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Rumor: 2014 Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Changes?

Rumor: 2014 Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Changes?

 
Old Oct 20, 2013, 2:52 pm
  #16  
 
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I am looking forward if this happens…as of now cat 1-5 certs are almost useless for me
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 3:16 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by BKKLEE
wasn't there a NY hotel (don't recall which brand) that was recently caught riggin' the % in order to bill rack rate to HQ ????
Le Parker Meridien a part of Starwood, maybe that was due to wanting to full full rate rather then the award rate.

Another Con was folks during a very peak demand period used to book award nights and then sell the rooms netting themselves a hefty profit, the hotel had to know what was going on but looked the other way since they ended up getting the going rate . Result at that hotel was many times you couldnt get an award room since all these people held them hoping to sell them and if they didnt all they had to do was CX their res, by then those who were looking for a place booked elsewhere
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 3:21 pm
  #18  
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you can (normally) opt for the points bonus(es) instead of the ""useless"" certs......

Originally Posted by techoin
I am looking forward if this happensas of now cat 1-5 certs are almost useless for me
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 3:42 pm
  #19  
 
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Never seen hotels/airlines give stuff back. Would be interesting. They are more in the habit of cutting.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 4:02 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by craz
I admit that I dont remember how things work Award night wise, dont recall if its like SPG where if theres a standard room avaialble for sale then its available for pts (or should be)
Just fyi - MR isn't even close to available room=available award room. In my experience, MR availability isn't within a mile of SPG. If they were, I probably never would've ended up spending so many nights in Starwood hotels.

I like Marriott hotels in general, I like that there's a Marriott family hotel in just about every city in the country, I like Marriott's on location people, and the promos are fine.

The only drawbacks (again, just mho) are lack of elite recognition and award availability.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 5:03 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by fireworksboy
Just fyi - MR isn't even close to available room=available award room. In my experience, MR availability isn't within a mile of SPG. If they were, I probably never would've ended up spending so many nights in Starwood hotels.

I like Marriott hotels in general, I like that there's a Marriott family hotel in just about every city in the country, I like Marriott's on location people, and the promos are fine.

The only drawbacks (again, just mho) are lack of elite recognition and award availability.
The thread wasnt about how does MR calculate how many and when to offer Award rooms, and I was responding to the poster who said they were told Hotels that were Cat6s wanted to drop down to Cat5s to get more folks to stay using award nights

How MR allocates the # of rooms per night for award stays isnt really important to what that poster or even the OP said

I cant remember when I wasnt able to use an award night at a Marriott. Now if you want to discuss say Paris or Venice then it doesnt matter which program you want to look at they are all difficult at times. On the other hand there are 4 *Ws @ LAX while there are over 2x that for Marriott, thusly a better chance of being locked out by SPG over MR. Yet by SNA theres 1 *W with a shuttle and well over a dz Marriotts

If all a person wants is a full service hotel then its about equal. Id think most folks arriving late or out early in the morn and spending just a few hrs there between,before or after a flight dont care too much on the type of hotel but just a nice clean room and hot shower

Now if you travel for biz and mainly stay in the citys then *W will work most of the time, if however youre on the road and hitting small - middle size towns as well alot then *W wont work so well. Yet Hilton,Marriott and ICH will have coverage for all 3. btw thats Hyatts problem as well. So Hyatt and *W works great for some folks and are disasters for others. Others are able to maintain Plat status but not hit the 50 or 75 night level

Its no different then the airlines , if you live by a hub city or a place a carrier flys into its haven otherwise lookout. eg till a couple of yrs ago WN wasnt any where near NY, then it went into PHL, today LGA,ISP and EWR But if you lived in NYC it didnt us a bit of good that WN had say a $15 fare. So those flying LAX-SFO were thrilled and sang WNs praises while I couldnt have given 2 hoots about WN

B6 most people sing its praises but a friend who lives in DTW since they dont fly there what good does it do him. Live in SEA B6 has 1 flight a day NY-SEA live near BOS or NYC or LGB, or Florida youre in luck, more flights everyday then you know what to do with

My pt is , its not so simple to say Marriott is best or SPG is best, it all depends on where a person needs to be and if they can be serviced.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 5:37 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by BKKLEE
you can (normally) opt for the points bonus(es) instead of the ""useless"" certs......
This is such a news to me. Is it easy to get points from certifcates? It's from my marriott credit card. How many points can I get? I doubt this is true for annual certificates from marriot credit card.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 8:40 pm
  #23  
 
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Burlington

Originally Posted by JYoon
that's a great news thanks. No cat5 hotels in boston...or anywhere close to boston.
The Marriott in Burlington, MA is a cat 5 hotel. That is only 20 minutes north of BOS.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 8:47 pm
  #24  
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Lots of "I was talking to a guy" threads lately...
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 9:22 pm
  #25  
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Quincy is even closer and also a 5.........
Peabody just a little further out.....

Originally Posted by juluca
The Marriott in Burlington, MA is a cat 5 hotel. That is only 20 minutes north of BOS.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 9:42 pm
  #26  
 
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It makes perfect sense to me. If hotel category is a function of reward redemption rate and average room rate, then a lower rate of redemption will result in a lower category. Then when the redemption rate rises, the next year after, the hotel will go up a category again.
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 9:43 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by BKKLEE
Quincy is even closer and also a 5.........
Peabody just a little further out.....
Oh okay, well hyatt has properties right in cambridge as well as in heart of boston (back bay) and near airport all of which I can use the anniversary certificates for, so I had no reason to use those properties in burlington and quincy..which are way too inconvenient for me even on a normal traffic in boston. Anywho, thanks, and I hope we get some cat 5 hotels in boston that can compete with other brands.

Last edited by JYoon; Oct 20, 2013 at 10:18 pm
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 11:34 pm
  #28  
 
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this would be interesting if it happens...generally things move the other way..meaning away from the end user
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Old Oct 20, 2013, 11:51 pm
  #29  
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Actually I'm using my Hyatt anniv cert at the airport prop too as I have an early departure for ATL (Ga Tech 50th reunion) so it works out fine........
For whatever reason points were not available and now my June night is sold out so the cert came in real handy....

Originally Posted by JYoon
Oh okay, well hyatt has properties right in cambridge as well as in heart of boston (back bay) and near airport all of which I can use the anniversary certificates for, so I had no reason to use those properties in burlington and quincy..which are way too inconvenient for me even on a normal traffic in boston. Anywho, thanks, and I hope we get some cat 5 hotels in boston that can compete with other brands.
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Old Oct 21, 2013, 12:35 am
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by cabrits
I was speaking to a trusted source within Marriott International very recently for an unrelated matter. Later in the conversation, they mentioned to me that several current category 6 properties (~ 25% or so) would be downgraded to category 5 in spring 2014. This specifically so that the cat 1-5 certs can be redeemed for stays there.

I asked if they could specify any on the top of their head, but they did not have further details. They did mention, however, that ever since the 2013 category changes (several cat 4's converted to cat 5's, and several cat 5's converted to cat 6's), many Marriott properties have seen a drastic drop in redemption levels, causing them to lose significant revenue. Significant enough to serve as an impetus for what appears to be a forthcoming partial re-valuation.

That's all the details that are known / were shared with me.




That's good to hear. I tried to use my free night certificate this year at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA, but noticed that they went up from a Category 5 to a 6.

The previous year in 2012 I could redeem the free night certificate there.

So, I hope the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel reduces it's Category level.
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