Originally Posted by
cfabar1
Elites are expensive.
My guess is they will reign in elite benefits and focus on margins. That has been what they have done so far. Maybe things will change, but I think they will try to reign in costs - keep in mind many of the benefits they offered elites were remnants of SPG, not anything Marriott ever wanted to do.
Elites are cheap, since they are the ones who will keep booking at your hotels, and even indulge in the strange pastime of mattress runs, just to remain elite.
An elite waiver in 2020 costs nothing, since 2020 is already a write-off for practically all of us. But being able to use the same elite status in 2021, might give us a reason to come back.
Europe is already far worse than China, and the US is not far behind. If waivers have already been given for China and environs, then why not the rest of us? Instead we got hard downgrades.
Goodwill costs nothing; the absence of it can be very expensive. Someone should tell Arne Sorenson this.