stvr

It seems Marriott has now phased out its health care heroes rate plan. Might I suggest making it less generous with more blackout dates rather than ditching it completely? The optics here are not stellar. The heroes are still heroes, IMHO. My SO is a physician who put in 12 hours a day, six days a week… and contracted coronavirus on the wards to boot. I get that hotels are full now, but to extend gratitude only to rescind it (when the pandemic is merely half over) strikes me as the wrong tone.

rylan

They want your money and to provide as little services as possible... plain and simple. Just look at the crazy prices in many many many locations.

bitterproffit

Did you think the discount was going to be permanent? If it wasn’t permanent, then whenever they removed it, would someone interpret that as the wrong tone?

is there a date in your mind where Marriott could quietly retire the discount where it wouldn’t seem to be viewed as no longer thinking of health care workers as heroic?

voodoogirl

It's like the military rate being for those on orders.

escapefromphl

$100 rates weren’t really viable over the long term. Fine when the rooms were unsold anyway but now they are being sold. They are also no longer needed are they? As I recall they were for healthcare workers working long shifts or not wanting to infect family members. But why should Marriott provide cheap rooms for vacations for folks who pull in a big salary anyway?

escapefromphl

The government negotiates those rates. Totally different from the healthcare rates Marriott was offering.

stuartpig

The military (and government)one is weird when applied in the UK. It gives the rate rules for the US. In the UK no civil servant is allowed to book a hotel of their choosing. It is booked through a third party. Also not allowed to make points on stays. I have used the government rate recently with no issue. Probably because the wording has just been copied and can’t be applied in the UK.

pinniped

As I understood the rate promotion, it was done during the covid pandemic to give medical workers an option to stay near their hospitals, in part because of how overwhelmed medical staff were during the pandemic and in part for people looking for a quasi-quarantine type environment with minimal contact with friends and family.

Now that vaccines are readily available and hospital staffs aren't at the same breaking point they were a year ago, it seems fair to wind down the promotion. (And yes, the cynical side of me also recognizes that travel demand is off the charts and Marriott wants to sell their rooms for maximum profit.)

If hotels in parts of the world where the pandemic is still raging and vaccines are scarce still have the promotion, good for them.

PHLGovFlyer

Actually, the government doesn't generally "negotiate" hotel rates. The GSA sets a lodging per diem limit for government travelers based on geographic areas. Hotels in those areas can choose to offer a rate that meets the GSA limit, or they can choose not to offer one. Hotels can also offer "government rates" that are over per diem. They can also vary their government rates based on demand, seasonality, etc. It's entirely up to the individual properties to decide if and what government rate(s) they make available.

aroundtheworld76

This nurse has used the QWO rate extensively and while I'd obviously rather it stay, I am quite thankful that it lasted as long as it did. Frankly, all of the hotel chains really took care of us through the darkest months. Sometimes, we were the only guests in the hotel. Hilton was giving completely free rooms for several months ( I think AMEX was partnering with them on it). Marriott's QWO rate lasted longer than any of those other corporate wide programs.

Thank you Marriott!

stvr

Check out Hyatt's THANKYOU rate; it's ongoing.

cfabar1

And that is Hyatt’s choice….

I like Hyatt… I like their company much more than Marriott to be honest…

But individual companies can choose whether or what promos they choose to offer. And then you as a customer can choose whether to use them or not.

Marriott should be berated for a lot. Not offering healthcare workers a discount in perpetuity just because they are nice people is not one of the things that seems fair to berate Marriott for….

SHLTP

What about grocery workers? Sorry, it's time to end this promotion

garykung

Sorry. But I believe this actually sets an even worse tone.

Whether to provide a discount is entirely up to the business.

3544quebec

Post I quoted was removed making my post senseless. Usually my posts are senseless for no reason - this time there was a reason.