Marriott Bonvoy Events program between Aug 18, 2018 and end of 2019
I'm having some substantial troubles with two contracts from the past few months that I believe to be eligible for Rewarding Events credit (both included 10+ rooms for one night or more). The nights/points have not posted and the hotel (both events were at the same property) has been incommunicative on the issue. I did get one email in response to an online claim filed at Marriott Rewards, but that line of communication has also gone silent without any explanation. It seems crazy that a published benefit like this can seemingly be ignored by the hotel, as it is a substantial number of nights and points to the customer arranging the events.
Does anyone here have contact information for someone at MR that can provide some assistance in this matter? If so, please PM me and hopefully I can follow up with them. |
Originally Posted by GBadger
(Post 30054269)
I'm having some substantial troubles with two contracts from the past few months that I believe to be eligible for Rewarding Events credit (both included 10+ rooms for one night or more). The nights/points have not posted and the hotel (both events were at the same property) has been incommunicative on the issue. I did get one email in response to an online claim filed at Marriott Rewards, but that line of communication has also gone silent without any explanation. It seems crazy that a published benefit like this can seemingly be ignored by the hotel, as it is a substantial number of nights and points to the customer arranging the events.
Does anyone here have contact information for someone at MR that can provide some assistance in this matter? If so, please PM me and hopefully I can follow up with them. The only thing that seems to get near-instant response is live phone calls. So I suggest you try that. I don't know the right number, but start with your Marriott Rewards number, and then just ask if you're speaking to the right person about the issue, and if not can they refer you to the right person. I suggest you do that during Marriott "business hours' for best success. I've had a couple issues lately (unrelated to meetings) where I first sent emails which acted like they went into a black hole, and then I called and got my problem addressed within minutes. |
Thanks for that info. I did call after the first contract was not awarded, and was told that this was something that the hotel needed to do. After that, I called back and was told that "it was taken care of", but it wasn't. So I was hoping to get the contact information for someone specifically in the Rewarding Events area, so that I can share my details and hopefully get things resolved.
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"Rewarding Events" program changes after August 18, 2018
Lots of changes coming to meetings after August 17, 2018
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*Four of our 29 brands do not participate in Rewarding Events: Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments and Design Hotels.
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Isn't this the same information released weeks ago? Still no specifics, including what, if any, nights are earned after the first meeting.
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Originally Posted by Safti
(Post 30062300)
Lots of changes coming to meetings after August 17, 2018
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Originally Posted by CJKatl
(Post 30062423)
Isn't this the same information released weeks ago? Still no specifics, including what, if any, nights are earned after the first meeting.
https://members.marriott.com/rewarding-events/
It seems that every 20 room nights will earn 1 additional elite night--which is precisely what SPG Pro did in the past two years. (Before that, it was 1 additional elite night for every 10 room nights.) It seems that Marriott is incorporating its old 10 elite nights for a meeting ONLY for the first meeting (without rooms). That eliminates the ridiculous accumulation of elite nights that was permissible and quite common under the old Marriott Rewards rules. It also seems Marriott is incorporating the SPG Pro approach beyond that, requiring 20 room nights to earn additional elite nights. Events without rooms won't earn elite nights beyond the first meeting. Sounds pretty straightforward and reasonable to me, actually. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30064780)
I read it differently than you.
https://members.marriott.com/rewarding-events/ It seems meetings will only earn 10 elite nights for the FIRST meeting...and no meetings without rooms beyond the first will earn elite nights. It seems that every 20 room nights will earn 1 additional elite night--which is precisely what SPG Pro did in the past two years. (Before that, it was 1 additional elite night for every 10 room nights.) It seems that Marriott is incorporating its old 10 elite nights for a meeting ONLY for the first meeting (without rooms). That eliminates the ridiculous accumulation of elite nights that was permissible and quite common under the old Marriott Rewards rules. It also seems Marriott is incorporating the SPG Pro approach beyond that, requiring 20 room nights to earn additional elite nights. Events without rooms won't earn elite nights beyond the first meeting. Sounds pretty straightforward and reasonable to me, actually. I have long advocated conducting any meetings needed for the nights credit before the new program starts to be on the safe side should the rules change, but again, that is a far cry from knowing there is a change. The rumor started because a blogger said he knew someone at Marriott who said there will be a change, and suddenly many started pointing to that statement about nights getting Silver status with one meeting as being new and a clue, but nobody remembers who the blogger was, the post can no longer be found and bloggers have been notoriously wrong through the past three months. But to the immediate point, what is linked by the OP has been out there for months. It is not new. |
Originally Posted by CJKatl
(Post 30064890)
Except it does not say "only" anywhere. You are adding it. Marriott has used a version of the "get Silver with your first meeting" in its marketing materials since at least 2012 but has always awarded ten stays for each meeting per the T&Cs. Until the new T&Cs are released nobody will know what they state, which will hopefully be by the 18th. You are entitled to your guess, and your guess may prove correct, but we should wait for facts before proclaiming there is a change. There is a difference between thinking there will be a change and there actually being a change.
I have long advocated conducting any meetings needed for the nights credit before the new program starts to be on the safe side should the rules change, but again, that is a far cry from knowing there is a change. The rumor started because a blogger said he knew someone at Marriott who said there will be a change, and suddenly many started pointing to that statement about nights getting Silver status with one meeting as being new and a clue, but nobody remembers who the blogger was, the post can no longer be found and bloggers have been notoriously wrong through the past three months. But to the immediate point, what is linked by the OP has been out there for months. It is not new. Cheers (as Sharon says!)! |
This verbiage has been there since May, when I started doing meetings and all my meetings have received 10 nights. I interpreted it, and as i received 10 nights for each meeting, that your first meeting gets you silver. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30064939)
You're right that we won't know officially until the new Terms and Conditions are released. But it looks pretty clear to me already. Also, FWIW, people I know with SPG Pro also indicated that this is what they've been told by their superiors.
Cheers (as Sharon says!)!
Originally Posted by cruisr
(Post 30065704)
This verbiage has been there since May, when I started doing meetings and all my meetings have received 10 nights. I interpreted it, and as i received 10 nights for each meeting, that your first meeting gets you silver. |
Originally Posted by RogerD408
(Post 30066036)
So what has been out there for years and what has happened for years has no bearing? Why expect a change at all?
New appeal of cheap nights for status 1. For current status, it reduces the level of immediately bought status that can be attained cheaply to Gold. With the personal/business Marriott cards, you get 15 nights. The first meeting getting 10 nights pushes you to new gold (25 night qualification level). Limiting this to 10 elite nights only for the first eligible meeting per year would make it harder to earn status beyond gold (more appealing). 2. For current status, it's still possible to use rewarding events to "buy up" to the 50 night level or 75 night level if your credit card + actual stay activity remains just short of the 50/75 night threshold (and the SNAs/choice benefit granted hitting those levels in a year), but if you're 11 or more nights short - meeting only gets you somewhat closer, not a cheap way to mass accrue all the nights. Changing it in the merged program would reduce the buyup. 3. For lifetime status, meeting nights become a lot more appealing (if Rewarding Events is not modified) in a couple regards. a. For many of us on corporate discount rates, especially on the non-coastal parts of the US, our average stay before taxes can be quite low, and thus we're fine on nights but short on points. Meeting nights add the nights cheaply, but offer few points (3 in old rewarding events/$, reduced to 2pts/$ August 18th) which means that you have to have a higher average room cost (and at higher end properties, other incidentals that qualify as "eligible spend", but not taxes/fees). Under the post-Aug 18th merged program, points no longer count, only lifetime nights and years at the given status you're seeking lifetime at or higher. So at that point, it doesn't matter if a night is acquired for $7/night in a bogus meeting or $300/night at a hotel. For lifetime qualification under new rules, any night is a night. b. For those of us who are more upscale, maybe less on discounted rates, or just staying in more expensive areas like the Bay Area or Cali where a CY can run $300+/night (much less higher end properties), you can hit the points target (old LT criteria in MR) before the 500/750 nights. Not a big sweat for lifetime if you're still traveling. Now with August 18th looming, lifetime status will become harder compared to existing tiers (Old was 500 nights/1.6M points for lifetime @ 50 night annual qualification level, new program is 600 nights plus 10 years at the 50 night or more level) and another level is becoming impossible to earn (75 night level used to be 750 nights/2M points for lifetime, qualification for that won't be gone before the end of 2018). A bunch of people on FT in this group are buying up cheap nights for this express purpose (discussed in this other thread). Marriott doesn't want to tick people off too badly by just pulling off the rule changes in advance, and since the elite tiers are changing Aug 18th + single loyalty program, making any change to rewarding events earn structure just makes sense to do together on the 18th (personal opinion). c. With the new requirement to get lifetime 50 night status (old Gold/new plat) also incorporating the ten years at 50 night clause, meeting bookings become a lot more appealing as a way to tick the box of another year at the 50 night status. I earned LTP this year, and most of my stay activity (200+ nights/yr thanks to rollover nights counting twice) was 2013-2015 (I only joined MR in mid-2012). I would not have renewed Gold (50 nights) without rollover in 2016 or 2017. Under the old program that didn't matter, because years at status didn't matter for lifetime status, thus busier years offset less busy years. If I had to earn lifetime status under the new rules, I would only have five years. That would make use of meetings to supplement actual stay activity (If any) a lot more appealing. d. The elimination of stay based elite qualification for SPG elites in the merged program makes meetings more attractive to make up the difference. Other ways earning nights in the current/merging program has become harder: My personal opinion is that anyone thinking that anything beyond the first meeting earning 10 nights is being extremely optimistic. though The general direction of both companies has been to reward spend/stay activity more and tighten many of the "loopholes" for elite qualification in the program merger.
The new Rewarding Events program page on members.marriott.com says you'll earn ten elite nights after your first meeting, and then 1 elite night per 20 hotel room nights on the contract (basically copying SPG Pro). It is technically true that the T&C could permit ten nights for the second and subsequent meetings once released, but given how much more appealing nights from Rewarding Events in the current structure becomes under the merged program for current/lifetime qualification AND the reduction of the other ways to get nights cheaply/as a byproduct of non-room spend (per above).. doubtful. Also, the related room bookings 1 elite night/20 related room nights on the contract would become pretty pointless if you continued to earn 10 elite nights on every meeting booked anyways. Just book a bunch of smaller meetings and you'll earn the status faster/easier/cheaper than trying to drive a larger number of actual events with people staying in rooms... |
Wow, thanks @phltraveler. You really laid it all out there!
I couldn't agree more. I think many people are kidding themselves with lots of wishful thinking and "looking for loophole" reading that the post Aug 18 meeting/group rewards will be as generous under the new Loyalty Program as it was under the old Marriott Rewards. |
Originally Posted by phltraveler
(Post 30068593)
I have a a few good ones.
... The old Rewarding Events program page said that you'd earn silver after your first meeting (true, as silver was 10 nights) and that each meeting earned 10 nights. The new Rewarding Events program page on members.marriott.com says you'll earn ten elite nights after your first meeting, and then 1 elite night per 20 hotel room nights on the contract (basically copying SPG Pro). ... I don't know if they will ever clear this up, but hope they do make some clarifications. We all will have our own opinion but the only thing that counts is what they do. Fortunately, I don't expect to make use of this benefit, so no skin in this game. |
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