To play devil's advocate:

How does a property know that you are not using the same bonus bucks that you received upon checkin at checkout?? Are these CERTS numbered?

Of course, if you have a one night stay, it is immaterial, but with a two night stay, how can it tell that the one that you hand in -- assuming you had one from a previous stay -- was not the very same one that you had received?

That being said, that should be of no concern to the customer, because the rules of the promotion are quite clear. They are to be received at checkin.

Further, what about this crap of their mailing them to you. What if you happen to be on a leisure trip or business trip, and you were specifically intending to use the bonus buck for your next stay, which happened to be that day for the next two days. Are you out of luck? Sorry, guys, but I would not stand for this type of treatment. I would demand an adjustment and the bonus bucks. This is total crap.

Marriott corporate reads this and so does Chris. They are on notice that this must be remedied immediately.

Bruce's adventure was ridiculous, but at least one could claim that they were unaware of the promotions terms, as it was a new promotion. Not so anymore. This has the stench of a bait and switch.

That's right, go ahead and book your vacation plans where you intend to drive around and see a bit of the US, and make a 2-3 days reservation with your intention of using the $100 Cert at your next stop. BUT, presto, no CERT. So, sorry, that will be an extra $100 you will have to shell out at the next Marriott property. But, not to worry, you can always use it at another time. Sure.

I would not be surprised if Marriott garners negative publicity because of this, nor would I be surprised if some attorney or attorney general would file a lawsuit over Marriott corporate's lackadaisacal response to the complaints herein.

You have got to believe that this thread is only the tip of the iceberg, and that ma and pa Clampett -- for whom this promotion is really aimed at -- summer leisure travellers -- generally are not they type to raise hackles over this.

I think that Marriott ought to step up to the plate and immediately advise their franchisees to step in line. The article I cited shows that Marriott is not recalcitrant in punishing those franchisees who don't tow the line when it suits Marriott to exercise its power. It should do so now, period, before others have these same ridiculous outcomes.

My 2 bonus bucks worth.