Another pathetic cut from marriott : Make a Green Choice >> -67%
 

Just realised that the enhancement promised by Marriott goes with another HUGE cut : -67% for Make a Green Choice.
Previously 250 or 500 it is now 250 or 500, they earn the same number.
This was a great way to make some points for those without US credit card but now it's not as interesting as it used to be.

I will not use make a green choice anymore, was kind of "pain" and "work" to make some points, but I can tell you that I will request linen and all towels change every single day. Let's teach Marriott the right way!

Not to mention the cut of 33% for the welcome bonus and the vague T&C for upgrade...
And I don't talk about the new rewards, except few properties that was anyway overpriced, it's a big devaluation!

And the bloggers (TPG is the worst of them, I suspect him to work for Marriott... or being blind) was talking about enhancement, great new program? Sorry guys, but it is not what I call a positive merger for SPG members!

yes, 500 marriott points or 250 (it's even funny) does not worth the work ))

To make it short, spending 350 nights a year in hotels I didn't take time to complain everytime something was not ok... I will start to do it systematically.
I consider my average room cost will be increased because of those cuts, so I expect a better service. If anything goes wrong > complain > compensation.
Period.

Rip Spg, the greatest Hotel program of all time.

Is there anyway to clarify the OP so it makes sense with what kinds of points are being referenced?

I never did this. Half the time they just gave me the points anyway.


These things are peanuts compared to the promotions. I will be curious to see what happens to those over the next year or so. Many could be quite generous.

Yes. All the time. And got 500 MR points each night.

It was an average extra 10K points per month in my case, wich I consider very good.
Promotions from SPG... old times. Because the Marriott Style promotions like the last one are just a joke.
The spring one was not bad, but nothing compare to SPG.

When you are not from the US with points earn by CC, those peanuts means something at the end of the year, especially when you live full time in hotels.

indeed, already missed (-

Lucky you ;) usually properties forget to post them and you had to claim ))

The other half did this in a residence inn during a 3 week stay, she had to put in a request weeks later to receive the points, and then only received a small amount. Upon inquiry they told her they limited it to 3 days a week... Any attempts to clarify where in the terms it said that were ignored. Great way to piss off customers over a paltry amount of points.

Or ... we could just use housekeeping if we need it or get the 500 points a day if we don't ... no reason to create extra work -- or extra waste over a few points.

with SPG the rules was the following (depending of properties) :
- some do not participate (mainly in Asia where housekeeping staff is super cheap, so cheaper for hotel to clean than pay for 500 points).
- some has the 2 days max rules
- most of the properties has the consecutive 3 days max rules.

And of course, no make a green choice the day of check in and check out ;)

What do you mean by 250? It's always been 500 points, and sounds like it still is.

I will not make any effort for 500 MR points and even less for 250 MR... no way for me.

250 for aloft for exemple... but before it was 250 SPG(= 750 MR) and now it's 250 MR... = -67%
same for the 500 SPG properties

I don't need any more little plastic bottles and if I'm traveling alone, there are enough towels to get me through 2-3 days so I'm happy to opt out of housekeeping and would do so even without points. MR is giving us a little incentive to do the right thing but I'm happy to do it when it makes sense and 500 points won't change my behavior.

I have read that some properties has already such program other don't... but was vague... at least nothing official as far as I know.

It started at Marriott 5 years ago or so. It is always been optional for hotels to participate.

agree but I considered this a win-win = I make an effort > hotel save on housekeeping.
now it's not fair anymore and I will consider that as they don't make any effort I will ask for full cleaning daily. And to be honest, I much prefer a whole daily cleaning that make a green choice effort, but I was used to do it for the points. Now I have no reasons to bring extra revenue to the property.
Deal broken.

you are MR guy right? I mean not from SPG?

Meh. I regularly take the "green choice" option, but sometimes they would still clean the room and it was so few points that I didn't really make any effort to make sure I collected them. I don't see what the major complaint is. Yes, for those road warriors who are 20+ nights in hotels each month this adds up, but for the rest of us, it's just not that big of an issue.

You might also want to edit the OP to note that this is only a cut if you are coming from the SPG side.

MAGC was Behavioral Economics 101...I still liked and wanted housekeeping, but it changed my behavior due to incentives.

Cut the incentives by 2/3, and my behavior changes. I no longer feel like the "cost savings" so to speak are shared with me fairly.

Exactly the same for me.

Indeed, but the whole merger is a cut for those coming from the SPG side... ;)
Marriott Gold even become Platinum this year ,)

Never - ever. One of the perks of staying at the higher end SPG and Marriott chain properties are clean high quality linens. I'm not trading that for points valued at a few pennies.


I would readily agree that 10k (old SPG) was quite valuable, but honestly if I was staying in hotels for that many nights I would focus on another chain that provided better ROI. SPG program was never good for earning points based on hotel spend (as compared to competition) and worst for those who were not top tier or who had longer stays (which diminished the value of the Plat stay bonus, etc.)

The credit card earn was indeed the sweet spot for many of us, and that's now gone. Will be a huge hit for Amex no matter what "incentives" they wave.

The Green Choice nonsense is just fiddling at the margins - most people won't notice or care.

YMMV. Every night I did this I got points that I was able to redeem for about $15 in value.

I don't disagree with the sentiment of the downgrade in points, but you're gonna request housekeeping just for spite? Seems a bit ridiculous.

Personally if I stay in a hotel < 4 days I leave the DND sign up. Unless there's some exceptional circumstance, like I had to use all the towels up cuz the shower was leaky. Do you change your bed linens at home daily? Towels? I'm probably messier than you guys, but I definitely don't change these things out daily.

The housekeepers already have a crappy enough job, I don't wanna add work to their plate. Plus, if less rooms need making up, then maybe JUST MAYBE there's a chance I can get a damn room before 1400. The check-in times are stupid and anything I can do to help myself maybe get an early check-in, I will.

There's no "work" or effort to make this green choice.

FYI...for years Marriott hotels have been offering 500 points/night for declining housekeeping (up to 3 nights per week). I can understand how SPG members could be upset, but it's not a change in Marriott's policy...I hope it's expanding to all hotels because I've gotten it at a few Marriotts but not at a Courtyard.

I am missing SPG already. Marriott and their deluge of upscale motels that they call "hotels" is ruining the SPG brand already.

My sentiments exactly.

It sucks that MAGC is less points, but I still do not need housekeeping daily. Its an unnecessary waste of resources with minimal value added.

The points are just an incentive to be environmentally friendly and happened to have side benefit of fewer house keeping staff.

Those who are environmentally conscious will still make a green choice with lower incentives. Those who get house keeping because the incentives are not generous enough means they're not really making a green choice because they want to be green. So you it's perfectly acceptable to request house keeping to stimulate the labor market so the hotel have to hire more staff and your room is cleaner because of it.

Before you get some kick backs for not using a service, now you use more of the service and more jobs for service staff, the room gets cleaner and slightly worse off for the environment.

This. Unless I'm staying longer than 3 nights, I always decline housekeeping service. Even at hotel chains which don't even have these green incentive programs. Daily housekeeping service is a waste of water and energy.

It's not a waste for many of us. I would be curious as to how many patrons accept this offer. I bet it is low.

The way I see it Marriott saves massively on labor costs and throws out a bone to customers. It needs to be a much bigger bone if they want me to hang my towels and reuse them.

As for the housekeepers it does absolutely nothing to benefit them. They get the same number of rooms to do a full clean. If anything it may reduce their schedule if they lose a shift because too many customers decided to "go green."

I'd say maybe 10% of my PMMR stays offered this, vs maybe 98% of my PMSPG stays.

And following that thought, if enough people stop participating in MAGC that housekeeping costs start to increase, then the program will need to increase the reward to restore the incentive.

While I get the frustration here, I agree with the sentiment that this is "on the margins" for most travelers, and I suspect the participation rate will drop only slightly, and not enough to change the incentive.

Marriott Gold, a status level that was basically equivalent to SPG Platinum, was renamed Platinum this year. But this has been discussed ad nauseam in other threads.

Funny, for every equivalent market and equivalent hotel I always found the lounges in the PMMR "upscale motels" better than the PMSPG properties. But again, the brand comparisons have been done in other threads...

While I agree that the points are an incentive to "make a green choice" it is naive to think that Marriott (or SPG) didn't institute this option as a cost savings measure (housekeeping staff, utilities, etc.) more so than an environmental measure. Maybe I'm cynical, but I would posit that the company does this primarily as a cost savings measure with the side benefit of less environmental impact. Implying that the hotel guest is choosing to help the environment is just good marketing spin.

The intent could be cost savings with side benefit of being environmental friendly or trying to be environmentally friendly with the side effect of cost savings. Intent could be interpret differnetly and the results are the same - the option is there for each individual to make a choice and an impact.

The intent of guests are also facing some reflections. You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out. With less generous incentives, you can find out who is really trying to go green with the side benefits of having some points and who's really in for the points and self deceive they are being environmentally friendly.

There are also some that are just seem like they live in a war-zone, use a lot of towels and needs room cleaning daily to keep things organized but deep down they really they are job creators at heart and want maximize labor employment. :D