stant

post aug 18th that can now get your account closed. it's against the rules
see above
just talk to the front office manager. tell them that you have a 10 night booking for the room and you will be using it as your 'home base' while you work in the area. You plan to not be in the room *some* nights because of your travel in the area. You want to be sure that you dont get checked out if housekeeping doesnt see you in the room.

RogerD408

What? When has this happened? I haven't read any posts of this happening and there are certainly specific rules regarding Rewarding Events that does allow it.

craigthemif

I'm not sure what that guy was trying to say (or smoking), but quite obviously your account won't be closed down for booking a meeting.

stant

for ages marriot gave a wink and a nod to people booking a meeting for the sole purpose of getting the elite night credit.
the new post aug 18th TOS for marriot says not only can you only get one 10 night elite credit (when previously you could do it an unlimited number of times) but it SPECIFICALLY says that people who are not actually meeting professionals holding 'fake' meetings is grounds for their loyalty accounts to be canceled.

Feel free to ague 'but how are they going to know' all you like, but I'd question the logic of spending money to do something chasing status that can get your loyalty account revoked.

RogerD408

... and what is their definition of a "meeting professional"? I agree with taking issue with people that book meetings and don't show up, but are they now saying I can't book a meeting myself, that I must utilize a "professional"? I don't think so. MR has a habit of leaving a lot of wiggle room in their writings you can take it many different ways (I've been there many times).

There have been posts about this whole issue of only one event a year getting some discussion higher up and I'm expecting them to make changes once they feel they can pull the heads out of the sand and face their members again.

stant

you dont think so? you DO realize airlines have been sued over revoking 'lifetime' frequent flyer privileges and in court said 'well we said lifetime, but what we meant was 'lifetime till we decide otherwise' and they WON - right? It doesnt matter what you think, only what they think, unless the repercussions for enforcing their thoughts are too negative. Somehow I doubt there would be huge public outcry if a few members got their account closed over what they would claim is gaming the system.

you can think whatever you like about the situation, the simple fact is that marriot saw fit to change their TOS to SPECIFICALLY include this 'wiggle room'. If that isnt an obvious warning to you, I dont know what is. It's not a matter of taking it one way or the other, they specifically saw fit to add those terms after the program merger. Can you get away with it? probably. Maybe even Almost definitely. But like I said in my previous post, I would question the logic of spending money to chase status by doing something that CAN get your account revoked.

RogerD408

Marriott has a history of saying things they don't mean (they are saying everything is fine with the merge). They do not define a "professional meeting planner", give me five minutes and I can produce a business card with such a title. If, what you say, is their intent we should be seeing our ranks reduced and you better believe there would be several posts here on FT to that effect. So, I feel comfortable supporting my belief with the anecdotal reports here. You can choose yours accordingly.

silvervknight

stant

saying 'everything is fine' when it clearly is not is par for the course for ANY company in almost ANY circumstance. It wouldnt instill much confidence if the CEO was running around flailing his arms screaming "oh @#$% were all gunna die!". On the other hand saying 'do this thing we dont like and we will kick you out of our program' is a totally different kind of statement. sure there might not YET be any anecdotal evidence regarding their intentions, just like there were no american airlines lifetime airpass members that had their passes revoked - until there were (and those were BOUGHT passes, with a sales contract). if you want to risk being one of the first to come here to flyertalk and complain about it, be my guest. I'll try to remember your name so I can tell ya 'i told you so'... If marriot never ever kicks out a member for using this trick YOU can tell ME you told me so

stant

Generally speaking one would just call in and say that they needed the smallest meeting space available for business purposes for say 60 minutes. If they question how many people just say a very small number - possibly one. And let them know you saw the promotion about the EQNs - that bit should be in your meeting contract. But dont tell them you are trying to just 'buy' EQNs. make it sound legit. if possible go to the 'meeting' and play on your phone for half an hour.

at your own risk of course

tygran37

I like this... have you tried it before?

Alohashirt

I wasn't very "eloquent" when I made the ask: I said that the EQN would be my main reason for bringing my meeting to the Marriott instead of a nearby Hilton. I insisted that they put my Marriott Rewards number in the contract and expressly agree to post my meeting using the Marriott Group Posting Tool. This was a few months before the TOS change and the merger took full effect. However, I believe you can still get the ten nights once a year if you haven't already.

I recommend that you reach out to the FT members who posted on that thread directly to learn more about how this all works. My other recommendation won't win me any popularity contests around here. I agree with Stant:

I would discourage trying to do a one-hour fake meeting where you are the only attendee and you play with your phone. The experienced event managers at these properties probably are not eager to stick their necks out for somebody bringing them only "$75 or even $50 for such booking." If you really value Platinum status that much, there are plenty of ways to host a legitimate meeting rather than blatantly appearing to game the rules.

1. If you are a manager in a business, host an off-site meeting for your direct reports.

2. If you support a local nonprofit or have a religious affiliation, host a volunteers' meeting. You may actually accomplish something good AND get your EQNs.

I doubt that anybody at Marriott is likely to quibble over the "meeting professional" language if the meeting is legitimate in every other respect. If you're not in a position to host a genuine event, mattress running seems like a far less risky strategy than trying to pull off a fake meeting.

manasquan

I have 35 stays so far this year at SPG and Marriott hotels. I need 15 more stays to get to Platinum.

I don't plan on traveling anywhere else this year, so I am considering booking 15 local hotel nights.

My other thought was to book 15 nights at a category 1 hotel (7500 points/night) somehwere, but I live in Florida and there are no Cat 1 hotels anywhere near me.

Can I book and pay for 15 nights in a Cat 1 hotel and just not check in? Would I still earn my nights this way?

Does anyone know of any other creative ways I can get to 50 stays this year?

jinrop

You have to check in.

I'm currently checked in on an 13 night stay at a courtyard nearby to hit 50 nights and was just forthcoming with the girl who checked me in that I wouldnt be in the room much, would be using it some but needed to have nights at the hotel. My company has a negotiated rate woth the hotel so its $68 a night, and I spend a month in Thialand/Singapore/Hongkong every year for vacation, so breakfast for 2 for a month at the st regis (plus 4 pieces of laundry per day) will cover my cost and then some not even counting upgrades.