Tag Archives for marriott.
Marriott has a status challenge program where they’ll give anyone with at least mid-tier status in one of the major hotel loyalty programs and just one night of stay credit in the past year up to Platinum status in their program for 90 days, and a quick path to keep that status.
Outside of Chase transfers to Hyatt, conversions of transferrable points into hotel points is simply a bad deal and a 30% transfer bonus doesn’t reverse that calculus. American Express points are just too valuable to transfer to Marriott given the weak transfer ratio.
I’ve heard from a number of Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Ambassador members who have shared that they aren’t getting upgraded like they’re used to. That seems surprising at first. With the hotel industry in an unprecedented crisis of low occupancy, an upgrade should be easier than ever to come by!
I asked Marriott about this, and a spokesperson confirmed that members aren’t being upgraded more frequently this year – but they’re also not having their requests denied more often either. Here’s what’s happening.
Between May 18 and July 15, Marriott ran their biggest-ever points purchase bonus offering 60% more points for the same money. Now they have brought this bonus back. It can be worthwhile for certain hotel redemptions – and also for laundering points into some obscure-yet-valuable airline frequent flyer progams.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson endorsed ‘hygiene theater’ explicitly speaking at Skift‘s Global Forum. He knows that some Covid efforts aren’t effective but sees them as important signaling tools anyway.
Sorenson has previously been an enthusiastic supporter of a strong central Chinese government and its response to Covid-19. At Skift he again talks about their success in handling the virus and simply says that the country’s authoritarianism “is what it is.”
A significant number of Marriott Ambassador agents have been notified that their positions are being eliminated, generally effective October 1. This isn’t the first round of layoffs for Ambassador agents. The hotel chain shed customer service agents who work with top guests back in March, effectively eliminating the ‘dedicated agent assignment’ for customers who stay 100 nights and spend $20,000 each year with Marriott.
Log into your American Express account and scroll down, there’s a new ‘Amex Offer’ that appears to be widely available that many cardmembers can opt into by adding it to the card account of their choosing: $50 back when you spend $200 or more with Marriott by September 21.
The J.W. Marriott Phuket, whose ownership group also has the St. Regis Bangkok, believes that Marriott is mismanaging their resort property. The hotel failed to reach budgeted goals between 2013 and 2018 and there hasn’t been a budget agreed to since. Even before the pandemic they were doing less revenue today than they were in 2013.
They want out of the Bonvoy program, and Marriott won’t let them leave.
Masks seem to have some effect limiting the spread of Covid-19. Even if their efficacy is overblown that shouldn’t be a reason not to use them. They’re something easy and low cost we can do, and they’re one of the few things within our own control besides staying completely isolated.
U.S. airlines now require masks. And Marriott has become the first to announce a mask requirement for all guests in on-property indoor spaces and not just for employees. This requirement goes into effect July 27. I expect the other major chains will follow.
In India hotels have pivoted to deliver meals and are making commitments about the quality and lavishness of what you’ll receive. India has one of the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks. In the U.S. we do food delivery and contactless pickup from great restaurants. In India the great restaurants are actually in hotels.
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 »
