Petition to Marriott on Resort Fees and Elite Benefits and British Airways Flight Lands in Wrong Country

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About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. No, resorts fees aren’t going away. But did you know that if you’re forced to pay a resort fee that includes wifi at Marriott when wifi is already included as an elite benefit, the hotel will give you an alternate benefit?

    It’s buried deep in the Bonvoy’s T&C. Sect 1.3.c.v:
    “Participating Properties that have mandatory resort charges, which include internet access, will provide a replacement benefit, to be determined at each Participating Property’s discretion.”

  2. This really might work with Marriott if they cared. They’ve made it very clear that they don’t.

  3. The “new Marriott” is more worried about their “bed count” than us. I have noticed a slow but steady decrease in quality at Marriott properties. Currently at the Sheraton Harbourside in Norfolk for a conference and its a dump. Not one is happy. The “lounge” is equal to a Motel 6 breakfast.

    Interesting I can’t remember when I did not vote for Marriott in the Freddie’s well low ands behold it now seems I am not the only one that dumped Marriott. Maybe the people switching to Hilton have something,

  4. I’m generally against gov’t regulation of pricing, but mandatory resort fees should be illegal. At a minimum, hotel search engines should be required to quote the total room price including the fee. Not only is it dishonest — and bad for honest hoteliers — but it’s a huge waste of time for consumers who can’t learn the real price without extra legwork.

  5. Re Boeing 727 in the 1960’s, did it happen in that case too that the manufacturer made changes to the safety features of the plane but refused to reveal them or provide consequent training unless the airline paid something like an “optional” $100,000? Did somebody inform those pilots about the changed rate of descent?

    If not, then as you say, the analogy certainly does not hold. Contrary to what you wrote / quoted, it also provides no context unless our goal is to smirk at individuals who did not want to fly the plane because they were afraid for their lives.

  6. Re: BA flight lands at wrong airport… this routine morning flight is mostly over water and after sunrise. Why didn’t the customers and crew ask the crew or pilots why there is so much land visible from the left side of the plane? I mean this is the 21st century where random sophisticated hijackings are page 2 stories. Remember: if you see something say something.

  7. The resort fees are annoying. I frequently visit Scottsdale and there were a couple of nice Hiltons that did not charge resort fees but I noticed this year they do have a resort fee. I do my best to avoid those that charge resort fees. Fortunately I’ll be relocating there permanently and won’t have to deal with the fees there and hopefully will not be traveling much.

    That BA flight doesn’t make any sense. Wasn’t there any mention by the crew to the passengers as to the destination? Usually they make an announcement as to the weather at the destination, flight time, etc. Doesn’t make much sense.

  8. leef33- This flight is not mostly over water. It is only over water for about 10 minutes when it crosses the English channel. But you are correct and someone should have noticed something. I guess people are scatter brained these days

  9. Heard the ground crew plugged in the wrong airport code and apparently the pilots assumed they were going to Edinburgh instead of Dusseldorf

    I have pretty much given up on Marriott except when they are the only option in town

  10. Wouldn’t the error have become obvious to anyone paying even so-so attention to the trip progress map? i.e., London being to the right, rather than to the left?

  11. I agree that resort fees need to be included in the price quoted as well as taxes. The airlines have to include it in their price, so should the hotels.

  12. According to CNBC “Fixes made to Boeing 737 Max

    Among the notable changes to the MAX flight controls:

    – The plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS automated flight control system, will now receive data from both angle of attack sensors, instead of just one.
    – If those disagree by more than 5.5 degrees, the MCAS system will be disabled and will not push the nose of the plane lower.
    – Boeing will be adding an indicator to the flight control display so pilots are aware when the angle of attack sensors disagree.”

    So now, if one sensor malfunctions, the MCAS would not be activated when the critical angle of attack is exceeded. This could cause instability of the plane, a departure stall, and eventually loss of control at low altitude.

    MCAS was installed in the Max for a reason. The new engines shifted the CG aft, making the model inherently unstable during a steep climb. The aft CG would not be a problem for a seasoned, well trained test pilot. However, it could cause a major issue to an airline pilot who did not go through very specific training.

    The only safe solution would be a complete redesign of the Max, especially the wings. Moving the CG forward would increase stability and make the plane safer. It could also result in increased fuel consumption, making the Max loose its competitive edge. The redesign would cost billions,and take years. I doubt that any such radical design could be retrofitted on the existing Maxs.

    Two angle of attack sensors do not add the same margin of safety that two engines do. In fact, they would make the plane even more dangerous since having two sensors makes it twice as likely that one of them would fail.

    The FAA is not likely to pull its certification of the existing Maxs. It will, again, take Boeing’s word that the plane is airworthy at face value. The Max will remain a dangerous plane.

  13. Not being able to book Air India award tickets on United is actually a selling point under the circumstances…

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