Points Scrounger

How does one collect the $100 benefit if the hotel management refuses to cough it up, claiming (stonewalling) that they are in compliance from their point of view?

Horace

Or less than the brand minimum, in some cases.

I agree that the failure to provide lounge access or alternate breakfast at the time of check-in entitles the Plat/Titan/Amb Elite guest to $100 USD compensation. It's a penalty that's supposed to be painful for hotels as an incentive to treat Elite guests properly.

As Sharon noted, "$10 F&B credit or 1k points" is compliant with the Plat/Titan/Amb Elite Welcome Gift — which has nothing to do with breakfast at five brands of Marriott legacy full-service hotels.

Breakfast means lounge access for member + 1. If the lounge is closed or there isn't one, then breakfast is "breakfast in restaurant" for member + 1. Again, this is in addition to the Elite Welcome Gift. (At one Marriott legacy full-service hotel brand, Delta Hotels, it can also be Elite Pantry access.)

When I stay at a Marriott and the lounge is closed, the front desk usually provides vouchers for "continental breakfast" in the restaurant with tax and gratuity included.

In other cases, the restaurant has a list, and no voucher is required.

In both cases, the restaurant usually provides a full buffet, although a few cheapskate properties want $5 to $10 more per person if you dare put a spoonful of scrambled eggs and a sausage patty on your plate.

EuropeanPete

itravelalot

If they refuse you have at least claimed it and can document your claim so corporate Marriott can't say, "Well, you didn't make a claim."

What Marriott desperately needs is a separate hotline or email to report noncompliance that is actually monitored and handled promptly. You shouldn't have to call a reservations/customer service agent and expect them to have the expertise or ability to force a given hotel to comply, if you're still at the hotel.

margarita girl

And the ding-dong who came up with the breakfast policy should be assigned to man that line for the rest of his/her life!

(Notice that the Lurkers seem to steer clear of Bonfire breakfast questions. They always answered them on the SPG forum.)

itravelalot

I think the implementation of the breakfast benefit is illustrative of the internal divisions within Marriott International between the hotel development division, the division that handles Marriott-managed properties, and the division that oversees the loyalty program (aka Marriott Bonvoy and before that Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG). Let's look at how breakfast was described around this time in 2018 when David Flueck launched the combined loyalty program, the benefits of which haven't changed with the rebranding to Bonvoy:

If you read that statement from Marriott's own press release you are right to think you're getting breakfast, not a bagel and coffee.

Then there was the official FAQ, which stated:

This was supported by a tweet that claimed all Courtyard hotels in North America would have a complimentary buffet for eligible elites:


Of course, the "new" "breakfast offering" turned out to be a $10 voucher at Courtyard that in most cases isn't sufficient to cover coffee and any food item, except maybe yogurt, with tip and tax factored into the $10 limit.

Intl359Widget

Alex_I

The new Bonvoy does not offer any consistency in benefits. This April I have booked a room for 1 night in 4Points Orlando Convention Center - a recently rebranded Hawthorn suites. As Titanium Elite I was upgraded to a suite and offered 4 pm checkout but this is where my luck had ended. I was asked multiple time about breakfast only to hear that the hotel doesn't provide breakfast but I can choose one instead of points. But I have booked a rate with breakfast! No, hotel doesn't offer breakfast. After going a couple times through this, I have talked to a manager and received a coupon for two breakfasts. In the morning, I was wisely advised to get two breakfasts to go. Those included:
1) A paper cup (size similar to AAdmirals' club soup cups) filled with cut melons and cantaloupes;
2) Three triangle (nice tough!) pieces of toasted plain bread
3) One extra sweet mini muffin and another sugary pastry of minuscule size; both were at least 3 days old
4) Three pieces of prepackaged butter to go with the bread.
And nothing else. This was an insult but not breakfast. Truly the worst I have ever had for long long time.
Coffee was free in the lobby to help myself.
I assume that Elite members who choose breakfast instead of points are not treated better.

Horace

There are three different issues as play here:


1. Complexity of the Platinum Elite breakfast benefit program.

If the folks in charge at Marriott Bonvoy could have their way, there would probably just be three categories, modeled have how SPG did it: (i) breakfast in the restaurant as a Platinum Elite and higher Welcome Gift choice, as at most SPG brands; (ii) breakfast for nobody, as at Design Hotels; and (iii) breakfast for all guests regardless of loyalty program membership or status, as at Element. (There would also be lounge access as a separate benefit, as at Westin).

However, with 7,000 Marriott Bonvoy hotels, almost none of which are owned by Marriott and almost all of which are operating under franchise contracts that pre-date the merger, it's not surprising that breakfast benefits are still more-or-less what they were before the merger (with some improvement at a few brands).


2. Failure of some properties to provide what the Terms & Conditions promise.

When the Terms & Conditions call for "breakfast in the restaurant" at a full-service brand, a breakfast consisting of just a muffin, coffee, and juice is a failure. Vouchers for $10 per day for member + 1, when breakfast actually costs two or three times that amount, is a failure. When a Courtyard in Canada that is supposed to provide vouchers equivalent to $10 USD only provides vouchers for $10 CAD, that's a failure too. Somehow, there are some hotels continue to get away with it, while Marriott looks the other way.

This is inexcusable. It's bad business because it tells Elite members that Marriott says one thing, but does another. It's an insult to Elite members. And it's an insult to all the hotels that do a good job providing the published benefits.

Marriott should enforce Platinum breakfast standards for each brand, with encouragement to add something local or regional at breakfast that goes beyond the minimum.


3. No effective way for members to deal with failures.

As has been asked in this thread, how does one successfully request $100 compensation when a hotel says the breakfast is not a Platinum Elite benefit (at a brand where it is)? When an agent at Marriott Bonvoy Guest Services has never been trained on the Terms & Conditions and assumes the hotel is always right and the guest is always wrong, how does a guest get a failure corrected?


Of these three issues, the complexity is the one we have to live with. It is what it is. But Marriott can fix the other two — if it want wants to.

Bravada04

kaizen7

Its interesting that Marriott consider its acceptable that their own elites have to ask/beg/more beg the hotel for a benefit that was advertised.

Yet these benefit are given without issue to people who book through other channel (FHR, Virtuoso, etc)
I believe FHR/Virtuoso booking breakfast benefit is not $10 voucher ... or some pastry and juice.
And some hotel even add extra f&b credit too.

Kacee

At most properties it's full breakfast plus $100 credit.

You can still get Marriott credit so long as you don't opt for the 5x points prepaid.

In many cases, better benefits than what Marriott status gives.

Mr. Vker

Did you say ding dong? Marriott does all they can to write vague and easily to misinterpret clauses in their benefits (thinking of late checkout.) Its their MO.

GoldenItalianBoy

This experience is literally a shame and an outrage to loyal customers, and Corporate should investigate.

​​​Luckily, here in Europe I NEVER had such an experience, since - till today - I never found an hotel that doesn't offer real buffet breakfast to whom are entitled, including Plat (never heard of different and cheap alternatives).

I am just wondering why do they behave like that: do they prefer save 5 $ in food items and, at the same time, LOSE the guest forever?

HNLbasedFlyer

I think, in my opinion, you are seeing hotels waging a somewhat strike against Marriott corporate - there are certain hotels who clearly don't want guests out for free breakfasts nor want bookings on points - I suspect they want a better reimbursement policy. They are striking back hard and Marriott can't really do much about it else it loses the mgmt fees.

Hotels, like Airlines, are also practically printing money - they lose you forever, someone else takes your place.