Originally Posted by
Antarius
Given the complete opacity of Marriott spend and point tracking, I was thinking we can start a shared thread for tracking methods and templates. To that end, attached is a tracker spreadsheet I put together. Please feel free to comment/extend/criticize/help as you see fit.
Tab 1 : Dashboard - This is a running count of points (including a spot to include starting balance and redemptions) as well as spend towards Ambassador
Tab 2 : Data - This is where the data is entered
- Yellow tabs are for informational tracking only
- Orange tabs are used for calculation
- Status - Based on selection, the point bonus is applied
- Brand - This lookup will determine the point multiplier (eg. 10 for Marriott vs 5 for Residence Inn)
- Base Spend - Sum of room rate
- Ancillary Spend - F&B etc.
- MAGC - Number of days of Make a Green Choice selected
- Bonus (Y/N) - For Platinum and up, this is the 1000 point welcome benefit.
- Gray tabs are calculated/tracked
- Tax Rate is informational. It turns red on > 20% to assist as a data entry validation check/prevent miskeys.
Your thoughts and/or other tracking methods are appreciated!
From looking at the spreadsheet it appears the tax rate (informational only) is computed only utilizing the Total Spend less the sum of the base rates and ancillary spend. There are several things such as parking, spa treatments, mini-bars, etc that would be included in the Total Spend that would impact the calculation of the tax rate. I could see where the rate would turn "red" as you state yet not be a problem but only because there are other items other than Ancillary, Room Rates and Taxes in the Total Spend amount. Other than that I'm not sure the reason for the tax rate calculation since it appears the main purpose of the spreadsheet is to determine one's progress towards the $20,000 Ambassador requirement.