Dec 30, 2015, 10:18 am
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.
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.
Platinum Status in Eight Days and $800 - No Stays Required
Dec 31, 2017, 4:02 am
#1906
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Lafayette, LA
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, BA Gold, UA Gold MM, DL SM MM, Hyatt Glob, HH Diam, Marriott Ti/LT Plat, IHG Plat
Posts: 274
I held 13 meetings at Marriott properties this year. (I hold dozens of work meetings each year. Some of these are just me and one or two other people, others include five or ten other people. Very few are larger than this, and very few last more than an hour or two. Until I learned about the Rewarding Events program I generally held meetings in restaurants, coffee shops, free conference rooms adjacent to hotel executive lounges, my home/office, other people's offices, etc.)
Four of the meetings I held were in or near the small city where I live. Of these, the two least expensive ($50 each including taxes) and easiest to arrange (really friendly staff) were at a property quite near me. But six months later the points/nights for these meetings have not posted despite multiple assurances. I've spent hours and hours on this and have basically given up. The other two meetings in my home town were a bit more expensive ($75 plus tax at one property, $100 plus tax at another). The $75 meeting required lots of effort because the hotel had a policy (of which I was informed late in the booking process) of only registering fairly large and expensive meetings as Rewarding Events. Fortunately I found a Marriott Rewards agent who was agreed with me that this hotel policy was inconsistent with the rules of the program and who was apparently able to convince the hotel's management of this. The $100 meeting went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly.
Six of my meetings were in Southeast Asia. These meetings were billed in local currencies but generally cost between $70 and $80 each including taxes. Several of the meetings did not post within the first few weeks, and I had to have long email exchanges with friendly but sometimes clueless hotel staff. Eventually all the meetings posted without my having to communicate with MR.
Three meetings were in small U.S. properties nowhere near me -- one each in the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. All of these went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly -- in one case within 24 hours of the meeting.
A few observations based on these experiences:
(1) After a couple of early misunderstandings about whether the meetings will count as MR Rewarding Events, I started asking about this early in the booking process. In some cases it was unnecessary because I had already received a written contract that specifically mentioned the points and nights and had a place for me to fill in my name and MR number. But in several cases the contract said nothing about this, and in two cases the contract seemed to say that the meeting would get Rewarding Events credit only if I also booked 10 guest rooms. In most of these cases the hotel staff quickly sent me an acknowledgment that the meeting would count as a Rewarding Event. In a couple of other cases the hotel staff said their hotel had a policy of only giving credit for large events (typically $500 to $1000 in room rental and/or catering costs) or that the room they had booked for me (in the executive lounge and/or business center) was ineligible for Rewarding Events credit. In these cases it was still early enough in the booking process that I was able to thank them for their time and find another place to hold the meeting.
(2) The smallest properties are not necessarily the least expensive or the most flexible. In one city the Courtyard refused to give me Rewarding Event credit unless I spent $1000, but a Renaissance and a JW were each happy to give me credit for $70 - $80 meetings (even though the one at the JW was in the Business Center).
(3) In using the MR online event booking/inquiry tool, I have discovered that it's better to make a separate inquiry for every property rather than using the option to list three properties in the same inquiry. In one early experiment I listed three properties and quickly got a call from one of them, which was way beyond my price range. A couple of days later I called one of the others and was told that the reason they had not responded to my inquiry was that the first property had "locked" the inquiry so that other properties could not see it. Since then I've always listed only one hotel per inquiry.
(4) In cases where the points/nights did not post and the hotel management seemed unable or unwilling to help, my experiences with MR agents varied widely. As noted above, the first agent I called back in July was great. She understood the program, agreed that I was entitled to credit for the meeting, and convinced a reluctant hotel sales manager. She also worked with the other local property that had not registered two of my meetings, and received assurances that the points/nights would be entered using the meetings/events posting tool. But this never happened, and my subsequent calls put me in touch with other MR agents who either didn't understand the program, who shared the view that I shouldn't get credit for such a small meeting, and/or who said it was all up to the hotel and I should deal directly with them.
(5) In a couple of cases where I was staying at the hotel at which I was holding the meeting, the hotel staff wanted to give me the use of a conference room for free. I had to explain in these cases that I wished to forego the benefit of free use of the room and to pay for it in order to get MR Rewarding Events credit.
(6) Although I never deliberately booked a meeting that I did not plan to attend, in two cases my plans changed and I did not show up. In the first case -- in a town a few hundred miles from where I live -- two other attendees did show up, and I participated by telephone, but either my colleagues were in the wrong room or somehow the hotel management did not notice them. Later that day when I called to check messages on my home phone there were several urgent messages from the hotel sales agent, wondering where I was. I called her, explained what had happened, and apologized. The points and nights posted soon thereafter. The second time I was going to miss a meeting, I called a couple of hours in advance. The sales agent was courteous and understanding. The points for this meeting also posted quickly. (In both cases I'd already been charged for the price of the meeting.)
(7) Because I received 110 nights credit in addition to the 55 other nights I had this year, 90 nights should roll over to next year and I'll have Platinum status through early 2020. Because of the end of the rollover policy, the Rewarding Events program will be far less valuable to me in 2018 than it was this year. I'll probably still hold a few meetings at Marriotts -- in part because some of the properties are really nice, as are the staff members with whom I've developed a relationship -- but it's much less likely that I'll pay $70+ when I can get an equally nice room for free at the same property or somewhere else. (Of course the nights will still count toward lifetime status, and I should be at about 400 nights after my 2017 nights roll over, but I only have about 400,000 lifetime points so the extra nights might not help that much.)
I hope these observations are helpful. Thanks so much to others who provided helpful advice on this thread earlier in the year when I was booking my first meetings.
Four of the meetings I held were in or near the small city where I live. Of these, the two least expensive ($50 each including taxes) and easiest to arrange (really friendly staff) were at a property quite near me. But six months later the points/nights for these meetings have not posted despite multiple assurances. I've spent hours and hours on this and have basically given up. The other two meetings in my home town were a bit more expensive ($75 plus tax at one property, $100 plus tax at another). The $75 meeting required lots of effort because the hotel had a policy (of which I was informed late in the booking process) of only registering fairly large and expensive meetings as Rewarding Events. Fortunately I found a Marriott Rewards agent who was agreed with me that this hotel policy was inconsistent with the rules of the program and who was apparently able to convince the hotel's management of this. The $100 meeting went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly.
Six of my meetings were in Southeast Asia. These meetings were billed in local currencies but generally cost between $70 and $80 each including taxes. Several of the meetings did not post within the first few weeks, and I had to have long email exchanges with friendly but sometimes clueless hotel staff. Eventually all the meetings posted without my having to communicate with MR.
Three meetings were in small U.S. properties nowhere near me -- one each in the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. All of these went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly -- in one case within 24 hours of the meeting.
A few observations based on these experiences:
(1) After a couple of early misunderstandings about whether the meetings will count as MR Rewarding Events, I started asking about this early in the booking process. In some cases it was unnecessary because I had already received a written contract that specifically mentioned the points and nights and had a place for me to fill in my name and MR number. But in several cases the contract said nothing about this, and in two cases the contract seemed to say that the meeting would get Rewarding Events credit only if I also booked 10 guest rooms. In most of these cases the hotel staff quickly sent me an acknowledgment that the meeting would count as a Rewarding Event. In a couple of other cases the hotel staff said their hotel had a policy of only giving credit for large events (typically $500 to $1000 in room rental and/or catering costs) or that the room they had booked for me (in the executive lounge and/or business center) was ineligible for Rewarding Events credit. In these cases it was still early enough in the booking process that I was able to thank them for their time and find another place to hold the meeting.
(2) The smallest properties are not necessarily the least expensive or the most flexible. In one city the Courtyard refused to give me Rewarding Event credit unless I spent $1000, but a Renaissance and a JW were each happy to give me credit for $70 - $80 meetings (even though the one at the JW was in the Business Center).
(3) In using the MR online event booking/inquiry tool, I have discovered that it's better to make a separate inquiry for every property rather than using the option to list three properties in the same inquiry. In one early experiment I listed three properties and quickly got a call from one of them, which was way beyond my price range. A couple of days later I called one of the others and was told that the reason they had not responded to my inquiry was that the first property had "locked" the inquiry so that other properties could not see it. Since then I've always listed only one hotel per inquiry.
(4) In cases where the points/nights did not post and the hotel management seemed unable or unwilling to help, my experiences with MR agents varied widely. As noted above, the first agent I called back in July was great. She understood the program, agreed that I was entitled to credit for the meeting, and convinced a reluctant hotel sales manager. She also worked with the other local property that had not registered two of my meetings, and received assurances that the points/nights would be entered using the meetings/events posting tool. But this never happened, and my subsequent calls put me in touch with other MR agents who either didn't understand the program, who shared the view that I shouldn't get credit for such a small meeting, and/or who said it was all up to the hotel and I should deal directly with them.
(5) In a couple of cases where I was staying at the hotel at which I was holding the meeting, the hotel staff wanted to give me the use of a conference room for free. I had to explain in these cases that I wished to forego the benefit of free use of the room and to pay for it in order to get MR Rewarding Events credit.
(6) Although I never deliberately booked a meeting that I did not plan to attend, in two cases my plans changed and I did not show up. In the first case -- in a town a few hundred miles from where I live -- two other attendees did show up, and I participated by telephone, but either my colleagues were in the wrong room or somehow the hotel management did not notice them. Later that day when I called to check messages on my home phone there were several urgent messages from the hotel sales agent, wondering where I was. I called her, explained what had happened, and apologized. The points and nights posted soon thereafter. The second time I was going to miss a meeting, I called a couple of hours in advance. The sales agent was courteous and understanding. The points for this meeting also posted quickly. (In both cases I'd already been charged for the price of the meeting.)
(7) Because I received 110 nights credit in addition to the 55 other nights I had this year, 90 nights should roll over to next year and I'll have Platinum status through early 2020. Because of the end of the rollover policy, the Rewarding Events program will be far less valuable to me in 2018 than it was this year. I'll probably still hold a few meetings at Marriotts -- in part because some of the properties are really nice, as are the staff members with whom I've developed a relationship -- but it's much less likely that I'll pay $70+ when I can get an equally nice room for free at the same property or somewhere else. (Of course the nights will still count toward lifetime status, and I should be at about 400 nights after my 2017 nights roll over, but I only have about 400,000 lifetime points so the extra nights might not help that much.)
I hope these observations are helpful. Thanks so much to others who provided helpful advice on this thread earlier in the year when I was booking my first meetings.
Last edited by Assimilated Cajun; Dec 31, 2017 at 4:44 am
Dec 31, 2017, 1:35 pm
#1907
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX-HNL-TYO
Programs: ANA PLATINUM,HYATT GLOBALIST, AA PLATINUM FOR LIFE, UNITED SILVER, HILTON DIAMOND, MARRIOTT TITANIUM
Posts: 606
I held 13 meetings at Marriott properties this year. (I hold dozens of work meetings each year. Some of these are just me and one or two other people, others include five or ten other people. Very few are larger than this, and very few last more than an hour or two. Until I learned about the Rewarding Events program I generally held meetings in restaurants, coffee shops, free conference rooms adjacent to hotel executive lounges, my home/office, other people's offices, etc.)
Four of the meetings I held were in or near the small city where I live. Of these, the two least expensive ($50 each including taxes) and easiest to arrange (really friendly staff) were at a property quite near me. But six months later the points/nights for these meetings have not posted despite multiple assurances. I've spent hours and hours on this and have basically given up. The other two meetings in my home town were a bit more expensive ($75 plus tax at one property, $100 plus tax at another). The $75 meeting required lots of effort because the hotel had a policy (of which I was informed late in the booking process) of only registering fairly large and expensive meetings as Rewarding Events. Fortunately I found a Marriott Rewards agent who was agreed with me that this hotel policy was inconsistent with the rules of the program and who was apparently able to convince the hotel's management of this. The $100 meeting went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly.
Six of my meetings were in Southeast Asia. These meetings were billed in local currencies but generally cost between $70 and $80 each including taxes. Several of the meetings did not post within the first few weeks, and I had to have long email exchanges with friendly but sometimes clueless hotel staff. Eventually all the meetings posted without my having to communicate with MR.
Three meetings were in small U.S. properties nowhere near me -- one each in the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. All of these went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly -- in one case within 24 hours of the meeting.
A few observations based on these experiences:
(1) After a couple of early misunderstandings about whether the meetings will count as MR Rewarding Events, I started asking about this early in the booking process. In some cases it was unnecessary because I had already received a written contract that specifically mentioned the points and nights and had a place for me to fill in my name and MR number. But in several cases the contract said nothing about this, and in two cases the contract seemed to say that the meeting would get Rewarding Events credit only if I also booked 10 guest rooms. In most of these cases the hotel staff quickly sent me an acknowledgment that the meeting would count as a Rewarding Event. In a couple of other cases the hotel staff said their hotel had a policy of only giving credit for large events (typically $500 to $1000 in room rental and/or catering costs) or that the room they had booked for me (in the executive lounge and/or business center) was ineligible for Rewarding Events credit. In these cases it was still early enough in the booking process that I was able to thank them for their time and find another place to hold the meeting.
(2) The smallest properties are not necessarily the least expensive or the most flexible. In one city the Courtyard refused to give me Rewarding Event credit unless I spent $1000, but a Renaissance and a JW were each happy to give me credit for $70 - $80 meetings (even though the one at the JW was in the Business Center).
(3) In using the MR online event booking/inquiry tool, I have discovered that it's better to make a separate inquiry for every property rather than using the option to list three properties in the same inquiry. In one early experiment I listed three properties and quickly got a call from one of them, which was way beyond my price range. A couple of days later I called one of the others and was told that the reason they had not responded to my inquiry was that the first property had "locked" the inquiry so that other properties could not see it. Since then I've always listed only one hotel per inquiry.
(4) In cases where the points/nights did not post and the hotel management seemed unable or unwilling to help, my experiences with MR agents varied widely. As noted above, the first agent I called back in July was great. She understood the program, agreed that I was entitled to credit for the meeting, and convinced a reluctant hotel sales manager. She also worked with the other local property that had not registered two of my meetings, and received assurances that the points/nights would be entered using the meetings/events posting tool. But this never happened, and my subsequent calls put me in touch with other MR agents who either didn't understand the program, who shared the view that I shouldn't get credit for such a small meeting, and/or who said it was all up to the hotel and I should deal directly with them.
(5) In a couple of cases where I was staying at the hotel at which I was holding the meeting, the hotel staff wanted to give me the use of a conference room for free. I had to explain in these cases that I wished to forego the benefit of free use of the room and to pay for it in order to get MR Rewarding Events credit.
(6) Although I never deliberately booked a meeting that I did not plan to attend, in two cases my plans changed and I did not show up. In the first case -- in a town a few hundred miles from where I live -- two other attendees did show up, and I participated by telephone, but either my colleagues were in the wrong room or somehow the hotel management did not notice them. Later that day when I called to check messages on my home phone there were several urgent messages from the hotel sales agent, wondering where I was. I called her, explained what had happened, and apologized. The points and nights posted soon thereafter. The second time I was going to miss a meeting, I called a couple of hours in advance. The sales agent was courteous and understanding. The points for this meeting also posted quickly. (In both cases I'd already been charged for the price of the meeting.)
(7) Because I received 110 nights credit in addition to the 55 other nights I had this year, 90 nights should roll over to next year and I'll have Platinum status through early 2020. Because of the end of the rollover policy, the Rewarding Events program will be far less valuable to me in 2018 than it was this year. I'll probably still hold a few meetings at Marriotts -- in part because some of the properties are really nice, as are the staff members with whom I've developed a relationship -- but it's much less likely that I'll pay $70+ when I can get an equally nice room for free at the same property or somewhere else. (Of course the nights will still count toward lifetime status, and I should be at about 400 nights after my 2017 nights roll over, but I only have about 400,000 lifetime points so the extra nights might not help that much.)
I hope these observations are helpful. Thanks so much to others who provided helpful advice on this thread earlier in the year when I was booking my first meetings.
Four of the meetings I held were in or near the small city where I live. Of these, the two least expensive ($50 each including taxes) and easiest to arrange (really friendly staff) were at a property quite near me. But six months later the points/nights for these meetings have not posted despite multiple assurances. I've spent hours and hours on this and have basically given up. The other two meetings in my home town were a bit more expensive ($75 plus tax at one property, $100 plus tax at another). The $75 meeting required lots of effort because the hotel had a policy (of which I was informed late in the booking process) of only registering fairly large and expensive meetings as Rewarding Events. Fortunately I found a Marriott Rewards agent who was agreed with me that this hotel policy was inconsistent with the rules of the program and who was apparently able to convince the hotel's management of this. The $100 meeting went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly.
Six of my meetings were in Southeast Asia. These meetings were billed in local currencies but generally cost between $70 and $80 each including taxes. Several of the meetings did not post within the first few weeks, and I had to have long email exchanges with friendly but sometimes clueless hotel staff. Eventually all the meetings posted without my having to communicate with MR.
Three meetings were in small U.S. properties nowhere near me -- one each in the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. All of these went smoothly and the points/nights posted quickly -- in one case within 24 hours of the meeting.
A few observations based on these experiences:
(1) After a couple of early misunderstandings about whether the meetings will count as MR Rewarding Events, I started asking about this early in the booking process. In some cases it was unnecessary because I had already received a written contract that specifically mentioned the points and nights and had a place for me to fill in my name and MR number. But in several cases the contract said nothing about this, and in two cases the contract seemed to say that the meeting would get Rewarding Events credit only if I also booked 10 guest rooms. In most of these cases the hotel staff quickly sent me an acknowledgment that the meeting would count as a Rewarding Event. In a couple of other cases the hotel staff said their hotel had a policy of only giving credit for large events (typically $500 to $1000 in room rental and/or catering costs) or that the room they had booked for me (in the executive lounge and/or business center) was ineligible for Rewarding Events credit. In these cases it was still early enough in the booking process that I was able to thank them for their time and find another place to hold the meeting.
(2) The smallest properties are not necessarily the least expensive or the most flexible. In one city the Courtyard refused to give me Rewarding Event credit unless I spent $1000, but a Renaissance and a JW were each happy to give me credit for $70 - $80 meetings (even though the one at the JW was in the Business Center).
(3) In using the MR online event booking/inquiry tool, I have discovered that it's better to make a separate inquiry for every property rather than using the option to list three properties in the same inquiry. In one early experiment I listed three properties and quickly got a call from one of them, which was way beyond my price range. A couple of days later I called one of the others and was told that the reason they had not responded to my inquiry was that the first property had "locked" the inquiry so that other properties could not see it. Since then I've always listed only one hotel per inquiry.
(4) In cases where the points/nights did not post and the hotel management seemed unable or unwilling to help, my experiences with MR agents varied widely. As noted above, the first agent I called back in July was great. She understood the program, agreed that I was entitled to credit for the meeting, and convinced a reluctant hotel sales manager. She also worked with the other local property that had not registered two of my meetings, and received assurances that the points/nights would be entered using the meetings/events posting tool. But this never happened, and my subsequent calls put me in touch with other MR agents who either didn't understand the program, who shared the view that I shouldn't get credit for such a small meeting, and/or who said it was all up to the hotel and I should deal directly with them.
(5) In a couple of cases where I was staying at the hotel at which I was holding the meeting, the hotel staff wanted to give me the use of a conference room for free. I had to explain in these cases that I wished to forego the benefit of free use of the room and to pay for it in order to get MR Rewarding Events credit.
(6) Although I never deliberately booked a meeting that I did not plan to attend, in two cases my plans changed and I did not show up. In the first case -- in a town a few hundred miles from where I live -- two other attendees did show up, and I participated by telephone, but either my colleagues were in the wrong room or somehow the hotel management did not notice them. Later that day when I called to check messages on my home phone there were several urgent messages from the hotel sales agent, wondering where I was. I called her, explained what had happened, and apologized. The points and nights posted soon thereafter. The second time I was going to miss a meeting, I called a couple of hours in advance. The sales agent was courteous and understanding. The points for this meeting also posted quickly. (In both cases I'd already been charged for the price of the meeting.)
(7) Because I received 110 nights credit in addition to the 55 other nights I had this year, 90 nights should roll over to next year and I'll have Platinum status through early 2020. Because of the end of the rollover policy, the Rewarding Events program will be far less valuable to me in 2018 than it was this year. I'll probably still hold a few meetings at Marriotts -- in part because some of the properties are really nice, as are the staff members with whom I've developed a relationship -- but it's much less likely that I'll pay $70+ when I can get an equally nice room for free at the same property or somewhere else. (Of course the nights will still count toward lifetime status, and I should be at about 400 nights after my 2017 nights roll over, but I only have about 400,000 lifetime points so the extra nights might not help that much.)
I hope these observations are helpful. Thanks so much to others who provided helpful advice on this thread earlier in the year when I was booking my first meetings.
Thanks for the summary of your experience with the meetings.
Jan 1, 2018, 11:58 pm
#1908
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: AMEX Plat Marriott Gold HHGold UA Silver
Posts: 40
I did, I purposely booked times and locations that made it viable for me to go. My impression at the hotel was it was not really needed, but with it being the end of the year I did not want any hang ups. I expect my work travel to really take off this year (2018), so it will be nice to kick it off with the status in place already.
As fate would have it I ended up spending the last few night of 2017 in Marriott so Ill end up with some roll over if all works out.
Now with that done I find out tonight, "surprise" I am spending all next week in a Hilton! But I have (via PlatAmex) Gold there, but seeing if Diamond is poss/worth the trouble over at that forum.
As fate would have it I ended up spending the last few night of 2017 in Marriott so Ill end up with some roll over if all works out.
Now with that done I find out tonight, "surprise" I am spending all next week in a Hilton! But I have (via PlatAmex) Gold there, but seeing if Diamond is poss/worth the trouble over at that forum.
Jan 2, 2018, 1:15 pm
#1909
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: United 1P
Posts: 688
If anyone knows about a meeting place that costs $50ish+tax and does not require me to show up, please pm me. Thank you!
Jan 2, 2018, 2:59 pm
#1910
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
how do you get properties to do 2 hour meetings? i can't find any property that will do less than a half day. Also, do folks tell the event coordinators upfront that it's only for the stay credits?
Last edited by yerffej201; Jan 2, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Jan 2, 2018, 3:17 pm
#1911
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: Delta Diamond, Marriott Ambassador & Lifetime Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, United Silver
Posts: 6,334
Jan 2, 2018, 7:46 pm
#1912
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: TPA/SRQ
Programs: Hyatt Explorer, Marriott Titanium, AA Plat Pro, UA Silver, Avis Plus, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,692
Ill post if or when it hts.
Jan 2, 2018, 11:11 pm
#1913
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: Virtuoso Luxury Travel Agent; Bonvoy Titanium Elite; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 663
I'd really appreciate if someone can PM me some cheap properties that dont require to show up 
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
Jan 3, 2018, 3:55 am
#1914
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BZN
Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium
Posts: 8,291
Last edited by mooper; Jan 3, 2018 at 8:04 pm Reason: clarification
Jan 3, 2018, 4:29 am
#1915
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BZN
Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium
Posts: 8,291
I held 13 meetings at Marriott properties this year. (I hold dozens of work meetings each year. Some of these are just me and one or two other people, others include five or ten other people. Very few are larger than this, and very few last more than an hour or two. Until I learned about the Rewarding Events program I generally held meetings in restaurants, coffee shops, free conference rooms adjacent to hotel executive lounges, my home/office, other people's offices, etc.)
...After a couple of early misunderstandings about whether the meetings will count as MR Rewarding Events, I started asking about this early in the booking process. In some cases it was unnecessary because I had already received a written contract that specifically mentioned the points and nights and had a place for me to fill in my name and MR number. But in several cases the contract said nothing about this, and in two cases the contract seemed to say that the meeting would get Rewarding Events credit only if I also booked 10 guest rooms. In most of these cases the hotel staff quickly sent me an acknowledgment that the meeting would count as a Rewarding Event. In a couple of other cases the hotel staff said their hotel had a policy of only giving credit for large events (typically $500 to $1000 in room rental and/or catering costs) or that the room they had booked for me (in the executive lounge and/or business center) was ineligible for Rewarding Events credit. In these cases it was still early enough in the booking process that I was able to thank them for their time and find another place to hold the meeting.
Last edited by mooper; Jan 3, 2018 at 4:37 am
Jan 3, 2018, 8:29 am
#1916
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: United 1P
Posts: 688
Thanks for sharing your experiences in detail. I think the key factor is that you have been booking meetings primarily out of business necessity, and for the Elite Qualifying Nights secondarily, while many others in here are seeking to book primarily for the EQNs. This makes a world of difference in how you approach it because anyone primarily seeking EQNs can be extremely selective in which properties they engage with from the start, while someone in your situation is more limited in terms of their flexibility to shop around. You expressed this quite clearly, here:
For anyone primarily seeking EQNs, do not engage further with a property that will not quickly provide you with a contract before the meeting that clearly states the price (I recommend paying no more than $50, but if you want to expedite things, being willing to pay more will give you a bigger pool to work with from the start), and asks for your MR# and mentions earning points. Nights don't need to be mentioned, as Marriott automatically and instantly posts the 10 EQNs when the rewarding events points are posted using the Posting Tool. *Before* signing, have them verify that they know what the "Posting Tool" is, and that they will post your Rewarding Events points within a business day or two of the meeting conclusion. You don't need to ask, "Do I need to show up?", but you can set the tone by asking, "For some of my meetings, we end up just casually talking in the lobby rather than the meeting room itself... is this cool with you?" (Remember, you're setting up a no-frills two-person meeting for 30 minutes, so it's not like you'd be disturbing anyone). All of this can be done by email in a few minutes of your time. The majority of properties will fail to confirm one of these requirements during your vetting process, and when they do, just politely thank them and move onto the next lead. You might have to go through a small handful of respondents, but it's worth your time to get a perfect fit. Once you do, everyone wins... the property gets easy revenue that helps them, and you get the EQNs you were after to help yourself, and it's all in line with the rules. Want more meetings/nights at a later time? Now you have a contact and things down pat with that property and it's super easy to rinse and repeat.
For anyone primarily seeking EQNs, do not engage further with a property that will not quickly provide you with a contract before the meeting that clearly states the price (I recommend paying no more than $50, but if you want to expedite things, being willing to pay more will give you a bigger pool to work with from the start), and asks for your MR# and mentions earning points. Nights don't need to be mentioned, as Marriott automatically and instantly posts the 10 EQNs when the rewarding events points are posted using the Posting Tool. *Before* signing, have them verify that they know what the "Posting Tool" is, and that they will post your Rewarding Events points within a business day or two of the meeting conclusion. You don't need to ask, "Do I need to show up?", but you can set the tone by asking, "For some of my meetings, we end up just casually talking in the lobby rather than the meeting room itself... is this cool with you?" (Remember, you're setting up a no-frills two-person meeting for 30 minutes, so it's not like you'd be disturbing anyone). All of this can be done by email in a few minutes of your time. The majority of properties will fail to confirm one of these requirements during your vetting process, and when they do, just politely thank them and move onto the next lead. You might have to go through a small handful of respondents, but it's worth your time to get a perfect fit. Once you do, everyone wins... the property gets easy revenue that helps them, and you get the EQNs you were after to help yourself, and it's all in line with the rules. Want more meetings/nights at a later time? Now you have a contact and things down pat with that property and it's super easy to rinse and repeat.
Jan 3, 2018, 10:59 am
#1917
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Marriott Lifetime Gold, National Executive Elite
Posts: 247
The idea is that airport locations are typically cheaper properties not in highly-populated downtown areas. They do not need to be located inside the airport. See the wiki or Marriott's website for valid property types.
Jan 3, 2018, 5:25 pm
#1918
Join Date: May 2016
Location: ATL
Programs: DL GM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,240
I had my first Marriott meeting last week (12/27) at a Courtyard to get myself over 75 nights, but the event hasn't posted yet, and I haven't gotten the email yet either. (I booked via the instant-book tool on Marriott.com, entered my MR# on the contract, and confirmed with a manager that they'd post to me account via the Group Posting Tool). Normally I'd be fine waiting the 10 business days, but on the paper copy of my folio, it doesn't have my rewards info on it, and instead has the message at the bottom saying "As a Rewards Member, you could have earned points toward you free dream vacation today....Enroll today at the front desk" - instead of what I'm used to seeing when I checkout with a room reservation, when the folio has my account info. (My fault for not reading it over more carefully when I was at the hotel, I only checked to make sure the charges and credit card number were right).
I'm wondering if this is just the standard boilerplate for meetings, or if others who've physically gone to their meetings and got their nights credited got a receipt with their MR info printed on theirs? (I'm wondering if it's possible that my MR# got separated from the meeting booking somewhere along the line...)
I'm wondering if this is just the standard boilerplate for meetings, or if others who've physically gone to their meetings and got their nights credited got a receipt with their MR info printed on theirs? (I'm wondering if it's possible that my MR# got separated from the meeting booking somewhere along the line...)
Jan 3, 2018, 7:58 pm
#1919
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BZN
Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium
Posts: 8,291
I booked via the instant-book tool on Marriott.com, entered my MR# on the contract, and confirmed with a manager that they'd post to me account via the Group Posting Tool). Normally I'd be fine waiting the 10 business days, but on the paper copy of my folio, it doesn't have my rewards info on it, and instead has the message at the bottom saying "As a Rewards Member, you could have earned points toward you free dream vacation today....Enroll today at the front desk"
Jan 3, 2018, 8:09 pm
#1920
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: United 1P
Posts: 688
One more question, none of my request to 10 locations are responded over the past two days. However, I called a hotel and was offered $50 for 30-minutes. But the hotel told me there is no contract. I just need to sign in with the front desk. Will this type of arrangement give me the 10 elite nights? Do I have to go through the centralized sales manager to gain the 10 elite nights?
Thank you, all!
Last edited by kgkg; Jan 3, 2018 at 8:15 pm