swag

That also assumes you're actually present in the room. Often when I request a late checkout, I may be at lunch or out somewhere, planning to return to clean up and finish packing. I'd hate to get back to the room and find they've cleared out my belongings.

genotonda

And that's what credit card charge disputes are for. I'd think that would be a pretty easy win when, IF you had to prove to the CC company that you were in the right, you could simply provide your status and a copy of the T&Cs that explicitly show you are guaranteed that benefit. Again, as long as the property truly wasn't on the exemption list. Credit card disputes are, thankfully, very consumer friendly.

genotonda

Correct. And I did think about that scenario when I was posting that. Although, unless you needed the room to shower in, the room was basically being used to store belongings, which if they had them packed up for you, isn't a total loss. I guess the other side of the coin is, say you were back at the room at like 2pm, and wanted to rest for the last 2 hours, but couldn't, because they cleared you out. It would have to take a ballsy property to do that. Chances are housekeeping could keep themselves busy for 3-4 hours, cleaning other rooms, until 4pm.

voweffekt

So I got 2 emails today for an upcoming reservation in SLC. The first was a cancelation email the second was a confirmation. I had booked a room with two queens that was canceled and moved to a king only.
I called into the Marriott line and asked to have it switched back. I was told that room types are not guaranteed. I said as a titanium member, I believe that is a benefit. I quoted...
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/mem...s/guarantee.mi
"When making a reservation, be sure to note your Member number and room/bed preferences. We’ll always honor your bed type request at our locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Everywhere else, smoking/non-smoking preferences are honored based on availability; exact bed sizes may vary, and only Titanium Elite members will have guaranteed priority for their requested type of bed and room. If a guarantee is not met, guest compensation applies."

The CSR said that because I booked with points, the benefits do not apply. I asked where this was in the policy ad she didn't know but was sure that room-type benefits are not guaranteed when booking with points.
That's new to me. Does anyone have any confirmation of this? V

EuropeanPete

They're making it up as they go along again.

margarita girl

That was the case with legacy Starwood. Not sure what the Marriott rules are.

Maybe one of the Lurkers can confirm.

s0ssos

Do you mean BS? Bonvoy Service

margarita girl

Customer Service.

cfischer

they are making up stuff. Bed type is guaranteed ... paid or points.

SEA777GUY

Stayed at the Sheraton Four Seasons in Greensboro, NC. Agent at check-in did not follow any Elite Welcome or offer any property info. I will normally let this slide, but his attitude is what swayed my decision. I spoke to the FD manager and had to educate him about the Elite welcome guarantee. He said he would look into it and get back to me. An hour later he called me and said that he is flatly refusing to pay any compensation and didn't care about the policy. Follow up with Marriott CS and they were told that I was upset about no suites being available and was trying to invoke the guaranteed room type compensation. Not The case at all! CS rep was really not clear on the Elite welcome guarantee, but advised that they would start an investigation. If approved I will receive 15K points and a check will be mailed. Still no response from Marriott and it's been over 2 weeks. Not sure how to handle this at this point.

C17PSGR

I haven't had the situation happen lately other than in the bed type context and it has been resolved at the desk. But, when I read these threads, I wonder how to prove the situation when it isn't resolved. I think the best thing to do is to engage in chat with the hotel and screenshot it.

MePlatPremier

The welcome amenity guarantee is not there for some gotcha opportunity so that if a few magical, sacramental words aren’t pronounced at check-in a $100 check is due. It is there so that guests actually receive a welcome amenity during their stay (which, btw, is paid for by Marriott). If the guest didn’t receive an amenity, later complained about it midstay and then was offered a choice and picked one, then the guarantee is not actionable. Btw, don’t know if that was the case, but checking-in online on the app sets the amenity choice by default to points and frees the property from having to offer a choice of amenity when the physical check-in takes place. It is then incumbent on the guest to bring that up and say s/he doesn’t want points and pick some other amenity.

rny321

From the Terms and Conditions: "If the Elite Welcome Gift is not offered at time of arrival, compensation applies (see below)." Some Marriott policies aren't clearly written. In contrast, this one leaves no doubt about when it needs to be offered. Based on the unambiguous language, it isn't unreasonable to assume that Marriott wants its hotels to offer the appropriate benefits to all who are entitled to them and not just those who complain and provide a copy of the company's Elite benefits policy.

Whenever the front desk fails to offer me a welcome gift, I just remind them that it could have cost them a cash penalty and if I have a reasonable special request I might mention that at the same time.

cfischer

Hope you get it. I have had plenty of issues myself recently. Probably 1/2 the time welcome bonus does not credit at all. When I asked about it recently the agent said he 'tried' but the system would not let him add it. What b.s. ... apparently Marriott no longer cares about any of their so-called guarantees, it has been a race to the bottom. With Marriott prior to the merger there was was pressure because of the comp that was due, that seems to be no longer true. It is sad how customer service races from one low to another, this used to be much better.

myperks