cyclogenesis

Semi "Meh" at this.. but I have been lucky enough not to have to cancel at the last minute as yet..

But yeah, I can see many issues as outlined above..

What I don't understand is the cost benefit.. Obviously too many had been doing this kind of same day changes..

I will dummy book but within many weeks I cancel all other bookings to the one I want..

What would be clever is touting flexible bookings as an elite benefit..

jr1202sr

This would be an excellent elite benefit. Will this rule apply to leaving early?

pokee

Good point! This appears to affect the frequent business travellers the most, and losing this business could be costly to them!

catarina

Frequently, when I am making a reservation for a last minute stay, I see no availability. When I check again late afternoon/early evening, rooms are available.

iztok

I would frequently check in the morning if better hotel option opens up. Sometimes even around 5pm I would check if a closer or better hotel opens up and book it and cancel other hotel.

pinniped

Yes, we do. That's the entire reason the Marriott brand exists. That's what they want, and it's what the hotel owners want.

If I just want an independent hotel, I can certainly book one. They cost less than a comparable Marriott in most parts of the world. We pay a premium for the Marriott brand, so yes, we do think of it as a global brand as opposed to a collection of franchises.

That's why I never want to hear a franchisee/contractor/etc. blamed when something goes wrong. My client relationship is with the main brand, and I expect them to solve any issues I have. (To be fair, I don't generally have issues with Marriott...this part of my comment is probably more directed at airlines and rental agencies in my own personal experience, but could be hotels in general as well.)

I don't do *many*, but our corporate travel portal wants us to have that option. To book a hotel without same-day cancel, I would have to jump through extra hoops to get a "non-compliant" booking completed.

This is probably my most-common reason to cancel a stay shortly before 6PM: I'm changing to a better hotel for my situation. 9 times out of 10 it's another property within the same program. Canceling a Courtyard and booking a nearby Renaissance, for example.

Marriott Concierge

Hey folks,

I just wanted to drop in and provide Marriott's official word on the cancellation changes.

Marriott is revising the cancellation policy for our hotels in the U.S, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America. The intent for the change is to make rooms available that would have otherwise gone unoccupied due to a guest’s last minute cancellation.

The change: While cancellation policies vary by hotel, those hotels whose policy is to allow guests to cancel their room reservations on the day of arrival without incurring a fee are faced with a significant number of unsold rooms due to last-minute cancellations. The new policy for these hotels will require a guest to cancel their room reservation by midnight the day before they arrive in order to avoid a fee. The new policy will allow hotels sufficient time to offer these unsold rooms to guests seeking last-minute accommodations.

The revised policy is scheduled to be implemented by December 1, 2014 for arrivals starting on or after January 1, 2015.

Because cancellation policies vary by hotel and for certain events and rates, customers should always check the cancellation policy that applies at the time of booking.

SkiAdcock

Really. ALL hotels with DOA are facing this issue? Not totally buying that, and the ones who think they can manage it anyway are now being formally required to ask permission to allow it.

Btw - guess Socrates memo was light on the details

Cheers

socrates

Nope - it wasn't, and everything I've said is correct as is everything the Concierge has said...the house policies will continue to be set by the hotel

hhoope01

So if I'm understanding correctly, while a hotel may set their own policy, the "default" has changed and it will require some effort on the hotel's part to set a "day of" cancellation policy? Where up till the end of the year, the "default" was the "day of" policy.

SkiAdcock

Already a report on Insiders that a hotel has switched to the new day before policy. Guess some aren't waiting until 12/1. At least the person has his confirmation showing DOA cancel.

BTW - Marriott is boasting of very high occupancy at its properties, so I'm not totally buying most of its properties are facing significant unsold rooms situations.

Cheers.

joshua362

Plus, they seem to have the science of overselling rooms down to a science!

pinniped

I guess I always figured that hotels could choose their own policy. I've certainly stayed at Marriotts that had day-before, 3-days-before, or even a full week before cancel policy. (I'm sure there are even longer advance cancel rules out there...)

But now, it almost seems like hotels have to "make a case" to keep day-of-arrival. In cities where DOA is the norm for typical business hotels, will it be up to those Marriotts to make their individual cases? Will corporate object?

I wonder if this will backfire for some Marriotts who don't make their case for DOA when the Hilton, Starwood, and Hyatt nearby all still have it.

SkiAdcock

There are reports on Insiders by some corporate travelers that their company policy requires DOA cancellations, so for them they'll switch to Hilton/Starwood/Hyatt instead of staying at Marriott if the Marriott hasn't made a case to be exempt from the new policy.

Cheers.

pinniped

Yep...that's me. Marriott becomes non-compliant if this policy sticks, meaning I'd need to go through an exception process to book them.

Since it's a systemwide thing and we work with one of the large corp travel agencies, I imagine we'll get guidance to move our business to one of the other brands...not book exceptions all the time because we want to stay with Marriott.

I still have Hilton Diamond as a fallback. Or I could build back up to SPG Plat from Gold reasonably quickly. But Marriott actually has better hotels and more options in a few of my regular spots, so I'm hoping it doesn't come to this. I'm happier as a MR Gold walking 1 block to work than I would be as an HH Diamond staying a mile or two away...