CCIE_Flyer

I don't normally post articles but I think the rules are that a brief synopsis can be posted. As the title suggests, there's an interesting blip on Bloomberg today suggesting that Marriott missteps have at least in part driven a 14M increase in HHonors enrollments in 2018. Are you among them?

Cledaybuck

SHLTP

I still have not had a paid stay since early October at Marriott as I am boycotting until Marriott fixes IT and CS issues. I have stayed almost 30 nights on points and have another 8 coming up as I am burning points as much as possible but have remained frustrated.

I have seen some improvement in IT so might dip my toe into paying again.

But I can't imagine being loyal to Marriott like I was (perhaps crazily) to Starwood.

I actually deleted the SPG app last month because I kept longingly looking at it like one looks at social media of an old flame. Better to delete and get over it.

In meantime, I have set up a Hilton acct and had nice Conrad stays in Singapore and Ft Lauderdale. I might try HK in 3 weeks.

I also just opened Hyatt and Radisson accounts (chose 6 nights at Radisson Blu Cape Town and happily paid for breakfast and upgraded room over cheaper Marriott options). I also closed my SPG Luxury Amex card.

Marriott needs to get a significant portion of its members like me are fairly price inelastic- I am driven by recognition and value more than price.

I am a lifetime tit and early 40s. 99% of stays out of my own pocket. I expect another 30-40 years of active travel.

Marriott doesn't seem to get what makes me tick

CCIE_Flyer

Point taken. I personally have had an HHonors account for probably 25 years, although I've not been drive to stay with them because of recent woes. Having said that, if Marriott doesn't soon fix the "standard room" award booking issue (de facto blackout end-around), I've very likely to shift my stay pattern soon. Whether or not it will be to Hilton or another brand remains to be seen...

3Cforme

How many members did HHonors add in 2016 and 2017? We don't know the growth is outsized.

Star_Guy

tfong007

arlflyer

Fourteen million new accounts on margin (or absolute for that matter)? OK, this does not pass the smell test for me.

Handcake

I have an HH account. Gold status through my AMEX. I have yet to stay at a Hilton property in all the years I have had been traveling.

I do all my travel in Asia. Marriott is fine. Waiting for nights to be posted and points to be added up properly is the thing that is frustrating me the most as it is a relatively new thing, I am willing to wait.
@SHLTP I agree with you about recognition. It really pisses me off when I check in and I am not thanked for my loyalty. I will always complain if this happens, and usually I am compensated in some way. Part of that I think is franchises not having properly trained people.

allset2travel

Tried to make a booking, but the web site kept on giving me this :

"Server is being stubborn, please try again later". I booked 3 night with Hilton instead.

born sleepy

Wait'll you find out that Hilton Diamond is essentially worthless...

RafKa

I was previously so loyal to SPG I never even bothered setting up an account with Hilton, Hyatt or IHG.

A botched merger later, and I status matched to HHonors Diamond and have moved 95% of my stays since the merger to HHonors and Accor. Currently burning my last MR points before deciding what to do with Bonvoy after Q2. Having LTTE made me more prone to look elsewhere...

Schweden

Haven't stayed at a Marriott in 6 months shortly after the merging of the programs. Maybe the triggering point for me was cutting free breakfast for Amex Plat when Hilton and Shangri-La offer it. For many of us that pay for our own travel and don't travel every week of the year, Hilton can offer a more generous loyalty program. I stay at a mix of lower end/mid end hotels, but I usually redeem my points for the lower category hotels for outsized value. While Marriott used to offer a much better redemption value with the category 1/2 hotels compared to Hilton's variable pricing, the increase in redemption costs coupled with the SPG card earning devaluation has narrowed the gap. With constant Hilton promos like the Points Unlimited promo where you can earn at least 4k points per night if you do one night stays, Hilton Honors can get me a free night at the HGI in Singapore for the equivalent of as little as 3 nights at different Hampton Inns. And as a one-night road warrior when I do travel, Diamond status at 30 stays per year is much easier to reach than Platinum at 50 nights.

It seems to me that Marriott is trying to move more upmarket with steps such as cutting benefits for lower tier members and making it harder to get lower tier redemptions. As someone who only spends maybe $3-5k a year on hotels, I'm probably not the clientele they need to keep around. While more power to them for heavily focusing on the big spenders, one just has to question how premium you can be when you're the world's largest hotel chain by number of rooms.

Isochronous

You sound very lucky - most people have difficulty getting Marriott to respond to any communication at all, let alone in a positive way.

craigthemif

14m new Honors accounts that were opened by mistake for new credit card applications (come on down... everybody can be Diamond), and then merged into existing members' accounts...