marriott

Tag Archives for marriott.

Marriott Gives Away Guest’s Stuff, Fights Compensation In Court

by Gary Leff on April 28, 2022

Apr 28 2022

Hotels frequently offer to store luggage when a guest arrives too early to check in, or when they aren’t leaving town until after check-out time. Some bigger hotels even charge for this. I’d never trust belongings that matter to a hotel’s luggage storage room, and you shouldn’t either.

Marriott should take the position that guests and their belongings are safe at their hotels and it isn’t appropriate for a hotel to dispute liability when giving away a guest’s belongings and the hotel’s own video demonstrates they did it.

I wouldn’t trust the Marriott Marquis San Francisco with my belongings, but I also wouldn’t trust them in my guestroom either.

How Much Did Marriott’s Change To Dynamic Award Prices Devalue The Currency?

by Gary Leff on April 17, 2022

Apr 17 2022

Marriott did what they said they would do – limit the carnage in the first year, in much the same way they over-indexed Bonvoy value when the program first launched (they waited to add a higher tier category and launch peak and off peak pricing, even though they announced it as their plan).

The playbook is ‘announce a negative change but wait to fully implement it’ so everyone looks at the new program and says “great!” or “not so bad!” before it gets worse. We should believe Marriott when they say next year will be worse!

Ritz-Carlton Reserve Is Now Part Of Marriott Bonvoy

by Gary Leff on April 14, 2022

Apr 14 2022

Ritz-Carlton Reserve is finally joining Marriott Bonvoy. While Ritz-Carlton has been part of the program, the 5 ‘Reserve’ properties have not. That has now changed.

Elite benefits, and redemption pricing, are different than you’ll find elsewhere in the program.

I Just Learned I’ve Been Mispronouncing Marriott My Entire Life

by Gary Leff on April 9, 2022

Apr 09 2022

There’s a lot of words in hospitality that people get wrong all the time. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people refer to American A-Advantage, or A-Mex. But it never occurred to me that I’ve been pronouncing Marriott wrong for the last 20 years or longer.

Warning: How A Marriott Bonvoy Price Change Cost A Reader Their Trip To Hawaii

by Gary Leff on March 17, 2022

Mar 17 2022

A reader made a points advance reservation at the Sheraton Kauai 34 days prior to check-in. They were quoted 200,000 points for a 5 night stay. They transferred points into their account, and more points were earned so that there were a total of 234,000 in their account. They were confident everything was in place.

However 11 days prior to check-in they receive a notice that their booking would be cancelled if they didn’t move more points into the account. They weren’t told how many they needed, and Marriott cancelled their Hawaii vacation.

All Major Hotel Chains Except Marriott Have Suspended Development In Russia

by Gary Leff on March 9, 2022

Mar 09 2022

Surely they won’t be able to ‘stand alone’ continuing to develop in Russia, even if the moves competitors made are mostly symbolic. On the other hand perhaps their press release was delayed having to check first to make sure it didn’t list Taiwan as a country.

Marriott Surveying Members On How To Improve Ambassador Status

by Gary Leff on March 6, 2022

Mar 06 2022

Marriott’s top tier Ambassador status requires 100 elite nights and $20,000 spend to earn. And they’ve failed to deliver benefits consistently to Ambassador members, and reduced the service provided as well over the past two years. Now they’re surveying members to see what’s important to them as they consider whether to invest more in their best members.

This Marriott Strictly Limits Each Club Lounge Guest To Two Snack Items

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2022

Feb 19 2022

Here’s something of a new one as hotels begin re-introducing services that guests demand. The London Marriott County Hall has opened up its club lounge but they reportedly want to strictly limit costs. “the happy hour at the M Club [is] table service only…[and you’re] limited to two canapes per person.”

Earn 20x On Home Rentals When You Book Through Marriott February 9-11

by Gary Leff on February 8, 2022

Feb 08 2022

Marriott says they’ll be offering 20 Bonvoy points per dollar on bookings made through their Homes & Villas by Marriott International site from February 9th to February 11th. That’s four times the usual number of points.

These bookings qualify as Marriott spend for bonus earnings with their cobrand cards, too.

Marriott Makes It Difficult And Risky To Gift Award Nights To Family And Friends

by Gary Leff on February 6, 2022

Feb 06 2022

Marriott doesn’t let you book an award for someone else on the website. You have to call, wait on hold, an hope you get an agent that knows how to do it correctly – otherwise your guest may have a problem checking in. All of a sudden your good deed will turn out to be a travel nightmare.