TrojanHorse

i'm no expert on the freddie scoring algorithm but I would think voting for MR but giving them low scores (although not 1s or 2s which either don't count as much or at all) hurts them more than giving a vote to hilton.. i'm not sure but I read somewhere at one time it worked similar to this.. hence my votes have been to hammer marriott with 3s

bigguyinpasadena

ANY vote you give to MR takes a vote away from another chain.
Youe non vote has more weight than any low vote.

hhoope01

I'm also no where close to an expert either. But I would think that it all depends on how the Freddies voting is counted.

One possible way is that the chain's "score" average is used to decide who did well and who needs work. In this approach, giving Marriott a low score does hurt them. Another way is that the number of votes are used and the score is used more to get a level of total satisfaction with that market segment. In this approach, giving Marriott any vote, even one with a 1, 2 or 3, helps make Marriott look better in that segment.

I have no idea at all how the votes are counted. So I just voted for whom I thought was the best in each category. (And Marriott didn't get very many of my votes this year.)

TrojanHorse

my understanding is that its a "value" vote

so programs with a greater number of members like MR and Hh will not win every year just due to volume.

the value vote is the scoring system (that I'm assuming with a minimum number of votes rec'd) where the weighted avg is what determines the winner

lets say the following occured (im using round numbers here and know the totals are no where near the actuals)

Marriott (1M members) of which 10% cast a vote.. thats 100K votes
Hilton (1M members) of which say 11% cast a vote.. thats 110K votes
SPG (600K members) of which 10% cast.. 60K votes
Hyatt (500K members of which 10% cast.. 50K votes

right off the bat based on the just giving them a vote theory.. MR and Hh will win every year. Plus those who concentrate on one program (ie.. like most do in the airlines) they can't give a fair score to the others if they don't use that chain hence they can only really grade their chain and if its bad.. it will reflect in the scoring.. I couldn't really grade say US Air.. I never fly them hence my vote would go to AA and then its how I perceive that value that will tell me if AA is going to win or come in last or somewhere in between. Hotels are much easier as most of us frequent more than one chain but still favor one over the others. Maybe it status, location or company contract.

I "think" that the algorithm says.. you need X number minimum votes period.. lets say 40K for the example above

now for those with 40K votes.. if in any given cat..

MR= 6.5
Hh= 6.9
SPG= 8.9
Hy=8.8

SPG would win that category... Hyatt would be the silver medalist

where the theory of low voting marriott comes into play is that one is trying to drag down the marriott score... the problem with trying to drag down a big chain like MR or Hh is that there are so many more voters to over come than the smaller programs.

still I think that dinging MR will hurt them more than voting for another chain.

hhoope01

Using your scenario, it depends. If, lets say you thought SPG was the best, then it might be better to give SPG a really high score. Since there are fewer SPG members and therefore fewer SPG votes, then a "high" vote has a little bit more "weight" to it than your low vote for Marriott.

Of course this assumes that if you thought SPG was great, others would tend to agree. If not and say Hilton was really the chain that is giving Marriott it's biggest challenge, then your high SPG vote wouldn't adversely affect Marriott as SPG isn't going to win. And your vote doesn't help or hurt them against Hilton. So it goes back to the "it depends" phrase.

But in all of this, I still think it best to vote for who you like the best, rather than against who you dislike the most.

TrojanHorse

I agree, that this is supposed to be for those you like or value the most; however low Marriott scores reflect what I think of the entire industry at this point with MR the poster child for bad business

holtju2

OMG just received this terrible spam from MR.

Last call! Top 10 reasons to vote us a 10

Time is running out:
Please vote your Rewards a "10" in the Freddie Awards

The polls close soon for the Freddie Awards - "the frequent traveler's answer to the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Awards." We hope you'll vote us a "10 again!"

Last year you gave us 10 top awards, including "Best Program."

Top 10 reasons to vote Marriott Rewards a "10" again:

1. 136 billion points. 1.6 billion miles. All in 2008.
2. Biggest MegaBonus ever!
3. Anywhere account access - from PDA, laptop, mobile phone.
4. Enhanced Platinum arrival gift – at Courtyard�, Residence Inn� & more.
5. Insiders online community – get tips, share stories with travel-savvy members.
6. Big flexibility - no blackout dates. There's a room waiting where you're going.
7. Earning & redeeming extras - 50% Platinum bonus, 5th redemption night free.
8. Custom Rewards – no limits on Elite redemption! Name your merchandise or event.
9. 30 million members - so we can attract more partners & big benefits in '09.
10. Your dedicated Marriott staff - and personal service, worldwide.

Marriott Rewards members have voted us #1 in Business Week, Business Traveler, Executive Travel and more. But your Freddies vote thrills us the most.

Cast your ballot now. Please don't wait! Polls close February 28, 2009.

Our sincere thanks.

baglady

I deleted my last couple of emails on this but did vote MR high on their website. Spend some time on SPG.com and Marriott.com looks amazing!

TrojanHorse

10. Website - every time I log in I get that stupid do you want to display non secure items pop up and have to hit yes
9. no free b/f for plats on weekends
8. no free b/f for plats at CY's
7.cutting down Res Inn happy hours from 4 to 3 days
6. selling Govt Per Diem rates that are higher than Per diem
5. selling CL rooms on the weekend when its closed
4. my bottle of water is now half the size it used to be
3.point deflation in the latest enhancements
2.CL closures on weekends
1.Do not overachieve

just off the top of my head, i'm sure you guys have better ones

baglady

Marriott has a new approach to T.E.A.M.

Together
Everyone
Achieves
Mediocrity

travelexpert

#11: No breakfast for elites at resorts (when you are on vacation paying your own way, after choosing Marriott for all your business travel).

Counsellor

Sounds like a problem with your computer settings not recognizing their certificate, rather than something that's Marriott's fault.

Or is this along the line of "now look what you made me do"?

TrojanHorse

oh I'm sure it is; but otoh, since this is not an issue with SPG HY or Hh.. I'm blaming MR