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Platinum Status in Eight Days and $800 - No Stays Required

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Old Dec 30, 2015, 10:18 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: rustykettel
Ten (10) Elite Nights are given for each meeting held in a participating hotel under the "Rewarding Events" program. See below for non-participating brands. Information about the Rewarding Events program may be found at https://www.marriott.com/meeting-eve...els/rewards.mi

The 10 elite nights per meeting are independent of any hotel rooms booked in conjunction with the meeting. In fact, no hotel rooms have to be booked as part of the meeting in order to receive credit for 10 elite nights.

Although the Rewarding Events webpage refers to room nights for meeting participants, the most important section is the one that states 10 Elite Nights, regardless if you or your guest is paying for it

In general, a written contract is required (or should be obtained). In many cases, the meeting is booked through a central Marriott group sales office instead of directly with a hotel. If booked through a central Marriott group sales office, there is a three-page contract that makes reference to the Rewarding Events program on page 2 of the agreement. A MR member number should be included in this area of the contract by the group sales office.

FAQs:

Q: What brands participate in the Rewarding Events program?
A: AC Hotels by Marriott, Aloft, Autograph Collection, Courtyard by Marriott, Delta Hotels by Marriott, EDITION, Element, Fairfield by Marriott, Four Points by Marriott, Gaylord Hotels, JW Marriott, LeMéridien, The Luxury Collection, Marriott Hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, Moxy Hotels, Protea Hotels by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, St. Regis, Tribute Portfolio, W Hotels, & Westin.
Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites, & Marriott Executive Apartments do not participate in the program.

Q: How do I find a hotel that participates?
A: Click on the link to the Rewarding Events page and then in the "Plan" section of the page click on the "Find a Hotel" box. Enter the city you'd like to have your meeting in, purpose of event (Business) and then check the "I need meeting/event space" box. Enter the size of your meeting (2 attendees should work) and then click the "Find" box. Leave the start date and end date blank. A list of potential hotels will be shown. The smallest meeting room is not usually shown online --- you may need to call each hotel to find out which one has a boardroom or other small meeting room. Once you've found a small meeting room, then request a quote online.

Q: How quickly will Marriott respond with a quote?
A: Usually within a day or two --- and usually via email. The email should contain a telephone number of the group sales contact. Give them a call and tell them you'd like to follow up on the quote and you're interested in booking the smallest room available for a 2 person meeting for an hour. If they quote a price that's higher than you want to pay, ask them if they can get approval for a lower priced meeting (e.g., a recent quote was for $75 for an 8 hour use of a CY boardroom). They accepted a counter of $50 for a one-hour meeting in the room (plus service charge plus local sales tax). Urban hotels may charge significantly higher rates for meeting space than a smaller, less congested city.

Q: Is a contract required?
A: The terms of the program suggest "yes" --- although there are reports that 10 elite nights have been granted without contracts. A best practice would be to obtain a contract.

Q: How long do points and EQNs take to post after the event is over?
A: Generally, this takes 3+ business days. According to Marriott, it can take 15 business days. If you do not see anything post after 15 business days, contact the hotel before contacting Marriott customer support. The hotel has to be the one to post it.

You will get an e-mail with a subject line Your Rewarding Events Award has Posted: EVENT NAME

Q: Will the hotel know what I am talking about when I say points and elite night credits?
A: Probably not. They may know about the rewarding events points being 3x per dollar spent, but not always. Usually they know of only the Marriott system (Group Posting Tool) where they input how much you spent and when. This is done after the event and is usually authorized by the sales or general manager.

Q: The contract doesn't say anything about points, will I still earn them?
A: YMMV but so far all the electronic contracts from the website state it, but some fail to read it. The paper contracts usually talk about points, but some reports that they don't, but still post. Remember this is a Marriott Rewards benefit that the hotels don't seem to be footing the bill for.
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Platinum Status in Eight Days and $800 - No Stays Required

 
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Old Jul 5, 2018, 12:13 am
  #2596  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: not far from MUC
Posts: 6,620
Originally Posted by JfromTheBay
Wow that is the cheapest I have ever heard of.. Congrats on an amazing deal..
I'm happy to confirm this property is most definitely in Europe

If the elite nights dont change Im def going to take a lil trip to your neck of the woods.
OT but had to laugh when I saw your location is SJC, guess you won't be having (m)any $33 meetings. By coincidence my wife's just planning a [work] trip there and has been griping for days about the hotel rates. Oh, and her work TA mentioned that her Europe<>SJC flight cost $9400.
shorthauldad is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 5:17 am
  #2597  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,815
Originally Posted by shorthauldad
Quite. All credit to the OP, but perhaps this thread ought to have been coded like the mileage run deals trick-it one.

My last meeting was yesterday, Platinum in the bag as of a few hours ago. $33 including tax, for my final 10 elite nights, and yes I showed up, drank the coffee, enjoyed the plate of biscuits, and sat for half an hour watching a couple of TED talks my wife had emailed to me. I might be back in 2019 if this one's still alive then

My $0.02 - do your own research. Talk to the hotels. Stop hoping to score a(nother) shortcut by booking 8 meetings back to back at one property, this whole thing is already one incredible shortcut

Wow! And I paid $75 for a bottle of water and a mint.
YoungBubbie is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 10:46 am
  #2598  
 
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 217
As a follow up to my prior posts...

Finally contacted the Admin who does the posting. Said there was a problem posting and they just gave me the points.

Also asserted that once the entry was made into the posting tool that they couldn't do any edits. I'm wondering if they gave the credit to someone else.

Since I have a low rate per meeting, I might have to just eat the cost of the meeting and make sure they do it right next time.
jbarm is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 10:55 am
  #2599  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Originally Posted by jbarm
As a follow up to my prior posts...

Finally contacted the Admin who does the posting. Said there was a problem posting and they just gave me the points.

Also asserted that once the entry was made into the posting tool that they couldn't do any edits. I'm wondering if they gave the credit to someone else.

Since I have a low rate per meeting, I might have to just eat the cost of the meeting and make sure they do it right next time.
So then their statement earlier that everything posted properly didn't... What reasoning do you have to believe them this time? Reach out to MR for help in getting this resolved and maybe the property will learn something. Maybe THEY can't change an entry, but I'm pretty sure there is someone elsewhere with the program that can and they just need to reach out to the right person/group.
RogerD408 is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 11:41 am
  #2600  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SJC
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, Bonvoyed Lifetime Gold
Posts: 117
Originally Posted by shorthauldad
I'm happy to confirm this property is most definitely in Europe

OT but had to laugh when I saw your location is SJC, guess you won't be having (m)any $33 meetings. By coincidence my wife's just planning a [work] trip there and has been griping for days about the hotel rates. Oh, and her work TA mentioned that her Europe<>SJC flight cost $9400.
Correct, all the hotels here in the bay area are ridiculous. Why would anyone spend $500+ a night? I dont get it, what do they provide that justifies that? If she wants a suggestion, im a spg guy. I prefer SHERATON SUNNYVALE, its near 2 major freeways and price is always good. Its a typical sheraton nothing special but $150 vs $300+ compared to other hotels bc of location. I am amazed at that airfare. BA usually has specials they have a direct sjc to LHR. Should be $4900 round business. There are always specials from WOW or Norwegian air. $270 round economy, but if her company is paying to do the BA.
JfromTheBay is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 2:34 pm
  #2601  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,643
This continues to be quite the adventure. Property I used doesn't have the ability(?) to use the Group Posting Tool and says every way they have for posting the event comes back as an ineligible charge. Have escalated to corporate to open a care case. GM less than helpful.
CLEguy is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 2:54 pm
  #2602  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Programs: Westjet Platinum, Fairmont Platinum RIP, Accor Gold, Marriott Lifetime Silver, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,296
I think I'll take advantage of this to get my platinum status. Anyone have experience with any Toronto or Southwestern Ontario hotel properties that have successfully done this? Thinking I might do a couple of meetings per day at several properties, just to minimize my time/effort.
Arthurrs is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 3:04 pm
  #2603  
Hyatt Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Programs: QF, VA, AC, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 3,784
I have Platinum status through February 2020. I assume there is no point in me taking advantage of this meeting rooms opportunity now, is that correct?
danger is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 3:25 pm
  #2604  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,643
Originally Posted by danger
I have Platinum status through February 2020. I assume there is no point in me taking advantage of this meeting rooms opportunity now, is that correct?
Depends if it may have an impact on LTP vs LTPP for you, or if you just want to get to the 75 night tier for the marginal increase in benefits that it offers come August. Your call.
CLEguy is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 3:28 pm
  #2605  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: ua mm, aa plat, starriott LTPP, ihg plat, hh gold.
Posts: 13,017
Originally Posted by craigthemif
With all due respect, a bunch of $50 or less meetings do little good if they don't actually post properly because you've overwhelmed a single hotel. By the time it's been sorted out and you feel confident enough to scale it up, Marriott could have changed the rules.

Perhaps it's 100% luck, but it took me less than an hour to find multiple hotels with $75 ish rates that are bookable online. One has more than once reliably posted the 10 elite nights 2-3 days after the supposed meeting.
no, you're absolutely right, but at this point i may be stuck.

after my original in-person conversation with the GM where he assured me he'd post using the posting tool within a day or two, i figured i had it in the bag, and had a lengthy trip planned out of the country. the GM seemed to understand what i was going for and we have signed contracts, so i figured it was a done deal...and couldn't/didn't push hard enough early enough due to travel/time zones/30 minute wait time on the plat line. the GM didn't mention that someone above him needs to sign off on the points...that guy still hasn't performed, (he was apparently out of the country as well for awhile, but is supposed to be back now) and as i mentioned upthread, every time i call marriott, they open a NEW customer care case, but nothing gets resolved.

my budget for no-show meetings is in the $50 or below range, and i was trying to limit myself to my small town where i can actually appear at some of the meetings. the only other local potential property has the same owner/management company, so i may spend some time this weekend looking for other potential properties elsewhere.

i'll continue to update as it may help someone else.
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karenkay is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 3:38 pm
  #2606  
Hyatt Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Programs: QF, VA, AC, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 3,784
Originally Posted by CLEguy
Depends if it may have an impact on LTP vs LTPP for you, or if you just want to get to the 75 night tier for the marginal increase in benefits that it offers come August. Your call.
Thanks for that. I don't want to go off-topic but I thought existing Marriott Platinums will map to Platinum Premier Elite, which I understand to be the 75-99 nighter category that I assume you're referring to. Has something changed?
danger is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 5:35 pm
  #2607  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
Originally Posted by danger
Thanks for that. I don't want to go off-topic but I thought existing Marriott Platinums will map to Platinum Premier Elite, which I understand to be the 75-99 nighter category that I assume you're referring to. Has something changed?
These folks are trying for Lifetime PP, not just PP through the end of 2019.
lexdevil is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 5:58 pm
  #2608  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: HPN
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, United Silver, Hertz Presidents
Posts: 124
Tried to search for a property in CT and requested three quotes on Marriott's website but striking out. Is there is trick to searching for the cheapest (e.g., 1-2 hour) meeting venue in a given state?
olindacat is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 6:10 pm
  #2609  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: HPN
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, United Silver, Hertz Presidents
Posts: 124
Originally Posted by olindacat
Tried to search for a property in CT and requested three quotes on Marriott's website but striking out. Is there is trick to searching for the cheapest (e.g., 1-2 hour) meeting venue in a given state?
A little rusty here, sorry. I reread this thread at Marriott's site. Might help others if it hasn't already been posted here: https://insiders.marriottrewards.com/thread/52784
olindacat is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2018, 6:33 pm
  #2610  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 1,083
Signed 2 contracts with different properties... My card still hasn't been charged despite being asked for CC authorization form, I wonder if they just decided not to charge it because I didn't show up?
DealAddict is offline  


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