Not sure if this has been asked, but do you think undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a bonvoy property would earn points and/or lifetime nights?

No matter what we're getting all our points! 🤣

You need to provide more specific details behind your question because it will depend on the country and the nature of how you are billeted into the hotel.

Upthread, you will read my post about undergoing mandatory 14-days quarantine at Ovolo Southside (a Design Hotel) in Hong Kong which absolutely got me points and 14 nights as normal as well as all the other benefits Ovolo gives its guests (breakfast, replenished mini bar daily, evening happy hour all left outside my door by unseen angels). I had planned it this way before I arrived in HK knowing that I would have to do 14 nights somewhere. I called a few Bonvoy hotels beforehand and they were all prepared for guests doing quarantine so I chose the one that would treat me the best which was Ovolo.

You will also read of a furious, outraged, Bonvoy member who was billeted by the Chinese immigration officials (or whoever it is who manages mandatory quarantine in the mainland) to a Bonvoy brand hotel in... I think it was either Beijing or Shanghai... I cannot remember which... for a fixed daily fee and was explicitly told they didn't qualify for anything from Bonvoy. Their howls of indignation echoed around Asia and Flyertalk forums. In this scenario, the Chinese officials had taken over the hotel property and managed the quarantine guests charging them a fixed fee for room and board so the guest had no relationship with the hotel's actual management (you could view this as a third-party booking which would also accrue no points, nights or benefits but it was an even more distant relationship between guest and Bonvoy than that). I would expect this second scenario to be the case at the Sheraton Grand in Macau, for example, which is also being used by the officials as a quarantine facility.

So, give more details about the specific scenario you are thinking about: the country, whether you make the reservation yourself in advance, whether you are billeted there by quarantine officials.

I had a booking at a Marriott property where it appears that the hotel is either closed or has zeroed out their inventory for all of April and May. I booked it through a large well known OTA because they somehow had a really low prepaid rate that I couldn't find anywhere else. Fast forward to the COVID-19 crisis, and I'm still sitting on this reservation that I won't be able to use since the purpose of the stay was cancelled (cancelled event). OTA is unreachable, because of high call volume, and did not respond to my attempts to contact them on social media.

Today, Marriott sent me an email saying that my reservation was cancelled. Seeing as how the inventory has been zeroed out for all of April and May (my reservation was in May), it looks like Marriott (the property) initiated the cancellation, and not the OTA. (I reached out to Bonvoy on Twitter to ask who initiated the cancellation, and received two non-answers) Since I can't reach the OTA, do I dispute the charge at this point?

I cancelled a cheap one-night prepaid reservation at LHR Ren. Refund was on my card within 3 days.
Conversely, I had an LH ticket that had to be refunded as they cancelled the flights. This was 16 days ago, and still no credit on the card.

Looking like YMMV among all vendors / industries.

If you can't reach the merchant, I'd suggest doing a credit card chargeback while you're still in the window to do it

PP/TIT for ten years... still waiting. Best you will get is a hotel with a Japanese toilet.

wait 7 days and if no refund than you can dispute IMO.

I’m seriously unimpressed as well. Just got an email from Renaissance Bali saying it will now take up to 90 days. So I guess they’re looking at this as an interest free loan ...

I wish the best for your situation, Hanna.

Very good point.

Can someone help me understand the current cancellation policy for reservations made between now and April 30, 2020? Based on what I have read on Marriott's website, any new reservation, including prepaid ones, made can be cancelled up until 24 hours prior to arrival. Does the same apply to award reservations (using certs or points)? I did notice some fine prints excluding special events restrictions and peak demands weeks. How are "peak demands" determined? TIA.

LAX

[QUOTE=LAX;32290536]Can someone help me understand the current cancellation policy for reservations made between now and April 30, 2020? Based on what I have read on Marriott's website, any new reservation, including prepaid ones, made can be cancelled up until 24 hours prior to arrival. Does the same apply to award reservations (using certs or points)?

Yes.

Please refer to the property’s Rate Details for applicable terms or exceptions, if any, when booking or changing reservations. You may also call customer support to check if your reservation is booked at a Special Event or Peak Demand Rate.

Best Regards,

Christina Z
Specialist, Social Media
Marriott International

Thanks. I will email the property to inquire about "peak demand."

LAX

Is Marriott Actually Waiving Change and Cancellation Fees for COVID-19?
 

Marriott is waiving change and cancellation fees for existing and new reservations up to 06/30/2020. Yet, it appears Marriott has included a blanket exclusion which allows any property to deny a change or cancellation without penalty if not permitted by the Rate Details:

(emphasis added)

For existing reservations, a property could deny a change or cancellation without penalty if the Rate Details are not updated to reflect this Cancellation Policy. There is already one report on this forum of a property in Greece using the blanket exclusion to deny a cancellation without penalty.

For new reservations, there are properties which offer no prepaid rates or prepaid rates with Rate Details updated to reflect this Cancellation Policy. There are also properties which continue to offer prepaid rates with Rate Details to permit cancellation without penalty only up to 24 hours after booking.

While I am aware I can book a flexible rate, there is no blanket exclusion found in the COVID-19 Cancellation Policy for Hilton, Hyatt, or Wyndham for existing or new reservations.

This is not to criticize, as my sincere thoughts and condolences are with everyone affected by COVID-19 including employees and franchisees. This is to warn, as I would not expect a change or cancellation without penalty with Marriott outside of the Rate Details.

The way I read that exception is that the properties can still have whatever cancellation policy they want, and if something other than 24 hour cancellation shows up in your confirmation, you can be held to that cancellation policy. I noted many ski resorts and other peak vacation spots still had 14-60 day cancellations for next year.

I guess there is some benefit to booking prepaid rates that now have the 24 hour cancellation, but for the most part I've just seen properties with already short cancellation periods shorten them a little bit more to 24 hours. The best were some properties that have always had a 14 day cancellation policy in the past move down to 24 hours. I noticed this for some dates at the SR Punta Mita, SR Bal Harbour and some of the Ritz resorts.

I called to specifically ask about ski resorts cancellation policies, noting that 45 to 60 days is not very helpful if there is a flare up of the virus next Winter, and was told that I should look at whatever the rate details say.

I think Marriott has been pretty fair, but the flexible cancellation policy for future reservations is not an area where they deserve much credit.

It's also worth noting that Marriott hotels are seemingly able to charge your card in advance, then take as long as they like to refund you...