Or try speaking to a professional travel advisor who is part of the Marriott STARS program who can offer elite like perks on paid rates at all Editions. There are several active on FT and there are several thread. Many are essentially small business owners who would welcome additional revenue after the last 19 months
I love using preferred agents for boutique hotels that are not affiliated with any programs. However, I have found it increasingly difficult to justify using them to book hotels that are part of the points chains (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc).
I hope you can submit this feedback somewhere. While I realize these preferred agent programs would never be able to match cheaper rates you get through program discounts (ie AAA, founders card, corporate rates), I have increasingly noticed that the standard preferred agent rate is much more expensive than the “package” rates offered by some hotels. At that point, the rate difference is greater than the cost of breakfast to begin with. Would love to see more pay 2 stay 3 promotions that are more flexible (because not everyone stays at hotels in increments of 3/4 days) or at least a way to get these rates more competitive with what hotels are offering directly. I also wish the $100 property credits could be changed per stay to per stay OR per X number of days as I am currently huge there disincentivized from booking long preferred agent stays. Thx.