Originally Posted by
swag
Marriott Concierge - can you alleviate my worries? Can you give some more specifics on what to expect for the limited award nights? Will Marriott publish a list of properties and nights that are limited for 2009, once it's finalized?
I think the best I can do for you is to explain in greater detail what is currently happening and what will happen after January 15th in regard to capacity controls.
Currently all 365 nights of the year at all 3,000 plus hotels have restrictions on how many standard rooms can use reward points. On blackout dates no rooms are open for reward redemption. All other nights of the year hotels are required to open a certain percentage of their rooms for standard redemption. The percentage of rooms hotels are currently required to set aside on all non-black out nights is the same percentage they will have to set aside on the handful of nights when they will be allowed to limit redemption. For example, if XYZ hotel’s current mandatory inventory for reward redemption was 20 rooms per night on all non-blackout dates, when the program changes they will be required to offer at least 20 rooms for reward redemption on the hand full of nights when they have been allowed to limit inventory. On all other nights the hotel must release all of their standard rooms for reward redemption.
Originally Posted by
TravelsLots
However, if the economy is bad next year (and it will...) many rooms will be empty, perfect timing to 1) get rid of the MR huge balance by pushing people to use awards next year, 2) help the hotels through this by providing some income through the awards revenue (lower than regular revenue but still something). 3) create a notion that indeed awards are easier to get, while this will be only for next year for those who try, since economy will be bad and less people will travel anyway. Genious!
So Marriott Concierge why don't you ask your manager and confirm such here for all of us to see ? :-)
TL
This is an interesting theory. However, these changes have been in the work for quite a little while.
Ira