Dear Mr. H--------,



Thank you for your e-mail. I am glad that Marriott has taken the time to notice my travel patterns and show concern. Despite the current economic climate, I have been traveling at more-or-less the same frequency but, yes, I have not been spending as much time in Marriott properties. Sometimes it has been due to logistics (no Marriott brand nearby) but in recent times on the occasions where I had a choice, I have occasionally picked a competitor over the Marriott brand.



The Marriott brand was once the total class act of both properties and loyalty programs. The perks of elite status (and I have been Platinum for over a decade) were appreciated and made an unpleasant job (as business travel can frequently be) more tolerable. As of late, there have been noticeable cutbacks at the properties. Marriott issued a now-infamous memo to its properties instructing them “not to over-achieve.” This made it to several travel sites on the Internet and made Marriott the subject for much ridicule but it points out how Marriott is undermining that “edge” that once gave them a competitive advantage.



An example of an annoying cutback is the reduction of newspaper delivery. A full service property where I recently stayed informed me that they now only get 15 USA Todays and 15 Wall Street Journals. This is for a 250 room property! If you weren’t at the front desk at 6AM to pick up a paper you were out of luck. (“But this is what Marriott told us to do” was the response when I raised my concern to the front desk management). You can’t even buy a newspaper at that property! By the way, _every_ other hotel I have stayed that is part of a major chain, limited or full service, has had a paper at my door every morning.



The Concierge Lounge is a very valuable elite benefit but many properties have cut back hours (no weekends whatsoever) and breakfast offerings, thereby diluting the benefit (“Marriott told us to…”).



I could go on about the new higher-point awards structure along with the “no blackout dates…unless the hotel just doesn’t want to offer award rooms” policy, but I’m sure you have already heard from many people on that one.



At the same time, other hotel chains have been very aggressive in courting business and has caught my, as well as some of my colleagues who were once very loyal to Marriott, attention. It is a competitive world out there.



Thank you for taking the time to read this. My comments were honest and my criticisms were meant to be constructive. I hope it helps Marriott to restore itself to its former standing in the hospitality industry.

keeton