GoldenItalianBoy

You are right.

But they must know that there is a huge amount of loyal guest who select a Bonvoy hotel as their first choice,when they are travelling, just because of the Fidelity program.

But again I am also shocked by the difference (for Elite Benefits, breakfast and recognition) among US properties and Eu/International ones.

To me, a MARRIOTT breakfast should be the same (at least the minimum standard) in Salzburg and in Orlando!

kaizen7

The bonvoy breakfast policy in asia seems to be quite consistent so far (at least on my stays)
the breakfast that comes with elite status or welcome amenity are always full buffet at the restaurant.

(Seems like the prince gallery tokyo might have change their policy lately though)

the brands i have stayed before are : st regis in osaka, singapore, bali, and tianjin, four points hakodate, westin singapore and jakarta, luxury collections uae, jakarta, bangkok, tokyo, and kyoto.

It should be easier if the breakfast for elites follows what hotel give to their paid guest
less headache for both elites and hotels alike

Antarius

the problem is, unless you're a marquee hotel, Marriott is why people stay there. If a Four Points isnt a four points, theres basically a zero percent chance I'm staying at a random hotel at that level. If the Cosmopolitan walks from the Marriott Autograph Collection, they'll have no problems, unlike the aforementioned.

so either take the risk, see if Hilton, IHG etc. Treat them better or deal with it. The problem is that Marriott has been too lenient with these properties, not that they're stick wielding overlords with zero flexibility.

Points Scrounger

4P has been notoriously bad about breakfast, even under SPG. I had a stay booked as breakfast included, clerk politely said she saw no evidence of it, but when I showed her my reservation confirnation clearly mentioning the breakfast rate, she gave in. That was the full buffet.

However, Ambassador level who chose the "breakfast" over points were given something similar to OP - a set Continental meal of basically pastries, coffee and juice only.

C17PSGR

Agreed, in Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia, I have never had an issue with this.
At legacy JW/Marriott/Ren non-resort properties in North America it is almost never an issue.
At most legacy SPG properties in the US and Canada it is usually not an issue, although it varies widely, even among W's (SOBE W and Union Square W offer pastries, coffee, and juice, Miami and Scottsdale W offer a handful of choices that include proteins and hot choices)

The main issue is with resort properties. I find it particularly ludicrous that resort properties in Mexico and Central America are cheating since the marginal cost of having a Plat/Titanium/Ambassador member eating at the buffet is far less than $5. From reading property reviews, it almost seems like the properties in Mexico have all gotten together and decided to cheat on the breakfast benefit. For those of you who follow corporate performance, Mexico one of the only regions where Marriott stays are declining. Perhaps they are doing this in as a cost cutting measure in response to declining stays but don't realize they are actually hurting their business by driving away loyal customers. It also appears that several Kessler properties in the US, which are generally very nice, have decided to cheat.

But, as the OP for this thread, it actually seems like the vast majority of full service properties outside of Mexico and Kessler Collection are complying.

Issues with CY and AC properties are for a different thread.

kaizen7

Antarius

Lost among the spg-good/marriott-bad that shows up daily on FT is that spg had aimless brands like Sheraton and the associated 4P. While the international properties were great, domestic US Sheratons could range from excellent to worse than a Days Inn.

jaejaez

I know I generalize, but in my experience the non-full-service hotels (those below Sheraton - Marriott - Le Meridien level such as AC Hotels, Courtyards, Four Points etc) are more often the ones that try to bend rules to minimize their due responsibilities to elites, not just with breakfast but in general.

This is why when times call for me to stay in these 'economy' hotels, I am less inclined to be loyal to Marriott. For full service hotels, I tend to stay more loyal, given I have higher confidence that they will provide what is due.

If Marriott wants my business in its lower tier brands, they will have to bring some consistency and discipline in how they treat elites.

Kacee

I've never had an issue at Springhill Suites . . . they execute with extreme consistency.

By contrast, many of the most egregious violations have been at full service resort properties, including Wailea beach resort and numerous Mexico beach resorts.

TRANSWORLDMARINE

Pastry,yogurt with cereal(nasty) small Juice (canned) and Coffee.

aaupgrade

IME, having just settled my bill for a 5 nights stay I would TECHNICALLY say they are in non-compliance, but it's because they went above and beyond. In addition to the continental breakfast buffet I ordered a ham and cheese omelette 4 of the 5 mornings I was here and was not charged any additional amount. From previous reports I expected 11€ daily upcharge, but was pleasantly surprised when there was none. It is very nice that they went above and beyond.

Alex_I

I would have to say that 4P I mentioned earlier was a freshly rebranded Hawthorn Suites I think they have started under 4P brands sometimes in 2019. So it was up to Bonvoy to train and instruct hotel properly. Certainly, SPG had some mediocre 4Ps in USA but in many cases those were "probation" hotels about to be kicked out of the SPG brands.

Antarius

I cannot speak to the specifics of this 4P, but IMO, the bold is revisionist history. I would argue that a large chunk of domestic 4P and Sheratons were technically out of compliance and were for years. SPG never did a thing.

When I switched (pre-merger due to footprint) from SPG 100+ night/ambassador to both SPG and Marriott, the first think I noticed is that CYs were more consistent. Consistently s***ty with benefits, yes, but top to bottom, far more consistent than 4P/Sheratons, some of which were excellent and some that reminded me of The Shining.

Meanwhile, I stay at the 4P in BOG for 35000 points for 5 nights and get free breakfast and drinks in the lounge and bar.

longtimereader firstimeposter

Interesting read on the breakfast benefit. It looks like Marriott reimburses hotels $7 for plats+ who select the breakfast benefit:

https://onemileatatime.com/marriott-bonvoy-hotel-owner/

C17PSGR

Interesting article, although not sure why he uses the term " continental breakfast" since that's not the program benefit.

The biggest violators on the benefit are clearly the Kessler Collection and Mexican resorts. For the Mexican resorts, I'm confident they are making a profit if they provide plats access to their buffets as the marginal cost is certainly less than $7. It's probably a loss at the Kessler properties but their room rates justify it since they are usually at the top of the local markets price wise relative to their peers.