Titanium - why do I bother?
 

I’m at the end of my rope lately with Marriott. Why do I go out of my way to stay loyal? I get treated like a y other guest. No upgrades are ever available, even when I can see on the app that there are rooms available. No recognition at all when I check in. Service is the bare minimum. On this road trip Ive stayed at Best Westerns and a few boutique hotels with no expectations and received a much warmer welcome than I ever seem to any longer with Marriott.

am I the only one? Taking this too seriously?

You've taken the red pill. Marriott continues to decline in terms of customer service and benefits but they are financially well. Book your stays at hotels that treat you right and be a free agent!

"Titanium" Customer Service .... not
 

On that same note, as a Titanium, I just called the "Titanium" customer service line and waited 45 minutes on hold before giving up and hanging up. While on hold, I dreamed of those days with SPG platinum when the platinum phone line not only gave you an agent without a wait, but you did not even have to navigate a voice activated menu! With Marriott, I have to tell the annoying system three times "representative" before finally transferring me to the queue, and then 45 minutes later no sign of anyone answering the phone. The automated system told me that the wait was "at least 10 minutes", which while factually correct, was clearly not indicative.

Marriott, if you are listening .... when a Titanium member calls, you can assume that the issue is not a question that can easily be solved by going online ... it should be safe to assume that someone who has stayed 75+ nights in your properties per year knows you have a website, knows the basic things, and has a real issue for a representative to solve.

For my money I don’t look beyond Hyatt.com right now unless I’m really desperate. I’m lifetime titanium with Marriott but the recognition just isn’t there. The treatment I get as a Globalist with Hyatt is a different ballpark, I really have no interest in Marriott at the moment.

Agreed. Just spent almost a month at a Marriott - everyone very kind, but not a ton of perks.
750/nt points for closed lounge is nice - but doordash in no sub for a restaurant on property. They decided to open it 7 days the day we checked out.
Happy for lifetime Titanium - but even with the lower spend threshold, no incentive to go to Ambassador.
Wish the local Hyatt had acted better so I could have given them the business instead - full breakfast, resto full service and can book an actual suite when I need one.
Not too far from lifetime Globalist by pre-pandemic standards. No idea when that'll happen now...

Status is worthwhile, if you are travelling in Asia. Upgrades and great service almost everywhere. Often in Europe I get upgraded, but it is best to keep my expectations low. In the US, almost never with Bonvoy.

Just stay at the hotels you actually want to stay in and don’t let the tail wag the dog. Status plays zero role for me when I’m choosing where to stay.

What amazes me is how frustrated so many lifetime Titaniums and annual Titaniums are frustrated w Marriott yet their #s are OK. Does this mean Marriott's spread and corporate contracts mean loyalty and satisfaction doesn't matter and they'll keep making money or does it mean Marriott will get smacked once covid is over?

I'm asking as a potential investor. I'm bullish on hospitality but perhaps it's time to think about a short on stock... Or maybe go long as customer satisfaction can't get worse

Because Marriott has figured out that a very high % of Marriott elites will continue to stay with them, regardless of how poorly they are treated. Because ultimately these elites fear being treated even worse elsewhere...

For any major hotel chain, "loyalty" is supposed to be a lower cost method of attracting guests. (vs. OTA commissions) So when the cost of servicing that loyalty can be reduced, corporate will benefit until it reaches the inflection point where guests do indeed switch their loyalty elsewhere. As long as the only real competition is Hilton, Marriott will feel safe to cut and cut...

Do not confuse the opinions of FlyerTalk members with the opinions of travelers, in general. This is a niche community.

Also, the main customer of a hotel group (Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Intercontinental Hotel Group) are the hotel owners, not the individual guests. A hotel group can be wildly successful even if the majority of the guests staying at their branded hotels aren't particularly happy. That fact is true because hotel groups are in the franchise business. (While most do offer management services, that's a side business they have so that they can be a "one stop" shop for hotel owners.)

If you insist on using individual guest satisfaction to guide your investments, you need to be buying stock in the companies that operate hotels. These are smaller companies that often operate multiple brands across multiple hotel groups.

Yes, you probably are taking this too seriously. Like LondonElite posted don't wag the dog. I didn't get to be an LT by chasing status, I got here by staying with the chain that has properties where you want them, amenities that you want and treats you best. My last stay at a full Hilton wasn't any better than a Motel6 but I won't let that color my future stays with them.

That's my point. We have also interviewed hundreds of properties owners. As an investor, you need to see if there is a disconnect between property owner and end guest satisfaction and how to invest on that. Short. Go long. Or buy out another chain like Hyatt that is too nice to guests and squeeze.

You can't just base off what property owners think esp as they often tied up in decades long contracts

I agree. The late Arne Sorenson claimed that Bonvoy loses Marriott money. Starwood’s SPG/upscale + luxury model was obviously unsustainable. I am curious to see how Hyatt navigates the industry in the long run. My hunch? Many people chasing lifetime Globalist (including that guy that said you should just purchase LTG for $200K cash) are setting themselves up for disappointment.

1 point of disagreement: I think franchisees are impacted far more by a) underlying asset prices b) fundamental macroeconomic trends than they are by franchise-level guest satisfaction. Obviously, it also depends on the specific market the franchisees are positioning themselves in (ie I find it hard to believe the owners of STR Atlanta are driven by cash flow in their ownership of that property).

This is excellent advice, and how I try approach things myself now. But I admit I used to worry about keeping my status way more than I should have.

I honestly dont think this issue to just confirmed to Marriott, but to all the major hotel chains...
the sense of our loyalty to either hotels, airlines, car rentals etc is often met with lack of loyalty of the companies that we are loyal too.