Originally Posted by
lsquare
Please forgive me Richard, but I don’t get why you suggest I book via email. I’m not sure what the advantage is and what I’m getting. You seem to have mentioned all of the advantages booking online. If I initiate a challenge, I hope to use this to achieve Platinum status. Otherwise, I’ll have Gold via credit card.
Ovolo Southside is an independent hotel that joined Design Hotels which is a marketing organisation owned (now) by Marriott.
If I've not been clear, and it's quite possible that I'm not, then you should read the thread for this hotel where its policies are discussed. Marriott is just one booking channel for this hotel. As Expedia, trip.com and other OTAs are just booking channels for all Marriott hotels and do not give Bonvoy benefits to reservations made through these OTA channels. Booking online in your case means booking through Marriott.com or its app. It's just a booking channel for Ovolo Southside. That's very different to booking direct with the hotel because it's an independent hotel. To meet the challenge you need Marriott qualifying nights. You will always get these booking on Marriott.com or the app but you won't get the Ovolo benefits (breakfast, minibar, happy hour).
One more time, you don't have status in Marriott. By all means book Ovolo through Marriott. But you're booking a room. No breakfast. No free alcohol in the evening. The Marriott web site is clear. You're booking a room.
If you book direct (I suggest by email but you can always phone them or go through their own web site) then you get breakfast, minibar and two hours of free alcohol in the bar each evening. Give them your Bonvoy number and you will also get the nights and points. That's it.
But feel free to book through the Marriott web site/app and you may or may not get the breakfast, minibar, alcohol benefits. First time you probably will because this seems to be their policy but you cannot rely on the anecdote of strangers to guarantee this. So book direct and give them your Bonvoy details in the email. You will get the benefits described and Bonvoy nights and points.
It's a Design Hotel and these are independently owned and managed so benefits to Bonvoy guests are variable. I'm just telling you what this hotel's policies are because you seem interested in mattress run hotels in HK and this can be (though is not always) the cheapest. Or stay at a corporate brand: Courtyard, Le Meridien, JW, Sheraton etc. and have an experience that goes by the book for those brands.