I live (full-service property) where the lounge actually serves a decent supper. Like, “We rotate the menu throughout the week and you can easily eat dinner Sunday-Thursday without going out or going downstairs” and they’re on a key part of the power grid. For now, points redemptions are pretty decent there vis-a-vis the cash rate. That’s basically my “blizzard hotel”, and retaining lounge access there is a big deal for me. But dear Lord do I wish that would become a Hyatt Regency.
@L737 — Ha-haaa, indeed. Oh yes!
Larry: “It uhh… saysuhh.. I get free breakfast. What gives?”
Receptionist: “Not at this property.”
Larry: “Free breakfast! Freeee breakfast!!”
*tuba theme*
Since Corporate Marriott cares less about customer complaints about hotels not adhering to published expectations, everyone should post online reviews where the audience are customers who should be wary about specific negative services (hitting the franchise owner) of the hotel. You will get nowhere with corporate Marriott until the specific franchise itself starts losing money and diminishes the Marriott reputation.
Also, So not everything in the descriptions may be “indicating”* of changes still in the pipeline.
* Should be “indicative.”
The worse they’ll treat you, the more you’ll keep coming back
@DWT: The biggest issue with revenue qualification is that Marriott has made a LOT of hay out of selling status via their credit cards. I don’t foresee them cutting that out.