SummitBars

Stop. Just stop.

storewanderer

That is a bogus excuse on the part of the hotel. Hopefully the points got charged back to them and they get to pay a fee for Marriott corporate handling the complaint too. As others here say, if they aren't going to honor promised benefits, it needs to be made known before arrival (preferably before the reservation is made). Hiding behind COVID-19 as an excuse for every flaw or shortfall one has or a business has is getting a little old to say the least.

SPN Lifer

Are pre-16:00 evictions more common than we have been led to believe?

As an Ambassador do you have insights you can share?

I have always been highly satisfied with how Marriott Bonv°y honors their guarantees.

tzydzy

My experience has been to have problems more with lower level properties such as Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn and Courtyard rather than flagship hotels such as Marriott or Renaissance. But it varies with the individual property. At a Springhill Suites, I was leaving at 3:15 PM to avoid traffic to the airport and the housekeeper in the hallway exclaimed "You're wasting money - you have until 4 PM!" . I had overheard front desk personnel stating that there were only 2 late checkouts for the entire property and overall, I have noted very few late checkouts at most properties. In most of my departures, there are few cars in the lot at 4 PM, with most people vacating before noon. With low occupancy, cleaning a room or two the next day does not seem to be a problem. . Based on that information - low utilization overall - is probably why SPG implemented it as there was no added cost to a property. At one property, the front desk tried to say that 4 PM time for Platinum and above was "based on availability", and another clerk noted "We have to provide the benefit to you, but do you really want to use your Platinum benefit?" And on the other side, some Marriott flagged properties have coded the keys to expire the next day so that there would be no problem with a key not working at 4:10 PM when one was exiting the room. I typically have late flights, some leaving at 1 AM the next day so using the time away from the airport with comfortable seating and wifi is a welcome and most used benefit.

cmd320

I will echo that all of the issues I can remember with 4pm checkout have been at smaller select-service hotels generally outside of major metropolitan areas. I’m not sure if it’s a problem with the managers simply not being educated on the correct policy or if maybe these properties are cutting costs by staffing fewer housekeepers than they actually need, but if it’s ever a problem it’s usually at SS hotels.

skywalkerLAX

Some people like to go into beast-apologist mode for even the most basic things. This thread was surprisingly civil for FT standards these days.

I agree that's an acceptable outcome and matches my experience when calling Marriott after/during property issues. In 2019 I had two cases where the property refused an upgrade and late check-out, in both cases the CSR offered 50-100% points as compensation.

Sadly some travel providers are taking the p*** with this Covid situation instead of being happy over every dollar they make during these times. There are way too many cutbacks that you can call out right away as penny pinching and not as a result of health policy. If I go to a Doubletree and they don't have a cookie because of whatever cleanliness reason I shrug it off but a late check-out in an otherwise empty hotel? BS!

RedSun

This is FT style. Anything minor or major can be blown like this.

As others pointed out, the low and mid level hotel chains like Courtyard are not really into the Marriott Bonv*y "elite" benefits. High level "elite" normally tend to visit Luxury Collection and Ritz Carlton properties more often than Courtyard hotels. I'd think with the low occupancy, the hotel has very few, or probably just one "elite" who requested 4PM late check-out. AND the hotel clearly communicated over both phone and email about the "deep" cleaning. Also, as another pointed out, Marriott suspended some of the loyalty guarantees during the Covid-19 period.
https://loyaltylobby.com/2020/03/31/...ty-guarantees/

Then the last thing, it is about about money and points. We just demand the "top" "elite" standards and benefits, at all properties even during this Covid-19 period. Only money and points can make us happy and can solve all our problems....

cmd320

I'm still very skeptical about this. I cannot find this policy published anywhere.

SPN Lifer

The Platinum Elite 16:00 checkout gives us neither money nor points, but is something we rely on in planning our stays.

Latch your door, remain calm, and carry on. Bonv°y!

RedSun

That is the internal communication from Marriott rep. Marriott would not want to tell the public to suspend the "elite" benefits. From what I read, anything related to Covid-19 health reason can be included and impacted. Deep cleaning is a grey area and we can certainly use some legal opinions. Worth it?

swag

What do you base this statement on?

I suppose back when Marriott used to use lifetime points as a component of lifetime status, those with lifetime status would have skewed towards more expensive hotels. But that's not the case any more, and even back then, annual status was based strictly on nights. And it's a lot easier to rack up nights at cheaper hotels.

Personally, I'm lifetime titanium with 850+ nights. I don't think I've ever spent a night in a Luxury Collection or Ritz...

cmd320

Sorry but internal communication from a random customer service rep does not equal published policy. If Marriott wants to publish something they’re welcome to, but otherwise I will be using my benefits as normal when I need to.

RedSun

When I visit the top hotel properties, I am very often asked if I need late check-out. Because a lot "elites" ask for this and the hotels know really well about it.

But when I visit the low and mid level hotels, some of the hotels do not even know of a lot of the Marriott elite benefits. Sometimes we'll have to tell them what the benefits are. They would verify with their supervisor, even contact Marriott to confirm....

Personally the top hotels are all I'm here for. Or I can go with any hotels, IHG, Hilton and Hyatt.

daloosh

Definitely don't want a boring world. And of course this is FT, where we can be self righteous and have every kind of opinion!
Glad it worked out for OP.

Flying for Fun

Another generalization! I am a Titanium Elite with 103 nights in 2019. Of those, only 4 nights at luxury properties. 2 nights at the St. Regis Bora Bora & 2 nights at the St. Regis Macau Cotai Strip. I was treated like Royalty at both locations with suite upgrades. The remainder are Renaissance, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, SHS, 4P, Protea & Courtyard. Courtyards in Asia are 4* full service properties with lounges & gourmet breakfast buffets. So, no, I don't tend to focus most of my stays at luxury properties. SHS & Courtyards are perfect for overnight transits when flying. I don't need to spend $50-$75/hr for a luxury property when I am departing for the airport before breakfast.

Suggestions that all of these lower tier properties don't know the Bonv⁰y benefits is ludicrous. When I was frequenting a SHS property with airport shuttle service, they always provided me with a $10 voucher for the in-lobby bar & restaurant in addition to my regular benefits. Similarly, I have been upgraded to a one-bedroom suite and had a hand written thank you note from the Manager with a large Lindt chocolate bar in the room when I arrived at a Courtyard in Washington State. In both cases, late check-out was never an issue.

In summary, not all low tier properties are bad & not all luxury properties are good so please put that paintbrush away. If I find a bad apple, I toss it away and don't select it again. It doesn't mean that all apples are bad and some are incredibly sweet and very delicious. Happy to say that the bad apples are very few and far between.

I believe that complainers tend to find that they will get what they are supposed to but nothing more. Those that show flexibility and understanding, especially in uncertain times, will fare better in the long run. I have communicated with Bonv⁰y exactly 5 times since 2018, 4 of which were for a TP. Once to redeem and attach to a booking, once to detach, once to convert to a NC and once to attach to a points advance reservation. Total call time, 22 minutes for all four calls. I didn't "play the game." Did I miss a couple of welcome points posting in the early stages? Yes! But I also, on a few occasions, received the welcome points in addition to the other amenity chosen. Did I persue the missing point? No! Not worth the time and effort especially when it pretty much balanced out overall. Perhaps that is why I seem to get "so much more" than my status "entitles" me to.

James