One Sheraton guest chronicles their Kafkesque quest to have the Shearton Grand Seattle honor Marriott elite benefits. Traveler reports are that they’ve been out of compliance for years, and becoming even less customer friendly, which saddens me – because I used to much like this hotel.
Credit: Sheraton Seattle
Marriott Platinum members are entitled to club lounge access when they stay at a Sheraton. As a separate benefit, the program’s terms (4.3.c.iii) offer a ‘welcome amenity’ choice that Platinums and above can select at check-in:
- 1,000 bonus points
- Local amenity
- Restaurant breakfast (for the member and one guest, each day of the stay)
If the hotel fails to honor this choice, the terms say they are required to compensate the guest with $100.
For about a year and a half the hotel has refused to provide restaurant breakfast as a benefit choice. On the weekends, their lounge offerings reportedly barely qualify as a continental breakfast. They reportedly claim to be “exempt” from the offering “since we have a club lounge” which is not how the program works.
Credit: Sheraton Seattle
The hotel describes the weekend offering as “Starbucks espresso, steel cut oatmeal, fresh baked pastries and an array of market melons and berries.” One guest reported it was “nothing but a fruit bowl with oranges, apples and bananas on weekends. No breads, pastries or ceral offered.”
Back in March, one customer decided to call them on it.
I informed them of that Section 4.3.c of the Bonvoy Terms and Conditions explicitly state that breakfast in the restaurant is one of the welcome amenity choices and that failure to abide by the terms would be a $100 on-the-spot cash payment as penalty. The operator put me on hold for several minutes to talk to the manager. She then confirmed that they will violate the terms. Her reasoning is that they are a convention hotel. Im calling bonvoy
The guest relays being told to call Marriott at check-in when they’re denied the benefit. The guest also created a form that they asked the check-in agent to sign!
This form documents that, on __________________, Guest checked into Property, a Sheraton Brand, with reservation number _________________ and has selected breakfast in the restaurant as the Elite Welcome Gift.
As of the date indicated, Section 4.3.c.iii of the Marriott Bonvoy (Loyalty Program) Terms and Conditions specifies that “Platinum Elite Members and above receive one Elite Welcome Gift (of their choice where multiple options are offered).” The same section specifically states that Sheraton properties must offer an Elite Welcome Gift of “1,000 Points per Stay or amenity per Stay or breakfast in restaurant per night of Stay for Member +1 (including Resorts)” and that failure to offer the amenity results in a Guest Compensation of $100.
Property has offered breakfast in the Lounge or 1000 points, but does not offer breakfast in the restaurant. Lounge access is already a separate guaranteed benefit under Section 4.3.c.iv and thus not applicable as a substitute for the Elite Welcome Amenity.
Property hereby [ ] accepts or [ ] declines Guest compensation of $100 pursuant to Section 4.3.c.iii. Guest certifies that selecting to decline compensation will result in escalation to Marriott Bonvoy Customer Service and is subject to review and appeal. Guest reserves the right to pursue any or all other legal remedies.
Credit: Sheraton Seattle
At check-in they were denied breakfast. (Unsurprisingly) the agent refused to sign this form. The guest called Marriott, who acknowledged the benefit terms and initiated the $100 benefit guarantee claim.
The hotel denied the claim. Marriott doesn’t enforce the $100, they send it to the hotel to decide. A couple of weeks later, the guest re-filed the claim. Marriott said the guest was entitled to payment. The hotel refused. They were told they should expect funds in 7-10 days, but the money never arrived. Eventually Marriott offered 40,000 points themselves because they could not make the hotel pay.
The same guest returned to the hotel this week.
This time they told me at check in that they don’t have any king rooms [which was what was reserved] and would give me a double. I then bring up that it’s ok, since that triggers the room-type guarantee of $50. Suddenly they unblock a king room.
Last year the Sheraton Grand Seattle added a $25 per night ‘destination fee’ and made it seemingly tough to use the benefits – a $10 uber credit daily where you had to get a code from the desk and a $25 food and beverage credit that excludes their main restaurant. You can use it at the Starbucks, though. But it’s tough if you want to use the food and beverage credit to buy, say, lunch. They’ve since reduced the credit to $20.
Marriott takes a light hand with hotel owners because they want to keep them all on board. Their CEO says ‘net rooms growth’ will appear on his tombstone. But if Marriott doesn’t begin to control their hotels and enforce the benefits they promise to guests, customers won’t trust the brand any longer – and then Marriott will have nothing left to offer owners. Customers won’t just go to Marriott.com to find their hotels any longer.
What’s the point of the $100 guest compensation if the offending hotel gets to decide if they’re violated the terms?
Time for a class action lawsuit against Marriott Bonvoy.
Agreed. I am lifetime Titanium and it seems Marriott doesn’t care about loyalty only money.
So we had the same issue with this exact hotel back in March. Elite platinum here and we actually booked a “club level lounge access” room so we were not even looking for the elite benefit of breakfast at the time since it came with the room. When we checked in over the weekend the lounge was closed for the weekend and we had to inquire about a food and beverage credit or a reduction in room rate. It took over an hour arguing with the front desk and the assistant GM. The customer service was poor and they did not seem to acknowledge our status at all. The week before we had just stayed at a Westin with a club that was closed and they immediately gave us breakfast restaurant access without even asking. The customer service at this hotel was poor and eventually after calling Marriott corporate while standing at the front desk and handing the phone to the assistant GM, they gave us a F&B restaurant credit for breakfast. They also were giving us crap for asking for a late check out of 1pm (we can go up to 4pm)
From everything hotels have learned from the airlines, I wonder when they will start charging baggage fees
In the USA unfortunately for marriott need to call the hotel first and verify all benefits. Or stay somewhere else.
BUT if the same guest returned to the same hotel he deserves however they treat him.
Problem is that there is only so much you can tell a franchisee to do. People actually running the hotels are going to try to maximize their profit (or at least try to break even).
Marriott is the worse to do business with especially at their own managed or owned properties.
They like to blame the franchisee – but I actually find it worse in the properties they manage or own. As a meeting planner I have great relationships with the owner and management companies & find they are highly receptive to making things right for both myself & my clients.
I find Marriott corporate staff to be the opposite – as recent cost cutting measures have tied their hands. They no longer care about brand loyalty or keeping their best customers happy. It really is a top-down problem.
As mentioned previously, I do know of several franchisees that have switched their branding to Hilton or gone independent. Hope this trend continues!
Free agency and no loyalty removes all the headaches. Yes, less freebies, but less stress. Book on price and save on that side of the equation.
I gave up on Marriott years ago. You all should too.
We avoid Marriotts these days despite lifetime status and close to 1/4 million points. Lots of issues at nearly every hotel we book. They seem to have lost control of their sheep.
Vote your wallet. Lots of good hotels in Seattle. Lots of good breakfast places too.
The hotel “chains” (e.g., Hilton, Marriott et al.) are merely vast market share consuming conglomerates. They are not on the “service” world. They are in the “net rooms added/gained” world. Less competition =‘s less service. If “the numbers” ($) are good, ok that’s a wrap.
@Rob no class action lawsuit, people should just stop giving Marriott money. Don’t have their credit cards, don’t give them any of your business. All of these stories about failing to provide promised benefits, why does anyone continue to waste their time? Marriott is not getting any better. Find other hotel brands, there are several out there. Yea it sucks but at the end of the day, people seem to willingly decide to still stay and confront these properties, it’s like arguing with a rock.
YOU HAVE TO ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU STAY IN THE CITY. Service is always at staff hands. And when you have to use points those are your amennedies too i think. I dont always stay at the marriott.
Marriott started to earn my loyalty in the 80s. Now all I see is steady decline in every way.
Class action lawsuit should be started.
Those saying “class action lawsuit” are clueless. First of all you would have to define the class (which isn’t as easy as you think). Then you would have to find consistently where Marriott was part of the denial of benefits (could sue an individual hotel maybe but not Marriott or the Bonvoy program). Finally, and hardest, is proving they violated the terms of a one-sided agreement they wrote. Trust me they have attorneys and have a response to any claim.
Get over it – if you don’t like the property don’t stay there but quit being some entitled ahole looking to make a buck off the situation. Pathetic!
Marriott is at the bottom of my list (Hyatt, Hilton, IHG) when it comes to picking a hotel to book. It used to be at the top 10 years ago. So sad.
I had this exact experience at the Sheraton Garden Grove Hotel. When I pushed back and insisted the benefits be applied correctly, it took several levels of leadership to eventually open the drawer and write me a breakfast coupon. The most incriminating part is that they had the standard “Bonvoy elite breakfast” coupon, so I’m sure this wasn’t news to them.
When I went to the restaurant and presented the coupon the server said he couldn’t accept it and that I could have breakfast in the lounge. I had to get the front desk supervisor to walk to the restaurant to inform them it would be accepted. This ended up becoming a dance for the next three days. I eventually canceled the remainder of my stay and moved to the much superior Westin Anaheim for the balance of my stay.
I’ve had this happen at several other legacy SPG properties over the last few years, but it’s almost comical how random it is.
So much for loyalty.
“Problem is that there is only so much you can tell a franchisee to do. People actually running the hotels are going to try to maximize their profit (or at least try to break even).”
Sure, but in this case the franchisee has a contract saying what they must provide, and penalties for not doing so. Marriott CAN tell the franchisee to do this. They just are choosing to not enforce their own contractual terms (effectively, by letting the hotel just refuse to pay the penalty they are contractually obligated to pay.)
Take your wallets/purses over to Hyatt where you are treated as guests of the establishment rather than numbers.
Marriott used to throw $100 when I casually mentioned at checkout that my arrival gift never arrived. Then I made sure to order the wine & cheese platter every time (instead of 500 points, even useless in the 2000’s). 50% of the time, it never showed up and I collected but then felt like an a**hole because after all it was a welcome “gift”.
I can see why they stopped offering F&B but a $10 credit or 1000 points is an insult.
What the Corporation promises, the Franchisee reluctantly delivers, I used to say in 2004. Now they just outright refuse.
I have lifetime status, and used to trust Marriot to provide what I was entitled to.
I find I get better perks at hotels where I have little or no status.
I have stopped worrying about picking a Marriott, because I don’t want to fight to get what I am entitled to.
Sometimes I get more from Holiday Express than from Marriott.
Ahh, Kafka, which reminds me, Prague is lovely this time of year… just don’t stay at a Marriott. There’s a beautiful Four Seasons by the Charles Bridge. See, just go to the competitors.