Marriott’s rocky rollout of new combined program not covered by bloggers
Aug 31, 2018, 5:38 pm
#107
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
-James
Sep 1, 2018, 1:44 am
#108
Join Date: Jan 2016
Programs: AA, Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton
Posts: 501
Several of the bloggers mentioned here are highly critical of businesses while still pushing credit cards (maybe not TPG) - just because they aren't ranting like a reddit/FT post doesn't mean they are being critical. I think the integration date was ambitious given the requirements and don't see the issues being resolved anytime soon. I'm sure some of them reached out to their contacts at Marriott, and were being stonewalled or waiting for delayed responses. Even a 95% success rate from 70 million users still means there are 5million or so users that were negatively affected, and it likely affects users with more stay history, spend history, and a diverse experience across marriott/starwood, so we're seeing way more datapoints online that suggest that the sky is falling (it definitely is for front-line CSR, who were woefully underprepared for the merger). That said, you would think they would make sure their most important users were kept happy....I'm annoyed for many reasons, having stayed in hotels 25 out of 30 days this month and having mediocre to poor experiences overall at respectable properties, and will be in about 20 the next month.
Sep 1, 2018, 5:47 am
#109
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nashville
Programs: DL DM 3 MM AA PLAT HH Lifetime Diamond Marriott Plat AMB lifetime titanium Hertz PC
Posts: 6,187
. Even a 95% success rate from 70 million users still means there are 5million or so users that were negatively affected, and it likely affects users with more stay history, spend history, and a diverse experience across marriott/starwood, so we're seeing way more datapoints online that suggest that the sky is falling (it definitely is for front-line CSR, who were woefully underprepared for the merger). That said, you would think they would make sure their most important users were kept happy....I'm annoyed for many reasons, having stayed in hotels 25 out of 30 days this month and having mediocre to poor experiences overall at respectable properties, and will be in about 20 the next month.
Sep 1, 2018, 5:49 am
#110
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LGA/JFK/EWR
Programs: UA 1K1.75MM, Hyatt Globalist, abandoned Marriott LTT (RIP SPG), Hertz PC
Posts: 21,166
I went through some of the Loyalty Lobby posts of the past couple weeks...good on him for actually covering this how it's been unfolding, not the pillow soft touch of the others.
Sep 1, 2018, 6:44 am
#111
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: BNA (Nashville)
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 6,225
OMAAT has a post on work arounds to the long hold times he is experiencing as a member with lifetime status and an ambassador.
He doesn't even sound upset about it.
Compare that to his outrage at a lobster roll on American.
He doesn't even sound upset about it.
Compare that to his outrage at a lobster roll on American.
Sep 1, 2018, 10:57 am
#112
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, Alaska MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, National Executive
Posts: 116
Agree, there's an eerie amount of silence and lack of vitriol from the blogosphere on this SPG Marriott merger aftermath. Some of these bloggers have got worked up on much more random and smaller things so its quite surprising this mess is not something they're willing to get angry over, doesn't quite add up. Recalling Zach Honig's and Matthew's rants on specific in-flight amenities and comforts, and Gary's rants on AA award availability.
I do think this FT thread has led to a few of these bloggers posting something in the past 24 hours. Gary at VFTW went so far as to ask Marriott specific questions.
FT to the rescue!
I do think this FT thread has led to a few of these bloggers posting something in the past 24 hours. Gary at VFTW went so far as to ask Marriott specific questions.
FT to the rescue!
Sep 1, 2018, 6:28 pm
#115
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Toronto (YYZ)
Posts: 6,279
Why No Coverage Of Marriott’s Lies Towards Their Elite Customers?
I believe where Marriott and Mr. Flueck have been twisting the truth are:
1. Breakfast benefit (I will wrote about this tomorrow)
– Not as good as promised
2. Disappearing lounges at Starwood Resorts
– Marriott Resorts were not required to have lounged (more F&B spend by the guests)
3. 20% More Points
If you consider that you get less welcome amenity points, green choice points have been cut, so have been Best Rate Guarantee, top tier bonus has gone from 100% to 75%, it is very difficult for me to believe that elite members earn 20% more under this “new” program that really is just Marriott Rewards.
4. All Suite SPG Hotels
All hotels were supposed to be available at category 7 prices until the end of this year but they are not. The SPG all suite hotels are not available for bookings online (only one based on the piece I wrote) but you can book them at inflated rates over the phone.
5. Travel Package Mess
There was huge mess with Travel Package mapping between the “old” and the “new” program where Marriott tried to take members to the “cleaners”.
Not sure why anyone at Marriott Rewards leadership thought that it would make any sense to anger the membership by not being forthcoming with mapping and then offering terrible ratio?
6. IT Integration
It is clear that the Marriott Rewards and SPG integration was forced when the IT wasn’t ready. It was moved ahead from the end of 2018 to August. Two weeks after the merger and many members still don’t have access to their accounts and there are many other issues too.
Conclusion
I have no idea what kind of Marriott/SPG coverage other blogs have had for the past two weeks because I don’t follow any. If they haven’t covered issues that have affected members, there must be financial reasons behind that (follow the money). It must be difficult to push their credit card products if you write about integration and a program merger objectively?
I was rolling my eyes when I saw Mr. Flueck’s Hotel News Now interview on Monday after merger where he claimed that everything was basically running perfectly when all the systems were down. To be frank, I am not sure in which reality he was living in.
https://loyaltylobby.com/2018/08/30/...ite-customers/
John at Loyalty Lobby is the only one who tells it like it is.
I believe where Marriott and Mr. Flueck have been twisting the truth are:
1. Breakfast benefit (I will wrote about this tomorrow)
– Not as good as promised
2. Disappearing lounges at Starwood Resorts
– Marriott Resorts were not required to have lounged (more F&B spend by the guests)
3. 20% More Points
If you consider that you get less welcome amenity points, green choice points have been cut, so have been Best Rate Guarantee, top tier bonus has gone from 100% to 75%, it is very difficult for me to believe that elite members earn 20% more under this “new” program that really is just Marriott Rewards.
4. All Suite SPG Hotels
All hotels were supposed to be available at category 7 prices until the end of this year but they are not. The SPG all suite hotels are not available for bookings online (only one based on the piece I wrote) but you can book them at inflated rates over the phone.
5. Travel Package Mess
There was huge mess with Travel Package mapping between the “old” and the “new” program where Marriott tried to take members to the “cleaners”.
Not sure why anyone at Marriott Rewards leadership thought that it would make any sense to anger the membership by not being forthcoming with mapping and then offering terrible ratio?
6. IT Integration
It is clear that the Marriott Rewards and SPG integration was forced when the IT wasn’t ready. It was moved ahead from the end of 2018 to August. Two weeks after the merger and many members still don’t have access to their accounts and there are many other issues too.
Conclusion
I have no idea what kind of Marriott/SPG coverage other blogs have had for the past two weeks because I don’t follow any. If they haven’t covered issues that have affected members, there must be financial reasons behind that (follow the money). It must be difficult to push their credit card products if you write about integration and a program merger objectively?
I was rolling my eyes when I saw Mr. Flueck’s Hotel News Now interview on Monday after merger where he claimed that everything was basically running perfectly when all the systems were down. To be frank, I am not sure in which reality he was living in.
https://loyaltylobby.com/2018/08/30/...ite-customers/
John at Loyalty Lobby is the only one who tells it like it is.
Last edited by bdschobel; Sep 1, 2018 at 7:53 pm Reason: removed masked profanity
Sep 1, 2018, 7:32 pm
#118
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,420
Sep 2, 2018, 1:07 pm
#120
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: EDI/GLA
Programs: DL 2 MM Unobtainum | UA 1.1MM Gold | MR Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 2,268
I’ve been in the world of loyalty for 14 years and have seen “Travel Bloggers” evolve from Travel Community Advocates to Credit Card Shills that offers little to no value on information. So I say good riddance to people trying to make a fast buck by bamboozling them with conjecture instead of factual information and this is why I will never think of Travel Bloggers as proper credentialized media even if they claim to be otherwise.