Srisarin

If you want a Marriott employee to answer your question why not ask the gal who you are getting the F&F form from ?

She might even be a reader here !!!

SkiAdcock

I did attempt to answer your questions up thread. Can you print off more than one copy? Yes. You need to do so if you're staying at more than one property on the rate, as each hotel will require you providing the form at check-in. Do employees get a list of where their approved forms are used? Doubt it. Not sure it drills down to that level. Obviously Marriott the entity knows.

One reason for the #/form presumably is that if something goes wrong w/ a stay (damaged room; loud parties, etc), Marriott knows who to track it back to/it will reflect poorly on the associate.

Do you normally invite the associate w/ you on family vacations? If yes & you're not doing so now, then it's understandable you don't want her to know you're using the discount form for a stay you're excluding her from. That is rather poor form. If you don't normally invite her on family holidays, then there shouldn't be an issue/you shouldn't worry about letting her know you're using the form for a family vacation. Ultimately the decision is up to you, but you need to be prepared on what to say if it turns out she does find out you used it for more than what you initially told her about. She might care; she might not.

It should also be noted that the rate is for leisure travel, which obviously the family vacation, but the first stay needs to be as well. And the rate does not earn points/night credit.

Cheers.

Often1

Of course Marriott associates the form with a particular associate and that associate has visibility into the form's use, although practically it won't usually arise.

Where this comes up is if anything goes wrong down in Florida, even damage which you accidentally cause or if someone travelling with you has an incident of any kind down in Florida, Marriott comes back to its Associate to make it right. In effect, your friend is vouching for everybody staying on the rate.

Only you can answer the question of whether it is worse not to inform your friend in advance or worse to have your friend find out because one of your family members accidentally trips into the TV and trashes it or some hyper-sensitive neighbor complains about noise from your room.

Lastly, while it is extremely unlikely, as you are likely aware, Marriott does spot checks on the use of these forms as an anti-fraud measure. What will your friend say if she gets a call asking her to verify that you are OK to use the form in FL?

C17PSGR

This is actually a pretty welcoming forum. If you ask our opinion on a particular hotel or area, or an issue with your stay, we're very happy to help and hope you'll share your experiences and contribute your knowledge.

It may well be there is a Marriott employee or two who is interested in the forum but we're travelers looking to share information with each others. I think you'll be hard pressed to find advice from regular participants in the forum, however, to do anything other than to be direct and honest. I strongly suspect the information on use is available to an associate since there must be some tracking. How readily available is it? Don't know.

Finkface

Are you actually going to Florida with your family? Were you hoping to just let your family use the rate without you there and you are concerned that your friend will see a stay in Florida during a time when you were at home? If so, maybe just ask your friend if she minds. If she does, then it wouldn't be right to just photocopy the form and use it for your family. I think the employee should always be told who/where/when one intends to use their benefits. It just seems wrong otherwise.

Jon Maiman

I used to be eligible for both friends and family and child of associate rates when my stepmother worked at a Residence Inn. This was back in the days where there was a pre-printed form the GM or other senior manager at the issuing property had to sign. In my case, my stepmother used to give me batches of forms to use. They were good for 3 months after they were signed. I always used them for trips for my immediate family or for when we were traveling to visit extended family. My stepmother was fully aware of what the forms were being used for and encouraged us to do so. It was a nice perk and she encouraged her entire immediate family to use them. The forms were traceable back to her and her GM. She was a HR manager and has since retired, so I am no longer eligible for the rate.

The point of the above story is the associate who gets you the form does need to be fully aware of what you are using them for. As others have already noted they are vouching for you and can even lose their job if one of the people they got the form for does serious damage or otherwise creates significant problems during a stay while using the rate. So do yourself and your friend a favor and keep them fully informed on where and when you will be using the forms to get the explorer rate. If anything comes up, they will be aware of the situation and hopefully can smooth over any issues or misunderstandings should they arise. Far better than for them to get blindsided especially if the complaint is unjustified.

--Jon

brownch

Of course I know if it's necessary to the corporate, they will be able to trace it back to the employee. My question from the beginning is when the employee's open their employee portal to generate these form, do they see and have a record for each stay?

SkiAdcock

How can they see the stays at the generating the form step? The stays haven't occurred. What you're asking is can they see the stays after the forms have been generated& used. The associate could tell you specifically, but you don't want to ask her. None of us are Marriott employees. We can't provide a definite answer. If you intend to use the certificate beyond what the associate thinks you're using it for & aren't willing to ask her, you'll just have to deal w/ the uncertainty.

Cheers.

agtey

Cannot be tracked by the employee.
The employee can update the name and print the PDF. No track record afterwards.

Troopers

What does valid ID required mean using the Explore Friends Rate?

FlyinHawaiian

The authorization form given to you by the Marriott employee.

Bethany T

As of 2012....the family and friends rate is NOT eligible to receive points. Just wanted to update in case anybody stumbles on this thread

SkiAdcock

Welcome to FT! Thanks for reminding everyone that you don't get points or night credit.

Cheers.

Srisarin

and that includes PAG points.

bittenbytravelbug

I'm a Marriott associate (agm) , thought I'd chime in and clear up misinformation.

First and foremost, anyone who has an old copy of the form don't event bother trying to use it. Save yourself from embarrassment. They updated the forms in 2017 to include a new verification process at the time of check-in. Every form as a unique code in addition to the associates information.

Now to the OP. While the associate can not see where you have used it, if your second trip is after the first one you run the risk of them disabling your form before your next date of travel. Yes, the form indicates an expiration date, but the same portal that they created the form had the ability to disable it. And I personally go in and disable the forms the day after I know it was used to check in. For the very reason I do not want someone using the form and not letting me know. Their behavior could cost me my benefit, or worse my job. But that is also why you do not extend the discount to people that you cannot trust.

In fairness you are using a perk of their job. One which they were nice enough to extend to you. You shouldn't hide the fact that you are using the form elsewhere. You should be completely honest and open with them. Otherwise they may not react well if they do find out you used it, and now may not give you a form in the future.