Marriott Bonvoy Exclusion for stays booked by corporate travel agencies
 

With the recent launch of the new combined Bonvoy rewards program, I had noted what I believe is a very problematic feature for many business travelers as it relates to bookings made through corporate travel agencies. I inquired and received the following reply:

When a stay is booked through anyone other than the hotel or Marriott International itself, the room is not eligible for points or airline credit. No Elite night credit is earned for rooms booked this way.

I would dare say that for many corporate business travelers, we are forced to use company sponsored travel agencies (AMEX, Carlson Waggonlit etc). Booking directly online directly through Marriott is simply not an option. Is anyone else seeing the same restriction? If so I am utterly astounded they would make such a restriction given the implications for so many travelers, many of whom likely are the frequent traveler you think they most look to attract.

No. Sorry, this is neither new nor correct. Only bookings directly with Marriott online or over the phone are eligible for stay credit. WITH THE EXCEPTION of corporate bookings and AMEX plus a few select others. There is absolutely no change with the new program and so far I have received the same points/stay credit as I always have. Not even Marriott would be insane enough to exclude corporate travel bookings ...

Not exactly. No changes but should be WITH THE EXCEPTION of SOME corporate bookings ....

There is lots of discussion on here regarding Concur bookings, some of which earn credit and some of which do not, depending on how your company travel department has configured your program. For example, I understand generally a company can set up the corporate travel portal to book hotels through hotels.com in which case you would not earn.

This is not a Marriott thing ... its a corporate travel department thing.

corporate rates that exclude earning points/stay credit are exceedingly rare. Yes, they do exist ... slightly more than unicorns, but not by much.

The major players are all fine. But more importantly, there is zero change with the new program ... all the same as usual.

And as you noted, this is not Marriott specific either ... Hilton, IHG ... same problem.

Not necessarily lower.
If I pick the $209 "tripsource" rate, I don't earn any Marriott Rewards (I'm not saying the "B" word) points.
If I pick the $209 non-"tripsource" rate, I do earn Marriott Rewards points.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a0b8c24d9d.png

Don't blame your TA or its compliance software such as Concur. Blame your employer. As a growing number of businesses trade lower rates for benefits, those are reflected in the TA's bookings. If you find a "no benefits" rate through your corporate TA it's a matter to address with your employer. Or not, as you choose.

If you look carefully, the tripsource rates have "Booking.com" in the description. These rates don't earn nights/points.

The first 3 rates have "(Sabre)" in the description. Any rate booked via a GDS system (Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport etc.) will earn nights/points. For AMEX FHR, all their rates are GDS rates.

There have been quite a few issues with Concur lately. My colleague's and I have noticed that nearly all rates have a "Tripsource" designation and several have been told by properties their rates don't qualify for points/stays. Tripsource seems to have come out of nowhere, perhaps in the past it was only on a few rates.

What I don't understand is that these Tripsource designated rates sometimes have a free breakfast but the rate itself is higher than booking directly through Marriott.

Does anyone know if Tripsource designations through Concur are exempt from stays/points?

Not getting point/night credit for stays [booked thru BCD] anymore
 

Hello-

I have been with my company for 5 years and have always used the same service to book my travel (BCD). Up to this point all stays would credit to my account, but the last two have not. I filed a missing stay request and it was denied claiming no credit because I booked via a 3rd party (I know that is in the T&Cs but have had no such issue until this month). Coincidentally both properties were AC Hotels.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a way to get credit for these stays? Or is this the new norm for Marriott that I will have to deal with? How about in the future..would it help to make sure it is my address on the final bill?

To make matters worse---I am taking advantage of the double elite night credit promo---so this is costing me double!

Thanks for the help.

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