Leaving Marriott General Discussion Thread
Sep 10, 2018, 7:21 pm
#106
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 35
Yea, this was never a common theme on the SPG board. Minor quibbles with the app or needing to call for certain things, but I can't recall any widespread problems with booking, points posting, redeeming, status showing up, etc. Seemed stable to me. If they ever had a catastrophic outage, it didn't know about it: it would have happened at a time when I wasn't trying to book or complete a stay.
Marriott was reasonably stable too. It's just the merger process itself that has been a dumpster fire.
Hyatt has had serious, widespread IT problems over the years, including at least one catastrophic (many hours) outage that I'm aware of. Fundamental issues where you could not book a regular hotel stay at all - not just some sort of Gold Passport issue. Hilton has had some wonky UX in the past, as they never seemed certain whether they wanted members to use HHonors.com or individual hotel brand sites. (Multi-login problems, data not being saved, etc.) These problems seem to have been mostly resolved in the past year or two though.
Marriott was reasonably stable too. It's just the merger process itself that has been a dumpster fire.
Hyatt has had serious, widespread IT problems over the years, including at least one catastrophic (many hours) outage that I'm aware of. Fundamental issues where you could not book a regular hotel stay at all - not just some sort of Gold Passport issue. Hilton has had some wonky UX in the past, as they never seemed certain whether they wanted members to use HHonors.com or individual hotel brand sites. (Multi-login problems, data not being saved, etc.) These problems seem to have been mostly resolved in the past year or two though.
Sep 11, 2018, 1:36 pm
#107
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: United, AA, KrisFlyer
Posts: 179
+1. I've cancelled my upcoming reservations.
I am not going to commit to never staying in a Marriott property again, but for now I am walking away from Marriott. I already have my 75 nights this year, so I have no need to stay more to achieve status, especially a status I won't use. If someday I show up on flyertalk and see everyone saying that Marriott has made things right, then I will give them another try. Until then, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG will welcome my business.
I think the SPG lovers got blinded by the on property benefits from SPG, which were the absolute best in the industry, so the SPG lovers got blinded to seeing how awful Starwood IT has been. I welcome its death.
I am not going to commit to never staying in a Marriott property again, but for now I am walking away from Marriott. I already have my 75 nights this year, so I have no need to stay more to achieve status, especially a status I won't use. If someday I show up on flyertalk and see everyone saying that Marriott has made things right, then I will give them another try. Until then, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG will welcome my business.
I think the SPG lovers got blinded by the on property benefits from SPG, which were the absolute best in the industry, so the SPG lovers got blinded to seeing how awful Starwood IT has been. I welcome its death.
But at least, after three email messages and four calls, two of which resulted in getting disconnected, at least our account seems to be correct.
But if this is any indication of how good Marriott's IT is, then maybe they should have used the SPG IT folks instead.
Sep 20, 2018, 9:29 pm
#108
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Costa Rica / New York
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Copa ConnectMiles Platinum, United Gold
Posts: 33
Wanted to share an update. Completed a status match with Hilton and had 3 stays since the merger. Diamond status with Hilton is useless, no real perks besides breakfast. Guess I'll have to stick to Starriott and wait for the issues to settle 
now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.
now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.
Sep 20, 2018, 9:57 pm
#109
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,197
Wanted to share an update. Completed a status match with Hilton and had 3 stays since the merger. Diamond status with Hilton is useless, no real perks besides breakfast. Guess I'll have to stick to Starriott and wait for the issues to settle now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.
now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.What part of the world were you staying in? I was thinking of switching as well for Asia stays...
Sep 20, 2018, 10:01 pm
#110
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Costa Rica / New York
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Copa ConnectMiles Platinum, United Gold
Posts: 33
New York. Guessing you might have better luck with upgrades in Asia as that's usually the case with SPG, but since upgrades are not guaranteed with Hilton I wouldn't swear by it.
Sep 21, 2018, 3:23 pm
#111
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,574
Upgrades aren't guaranteed with any of the brands. Trust me...Marriott Lifetime Plat Premier here - not upgraded very often at all. My best hit rate was as a basic SPG Plat rate about 10 years ago, or maybe even a basic HH Gold (if you can believe that!) about 15 years ago, but even then there were still non-upgraded stays. Long ago, it was more due to having stays in places with very few upgrades to give. Now I suspect it's a mix of apathy and the vast expansion of the total number of elites thanks to a much larger percentage of the frequent-travel population being more engaged with hotel programs and earning elite status. (15 years ago, it was more common to find people who were airline-elite and just wanted more airline miles from their hotels.)
All brands seem to upgrade better in Asia, perhaps because of a better hospitality culture or because of fewer elites, or both. Indian Starwoods can make a mere 25-stay Platinum feel like absolute royalty.
All brands seem to upgrade better in Asia, perhaps because of a better hospitality culture or because of fewer elites, or both. Indian Starwoods can make a mere 25-stay Platinum feel like absolute royalty.
Sep 21, 2018, 7:13 pm
#112
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 278
Wanted to share an update. Completed a status match with Hilton and had 3 stays since the merger. Diamond status with Hilton is useless, no real perks besides breakfast. Guess I'll have to stick to Starriott and wait for the issues to settle now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.
now I have 100k+ Hilton points that I have to figure out how to use since they're definitely going to end up expiring as I don't plan to be back to any Hilton property anytime soon.Also, don't know why you're judging a program based on a couple hotels in the US, generally elites get average treatment.
On top of that, you stayed at a hotel without a lounge? Same could be said for Marriott hotels without a lounge. Was it even a normal Hilton or a budget brand.
Last edited by mingzie; Sep 21, 2018 at 7:27 pm
Sep 26, 2018, 1:14 am
#114
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,455
Most bloggers put the value of a Marriott point at .8-.9 cpp. I think that's in the ballpark.
You elected to stay at the London NYC. That's user error.
Sep 26, 2018, 1:19 am
#115
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: MIA, VIE and DPS
Programs: DL Plat 1MM, AA EXP 3MM, SQ Krisflyer Gold, UA Silver, Marriott LTT, HH Gold
Posts: 1,132
As opposed to what perks at Marriott? No breakfast?
Also, don't know why you're judging a program based on a couple hotels in the US, generally elites get average treatment.
On top of that, you stayed at a hotel without a lounge? Same could be said for Marriott hotels without a lounge. Was it even a normal Hilton or a budget brand.
Also, don't know why you're judging a program based on a couple hotels in the US, generally elites get average treatment.
On top of that, you stayed at a hotel without a lounge? Same could be said for Marriott hotels without a lounge. Was it even a normal Hilton or a budget brand.
The old SPG is gone, though maybe we should start a go fund me page and buy it back ;-)
point though, the couple of Hilton stays I had recently gave me a better impression than the couple of Marriott stays. And Hilton has novel customer service concepts, like people that answer the phone when you call or a chat system...
Sep 28, 2018, 2:46 pm
#116
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: GVA
Programs: BA Silver (OW Sapphire), A3 Gold (*G), Bonvoy LTTE, HHonors Diamond, LeClubAccor Silver, UA Silver
Posts: 1,778
Another point for Hilton: they changed they BRG T&Cs today offering instant approval of claims over the phone. For me that's a huge plus, and another point for Hilton.
I'm aware that Hilton might not be that wonderful after all, but my 2 stays so far have been very good and the bulk of my stays till year end are with them.
I'm aware that Hilton might not be that wonderful after all, but my 2 stays so far have been very good and the bulk of my stays till year end are with them.
Sep 28, 2018, 2:51 pm
#117
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
Another point for Hilton: they changed they BRG T&Cs today offering instant approval of claims over the phone. For me that's a huge plus, and another point for Hilton.
I'm aware that Hilton might not be that wonderful after all, but my 2 stays so far have been very good and the bulk of my stays till year end are with them.
I'm aware that Hilton might not be that wonderful after all, but my 2 stays so far have been very good and the bulk of my stays till year end are with them.
The problems Marriott has had with the integration hasn't affected the experience at the properties at all, in my experience. I'm staying at my first legacy SPG property (a Westin) since the merge in two weeks, so I'll be interested in my experience there.
Mar 19, 2019, 9:48 pm
#118
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,721
So how many are saying Bonvoyage to Marriott?
As a former Marriott/SPG fan I am wondering how many others have decided to dump Marriott/SPG as your "go to" program. I say "fan" because I think the concept of "loyalty" is ridiculous - Marriott is a business, not a sports team. We all have our preferences as to where we like to stay, but the bottom line is that businesses do not show loyalty to their customer (rather they may reward them for buying rooms) and in turn customers deliver revenue to businesses that provide better service.
If you are now dumping Marriott in favor of another chain what was the straw that broke the camel's back?
For me it was the last one. Lounge access was a nice, useful incentive to stay at Marriott. Now that it's gone I will probably lean to Hyatt. Hyatt also has better ROI for hotel spend, particularly if you want to redeem for top category.
If you are now dumping Marriott in favor of another chain what was the straw that broke the camel's back?
- IT integration issues when programs were merged
- The most recent devaluation, i.e. massive hike in points needed for Cat 7-9 properties (incl. SPG Cat 7 and RC)
- Devaluation of SPG Amex points earned from everyday spend
- Poor customer service (telephone)
- Decline in perks for former SPG elites
- Reduction in status due to Rewarding events / UA elite match
- Decline in perks due to reduction in status (e.g. Plat->Gold) which resulted in loss of lounge access/breakfast
For me it was the last one. Lounge access was a nice, useful incentive to stay at Marriott. Now that it's gone I will probably lean to Hyatt. Hyatt also has better ROI for hotel spend, particularly if you want to redeem for top category.