Originally Posted by
rny321
From my perspective, it wasn't so much what changes they made but the lack of notice beforehand. If Marriott had told customers well before August 18 what the conversions would be, it would have prevented much of the speculation and hostility. Relying only on social media to announce that category changes will no longer be allowed a few days beforehand and not telling anyone what the exchange rate would be isn't going to create customer loyalty. I might be unusual, but I didn't know the exact days I would traveling this year last August, which made it futile to attach old certificates to future reservations. If Marriott had simply posted on its website or sent emails to its customers detailing the conversion process a month or so in advance, the reaction to the changes would have been muted.
Yes, I totally agreed with you. But, compared with airlines and other hotels, Marriott probably is the better of the evils. What I got through entire TP process is:
1. No one had expected what was going to happen, from all parties. But we all knew it would not be smooth.
2. Most of the TPs are speculative. We all took advantage of Marriott. No one can dispute this fact. Marriott is draining the room revenues.
3. Marriott is about the only major hotel that give us the "point advance". We took advantage of this too.
4. Most of the Marriott Reward staff have been working with customers (at least with me) to solve most of the major issues. My experience is much better than with other airlines and some other hotels.
5. I personally got very good values from the TPs and I'm very grateful for it. There are some frustrations, but the results are very positive.
Going forward, I'll find the balance of Marriott, Hyatt and other less brands. I won't commit 100% to any airline or hotel. That is the way how it works now. Our sweetheart airline or hotel can certainly let us down some times. Do you file nasty divorce with your spouse with some of the mess-ups??