Is it me or did socrates answer make no sense? How is the competition (aka, Starwood, Hilton) going to 'beat' Marriott if - for example, Boeing, ATT - er, SBC -books the # of rooms they negotiated their discount on?
I don't think 'too large a discount' is given up front if what marriott_guy said is true - it's both sides figuring out the expected volume & coming up w/ a discount that is mutually agreeable. If it doesn't work, it gets re-negotiated by either or both sides for the next year.
Again, my prediction is those who will never use a discount they're not entitled to will stick w/ that, those that don't care will continue to do so & in the overall thousands or millions of rooms that Marriott books each year, 'pirated' codes are a minor issue.
But if the LHR Ren could continue w/ its publicly available rate that's a great deal I'd appreciate it
I'd especially appreciate it for the London Mega-Do this November!
Cheers.
Cheers.