Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - I don't get point for parking at a FS Marriott on a paid stay

Recently I stated at Leipzig Marriott hotel and parked at the hotel's garage. it's a paid stay and I only got the points for the room. I got a reply from the hotel claiming that I don't get points for parking. Parking is EUR 18 per day. I forwarded the mail from the hotel to guest experience supervisor to let them sort out the rest.

I don't think I recall any change of policy of MR that you don't get points for parking in hotel's own garage.

I met the worst FD supervisor I have seen - he was so horrible to his colleague (Mr. Nacho speaks German and he heard the conversation between him and other FD associate) and even to the customer. He knew about the building construction outside the hotel, and because of that the car park was blocked from exiting. He didn't tell us and we were stuck at an underground car park for 15 minutes.

He was so annoyed when I chose to pay with GC, and he thought it was so troublesome and he literally 'threw' the receipt to me and said 'voila' at the same time.

I wrote to MR because I feel really sorry for all the FDs that had to stand his attitude - all the rest of the staffs are very friendly and nice.

I also wrote to MR to praise staffs that I'm impressed about their service.

had the same situation at the Marriott in Milan only to learn that the hotel has to actually own the parking facility in order to qualify for points (so if its franchised/leased out, sorry, no points) but if the hotel actually owns the garage then you definitely should get the points earned for the payment made......

[QUOTE=nacho;18855702]Recently I stated at Leipzig Marriott hotel and parked at the hotel's garage. it's a paid stay and I only got the points for the room. I got a reply from the hotel claiming that I don't get points for parking. Parking is EUR 18 per day. I forwarded the mail from the hotel to guest experience supervisor to let them sort out the rest.
QUOTE]

had the same situation at the Marriott in Milan only to learn that the hotel has to actually own the parking facility in order to qualify for points (so if its franchised/leased out, sorry, no points) but if the hotel actually owns the garage then you definitely should get the points earned for the payment made......

[QUOTE=nacho;18855702]Recently I stated at Leipzig Marriott hotel and parked at the hotel's garage. it's a paid stay and I only got the points for the room. I got a reply from the hotel claiming that I don't get points for parking. Parking is EUR 18 per day. I forwarded the mail from the hotel to guest experience supervisor to let them sort out the rest.
QUOTE]

hotel doesn't have to "own" it but according to MR Terms and Conditions contracted or outside vendors may be excluded

Wow, that's complicated because how on earth would I know if a garage is own by hotel or not? What about hotel restaurants? What if they are not 'owned' by hotel? You don't get points on those either?

Also I would definitely have chosen to park somewhere rather than the hotel garage - there are tons of car parks around the hotel and they are cheaper than parking at the hotel.

+1.............. agree that they don't provide any notice and then we're surprised afterwards for how are any guests supposed to know what is hotel operated and what is outsourced...............

Wow, that's complicated because how on earth would I know if a garage is own by hotel or not? What about hotel restaurants? What if they are not 'owned' by hotel? You don't get points on those either?

Also I would definitely have chosen to park somewhere rather than the hotel garage - there are tons of car parks around the hotel and they are cheaper than parking at the hotel.

+1.............. agree that they don't provide any notice and then we're surprised afterwards for how are any guests supposed to know what is hotel operated and what is outsourced...............

Exactly - our part is to pay them to stay there and pay the bill and get the points. It's not our job to find out if the car park is outsourced etc. In theory they could outsource the bar, the restaurant etc.

I also think that if Leipzig Marriott is customer friendly, they would have thrown the points for parking as a courtesy. Then advise me that the situation is beyond their control (blame corporate), so I can take this up to Marriott.

since this seems to be a generic problem, perhaps each property should be required to give notice of what is outsourced to avoid this problem for you/others in the future

and I fully agree that the prop should have given you the few points that you would have received w/o this problem not only as a courtesy but for not giving you notice and thus avoiding the problem (which wound up costing you more and getting less benees back)

Exactly - our part is to pay them to stay there and pay the bill and get the points. It's not our job to find out if the car park is outsourced etc. In theory they could outsource the bar, the restaurant etc.

I also think that if Leipzig Marriott is customer friendly, they would have thrown the points for parking as a courtesy. Then advise me that the situation is beyond their control (blame corporate), so I can take this up to Marriott.

This makes me think about the thread about charging people for receiving things at a hotel. With all these exceptions, fees etc. Every hotel should have a list for fees/exceptions/surcharges - and should be easily available at Marriott.com when you book a room.

It reminds me of a HI I stayed in Berlin - they didn't tell you anything about a charge of 1.50 EUR for in room tea/coffee. It didn't stay anywhere around the facility that there is a charge for it - but they did for the minibar. The price was listed deep down somewhere in their in room dining menu. A lot of people were shocked when they found out they were charged for it.

It seems to me it is the property's choice to give points for parking or not. Being outsourced is only an excuse not to. Anything that runs through your folio has the potential to get points. This is just like the airlines using the gazilion add-on fees to lowball the ticket prices.

Let them know their decision will cause you to decide differently when booking in the area again.

I once stayed at the Ren at EWR for just a night but kept my car in the Marriott lot while I traveled. Previously at a different property they just added the parking charge to my bill. This time they asked for payment immediately thus it was not on the final bill and did not earn points.

It seems to me it is the property's choice to give points for parking or not. Being outsourced is only an excuse not to. Anything that runs through your folio has the potential to get points. This is just like the airlines using the gazilion add-on fees to lowball the ticket prices.

Let them know their decision will cause you to decide differently when booking in the area again.

I will once I have got an answer from Corporate - I forwarded the mail to Guest Experience Supervisor. Let's see what the corporate has to say.

Let's see what the corporate has to say.

Odds are Corporate is going to say if it's outsourced then you don't get points.

While it's irritating to do so, people can always call, email or fax a property in advance to ask if points are credited for parking & then make their decision based upon that.

And while in nacho's case, there was less expensive parking nearby, that's not always the case (especially in larger Metropolitan areas).

Some hotels will negotiate a discounted parking fee w/ the outsourced vendor for their guests or elite guests, although not all do. I stayed at a CY in Chicago that did that.

Cheers.

Odds are Corporate is going to say if it's outsourced then you don't get points.

While it's irritating to do so, people can always call, email or fax a property in advance to ask if points are credited for parking & then make their decision based upon that.

And while in nacho's case, there was less expensive parking nearby, that's not always the case (especially in larger Metropolitan areas).

Some hotels will negotiate a discounted parking fee w/ the outsourced vendor for their guests or elite guests, although not all do. I stayed at a CY in Chicago that did that.

Cheers.

They might say so but then it's their problem not providing the right information about the hotel. One of the reasons I like Marriott is that there aren't any 'non-participating' properties for promo etc. For me they are very consistent - so this was a bit of a shock to me.

Why can't they be just nice to guests by just giving them points for parking in a 'outsourced' car park? What if the hotel 'outsourced' their restaurants, bars, spa etc.? No one knows, but again, the hotel really should tell guests in advance about these things.

A lot of hotel staffs might not even 'realise' these things mean to people, and quite often I was told the wrong information - such as breakfast time.

FYI, the first email replied I got from the GM was that he claimed the missing points were the missing Gold bonus points (the parking is roughly 25% of the room rate). Even he doesn't realise about the car park point thing.

As far as I know even if you buy a postcard and stamps you get points, the hotel doesn't earn money on stamps (in theory they are not allowed to charge more than the face value), why not car park?

It doesn't matter if there are car parks around the hotel - in theory I could just take a taxi, or leave the car in a garage nearby and take a taxi. It's the principle - people ought to be informed at the time of booking, so that they can make their choice of what to do.

We used to call to each hotel in Germany to notify them that we expect parcels, and each time the FD almost got offended by us asking. We stopped doing that because it seems very stupid to call.

Seriously I doubt that all FD here in Marriotts in Europe knows about the points thing, You are very likely to get a answer such as 'of course', or 'I don't know'.

I think Marriott ought to make up their mind about these things - please don't do the 'in general you get points for incidentals, but there are exceptions' thing.

sorry, SkiAdcock, I totally disagree...............like Nacho, I travel 95%internationally, and just can't see any requirement (as suggested) for me to waste my time by contacting the future property (that unlike Hilton/Starwood do not list their public e-mails in their websites) and ask: "To Whom It May Concern: Please advise if any/all of your restaurants are operated by the hotel or outsourced with the same information requested for parking facilities, laundry, business center, etc." It should be encumbent on each property to either publish this information in their website or provide notice to future guests beforehand (and definetely before you get your bill and then notice that no points were being earned for XXXX and XXXX)

While it's irritating to do so, people can always call, email or fax a property in advance to ask if points are credited for parking & then make their decision based upon that.

FWIW, I stayed at the Leipzig Marriott a few times in the past (last time was about 8 years ago) and always got points on parking. It must be something new.

sorry, SkiAdcock, I totally disagree...............like Nacho, I travel 95%internationally, and just can't see any requirement (as suggested) for me to waste my time by contacting the future property (that unlike Hilton/Starwood do not list their public e-mails in their websites) and ask: "To Whom It May Concern: Please advise if any/all of your restaurants are operated by the hotel or outsourced with the same information requested for parking facilities, laundry, business center, etc." It should be encumbent on each property to either publish this information in their website or provide notice to future guests beforehand (and definetely before you get your bill and then notice that no points were being earned for XXXX and XXXX)

I'm not disagreeing with you or nacho. I don't think someone should have to call to find out if they get points w/ parking or not, or if there are delivery charges or not, etc.

But properties don't drill down to the tiniest detail on their website re: the Marriott Rewards program & I don't see that changing anytime soon, especially since not everyone that stays at a property is a Marriott Rewards member.

So if someone wants to know for certain in advance so they can make a decision to stay there or not, then a quick call, email or fax will get them the answer.

Cheers.

The hotel garage is 'outsourced'.

How on earth do I know? There is a parking lot in Leipzig that gives me 5% discount at Galeria Kaufhof!

There is a parking lot in Leipzig that gives me 5% discount at Galeria Kaufhof!

Which could come in handy if you were planning on shopping, but if not, then hopefully the parking rate is less than the Marriott's. Now that you know this property doesn't provide points for parking, try to find the cheapest parking lot within walking distance. And thanks for the heads up to other FTers re: parking not earning points at the property.

Cheers.

Which could come in handy if you were planning on shopping, but if not, then hopefully the parking rate is less than the Marriott's. Now that you know this property doesn't provide points for parking, try to find the cheapest parking lot within walking distance. And thanks for the heads up to other FTers re: parking not earning points at the property.

Cheers.

The rate is cheaper too, it would also be cheaper if you park illegally and get a parking fine (I just told by my German friend that parking fine is like EUR 10) - I never do something like that, it sounds so crazy to me.

I also didn't need to sit in the car for 10 minutes if I had parked my car somewhere else. I wasn't allowed to get out of the underground garage due to construction outside. That's something the hotel also ought to inform guests. These things are planned well ahead.

The FD supervisor knew about this and even told the FD that the gate was open. I thought it was strange because why would they ever let someone out like that.

Fortunately I only stayed there for 1 night, if I stay there for a week with a car there then I would really really be :mad:

Here's a reply from Leipzig Marriott:


Dear Mrs. Nacho,

Thank you for contacting again Marriott Customer Care concerning the points for garage parking. Of course, you are right, you cannot know whether the garage is owned by Marriott or not and there is no hint on the website as well.

But frankly speaking, we have reservations of approx. 20 Marriott Rewards Elite Members per day and the issue of getting points for parking never came up. We had also asked our colleagues in the Frankfurt Marriott and Hamburg Marriott Hotels (both have no Marriott-owned parking garages) whether they credit points – and they denied.

We are very sorry for your inconveniences and appreciate your understanding.

Best regards,

[name redacted] | Executive Secretary | Leipzig Marriott Hotel | Am Hallischen Tor 1 | 04109 Leipzig |

Here's the summary of the email:

1. I'm the only elite that complained about points for parking;
2. If no one gives points for parking, why should we?
:td::td::td::td::td:

Does it matter if I'm the only one who cares, and whether the others give points or not.

it ABSOLUTELY does not............... if one hotel decided to have promotion, do all others have to also? if one person commits suicide, do others have to follow??................. bottom line is what the other hotels do, or don't do, is not what the Leipzig Marriott SHOULD be doing ESPECIALLY when they tell you there was no way of your knowing that the garage was outsourced, on their website or other................. and, IMO, they should be giving you bonus points for pointing out a problem THEY created as well as alot less bad press!

Here's a reply from Leipzig Marriott:
Here's the summary of the email:
1. I'm the only elite that complained about points for parking;
2. If no one gives points for parking, why should we?
:td::td::td::td::td:
Does it matter if I'm the only one who cares, and whether the others give points or not.