I think it is fair to expect to receive Elite benefits if it is explicity set out in the T&C's of a hotel chain's reward programme - as it is in Marriott's case.

But it isn't. The reservation forwarded by Priceline didn't include the MR number and bedding preference, as required by the bedding guarantee. A regular agency reservation (not wholesaler) could include this info and be eligible.

Please refer back to the following quote by socrates.

Having not heard back for Marriott for 6 days, I emailed them again last night and got this reply today:

What the heck does it mean? Did they send my compaint back to the hotel or is someone at Marriott Cusotmer Service looking into it?

Got a reply from the GM today apologizing for the experience and crediting my account with 25,000 points.

Not bad!

P.S. Still no solid info if Priceline booking qualify for benefits.

Trust me it does.....

I think so too. But, since Marriott has not trained its staff to know this (I was told on the phone that all wholesallers do not qualify, BY A SUPERVISOR!!). The only avenue of pursuing this is to complain after your stay.

sorry let me be a little more clear....I KNOW so, remember I'm MI retired and still fairly active consulting in the industry.....

I wasnt doubting you!

It just pisses me off that Marriott staff do not know about their own rules!

In the future, call ahead(day or two), speak to reservations at the hotel, put in your bed request.

Much better chance doing it that way, rather than playing pot luck at check-in.

Unfortunate.........but it is something I quickly started to learn about the travel industry once I started traveling heavily myself

That is something I do often, even when I book through Marriott Platinum reservations line! By doing that, I find that I am MUCH more likely to get what I am supposed to get, and even better, much more likely to get an upgrade, if available.

(As an interesting aside, and in reference to a comment by bsb21 about Marriott associates not knowing their own rules, I had a recent stay at the New Orleans Marriott, where they specifically have an elite coordinator, who e-mails gold and platinum guests about one week before arrival to welcome them and ask if there is anything special they would like. I called her back to ask for the same room which I had the last time I was there, and to inquire about weekend breakfast coupons, both of which she confirmed. When I arrived at check-in, it was after she had gone home for the day. The associate who checked me in did assign me to the proper room, but gave me a hard time regarding the weekend breakfast coupons, and decided that only one, but not two would be sufficient. The following day I spoke with the elite coordinator, who told me that not only does she frequently have a problem with improperly trained front desk personnel, but also, sometimes with resentful personnel who "do not feel that elites should be entitled to all the extras" that they get, which is why I only got the one coupon at check-in. The elite coordinator immediately gave me another coupon for Sunday morning, and said that she would speak with the hotel manager about it, especially since she had noted in my record specifically to give me two breakfast coupons at check-in, and it is her job to handle elite customer care, as her title would indicate, elite coordinator. In this case, whether the check in associate knew the rules or not, she thought she KNEW BETTER than the rules or the printed instructions, and decided to overrule, and that it would be okay to do that. I have encountered this occasionally at other locations. AWTTW, YMMV)

You may add your MR# to a reservation, however, you earn nothing when booked through a third party nor is a rm type guaranteed, you didn't pay Marriott you paid Priceline.

You're guaranteed a bed and that is about it

First of all welcome to FT. You may wish to do some research in the future before posting what you think is fact.

You are right about not earning points, but that is not the subject of this thread.

You are absolutely wrong about the Bed Type Guarantee. As long as the MR# was added at least 48 hours prior to the reservation, one is entitled to the guarantee. There is absolutely nothing in the Terms and Conditions that says one is not entitled to these benefits. Actually quite the contrary as there is wording in the T&Cs that says one is explicitly entitled to the guarantee if their MR number is included in their reservation:

And no matter when their MR# is added, even if done so at the front desk, one is entitled to other elite benefits for which they qualify, like lounge access, upgrade (hardly worth mentioning since it only means the concierge/exec level room, or room with a view since suites are excluded). An elite staying on a priceline rate would also go to the bottom of the list of equivalent elites when competing for those upgrades.