VA1379

I called Marriott reservations, and they told me there is a systemwide issue with the AAA rate. It is only working sporadically, and Marriott is trying to fix the issue. The reservations rep also told me that the website would be down periodically while they update it to integrate additional features associated with the Starwood merger.

AAA has a large membership and makes much of its money from travel agents selling cruises, guided tours and group travel. I cannot see any major hotel chain deciding to abandon the opportunity to put their hotels in front of those travel agents. It doesn’t mean that the AAA rate will even be used for hotel stays associated with cruises or other packages sold by the travel agents, but it is pretty safe to say that a hotel that doesn’t participate in AAA at all will be given less priority than one that does by AAA travel agents. I don’t cruise or use travel agents, but there are people who fit into both groups.

AAA rates are capacity controlled so they won’t be offered during periods of high demand. They are also used to offer greater discounts during slower periods without reducing the BAR as much. Marriott’s LNF guarantee doesn’t apply to AAA rates, and this type of discounting gives the hotel greater opportunity to sell rooms that might normally be offered to third party sites like Priceline. I would call such discounting semi-opaque, and I am sure hotels do it with other groups that are eligible for discounts.

Marriott has also been offering prepaid discounts that are greater if you are a Marriott Rewards or AAA member. I see this as one more way of trying to slice up the potential customer market by maximizing revenue through various price points and packages.