Originally Posted by Marriott Concierge

I am sure my response will not be as specific as some of you would like, but I will try to give you a glimpse into how and why these upgrades occur. I would like to first point out, as has already been pointed out by earlier posters, that every year we renew some accounts based on unpublished criteria. Perhaps there has been a greater need this year as a result of the wide spread economic downturn. We have found that cutting a little slack to those who have shown a pattern of loyalty to Marriott in the past has resulted in increased loyalty when the individual’s travel pattern returns to normal. I am sure we do not have a perfect formula for determining when we renew and when we do not, and some potentially loyal customers slip through the cracks. Primarily we look at stay history for the past three years to make our determination. Even individuals who stayed only a few nights this year may have shown significant loyalty during the prior two years and deserve to be recognized for this by allowing them to retain their status for at least one more year.

Ira