I'm not really upset about the conditions, but I am annoyed by the confusion.
We visit family in the UK every August, during which time we also spend a few days in London. We'll fly home on August 16 (I am a teacher, so we can't return much later). With the Olympics in London through August 12, our ability to book for points during our stay is seriously compromised. I did, however, find availability at the County Hall starting on the 12th (most other London hotels are blacked out through the entire month, or at least the 13th).
Here's where the weirdness creeps in. The night of the 12th (though not the nights after it) is an advance purchase, non-refundable rewards stay. The language on the website is confusing, to say the least. The reward rules read:
Marriott Rewards Redemption, pre-pay in full, non-refundable if canceled more than one day after booking, eCertificate required prior to check in.
and:
We will need a credit card pre-payment to reserve your room.
and:
Canceling Your Reservation
You may cancel your reservation with no charge until January 2, 2012. Please note that we will assess a fee if you must cancel after this deadline. If you have made a pre-payment, we will retain all or part of your pre-payment. If not, we will charge your credit card. This fee equals your room charge plus tax for all of the nights of your reservation.
Modifying Your Reservation
Please note that a change in the length or dates of your reservation may result in a rate change.
When you start to book your room it reads:
Credit Card Information
Use Marriott Rewards points
Points will be deducted for your stay.
Using cash instead of points the rate for the room is 625 GBP.
When I booked the room, my email confirmation read:
Modifying Your Reservation
Please note that a change in the length or dates of your reservation may result in a rate change.
To ensure that you receive this special rate, we will charge your credit card a prepayment of 217.74 GBP.
No one from Reservations or Customer Service is able to tell me:
1)Whether the cancellation fee would be 625 GBP + VAT or the 217.74 GBP pre-payment.
2)How and when, assuming I keep the reservation and actually show up, the 217.74 GBP pre-payment will be refunded. Given the difficulty in getting proper MR points from non-US Marriott hotels, I don't have a ton of confidence that I will not be stuck chasing this down.
3)If I am able to get an earlier booking (toward the beginning of August) at the same hotel, whether that would be a MODIFICATION or a CANCELLATION. This is an issue for me because it works out much better for my in-laws if we stay with them at the end of our trip.
A couple of other things that irk me:
1)While the website did say that a credit card was required for pre-payment, it did not say how much would be charged until AFTER I made the reservation. Given that the reservation said that the price was 40k MR points, it was not clear to me that anything would be charged to my card.
2)Given that this event is eight months away, loaning Marriott nearly $350 for that length of time seems like a real added cost to me.
Customer Service says they'll call and clarify tomorrow morning. I hope so, because they also say that I must cancel by January 2 in the UK. That's eight hours less that I have to figure this out and make a decision.
I am not too worried about getting stuck with a 625 GBP + VAT charge if I cancel. I'll simply add a friend's name to the reservation and have her check in for me. She can use the room or not, and I'll happily eat the 40k MR points. I am a lot more concerned about whether I'll ever get the 217.74 GBP pre-payment back.