Originally Posted by
pinniped
So yeah, I know Marriott wants us to set our expectations that CY and "resort" properties will withhold certain benefits. But we still wonder "Why?" What's the business logic? Especially for me, someone who was long Marriott-first in terms of business and leisure stays. It forces me to diversify into SPG and HH. I've been happy...that's probably a good approach independent of breakfast...but why does Marriott want me doing that?
I want to be clear I'm not trying to be smug or avoid the question but trust me - MI put a really strong Branding team together many years ago, it's the job of these folks to determine what each brand is and what each brand isn't so the development team can go out and sell deals (ie grow the brands) - the power of MI's brands is second to none, the closest competitor is Hilton but they have a substantial premium to them too....IHG, Starwood and Hyatt all have a long ways to go to offer what MI can but Hyatt certainly is moving quickly but still years away from substantially closing the gap - the Branding team has determined that right now it does not make sense to offer breakfast either to elites or other guests (they have and will continue to look at this) but that doesn't mean they wont decide otherwise in the future (it was the branding team that originally decided against offering the ability to earn points at the Ritz-Carlton brand...as market conditions change it's their job to keep the brands premium to the compset)