Although Marriott is visibly cutting back benefits, other hotel chains, which I would never have given a second look two years ago, are actively courting business travelers with upgraded amenities and sweetened frequent traveler programs.

I've talked with my traveling coworkers, several of them who were once fiercely loyal to Marriott, and they now consider Marriott a second choice.

Keeton and Joshua362,
You can see the move away from MI by the decrease in postings on the FT MR forum.
Even those loyalist who used to shout down the folks who questioned Marriott's actions(such as myself)are now looking at/staying with other chains.
I have my second night this year with a MI property,picked soley only for finacial reasons,that is a huge drop off from the business I gave them last year,and HUGE dropoff from the years before that.

Now some(the few loyalist/apologist still here)will pipe up with-"Good, don't let the door hit you on the way out"or other such glib statements-but how many others have to start spending elsewhere before Marriott gets the message and starts actively persuing our loyalty once again?

My last stay was Saturday to Monday. There was no paper delivery Sunday morning and, indeed, the only papers anywhere in the property were some Friday USA Todays near the restaurant.

I would've mentioned this earlier, but it slipped my mind, as it occurred right before I received appallingly bad breakfast service for the second time in 2 stays.

This reminds me of a personal situation where another industry is hell bent on shooting itself in the foot. About 2 years ago, I had an opportunity to invest in a business and decided not to touch "stock investments" (a big mistake in retrospect). Due to STELLAR credit, there were no shortage of credit card companies throwing low and no percent offers at me, which I took full advantage of being a CPA.

Now, I've never been late on a payment in 30 years and still haven't. I enjoy the low rates, deduct the interest and the business is starting to generate more cash than I ever expected. Yet my FICO credit score (a useless measure if I ever saw one) has plunged for using the credit extended and morons like AMEX, Citibank and others have closed and reduced lines to unusable levels - and I can't get any others to open any others for special point/mile/other earning opportunities. And I charge and pay off fully some $25,000 monthly - what's the 3% merchant fee from that?

So what's my reaction? Boycott anything to do with Amex and Citibank - whom which I have a very long relationship with, stop taking AMEX in my business and just have a sour taste towards all of them in general.

I see the Marriott similarity here - ignore the long, profitable relationship with a "good" customer with a PROVEN POSITIVE TRACK RECORD in favor of a raw number or potential "savings" some computer or bean counter spit out.

Ignore the facts, story and erosion of goodwill behind the numbers because a computer can't possible be wrong. Sadly, I've tried but I can't convince or reach anyone with decision making authority the error of their ways.

A computer can't program/anticipate human emotion and reaction !!

There was a burst of activity on FT's Marriott thread after the (in)famous memo of last year came out around December. I think the activity has been subdued after that died down when people realized what properties have cut to the bone. Not every property has decided to follow that memo, and there have been some properties who have not changed things. Of course, you won't see me post that list publicly since I have no desire to see Marriott making the service more consistent by forcing these properties to cut back their offerings to elite members.

I have a list of Marriott properties that I frequent (mainly FS Marriott and a few CYs), but the days are gone where I would book a Marriott sight unseen. There have been cutbacks at several hotel chains with the soap cutback reported at *Wood properties and the closing of lounges at Westin properties and the closing of lounges by Hilton for US properties.

Marriott has been short sighted with some of these cuts, but I will not expect things to get better until RevPAR starts to go up. That might happen in 2011, assuming most of Marriott's gold and platinum guests have not defected by then.

Since most of my stays are at one property, I have made it clear to that hotel what my limits are. They can stop giving free stuff to the semi-frequent guests, but I expect certain comps, and I have no qualms about moving my business if they decide to say no to me on what I want.

I realize that the hospitality industry is hurting, but kicking your best customers in the face is not going to get them to open their wallets. It has only been in the recent 2-3 months that room rates have started to drop to meet the reduced demand (and service offered). Someone wrote a thread on FT about a recent Fortune article on how Marriott is trying to manage in the current environment. I thought that article was more sympathetic to Marriott than the actual reality.

Travel demand will return, although business travel might not fully recover if videoconference meetings become much more popular. Marriott may discover that their flag's value has declined after a long period of service cutbacks. The Marriott of 2009 is far from the Marriott of 2004-2005 in my mind. Hotels better consider how they can participate in the growing videoconference business and how to offer value for customers.

The ability to price discriminate will drop as people become more tech savvy. This is an unavoidable fact with the greater ease of looking up information online. Your 20 & 30 year old hotel guest is more adept at comparing price and properties online than the 50 year olds who dominate upper management today. Marriott (and other hotel chains) better adapt to this changing reality.

Great analysis. I know many 50 year olds that stay where they are told to stay regardless, but in my 40's I question and book as I please...

This is a review of the Tysons Corner Marriott after my first stay in over a year. I did not visit the gym or use their laundry machines. I will hijack this thread with a rather detailed review.

I checked out today from the Tysons Corner Marriott on an EEO stay at $85 that included the movie vouchers (it seemed like they handed out a bunch of them this past weekend since I got the last sheet). The lounge had a few USA Today and about 5 WSJs when I was in the lounge at 8:30. I got a delivered WSJ in front of my room and was upgraded to a larger king room that had a shower only bathroom (the shower is separated by only a shower curtain). They have 5 copies of the WSJ and 2 copies of the USA Today as of writing this post. The papers are located near the tables in the middle on the left side if you face the front desk. Yes, they don't offer free Washington Post papers anymore on weekends. I did see the guy drop off a small bundle in the lobby at around 5 am on Sunday, but you have to pay for those papers.

This property used to have free internet for Boingo roaming. They got rid of that, and you have to pay $12.95/night for internet (wireless or wired) for the WFB package that includes unlimited local and long distance (within the USA). Now, you can get free internet in the lobby in 2 hour increments (used to cost unless you roamed with Boingo or other former partners). (This also explains my presence in the lobby at 5 am on Sunday.) There is also free wireless in the concierge lounge.

The offerings in the CL have dropped from what I remembered on my last stay of more than a year ago. The appetizers and dessert used to be amazing. Sunday night had one hot appetizer (a small, filled tortilla cone with some vegetables, cheese and meat), two types of cheese (cheddar and some green vegetable cheese mix- I don't remember the name), crackers, colored tortilla chips and salsa, a bit of a nut mix and some portable fruit. They used to have full salads (including one pasta one), fresh cut fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, and pineapple) and hummus with pita bread.

The dessert was solely chocolate brownies with some nuts on top. I remember when they served cake and occasionally cheesecake. Breakfast was fairly good with the cutbacks being no bacon/sausage, no sliced cheese, and no oatmeal. They still have the scrambled eggs with shredded cheddar, sliced fruit, sandwich meat, yogurt, cereal, coffee, tea, juice (cranberry, grapefruit, apple and orange), muffins and bagels. Breakfast in the lounge runs from 6:30 - 9 am, and you better show up by 9 since the lounge attendant starts breaking down at 9:02. Some other lounges in the DC area keep serving until 10 am (i.e. the Fairview Park Marriott), but the Tysons Corner Marriott offers more food for breakfast.

All rooms have 32" HDTV with about 40 channels. The upgraded room had only shampoo, conditioner and body lotion (in my case, I had two bottles of conditioner by mistake).

Platinum members are still treated well (with room upgrades and other stuff) at this property. They did mess up my bill by not taking off my second night and sending me a second bill after omitting a restaurant charge. One bill (the restaurant bill) had my Marriott number while my room charges did not have that. I got it straightened out at checkout. A 2 pm late checkout request was honored although I was running late after taking longer than expected to pick up a Hertz rental car (after my own car died this weekend on I-95).

You mean like this?

Starwood and Marriott Introduce 'Telepresence' Systems

At the SHS Gaithersburg (where for some reason they are offering the weekend AY3 rate midweek, and they say they are busy)

They wanted to charge me an extra 7 bucks for 2 beds. I said ask the GM to call it an upgrade (my mom and i will NOT wipe out breakfast!)

At 7:45 there were exactly 5 USATodays and a stack (maybe 12 or so) WSJs! By 8:15 they were gone.

Breakfast ends at 9 and it's impossible to get to......

And over our heads is a noisy something or other (supposedly a SMALL exhaust fan.)

I think i am moving to the FS Gaithersburg Friday...(stopped in today, was offered free coffee and told that i can come there for free breakfast!^) Maybe i should have moved today!

This paper crap is really annoying! Can we PLEASE give plats a paper outside my door. ok so i am lazy. Oh, and they no longer put plates in the rooms...have to haul bottom to the lobby!

The FS in Gaithersburg never gave free breakfast on the weekends, and the weekend buffet costs $3 more than the weekday. They had a nice lounge from my one stay of about 2 years ago and used to give free gym passes to the Sports & Health nearby (don't know if they still do that).

i know....but the AGM himself told me...heck he even invited me to come eat there on him! perhaps they are TRYING...who knows....(actually some years ago they did give breakfast.............)

as for the sports club....yeah right. my idea of exercise is sleeping!
lol!

So..this AM in a 160-odd room SHS that is probably 80-90% judging from the amount of cars and people in the lobby, at 8AM there were no McPapers left and 3 WSJ. The clerk (who has been around for 8 years and is SUPER clueless)-says they only get 30% So....that means less than 1/4 of guests will get a paper!

I tell her to buy me a Wash Post and to save me one. I was really going to drive over to Fernwood and knock on Bill's door, give him a piece of my mind and chop up my PP card.

But..since Tiger is in town for his golf tourney...too much traffic.

This nickle and diming is annoying....awaiting a call back from the powers that be over there in Bethesda.

And try to get breakkie here! Should have taken up the AGM at the FS next door on his offer to go eat there........

ok...done venting.

You should have moved your reservation. I have not had to complain to anyone yet for not having a paper, but I am ready to do that and/or move my reservation to another Marriott or Hyatt property.

we would have moved yesterday but my mom is a seasoned citizen and wasn't up to trekking over to the FS. Sometimes family comes first.....i will no longer stay here though. the paper and ridiculously short breakfast hours....this week there are maybe 10-20% biz travelers and the rest are families with kids....

I just checked out of a very good f/s property. The preference on my profile is "local paper."

Sunday - no delivery at all to room, local paper in the restaurant.

Monday - no delivery at all to room, no local paper in C lounge, only in the restaurant.