swintec

Hopefully going forward they make this tier similar to how they used to do the old Plat. premier tier. No set criteria, maybe top X% of members etc. The invitation process is interesting though and would seem to be ripe for abuse if someone on the inside starts selling referrals on ebay or DYKWIA badgering hotel employees for referrals.

I cant say I would care much to be dining with hotel GM or ship captain but to each their own.

OldSchoolConsultant

Everything apart from the top tier room upgrade and lounge access at the RC is not appreciated.

I had secret VIP status on Starwood one year and as soon as I got up to the room the "personalized note from the GM" went right into the trash without even opening it and the complimentary fruit basket and bottle of wine went out on the hall floor (I was keto dieting at the time and don't drink wine).

The absolute last thing I want to do after a long day at the client site on the road away from home is meet the GM at the hotel bar. Hard pass.

Dr. HFH

And the hotel was supposed to know that?


Many GMs are pleasant and interesting people who have lived in a number of countries and thus have interesting perspectives on a wide variety of topics. Personally, I enjoy my chats with hotel management, and not limited to the GM.

khabah

OldSchoolConsultant

My point was that personalized notes from the GM, trinkets, and meet and greets with hotel management are not a major perk for most business travelers. Maybe it's a nice touch the very first time you stay at that hotel, but when you stay at the same hotels over and over it loses it's luster quickly. I'll take tangible stuff like more points and room upgrades any day.

WillBarrett_68

I don't think he was expecting the hotel to know that. The point was almost precisely the opposite, the hotel's attempt to personalize the stay failed miserably because they just assumed everyone likes fruit and wine.

bhrubin

Some of the complaints herein make it quite clear why Arne said some are just noise around the fringe. I actually think he may have been quite generous to only consider it noise. Cacophony seems a bit more appropriate for some.

As @khabah put it quite succinctly, some herein are never to be satisfied. Here's hoping those move quickly to Hyatt so they can better spend their time complaining about the immense breadth of the Hyatt portfolio or about how those Globalist concierges aren't all they're cracked up to be, either. Or they can move to Hilton, IHG, or Accor so we all really can laugh.

Cobalt is just another mechanism for Marriott to invite those who might not stay as many nights or spend as much but might have outsize influence or connections otherwise. Marriott already has in its terms the ability to invite anyone it chooses to Ambassador status, so this is just an obvious business corollary to that.

Not really big news. Unless one is bitter about not having the shiny new object that just hit the headlines.

Cobalt really doesn't offer much more than Ambassador unless you're staying at Ritz-Carlton (since Club access is of value to many), unless you enjoy meeting hotel GMs (I can't imagine that's going to be worthwhile for any but the first stay for most, anyway), or unless you enjoy a local F&B experience that doesn't sound like it's going to be particularly significant (and which I can't imagine most will want to enjoy more than once again!).

A lot of getting worked up for nothing to me.

Dr. HFH

I expect that fruit and wine is a standard gift. I don't expect a hotel to know that I don't eat candy, or that I drink very little. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the gesture of a gift of chocolate and/or wine. For me, it's the thought, the gesture, not the actual gift, that matters.

EuropeanPete

I always enjoy a little gift and a message from the GM, but after being given about 30 bottles of beer last year I wish there was some way of making Marriott remember that I don't drink beer. You'd think this might be a suitable use-case for their CRM system.

ajamieson

Point missed here. Surely getting access to the GM or their office is more about making sure specific preferences and requests can be dealt with more effectively, or fixing any issues. Marriott handles customer complaints terribly; having the attention of the right person in the first place would be useful to many road warriors.

BTW, Platinums used to get those welcome messages in most SPG hotels. You probably weren't a secret VIP

Dr. HFH

A job for your Ambassador!

UA-NYC

Wow - I love craft beer (and I think I noted that in my profile) but have only received them once...way too many bottles of wine to count though (which I'm less interested in)

kaizen7

As @bhrubin mentioned above, the Cobalt tier most likely aimed at people who have influence to direct business to the hotel.

And to have these people meet up with hotels GM is a best way to build networks, influence their decision, and hear their concerns.

For a normal business travelers and holidaying tourists, meeting with the GM might just end up wasting both parties time.

escape4

Same here. If I had RC club access when others don't (keeping exclusivity intact), my RC stays would go increase very materially.

acrophobia