marriott

Tag Archives for marriott.

North Carolina Marriott Shut Down, Guests Locked Out Of Rooms

by Gary Leff on January 25, 2020

Jan 25 2020

One person staying on property reported spending hours on the phone with Marriott “trying to get the..chain to help.” The chain directed people to go into the office and get staff to find them somewhere else to stay. These were the employees who had just lost their jobs, and who abandoned the property early. Great strategy.

Marriott also reportedly stated “they were under no legal obligation to help” although eventually helped guests transfer to another Residence Inn.

This Marriott Hotel Wants To Help You ‘Netflix And Chill’

by Gary Leff on January 20, 2020

Jan 20 2020

Moxy is Marriott’s brand ‘for millennials’ featuring tiny rooms that lack actual desks, meant to drive guests to escape claustrophobia into a property’s ‘social spaces’ where they’ll spend money on food and beverage. What they lack in square footage they attempt to make up for in vibe.

One way that the Moxy Denver Cherry Creek is going about this is promoting a ‘Netflix and Chill’ rate.

Is Marriott Eliminating The Meetings Trick For Elite Qualifying Nights?

by Gary Leff on December 17, 2019

Dec 17 2019

Marriott did not deny that the 10 elite nights for any event benefit is changing, although it’s not clear when or what the change will be (they simply promise to tell us if they make changes).

My read is this: if you want to take advantage of this opportunity in 2020 it might be a good idea to do it early in the year.

Marriott Prepares To Make $7000 Per Night All-Inclusive Available On Points, Updates Terms & Conditions

by Gary Leff on December 13, 2019

Dec 13 2019

Back in March we learned that $7000 per night all-inclusive North Island in the Seychelles would be joining Marriott’s Luxury Collection and I confirmed that it would become part of the Bonvoy program for earning and redemption.

Marriott updated their program terms to allow for redemptions that cost more than category 8 high season – because we were never going to book this place for just 100,000 points per night. We can only hope though that, having made the change, they aren’t tempted to expand the pool of properties “off award chart.”

Review: Santa Monica Proper Hotel (Design Hotels Marriott Redemption)

by Gary Leff on December 8, 2019

Dec 08 2019

My wife, daughter and I spent the night at the Santa Monica Proper hotel in late November. It was stylish, staff were friendly, and the location was fantastic for our needs.

For us it was an airport layover hotel without staying by the airport, a place that gave us a sense of place and allowed us to take advantage of a walkable neighborhood with our daughter.

Marriott Changes Rules for Suite Night Awards (Advance Confirmed Elite Upgrades)

by Gary Leff on November 1, 2019

Nov 01 2019

Many Marriott Platinums see their suite night awards expire unused. Nonetheless, when they work they’re great.

Marriott has made two changes to Suite Night Awards, each reflecting problems with Marriott’s own internal systems that they’ve been unable to solve.

For Marriott’s New Global Promotion, They Won’t Tell You What It Is

by Gary Leff on October 15, 2019

Oct 15 2019

Marriott has a new global promotion (registration required by December 31) and it’s a secret promotion. What we know about it so far is incredibly weak. You don’t find out full details of the promotion until after your second stay.

Marriott’s Move to Bulk Toiletries is Already a Disaster

by Gary Leff on October 6, 2019

Oct 06 2019

I don’t know what the substance was in the bulk toiletry and it really doesn’t matter. That these get tampered with in practice should be enough to stop the project in its tracks. And 5000 Marriott points as an apology for this is genuinely offensive.

How can the hotel expect to charge for a room that is so poorly cared for by housekeeping, and that jeopardizes a guest’s health by allowing the toiletries to be compromised in this way?

Marriott Reveals It’s Stuck With the Name Bonvoy: “It Is What It Is.”

by Gary Leff on September 25, 2019

Sep 25 2019

Rebranding a loyalty program just doesn’t make sense when you start with both a recognizable name and a good reputation. You wind up spending nine figures on advertising, merchandising, printing, and education — all to get back to where you started, at best, which is that the median consumer doesn’t even identify which brands are part of the program.

Class Action Filed Against Marriott Over Resort Fees

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

Sep 24 2019

The lead plaintiff has stayed at over 45 Marriott properties and contends resort fees are ‘drip pricing’. He claims not to have realized resort fees applied for some of his stays when he made his booking, because those fees are obscured (under “taxes and fees”).

What we can hope to gain from this and the state investigations of resort fees is a change in industry practice where mandatory charges are included in the room rate so that consumers can compare pricing.