Originally Posted by
hotelboy
I would not hold your breath for a statement from "my good pal" Arne or anyone else. Remember who Marriott's actual customers are...the hotel owners, franchieeses, and third party management companies. After all loyalty programs are an occupational hazard to theses guys and most if not all of my colleagues.
We couldn't disagree more. Marriott's customers are both the guests who stay in its hotels and its hotel owners that pay its management fees. Both are essential.
CEO Sorenson makes public statements in each quarterly earnings call. So do other Marriott executives.
Loyalty programs are a profit center for a company like Marriott, and its program--like all loyalty programs--is designed to best reward those who profit Marriott the most. Marriott has screwed the pooch with its IT integration, but I prefer to believe that its customer service woes will come back into line once the IT allows them to do so. In the meantime, my Ambassador has largely allowed me to avoid the IT fiasco. That same IT fiasco also allows many of us to score incredible deals at some of the most aspirational 5 star luxury hotels in the world, so I'd say it hasn't been quite the debacle for me. It's been quite the boon for me, actually.