I'm a director at a management consulting firm and have more than a dozen badges for different client sites. Almost all of them just have my name and photo, no company name or logo, and we are usually supposed to stay on reservations book via the client's discount unless they specify otherwise.

[MENTION=751819]donotblink[/MENTION] sure your use of discount codes sounds very typical. Many companies don't have the company name on the badge (especially consultant/contractor badges); however, I suspect the local properties near the company know what their contractor/consultant badges look like. I.e. you can still provide proof of your eligibility. Failing that, I would imagine you have a contact at your client that you could arrange to verify your eligibility with the property.

It is unclear if genotonda has a badge or other ID to back up the discount rate they booked. From their post, I suspect they don't. Not saying they are not entitled to use the discount, but if they don't have any identification nor a company contact to refer to, they can't prove their eligibility. With the advance notice from the property, it is almost guaranteed they will request identification.

--Jon

P.S. Other than the IBM code, I have only been challenged a few times for identification in 20+ years of business travel. Most properties don't ask for it. The one that genotonda booked is an exception (or their profile is somehow flagged as a possible discount rate abuser).

Confused by your post. But keep in mind 3rd party sites may have inventory that has been sold out on the property site so an exact match, especially this close in, may not be possible. Many 30-day cancellation rates will be resort-type locations that will just add to the problem. Good luck finding what you want.

LNF will generally speaking accept claims for more lenient cancellations if you compare. Assuming this is the std 'cancel for free within a day' it won't hurt to book the REG/BAR rate and submit an LNF claim.

I use my employer's code, which we're allowed even for personal travel. In the USA, I've never been asked to provide positive ID (like my work badge, for example), as far as I can remember. In Asia, I'm asked to provide positive ID 100% of the time. And something I noticed yesterday as I booked the JW Marriott in Hong Kong: to qualify for the rate, I was supposed to use my corporate email address to make the reservation. My MR profile already has that in place, so no big deal for me, but I could see how this could be annoying to some.

Any publicly available codes that work for Manila Marriott? Standard rates are sky-high.

yes, I have seen that before and it is annoying. If REG or BAR does not return refundable rates there is little you can do .... other than calling the hotel and seeing if they can offer refundable rates.

Agreed. Never in the US, but sometimes in Europe ... not in Asia for me. The Email thing is b.s. My Marriott account is on my work street address but my personal Email. Really not the problem of a hotel to determine which Emails we use.

Success with promotional codes
 

Hi All,

On several occassions when travelling in the US I've tried to book using almost all of the promo codes listed in another thread - I am Platimum but mainly from stays in Canada. I have never had success with a code showing availability. I am wondeing if these codes are indeed sporadic or if my US travel simply doesn't fall on a date when the codes work. Do others actually have luck with these codes on a regular basis?

Appologies if I shoudl have posted this in another spot, it's my first time starting a thread.

Cheers,

While I have had some success, it's usually with newer posts. There have been occasions where I have had to reach out to the hotel directly and gently push.

Example:

• A hotel (Bangkok CY) was offering double points.
• The code would not work.
• I searched the Internet, found the code/specifics and emailed the hotel directly.
• A return email said I did not qualify but the text of the email didn't make sense.
• I emailed back, showed the specifics of why I qualified and the hotel rep emailed back apologizing, stating she thought I meant a different offer.

In other words, don't give up. While it might be a hassle you should not have to go through gently pushing has worked for me.

BTW, many of my friends think I have some great ability to find discounts and promos so they ask me when planning travel. The truth is I'm horrible at doing that. I just scan that thread regularly and check again if anyone calls and asks. While I am great at inexpensive good meals (a friend and I are writing a book on feeding a family of four great meals for under $150/month) all my expertise on Marriott discounts come from that thread.

Thanks to those who post there!

Thanks for your reply - I try to be tenacious and unrelenting to get a deal but I was wondering if I was going about it wrong. I'll keep it up. :) The book also sounds very interesting - what a great project!

Some codes causing IT problems?
 

Suddenly with the new website, there appears to be certain codes that seem to be causing problems.
For instance when I try to use code Z2H (AAA Hot Deals), I got a pop-up box with the statement "Our server is being stubborn, please try again".
I have been getting this message for weeks.
Other codes such as WKD, BAR, C9N, FXL (there are many others) give me the same message. These are codes that I have used for years.

Anyone else have a similar experience?
Any recommendations?

Thanks.

Newman

Is there value in seeing the codes that are no longer used?