Originally Posted by
Horace
It's amazing that Marriott.com continues to use ambiguous, confusing wording. How hard would it be for Marriott.com to replace the ambiguous wording with something that leaves no doubt about the cancellation deadline?
Marriott started the new cacellation policy on June 15, 2017. It applies to most of Marriott's brands, including most of the brands from the Starwood acquisition.
If you make an online reservation for brands from Starwood, such as Sheraton and Westin (still using the old Starwood Hotels online reservation system), the cancellation policy is absolutely clear. The cancellation policy identifies the exact date and time of the deadline, such as this for a reservation beginning October 12, 2016:
CANCELLATION POLICY
If you cancel between Mon, 04 Sep 2017 and 6:00 PM hotel time on Tue, 10 Oct 2017, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 6:00 PM hotel time on Tue, 10 Oct 2017, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night stay. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.
There's no need to guess what
"until 2 day[s] before arrival" means. Until what time? The beginning of the day (such as 12:01 a.m.)? The end of the day (such as 11:59 p.m.)? Or some some sort of "normal" check-in time (such as 4:00 p.m or 6:00 p.m.). Or maybe the guest-selected "expected arrival time" specified on the reservation?
I've no sympathy for Marriott, or any of the other travel corporations that are not our friends, but "amazing"?
Not. Have you ever read a product warranty? We're dealing with corporate culture, not magic.
For me, the fact that so many hotels don't credit the 750 pts/night for breakfast when the lounge is closed and the option is confirmed at check-in, or how long it takes for them to actually process the hotel bill charges, much less post the points, well given that it's 2017 and it's simple technology, that's "amazing".
But just another opinion.