I had both an award and non-refundable paid reservation for the St. Regis Aspen for next week. The hotel reservationist was able to cancel them both without penalty. Stated they just received an email with updated guidance thus might be worthwhile to try call hotel directly.

GOOD CATCH.. I just assumed that was the regular legal mumbo jumbo about special room blocks and events/concerts rates

I called my Springhill Suites hotel directly a few minutes ago (stated the new Marriott COVID-19 policy) and was able to get a 100% refund on a pre-payed room that normally would not be allowed to be cancelled.

Mixed messages from Marriott
 

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Mixed messages from Marriott
 

I have a prepaid reservation at a Munich property 2-8 May for a now-postponed-until-September trade show. I called Marriott to cancel and the first person told me that I could not cancel this reservation and get refunded because my reservation was in May, outside the April 30 window. I did a HUACA and the second person set up a case and the hotel itself is to respond to me in 3-5 business days. No guarantee, apparently, that I will get the refund. The second person parroted what the first person said and read exactly the wording as I've pasted below. The release, to me, says I can get a refund if I ask for it before 30 April. There is nothing that says the reservation itself has to be within the 30 April timeframe. Other than the other weasel language in the press release, the highlighted portion below seems very clear but Marriott appears to be interpreting it differently than I am.https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d523220f35.jpg

I’m on my way to seek refuge refuge in Oman, and burned a ton of points at the W while I figure out my living options. The entire Gulf region is deeply affected by the current environment with empty hotels, and after my conversations with the W to finagle anything to sweeten the pot, what did I get?

Absolute. ZERO.

[Before I get ripped here by anyone with DYKWIA or entitlement claims, I want to say that I’m merely trying to negotiate with an otherwise empty hotel by giving them business and trying to make things work.]

The W wouldn’t offer F&B credit, laundry, transportation or anything - and they’re still charging over 300 USD a night despite availability in every room type for a two-week stay.

I say this in the best possible way, but scr_w Marriott. It’s amazing to see such obstinate ignorance in the face of this global situation, and no willingness or leadership from the top to take care of its guests. My partner and I both decided to burn through as many points as possible and just wash our hands of Marriott. Time to stay local and take care of oneself.

khabah

If you were looking to stay using points, then effectively hadn’t your rate already been set and negotiated?

Off topic albeit slightly related, how much does Marriott compensate a property when using points, is their a rough figure or guide?

Yep - about a quarter million points for an eight-night stay. Hooray. I’m complaining about the hotels’ lack of flexibility when faced with a glut of availability and no willingness to do anything to entice business. Clearly charging a premium = prestige.

khabah

Someone upthread suggested that the reason prices aren't falling is because those who are traveling now are the ones who MUST and therefore aren't price-sensitive. I think there's something to that. A couple of months ago I'd called several airport hotels looking for about 25 rooms for a group of colleagues and wound up booking for something like $160. This past week I got two messages from Marriott hotels (the ones I'd declined when I chose elsewhere) telling me about the very special low rates they could offer! Both were over $100 more per night than what I'd booked weeks prior. As it happens, my company has already canceled the meeting so we don't need the rooms anyway. But when I first heard the message, I assumed they were going to give rock-bottom rates and was surprised at how much more it was than similar hotels elsewhere.

So in your situation, I understand trying to negotiate some better rate given low occupancy, but the hotels just don't seem to be playing ball at all here. I guess time will tell if they're pursuing the right strategy.

CEO Email - COVID-19
 

Email from Arne today:

Dear Chewie,

For more than 90 years, Marriott has lived by a core value established by our founder, JW Marriott, Sr., to "take care of our guests and associates." This enduring value guides us as we face the difficult challenge of responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19), which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on Wednesday.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to the people who have been affected by this unprecedented event and we appreciate the healthcare workers, local communities, and governments around the world who are on the front line working to contain this coronavirus. Please know that we are vigilantly monitoring the COVID-19 situation around the clock and have precautions in place to ensure a healthy stay at any of our hotels across the globe.

In this climate, we know travel may not be your first thought, but I want you to know the safety of our guests and associates is our top priority. I want to thank you in advance for putting your trust in Marriott as you plan for future travels. Below is an update on what we are doing, keeping your safety top of mind.

When You Book

You should have confidence when you book a stay at any of our hotels across the globe that we are doing everything we can to have accommodations ready for you. We are closely monitoring the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health agencies for the latest developments related to COVID-19 and following the guidance of government and public health officials. We are reinforcing these agencies' recommendations on the appropriate health and safety measures with our own hotel management teams and the hotel operators in our portfolio.

Before Your Stay

Given the impact of COVID-19 on how we work, socialize and travel, we have been adapting our cancellation policy over the past several weeks to the evolving nature of this epidemic. Today, we are updating our policy to provide our customers the most flexibility we can offer during these challenging times. Generally speaking, for guests with existing individual reservations, including reservations with pre-paid rates that are typically more restrictive, we will allow changes or cancellation without a charge up to 24 hours prior to arrival as long as the change or cancellation is made by April 30, 2020. For guests making new individual reservations between today and April 30, 2020, we will allow those reservations to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before a guest's scheduled arrival date. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information and for additional details about availability and exclusions.

During Your Stay

We recognize that the COVID-19 virus has required all of us to be more mindful as we go through our regular activities. Daily, our hotels around the world are working to ensure that they meet the latest guidance from the CDC and WHO on hygiene and cleaning. Our hotels' health and safety measures are designed to address a broad spectrum of viruses, including COVID-19, and cover everything from handwashing hygiene and cleaning product specifications to guest room and common area cleaning procedures. Specific steps we are taking as a company can be found on our website.

For Our Marriott Bonvoy Members

We are focused on how the coronavirus is impacting our Marriott Bonvoy Members and have made some important updates to our loyalty program to provide greater flexibility when planning future travel. Specifically, we have paused points expiration until August 31, 2020 allowing Members ample time to redeem their points. In addition, we have extended the expiration of suite night awards (SNAs) with an expiration date of December 31, 2020 by one year to December 31, 2021.

Lastly, Members who currently have an active Free Night Award (FNA) expiring in 2020 as part of their credit card benefit, annual choice benefit, promotions or travel package will be able to use it through January 31, 2021.

We understand that earning status for 2021 may also be on your mind. As the current situation is still evolving, it is too early for us to make any changes. We will keep you updated on all loyalty program changes through our Marriott Bonvoy member benefits website.

We recognize that these are unsettling times and whether you are traveling now or in the future, we want you to know that your safety and wellbeing are our first priority.

Whenever you travel, we are waiting with open doors and open hearts to serve you.

Arne Sorenson

President and CEO, Marriott International

Pathetic and too late.

What are the "heavy costs" of Elites to Marriott? (genuinely curious by what you mean by that..)

I do appreciate that they're extending free night certificates* and SNAs by a year. (Not reflected in my account yet, but I suspect that there's probably higher priorities for them right now)

* edit - FN certs extend until Jan 31, 2021; SNAs extend a whole year

Just canceled a Marriott reservation for tomorrow night, so covered by the new waiver. The very helpful agent advised me to watch my credit card statement because "the system may not have caught up with the waiver policy yet." "Don't worry" she added, "if you get charged a cancel fee, just call and we'll open a case for you." I found that strangely not reassuring.

With this news, do we just cancel what we need through the app and the card used to pay will be refunded? Or would I need to still contact the property directly?
thanks !