Originally Posted by
cova
Also - this Marriott deal of giving lounge access to any UA Premier Gold or higher (which is a lot of people) is making the lounges very crowded. No wonder 1/3 of the hotel is eligible.
On this Denver JW - could be this is independently owned, and the owners are complaining they are not getting enough revenue from food sells. So maybe they wanted Marriott to close the lounge. With Denver being a UA hub, maybe half the guests were Marriott Gold (via UA).
99.9% of Marriotts are independently owned. If Marriott Corp allows franchisees to pick and chose what benefits they will and will not provide, we are all doomed.
No doubt giving away elite status like candy since the financial crisis is playing a huge part in lounge crowding and diminishing quality over the last few years. I fear this is just the beginning of a franchisee revolt, Marriott has really watered down the benefits (think PLT $10 coupon). Time to go back to the strictly BIB model...