socrates

Management group as in Marriott Hotel Services Inc a division of Marriott International, inc or another organization?

SkiAdcock

My guess is a dif org. Cheers.

dd992emo

I've never used PL for a hotel stay, so maybe I don't understand how it works. I thought you bid your price on a geographic area and took whatever hotel bit on it. How, exactly, is that demonstrating loyalty to my brand? I certainly understand the loyalty demonstration of being gold or plat, but that didn't translate into paying my discount or rack rate.

I'll be as loyal to you as you are to me, and going to PL when I have rooms to sell does not spell loyalty to me. Come to think of it, was I married to you at one point?

CPRich

The fact that the guest has status, which can not be gained through PL stays, show that he/she has spent substantial money with the chain. And, btw, PL stays are not free - the hotel still earns revenue on terms they offered.

This attitude means that when this guest arrives you welcome them with open arms, thank them for being a loyal customer, and go out of your way to make the stay enjoyable. Right up until you look at the reservation, when you look up and say "you dog, get in the basement room next to the elevator and ice maker, and shut up about getting anything better"? Again, way to build loyalty - transactionally.

Yes, the guest probably will be as loyal to you as you are to them. At least I admire your consistency.

lexdevil

I'd say the 90+ nights I logged w/ Marriott last year (granted that 15 were from the Chase card) represent a reasonably impressive degree of loyalty. Despite my desire to rack up MR points and nights, I will on occasion do a PL booking. This generally occurs when I can't get Marriott rooms in the area I want to stay in at a price that works for my budget. In those cases, I'll use PL. When this happens to net me rooms in a Marriott I'm always happy, because I know that I will be treated well. I don't expect or insist on an upgrade, but I don't do that when I book through Marriott either. Being treated well on my PL stays does make me appreciate Marriott. It also gives me an additional incentive to book enough of my stays at Marriotts to maintain my plat status.

dd992emo

Certainly the hotel earns revenue...I hope I didn't infer otherwise. My only point is that I don't understand why someone would be angry/vexed/disappointed/confused about getting a room that accommodates two people on a PL ressie.

When I worked that FD everyone was welcomed the same. On occasion that relationship would degrade based on the attitude of the customer, but those are other stories...and some darn good ones, too.

Oh, and room 319 was not in the basement. It was BETWEEN the ice maker and the elevator. I loved that room...

travelismylife

Courtyard Plantation.

travelismylife

I think you meant imply not infer (see Office ssn. 2 episode ).

I can only speak for myself and say that I was not angry/vexed/disappointed/comfused about getting a room that accomodates two people. It's actually exactly what I had always expected. However I was disappointed that the GM of the hotel (as well as the other fd people) did not know that he could upgrade the room if he wanted to (which is what he said he wanted to do), or that he did know and was just saying that rather than tell me the truth. Either way it's pretty disappointing. From an inexperienced fd clerk I'd expect that. From a hotel manager I'd expect more. But that's just me.

dd992emo

You're probably correct...I AM the product of a 1960's Oklahoma public school education and am always open to assistance from more highly evolved life forms... Not an Office watcher, though my adolescent daughter finds it hilarious.

I understand your disappointment in the GM. I've met more than one Marriott GM and more than one of those were weasels.

idayvuelta

There's another issue I'm reading between the lines of a few posters. I think there's a tendency on the part of some to regard those on Priceline reservations as lesser customers who somehow cheated the system by not paying retail. That's where the "stick 'em next to a ice machine" comment comes from. As an unapologetic priceliner, I take some issue with that. I get that PLers are not premium customers, and probably not loyal (unless one has elite status through regular stays).

But I'm still a guest equal to any other and as such deserve the same treatment. There tends to be a bit more acidity on this board towards people who use priceline than those who travel on other forms of discounted travel (vouchers, industry rates etc.) and I don't think it's justified. I didn't force Marriott to accept the bargain, ultimately the hotel found it would be better off taking my heavily discounted room than forgoing the revenue. Room type is not guaranteed, but outside that if a request would be granted to any other customer it speaks poorly of the hotel to refuse to do so with the PLer out of something akin to spite.

That said I've always been treated very well, managed to avoid the dreaded priceline rooms, and received points for incidental expenses. I've ended up staying across several brands, and if/when I begin traveling for work will drive a big part of that decision.