FlyingBeanCounter

I love flyertalk - the level of selfish people here is astounding. This whole thread is "what will marriott do for me??!!!". Let someone point out marriott doesnt have to do anything and the selfish people come out of the wood work to decry they very concept that their DYKWIA may not be recognized.

EDIT: This comment isn't aimed at you, just an observation.

As for your point about what will happen and how status will be affected - Its Marriott. Of course they will ignore a large number of people. next to UA this is the most tone deaf organization I have dealt with. They simply are incapable of figuring out and managing a situation like this without irritating people. Their inability to acknowledge loyalty is pretty well known and their tone deaf responses should surprise no one.

I really hope they find a balance that works for everyone. My prediction is:

1. The will extend status and ignore those that worked to get status in spite of the issues.
2. They will do nothing and effectively give those who supported them a leg up on those who could not travel.

I wouldn't mind a third option where they offer reduced rates to status (35 nights to platinum etc) and then provide point or certificate bonus nights over that for stays that exceed the reduced thresholds. They could then in theory satisfy both groups of people. But its Marriott - I just can't see this happening.

kaizen7

If Marriott did extending status for everyone, is just to prevent customers being poached by competitor.


As for people who still travel despite the situation (myself included although just local travels due to my work) Marriott could do double night or/and point promotion so they can get higher tier and extra 50 and 75 options if they are below ambassador.

For ambassadors then.bad luck unless marriott willing to gift 1 year cobalt for these

nmpls

Don't judge these people to quickly. Being concerned about little stuff is a way many people deal with big stuff.

Flying for Fun

I wasn't judging, just putting things into perspective and using a datapoint to support it. Perhaps some will recognize that. So, don't judge too quickly....

James

clarkef

Perhaps it's the lateness of the hours, but for the life of me I don't understand how this is selfish. Let's be honest, the relationship between Marriott and its guests is purely transactional. Marriott provides a service and I pay for it. Marriott doesn't love me, like me, or even hate me. It loves the money I spend there. Marriott is only concerned with what I do for it, i.e. spend money. If I don't have sufficient cash or points, Marriott isn't going to let me stay at a hotel. Conversely, in making my decision to stay at Marriott, instead of say Hilton, the analysis is purely what does Marriott do for me in comparison to what Hilton does. If we were to be honest, there is no other criteria. Even which Marriott to stay at is based on a cost/benefit analysis and only my costs and benefits are considered.

yorkboy24

I don’t think it’s the time to be thinking about such things right now. The virus is getting serious with many families losing loved ones and many people losing their jobs. Of course the issue of status extension needs to be tackled but right now, this shouldn’t be our priority.

What I predict: eventually everyone’s status will be extended for another year

FlyingBeanCounter

It is pretty straight forward I think - for those of us who qualified inspite of the virus there is certainly an issue.

I would love to be guaranteed (or have a better shot at) upgrades every time I stayed next year. That is much more likely if there are less platimums/titaniums/ambassadors. I would also like reduced crowds in the lounges and what not. I understand the DYKWIA approach from people who will likely miss status this year. It would be great if everyone was on a level playing field and we all either had a chance to get it or else missed it for some reason. That is not the case. I traveled to asia in spite of the virus. I stayed in places that were quarantining people. I paid for my own travel. The message extending status to people who did not earn it sends is unbelievably tone deaf if they do not at the same time recognize and reward those of us who stuck with Marriott when things were tough.

I don't know why we discuss this though - Marriott will screw us in the end. Remember the LTPP? Some got LTTP if they stayed enough nights and did the same thing. They shut that off and now those of us who will hit that same threshold would be denied the same privilege. I would expect to see Marriott do something similar here. They will certainly take something away from someone who would otherwise deserve it - that is what they do. Marriott is tone deaf.

theOtherHolmes

with all due respect, if someone travelled and stayed at Marriott while the virus is going on, this person is most likely quite loyal to Marriott. Marriott probably wouldn’t worry about losing their business — instead, Marriott wants the money of those who didn’t travel during the pandemic, and would likely travel next year — so whatever Hilton does to attract this crowd, Marriott probably would follow suit.

cfabar1

I think so much is too soon to say. I do think while it may be tempting for these companies to say that 2020 is essentially a mulligan, they will be under TREMENDOUS pressure to cut costs and manage more efficiently. I think we could see the entire model change, and they may find new ways to determine loyalty that help enhance the bottom line.

I do not see the travel industry swiftly recovering through this.

FlyingBeanCounter

I have to admit, I read this a bunch of times and I cannot for the life of me figure out what you are trying to say. Either:

1. The people who are loyal to Marriott no matter what don't matter to Marriott
2. Or those people who were loyal and who threaten to leave deserve to be treated better because, well DYKWIA.

If marriott was so worried about number two they would have had better promotions for the last few years. When was the last good one? I think it was the spring before this bonvoy thing happened. Sure, they want to stay full and make money - but apparently the DYKWIA types aren't going to get special treatment.

I know they read these boards and I am hopeful they get the message that those of us who continued to travel in the first quarter in spite of the virus are watching what they do too.

JBord

I don't think it's either of these. I think it's that people who are loyal (and to your real point, are still staying with Marriott while many of us have been banned by our companies) MATTER, but they aren't likely to leave just because their rewards weren't increased during this time. They still get rewarded the same way they expected. That's not likely to compel people to leave for another company. So there won't be a business case to do anything extra for that group.

By the way, there are lots of people who are "loyal" to Marriott. Many of us are not allowed to travel for work, and are obviously limiting our personal travel. What many of us are saying is that people who ARE loyal (but aren't allowed to travel), DO matter to Marriott. I truly don't mean to question your motive, but you seem to be looking at this from a purely personal perspective, when Marriott will look at it from a business perspective and decide if they do anything differently than normal.

theOtherHolmes

I guess you don’t run a business. Group A as a whole tends to stay with Marriott no matter what, with some exceptions. Group B will however stay with whichever brand that gives them the most benefits. Marriott wants to attract Group B.

Call Group B the fickle bunch, if you will. An example individual from Group B probably has Hilton Gold or Diamond (earned not from CC), and Marriott Plat or Titanium. 2020 is toast so coming 2021, if Hilton extends status, and Marriott doesn’t, the person would likely stay with Hilton and not Marriott simply because he’d be silver or gold with Marriott and still gold or diamond with Hilton. This individual is probably averaging 50 -80 nights a year and likely a business traveller. Marriott wants this.

So if Hilton extends status globally, Marriott will.

alien

I, with Platinum from 2019, have 23 stays this year. The last one being last week. I was reduced to Gold last night.

Flying for Fun

Didn't you mean to say that you earned Platinum in 2018 which carried through 2019? In 2019 you didn't earn Platinum but did earn Gold or were soft landed to Gold. At least you are almost half-way to Platinum for 2020/2021and you even enjoyed Platinum benefits on a reservation last week before the later than usual status change. Since you were not granted an extension, I anticipate that you don't have your account domiciled in the "exception" area.

James

theOtherHolmes

Any elite status extension to 2021, will be based on this year (2020)’s actual status which is based on last years nights stayed..

So for those who didn’t have 50/75 nights in 2019, they wouldn’t get platinum/ titanium in 2020, and certainly wouldn’t get platinum/titanium extended into 2021 unless they actually stay that many nights, which is quite the difficult thing to do this year.