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-   Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy-766/)
-   -   Say Hello to Marriott Bonvoy, launches Feb 13, 2019 (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/1951304-say-hello-marriott-bonvoy-launches-feb-13-2019-a.html)

ijgordon Jan 17, 2019 11:55 am

I imagine that for the foreseeable future, I'll still be referring to my "Marriott points" and my "Marriott Elite" status. I'm still kind of 50/50 on "Delta miles" vs. "Skymiles" and "Medallion" vs. "Elite."

It's never caused a problem. If you hate the name Bonvoy, don't use it.

That said, good luck asking someone at Penn Station for a ticket on the Metroliner. Certainly "Acela" sounded pretty dumb when that was launched.

Keyser Jan 17, 2019 11:55 am

i'm not crazy about the name & i was hoping they didn't use it but i guess it is what it is....lets get used to it now....

all their it issues aside, i'm happy with the program....as long as they don't change that i guess i am ok with bonvoy....

Dav77 Jan 17, 2019 12:13 pm

Just joined Marriot reward to try to keep distance with the French at Accor ...

Bonvoy ... 🤦.♂️ ...please help me !

xzh445 Jan 17, 2019 12:37 pm


Originally Posted by EricH (Post 30661641)
At a time like this I like to imagine the group of people sitting around a table and deciding "Okay, Bonvoy, that's the one!"

What were the other (worse?) options?

As Mrs XZH445 just said.... "Dunkin' was taken already":D

damon88 Jan 17, 2019 12:52 pm


Originally Posted by pvn (Post 30665731)
they were... already doing that

Not at the hotel level. I had over 150 bib nights last year and never once was my Ambassador status acknowledged at a hotel (One hotel recognized me as Plat Premier). (Not complaining about the treatment I received- wonderful upgrades, welcome gifts, etc) But after repeatedly being welcomed as a "valued Platinum guest" I began prompting out of curiosity if it showed that I was Platinum Premier or Ambassador and was uniformly met with confused looks and keyboard activity before acknowledging that "Platinum" was all they could see. (All but one of these hotels was Legacy SPG)

I am a leisure traveler, not business paying for my own stays. It takes significantly more effort to reach 75 or 100 nights and it feels correct for those to my separate status levels.

hawaiiansports Jan 17, 2019 12:56 pm

Bonvoy almost as bad as Tronc

TerryK Jan 17, 2019 1:55 pm

It is great to have a fresh name for combined program and new five tier system is an improvement over confusing PE/PPE/PPEA.^

Tanic Jan 17, 2019 2:10 pm


Originally Posted by CIT85 (Post 30666503)
I like that Starwood Lurkers are now the de facto representatives of Marriott Rewards/Bonvoy on FT. This is giving the new program a good kickstart here.

Yes, but where have the Marriott Concierges gone? It was never really the same after giving "Baghdad Bob" answers to questions about when EEOs would return. Still waiting...

C17PSGR Jan 17, 2019 4:02 pm


Originally Posted by Tanic (Post 30667684)
Yes, but where have the Marriott Concierges gone? It was never really the same after giving "Baghdad Bob" answers to questions about when EEOs would return. Still waiting...

Here's hoping for Bonvoy Lurkers!

Considering the investment in Twitter to communicate with guests who stay a couple of times a year, this is a far better investment of resources.

itsaboutthejourney Jan 17, 2019 4:09 pm


Originally Posted by C17PSGR (Post 30666510)
Any basis for that statement?

St. Regis Dubai
W Dubai Habtoor City
Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City
Parker Palm Springs
Hotel Des Indes
St. Regis Princeville
The Principal Madrid
Westin Sydney
The Westin-Vendome Paris
Prague Sheraton
W Las Vegas & SLS Las Vegas
W St. Petersburg
Edition Bangkok
Ritz-Carlton Battery Park

Sure you can spin that a bunch of tacky Courtyards, Moxy and Springhills are boosting Marriott's overall numbers, but the loss of the above higher profile properties is significant and not to be dismissed.

kaizen7 Jan 17, 2019 4:10 pm

Shouldnt a hotel supposedly welcoming people instead of wishing them goodbye like bon voyage? :confused:

C17PSGR Jan 17, 2019 5:31 pm


Originally Posted by itsaboutthejourney (Post 30668115)
St. Regis Dubai
W Dubai Habtoor City
Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City
Parker Palm Springs
Hotel Des Indes
St. Regis Princeville
The Principal Madrid
Westin Sydney
The Westin-Vendome Paris
Prague Sheraton
W Las Vegas & SLS Las Vegas
W St. Petersburg
Edition Bangkok
Ritz-Carlton Battery Park

Sure you can spin that a bunch of tacky Courtyards, Moxy and Springhills are boosting Marriott's overall numbers, but the loss of the above higher profile properties is significant and not to be dismissed.

Hotels reflag all the time. There's nothing unusual about it and Marriott continues to sign agreements for the development of premium and luxury properties under all its brands.

There is plenty in the news about the Dubai properties. That obviously has nothing to do with the integration. A lot of ME properties (and airlines) are loosing millions and they wanted to avoid the franchise fees.

The St. Regis Princeville was bought by a different REIT and is shutting for several months while it is renovated.

The W/SLS Vegas has sold to different owners at least three times since it was built and has tried to do business under multiple names.

The RC Battery Park chose not to renovate to meet brand standards.

In the meantime, Marriott has opened dozens of new RC, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, W's alone all over the Middle East and China, as well as in Asia, Spain, Panama, Italy, France, and India. The JW Panama, the Solaz in Cabo, the Barcelona Edition ... and the list goes on.

I don't like the inconsistency and I realize some here have had problems in the integration but there is no objective basis to suggest that Marriott is (a) losing hotels at an unusual rate, (b) losing market share, or (c) facing an unusual drop in reservations. Frankly -- I'm a little surprised they didn't have a drop in reservations but the percentage of direct bookings from Marriott.com is actually up, compared to before the merger -- go figure.

shoodawg Jan 17, 2019 5:47 pm

I believe it's obvious that whoever is running the loyalty show at marriott couldn't care much less about legacy / long term starwood members. it's sort of like they've given us the finger. fortunately, we have other options.

itsaboutthejourney Jan 17, 2019 9:12 pm


Originally Posted by shoodawg (Post 30668463)
I believe it's obvious that whoever is running the loyalty show at marriott couldn't care much less about legacy / long term starwood members. it's sort of like they've given us the finger. fortunately, we have other options.

The irony is that the person running loyalty for Marriott was the #2 guy at SPG. He's a good guy, but I have a feeling he doesn't have control over things like IT and communication with members as part of Marriott's massive corporate structure. I put blame on the CEO Sorenson who clearly hasn't backed up his own words that loyalty is key to this merger. He miscalculated that retaining SPG members is as simple as restructuring the program to being closer to the SPG model, not taking into account the customer experience Starwood worked so hard to align between loyalty, IT/mobile, customer care, loyalty point persons at each property, etc.

stimpy Jan 17, 2019 11:37 pm


Originally Posted by itsaboutthejourney (Post 30669109)
The irony is that the person running loyalty for Marriott was the #2 guy at SPG. He's a good guy, but I have a feeling he doesn't have control over things like IT and communication with members as part of Marriott's massive corporate structure

Knowing how companies work at that level and having had pretty much the same experience, this is probably the correct explanation. And the blame does fall on the CEO. It leads to a lot of stress for the executives in charge, which may make them want to quit.


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