marriott

Tag Archives for marriott.

As Marriott Workers Strike, Guests Stuck With the Full Bill But Less Service

by Gary Leff on October 12, 2018

Oct 12 2018

8,000 Marriott employees are on strike in 8 cities. That encompasses 23 hotels in Boston, Detroit, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Hawaii out of about 6500 Marriott properties worldwide and includes housekeeping, bartenders and others represented by union UNITE Here.

Marriott’s position has been that hotels are open and they’re ready to welcome guests. Guest reports suggest otherwise. And Marriott won’t waive cancellation rules or notify guests in advance about the ways in which stays will be disrupted.

Marriott Adds Bonus For Staying at Different Brands to New MegaBonus Promotion

by Gary Leff on October 11, 2018

Oct 11 2018

Last month Marriott launched their first promotion of the ‘new’ program. There was a companion game 29 Ways to Stay for each of Marriott Rewards’ 29 participating brands. It was supposed to launch October 4. It finally launched today.

And Marriott has added on to their MegaBonus promotion, bonus points for staying at their different brands.

30% Bonus on Transfers from Marriott Points to United (And Other Hotel Points, Too)

by Gary Leff on October 11, 2018

Oct 11 2018

When Marriott combined programs on August 18th they took all Starwood points balances and tripled them. And they kept the basics of the Starwood points transfers to miles system. So miles transfer 3:1 with most airline partners (instead of the old 1:1, but it’s effectively the same) and transfers into 20,000 miles earns 5000 bonus miles.

In other words, transferring 60,000 Marriott points yields 25,000 airline miles. When you transfer to United you also get a 10% bonus because of the Marriott-United RewardsPlus tie-in. And right now United is offering a 30% bonus on Marriott transfers up to 25,000 extra miles.

Bizarre: US Virgin Islands Plans to Increase Hotel Taxes, Give the Extra Money Back to Hotels

by Gary Leff on October 6, 2018

Oct 06 2018

The Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands announced a plan to re-open the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort and along with it a government plan to increase hotel taxes from 12.5% to 17.5% — the highest in the United States and the highest in the Caribbean.

The governor describes higher taxes as an “economic recovery fee.” And the extra 5% will be given back to the hotels, plus interest.

Now Marriott Hotel Workers in San Francisco Are On Strike, Too

by Gary Leff on October 4, 2018

Oct 04 2018

Yesterday I wrote about Marriott hotel employees in Boston walking out.

Now 2300 employees have walked out at several San Francisco properties.

Marriott Wants to Make Good, Get You Registered for Fall Promotion

by Gary Leff on October 4, 2018

Oct 04 2018

Last month Marriott introduced its first big promotion since launching their new program.

However not everyone was able to register for it. Marriott even said this was intentional. Now they’re saying it wasn’t, and they want to help folks get registered that weren’t able to earlier.

Walkout: Workers Striking at Marriott Hotels in Boston

by Gary Leff on October 3, 2018

Oct 03 2018

About 1500 Marriott employees at Boston properties have walked off the job including groups “from housekeepers to bartenders to bellmen” across 7 properties. All remain open.

Upcoming 3 Week Period Where Marriott Luxury Redemptions are Cheap and Hotels Can’t Play Games With Inventory

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2018

Sep 24 2018

There have been issues with inventory with certain hotels not bookable on points, others withholding most of their inventory from award redemption. Some General Managers at legacy Starwood properties have been upset by Marriott’s award availability policies and pricing — and have pushed back.

However the ability for hotels to play games with inventory is on the way out. And there will be at least a 3 week period before award prices go up next year when availability should be at its best.

Even As It Becomes Tougher to Earn a Marriott Ambassador, Ambassadors May Be Spread Too Thin

by Gary Leff on September 23, 2018

Sep 23 2018

I stayed 100 nights with Starwood in 2016 and was assigned an Ambassador for 2017. My Ambassador was excellent.

However members certainly have had varied experiences. Different Ambassadors provide different levels of service. Each person has different skills. The program itself provides guidelines but some go above and beyond. And workload matters. Now that the program is scaling to support top elites at Marriott too, Marriott’s metrics are being put into place.

Not Everyone is Welcome to Participate in Marriott Promotions

by Gary Leff on September 20, 2018

Sep 20 2018

Last week Marriott launched its first big promotion since launching their new program on August 18.

Nowhere does this offer say that it is targeted. In order to be eligible you just have to be a loyalty program member. Except not all members are allowed to register.