Tag Archives for marriott.
Points are the great equalizer in travel, giving the proletariat access to luxury accommodations previously reserved for the bourgeoisie. Yet The Socialist hotel in Copenhagen will not be honoring Marriott Bonvoy points reservations. Guests are being moved to the far less interesting Copenhagen Marriott.
Marriott Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members receive free Cathay Pacific silver status for a year.
Both chains report that 78% of their revenue comes from the U.S. Their international footprints are smaller than you’d think!
Marriott has more than twice as much booked liability for hotel award night redemptions as Hilton. But that does not mean “Marriott’s loyalty program generated a far higher total volume of rewards for members than Hilton’s did” since Hilton pays hotels less when members redeem than Marriott does.
Marriott is out with its first promotion of the year. Registration is required to earn 1,000 bonus points per night and double elite qualifying nights on paid stays.
Last summer we learned that Marriott would replace Hyatt as MGM’s partner. Now the benefits of the partnership are being detailed, for when MGM properties become bookable as part of Marriott Bonvoy “early this year.”
Marriott’s transition to reset member expectations away from upgrades to suites, and to shorten the time period for upgrades, is now rolling out.
When I stay with Hyatt, I regularly receive a survey after I’ve checked out. I rarely do with Marriott. I’ve just learned why: Marriott won’t send a survey to a guest that’s completed one within the past 60 days.
Marriott Bonvoy (inclusive of former Starwood members) is the largest program while Hilton Honors has been growing quickly and catching up. Accor’s loyalty program – which is newer than the others – is small for the chain’s size. And while World of Hyatt is the smallest among these 7 hotel groups, it hits substantially above its weight, something that’s true both for program membership and for its co-brand credit card deal.
Marriott doesn’t appear to be complying with its legal settlement on resort fees. Depending on the property, they still show up as part of taxes which is deceptive. And while Marriott now supposedly lets you include resort fees as part of the total price shown on its website at first display, they are doing this only for paid rates and not for award nights (where they are even more deceptive).
Marriott has the most exclusive top elite tier with published earning criteria. The Ambassador level requires not just 100 nights in hotels but also a minimum of $23,000 in spend, nearly impossible to achieve in many parts of the world with low hotel rates.
Yet for three years the Ambassador level didn’t even come with Ambassador service. Marriott eliminated dedicated Ambassadors during the pandemic, even while Hyatt (which offers concierges at just 60 nights without minimum spend) kept theirs.
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 »
