socrates

1) dont feel bad..a mistake was made, it happens
2) the mistake was the hotels, not MR's - the hotel will each the cost of the mistake
3) as a platinum you are able to always book a room up to 48 hours before arrival - that is a benefit given to you by MR for being so loyal (and the hotel understands/agrees with this policy)
4) could have been a "glitch" but sounds more like someone made a mistake to me

socrates

Situations like this are handled on a case by case basis however the guest is usually given a few options and the outcome is typically considered to be fair by all (would they have to eat the cost of the room, absolutely not - there is no law requiring it but depending on how bad the situation was it might have been the right thing to do-or there might have been other/better compensation options for you to receive, unfortunately I dont have enough info to speak for the local management or what I would have done if I was in their shoes)

CJKatl

Oh, the irony. Those of you who want to be walk haven't, yet I have.to each his own.

megtravels

i didn't think they'd cover the cost, but i was wondering.....actually they were pretty upset that it happened and offered me some points as a warm fuzzy....i imagine that had they had to scoot me to an adjacent corporate brand, they'd have tossed in lots more points......thanks though

doctor15

Alright so I apologize that this is going to be a long post, but I assume if you are on FT and reading this thread, you are interested in my saga

As expected, I received pushback from the GM. At least she didn't try to guilt trip me though. After contacting Marriott Reward, she responded with the following letter:
The best part about this letter was that she replied to the message sent to her from Marriott Reward and included the full message. This contained proprietary information and clearly stated "do not forward this to customer." hmm..

I replied again, quoting the Ultimate Reservation Guarantee and requesting I be compensated according to the T&Cs. Here is the latest message from the GM: 22,500 is above 2 nights at any Marriott property? Is she insane . I rarely redeem points a property below cat5. I'm not sure what to make of "I will not be able to do the certificates also"?

This whole experience is honestly making me more frustrated with the Marriott Rewards program then with the hotel. Obviously the hotel screwed up and it is on them to fix it, however I am shocked by lack of support from Marriott Rewards. They offer these great Elite Benefits Guarantees, which should be automatic, but they leave it completely up to the hotel to interpret, negotiate, and offer to the customer. The hotel is obviously a biased party, and going to try to do everything they can to avoid paying out the full amount (as evidenced by many threads on FT). There seems to be no slightly more unbiased party (such as Marriott Rewards) to mediate and clarify interpretations. If I did not know the Ultimate Reservations Guarantee existed, I would have not have known any better then to take the 22k points and be done with it. After I wrote to Marriott Rewards pointing at the guarantee was not honored, I would expect them to step in, explain to the GM what I am owed, and ensure it happens without further compromise. Instead, my e-mail was just forwarded on to the GM without any further information. By the way, "Marriott Guest Experience" has been CCed on all correspondence, so it is not like they are in the dark. Basically, it seems that these so called "guarantees" are crap and completely up to each hotel to individually enforce. </end rant>

So what is my next step? Do I keep pushing? Who else can I reach out to?

Thanks for reading my rant, but I am honestly pretty frustrated by this whole ordeal.

hhoope01

Personally, I would keep pushing for the 2 free night certificates. Given that they would be useable at any Marriott property worldwide, including Cat. 8 properties, the 22.5K points isn't anywhere close to the same value.

Possibly you might say that if she wants to give you points for 3 nights, you will take 120K Marriott points which would be 3 nights at a Cat. 8 property not the category of the FFI you were walked from . Otherwise, you expect her to honor the Marriott Walk Guarantee and provide the 2 free night certificates.

If need be I would definitely pursue this with Marriott Customer Service to make sure the hotel honors the Walk Guarantee.

tvetter01

Absolutely.

I would explain to the GM that the two free nights are at any Marriott property in the world, and that the points equivalent would be 80,000, not 22,500. You might want to be prepared to take the 80,000 points, if you do this, so if you would rather have the certs, this might not be the best way.

I wouldn't know who at MR (other than the platinum customer service line) to contact.

Clearly, the guarantee is intended to be so punative to the hotels that they never walk platinums. It's important to Marriott, and the hotels should be held to the standard.

It's this kind of story that makes me think that MR should administer the distribution of the benefit and bill the hotel.


ETA: I like hhoope01's idea of 120k points better.

BrightlyBob

You certainly should push it. As per the last 2 posts, the points needed for 2 nights in ANY category are 80,000, for the 3 nights, 120,000. 22,000 may give you 3 nights in a cat 1 but who really spends their leisure stays at those hotels?

Email the reply you've received back to MR, point out the GUARANTEE and ask MR to properly enforce it. I have to say its pretty disgraceful the hotel is trying to wriggle out of this, but I do think MR is trying the softly, softly approach first, at least I hope this is the case.

Don't be fobbed off, its really important that this hotel recognizes, as do most others that its both VERY bad form to walk your most loyal patrons, and expensive too.

Like most here, I've never been walked, either at a Marriott, or elsewhere. I can't think of many circumstances where I'd want to be either, even for the compensation...

socrates

1) I wouldnt go so far as to say she's insane but she certainly doesn't fully understand the program

2) you have 2 choices here - first is to suggest she contact MR to ORDER the free night certs for walked elites, second is to contact customer service for the FFI brand at 800-831-0224 and explain to them the situation, the GM is awarding you points instead of the free certs but you'd much rather have the free certs as promised in the elite benefits (sorry you have to go through this, it should be automatic)

PS I just realized I published the customer service numbers in a thread a while ago instead of the Consumer Affairs #'s...sorry

CJKatl

I'd push. You were not given what you expected nor what the policy states. The manager goofed and is trying to politely bully you so that she doesn't have to explain how she goofed. That's not your problem. Had the hotel staff done the correct thing in the first place, this would be over.

bigguyinpasadena

CJKatl is 100% correct-push to have what they rightfully owe you.

doctor15

Alright time for an update:

I pushed back and the GM contacted Marriott for clarification. She was told that the free night certificates are only good for the brand you were walked from. I immediately wrote to Marriott and received a similar response.

Is this the case of multiple agents giving incorrect information, or was there a policy change?

If that is true, which it sounds like it might be, I'm just going to stick with the points offered, as I prefer not to stay at FFIs when on vacation, and 22,500 does seem fair for 2 nights at most FFIs.

hhoope01

As I stated before, I have never been walked, but Marriott used to state that the Free Night certificates were good at any Marriott property (not just the properties at a single chain.) I would suggest following up with a Mr. Marriott's Office for clarification. We've seen more than once from posts on this forum that Marriott's employee training on MR details tends to leave something to be desired. So it is very possible that who you talked with is guessing and does not know the real rules.

Also, 2 points:

1. Did you get your $100? That is a stated benefit and shouldn't be forgotten. If you are only getting points equivalent to nights at a Cat. 1 or 2 property, I would rather take the $100 than 10K points.

2. It takes 22,500 points to get three nights a Marriott's lowest category of hotels (Cat. 1). There are a whole lot of FFIs that are in higher Categories. In fact, there are some Cat. 6 FFIs which would cost 30K points per night or 60K points for 2 nights. So even if they end up sticking with the free night certificates only being good at FFIs, then you are still letting the hotel off easy with only 22K points (just barely more than the points needed for 2 nights at a Cat 2 FFI property.)

socrates

Not correct (tell them to check the DRS system or whatever it's called these days) - I'm looking at the "Elite/Club Marquis Free Night - No Walk Guarantee Certificate" information right this second....there is no specification on you needing to redeem the certificate at the same brand, only that you must book a standard room at Marriott, Renaissance, Res Inn, TownePlace, Courtyard, Fairfield, SpringHill brand and at TimeShares you can only book a lockoff unit - the revision date on this is 8/28/2000 - this is the current policy in effect

BTW: the the Elite Benefit Guarantee does NOT apply to the Ultimate Reservation Guarantee (which makes sense since there is cash payout with this benefit already - except in Russia where it's extra points)

No-Walk Guarantee states: For Silver, Gold & Platinum at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Springhill Suites, Residence Inn & Towneplace Suites:
Alternative accomodations, plus $100 (Platinum members also receive 2 free room certificates) - revised March 2, 2010

Shouldn't have to be this difficult, sorry

ohmark

Some questions, if you care to answer. How do you know that this is what she was told? Who did you write (email?) to? You said the response was similar, but what exactly did it say?