One Sheraton guest chronicles their Kafkesque quest to have the Sheraton 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. I’m 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.