A twenty year FlyerTalk veteran shares that they’re staying at one of the eight Marriott Autograph Collection hotels in Mexico. They don’t want to be sued for revealing which one.
At check-in they report that they were offered an upgrade based on their Marriott Bonvoy status that “wasn’t even that good – same room but different view (sunset VS sunrise) and also the lowest floor.” The guest’s profile says they are a Bonvoy Ambassador member, which requires spending at least 100 night and $23,000 per year with Marriott.
In order to be granted the upgrade, however, the guest says they were required “to sign an NDA” and if they revealed the upgrade they would “be charged the full rate difference” between the room they’d booked and the one they were upgraded to.
This is shocking to say the least.
- The hotel is acknowledging the upgrade is available. They offered the upgrade, and gave it to the member. They are obligated to provide the upgrade under Marriott Bonvoy program terms, which the hotel is ostensibly held to.
- An elite member cannot be charged for an upgrade they are entitled to. If they’re entitled to the upgrade for free, a hotel cannot add special conditions to provide it nor can they add additional charges for it. The hotel isn’t providing any additional consideration on top of what already effectively belongs to the member.
And besides all of that, it is downright absurd. Imagine standing at check-in and being told that your program benefits will only be honored if you sign a non-disclosure agreement. The implication is that the hotel honors elite benefits so rarely they don’t want anyone to know they made an exception and actually honored their obligations. And how on brand for an Autograph Collection hotel to require your signature for this?
On top of Marriott’s Mexico foreign currency scam and in the past the redemption service charge scam and an outright refusal – to Marriott corporate – to honor the upgrade benefit I’m beginning to think that Marriott in Mexico is not such a good idea. They don’t seem to have a handle on their hotels down there.
(HT: @1x_PointsOnRent)
No names, dates, places… probably didn’t happen, at least not the way it’s being told.
Are we to infer from the story that this individual signed the NDA? I would ask why they didn’t turn it down and share the details with the world, especially if they were offered basically the same room.
p.s. “In order to”, not “In other to”. Or just “To”.
Marriott Corporation hotels across Mexico now require elite guests to sign a non-disclosure agreement before a room upgrade is issued. To save check-in time, Marriott International should disclose its non-disclosure terms and conditions on its website, including the whole NDA contract language. However, there is good news. Suppose you reveal the upgrade and are “charged the full rate difference” between the room you booked and the one you were upgraded to. You can pay the Marriott screw the guest penalty fee on your Marriott credit card for additional bonus points because you are a valued Bonvoy Ambassador member.
Hopefully, View From The Wing can get a copy of this Marriott legal agreement for publication to help guests decide whether to select this property and to permit a legal review of the Marriott non-disclosure agreement. Does anyone know if any Marriott properties across the United States require a non-disclosure agreement before being assigned an elite Bonvoy member room upgrade?
More stories from Gary w Tik Tok or Reddit as the source. Getting really old Gary.
BTW no one is “entitled to an upgrade” so it could be offered w conditions. I kind of like it. Cuts out the influencers and bloggers that write reviews and brag about upgrades. Smart of that hotel and I wish all of them did it.
BTW think your site is broken! Have clicked to get follow up comments on stores for days now and no email coming to confirm so no follow up. If not offered anymore take away the link!
I’m a lifetime Platinum on Bonvoy and never expect an upgrade. It seems that Ambassadors are a dime a dozen, so even if the hotel has availability, it would go to an Ambassador. I’ve given up on Marriott in most cases now, and have become a Diamond with Hilton. I find that I get better service, more frequent breakfasts, and upgrades with Hilton.
@AC the program terms and conditions do make a guest with qualifying status ‘entitled to’ an upgrade to an eligible room category if availabel at check-in. And this is neither a story from TikTok nor Reddit.
Maybe you should say that you are going to write up your experience anyhow and it is up to them to get the experience right. If that means not getting an upgrade per your status, fine, but that goes in the write up. If you play hardball correctly, you should have a great experience to write about. I’d even tell them that they could look at the write up before sending it. If they do a good job, it would be free advertising for them. Most places are worried about bad write ups. Put the ball back in their court.
This also happened to me at the Planet Hollywood hotel (a Marriott Hotel) in papagayo Costa Rica. It was not even a real upgrade, just to a room on a higher floor. But they demanded I sign an NDA to get the upgrade. Insane.
@ Gary — If this is true, for the hundredth time, I will say, I am so glad that I don’t do business with these people.
My mistake pursuing LP with Marriott, but I was half way with Starwood. Now its value is dwindling by the day. All has to do with the management enforcement, should have gone for Hyatt in stead.
I don’t know about Mexico, but outside the United States is really the only place I get real upgrades for being a platinum Bonvoy member. (“Higher floor” isn’t an upgrade, people.) Lifetime Platinum does have some value if you travel internationally.
It’s Marriott. Were you expecting better?
@Gary – You write “I’m beginning to think that Marriott in Mexico is not such a good idea. They don’t seem to have a handle on their hotels down there.”
Those statements are laughable. The inference is that Marriott has a handle on their hotels somewhere. If that’s the case where is it? Marriott, at the hotel property level, is being run by the franchisees and many of them don’t care about the T&C of the Bonvoy loyalty program.
@controller1 I agree 100%. Did 68 actual nights last year half of which in premium properties (St. Regis, Ritz Carlton), where elite mostly doesn’t matter, and the variability of the program elsewhere is so laughable and customer support so insulting that it made me finally dump them; this year I’m at zero night YTD and any future nights will be incidental.
Starwood being acquired by them has been an absolute disaster for customers!
If the member was entitled to the upgrade as per the program rules, what would the consideration be for the NDA? If nothing additional is provided, the NDA is likely unenforceable. But who wants the hassle of spending the money arguing the point?
Marriott has zero control over properties. Upgrades based on availability is kind of a joke in Mexico, Dominican Republic etc.
You can find availability on line but your not getting upgraded unless you pay for it
I was at a Hilton and a Marriott in Dominican Republic. Upgrades that were available in Hilton La Romana were not provided even though available. The answer I received from a manager is that’s not how we do it here. If you want an upgrade you have to pay for it.
Same deal with Marriott. Property was almost empty and front desk wasn’t empowered to do anything and a manager was never available
A better question would be why does anyone continue to stay at any Marriott brand when the CEO publicly announced that they were giving too much to their Elite Members…why would such arrogance from a Marriott surprise anyone.
Marriott’s NDA – “No Decency Anymore”. Marriott, in terms of what it purports to be and what it promises, is nothing more than a hospitality scam