Starwood Preferred Guest - Do I get points for giving W 200 room nights for my wedding?

Hi folks -

I'm getting married in Brooklyn on October 12. I'm SPG Platinum and have been for a couple of years. Dozens of my guests will be staying at the W Court. My best estimate is that we will be hand-delivering about 200 room nights to the W, about 40 of which will be suites. The discounted (but how discounted is it really?) rate is $239 for the regular rooms and somewhere in the mid-400's for the suites.

Additionally, we're having a brunch for about 175 people at the restaurant in the hotel the Sunday morning after the wedding. We're paying about 20 bucks a head.

So those are the facts. My question is, do I have any right to ask for some kind of points "bonus" for handing this business over to the hotel. Most of our guests don't have SPG accounts, so Starwood won't be handing out too many points to them.

I know there are such things as a meeting planner bonuses, but because we're not having the actual wedding at the hotel, I'm not sure if I'm eligible for points on that front. Presumably, we can charge the brunch to the room and earn points for that though, right?

But is there something extra we should be getting for just handing them more than $50,000? I don't want to be greedy, but I figure it can't hurt to ask for a little something extra if it is indeed appropriate to do so given the circumstances.

Also, this too may be relevant: the hotel has been flakey beyond the pale, losing reservations, booking people for the wrong weekends, telling people that our negotiated rate didn't exist, and on and on and on. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they actually have rooms for our guests, since it's too late to change hotels. A bit of a bummer that this is the thanks I get for my loyalty to Starwood - that they create a ton of stress around an already stressful event.

All help and advice on negotiating this with the hotel is welcome...

Yikes -- I wouldn't know for sure, but assuming you are delivering the business and paying the bills, I would assume that you'll get some points and/or some bonus nights out the wazoo.

I'm sure the Lurker can assist you with this. He and several SPG folks I've worked with (on much smaller matters) have been very helpful.

If you're not the one paying, then why would you be entitled to the points?

How would that be fair to those guests who may be Starwood members - should they get points AND you get points for their room?

As for the brunch - if you pay for it all on one bill, just give your SPG number and you'll get the points.

the guests are paying for themselves; we're not paying for them

but they would be staying all all over town if we hadn't directed them to the w and thus handed the business to starwood on a silver platter

i agree that it's questionable to get points for delivering the business, when some guests may get points for the rooms themselves too

however, a travel agent gets a kickback for referring the business. so perhaps i should too.

thoughts?

I would think that if you charge the brunch for 175 of your closest friends to your room (and it's in a hotel restaurant that is ordinarily eligible for Starpoint accrual - based on what I've read here not all restaurants in Starwood properties are), then yes you should get points for the brunch.

As for the guests' rooms - you mentioned that they are staying on a specially contracted/negotiated rate. Since you presumably had to contract with the hotel's sales office to arrange for that rate and for them to block X number of rooms for your guests, it seems to me that you should have made your play to get Starpoints for all those rooms part of your original negotiations with the hotel's sales department. Is it too late to renegotiate your contract with the hotel?

Your reward for sending everybody to the Court is a better rate for all your guests. You should not be getting points for that alone.

You SHOULD get the points for the brunch.

Now....on to the shoddy service you have received so far. That is something that I would definitely bring to the direct attention of the GM. Here is his/her opportunity to make things right for YOU. You expect MUCH better customer service that what you and your guests have been receiving (I have only had the best of experiences there), and this is where the GM should reward you for sticking with his/her hotel AFTER such pitiful service.

If you have coordinated this all thru the event planner at the property then YES you can get SPG points. It needs to be negotiated up front. After the bookings are made and if you had no interaction with their meeting staff then you are probably out of luck.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask but since they already have the business they may be less likely to work with you.

Should have had a Sales Director set up your event account even if you are not using meeting facilities.

Meet up with one of them now or even the General Manager (if they have the time) and give them a chance to resolve any issues you may have. Don't wait for the big day when you'll have other things on your mind.

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i threw a party at the W Union Square about a year and half ago (when it first opened) and they gave me some pathetic conversion for the total dollars spent. instead of 3 to 1 for being Platinum, i think i got 2,500 points for the $5K i spent (i.e., a 1/6th conversion rate). oh well.

but, they did a great job with the party.

[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 09-25-2002).]

Generally on a block of rooms you should expect a free room for every 20 rooms booked. If they are not offering up a few free rooms or suites I would think you could be doing better. Of course all of this seems like something you would have better leverage to negotiate before you delivered up all the business.

The only suggestion I have is to speak to the sales person who is arranging everything at the hotel for you to earn Starwood Preferred Planner Starpoints. Usually you can get 1 point for every $3 spent if this is negotiated for in advance. The hotel will be able to tell what would be eligible.

Otherwise, it's business as usual : Taxes, gratuities, banquet and meeting charges, service charges and other miscellaneous charges are not eligible for Starpoint credit.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Specialist, E-Communications Department
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

ron-val-ron,

Mazel Tov on your upcoming marriage.

You mean that you don't have any friends that can talk you out of it? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

Dan (married 24 years Oct 29)

thanks to all

we had a vague conversation about the points that william references but didn't set anything down in writing. now, the sales guy who set up the rate is long gone. so we'll see what happens. my bad for not confirming it in blood, right?

should i make the approach asap? or wait until after the wedding?

r

call the guy who replaced him and inquire about it

By all means do it ahead of time. When the event is over, they are no longer obligated to give you anything that isn't contracted for in advance.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Specialist, E-Communications Department
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ron-val-ron:
my bad for not confirming it in blood, right?

should i make the approach asap? or wait until after the wedding?

r</font>

or at least ink. i would contact asap.