Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Discontinued Programs/Partners > Marriott | Rewards
Reload this Page >

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

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
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.
Print Wikipost

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

 
Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old May 10, 2018, 11:49 pm
  #2131  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 625
Originally Posted by stc
Don't you mean 25 meetings?
D'oh! I had the 15 night credit card credit on my mind! Corrected!
joeags is offline  
Old May 10, 2018, 11:51 pm
  #2132  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Originally Posted by joeags
My wife is at 250 nights but 1.9 million points. Part of me wants to book 17 meetings in order to get her to the 50 night platinum level, but the other part of me in control of the wallet scoffs at even thinking of spending that type of money on a lifetime status! This would be the semi-scam mentioned above though...!

If I was that close on points I would definately go for it, infact I would go all the way to the top at those points level but it also depends on how long you think you can benefit from them LT benefits! LTPP may not be alot extra now over LTP but in the future it very well may be at which point it may be too late!

Just food for thought!
kauppias is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:14 am
  #2133  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: California
Programs: Hyatt Global, Marriot Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 2,282
Originally Posted by UA-NYC
So - are properties keen that this generally is a semi-scam situation? Do they just not care since they are getting revenue? Is this as crazy a loophole as it seems?

I will likely need to book 3-4 "meetings" in H2 this year
It's not a scam or even a semi-scam. You pay them money. They rent you a room.
JackE is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:15 am
  #2134  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: California
Programs: Hyatt Global, Marriot Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 2,282
Originally Posted by schley
Great. Has anyone started a thread of least expensive one hour meeting rooms by city and hotel?
Keep in mind that taxes and service fees will increase the cost. IME, by about a third.
JackE is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:22 am
  #2135  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Originally Posted by JackE
Keep in mind that taxes and service fees will increase the cost. IME, by about a third.

Most places charge a service fee/gratuity total of about 20-25% plus state/local taxes of about 5-10%

So far I have only seen 2 properties NOT collecting the extra fees when no catering/av setup was involved even thpugh they did mention these fees in the contract!

It seems to add about 30-35$ on a 100$ meeting. But still cheap per night
kauppias is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:27 am
  #2136  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Originally Posted by UA-NYC
So - are properties keen that this generally is a semi-scam situation? Do they just not care since they are getting revenue? Is this as crazy a loophole as it seems?

I will likely need to book 3-4 "meetings" in H2 this year

I think theat people doing one hour meetings is acceptable to the property as they are only paying for space thats going unused anyways and the property only pays 3 points per usd to Marriott

The property is not paying for nights.

Also I doubt that most meetings fall into this one hour thing overall.... A very small percentage of people I would bet. Not a scam, by anymeans more of a where the fence is the lowest thing
kauppias is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 1:03 am
  #2137  
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Programs: AA plt 2 mm, Marriott LTT, HH dia
Posts: 1,215
Last year, I contacted several hotels to try to find a good rate for some meetings. I targeted Fairfield Inns, Courtyards and Springhill Suites because I thought they might be cheaper. I reached out on the Marriott Meetings website, and about 5 hotels out of 20 contacted me back. My form letter to the salesperson read something like this:

I am looking for a small meeting room to conduct several interviews. Here are my criteria:

# of interviews
2 people
30 minutes - 1 hour each
Flexible room configuration
No catering or audio visual needed
Would be willing to commit to xx separate meetings at a $50 rate each

After I got several hotels bidding against each other, I got my $50 rate + 25% service fee and taxes per meeting. Unfortunately, the salesperson that gave me the best deal no longer works at the hotel I used. But if someone is interested in negotiating a rate, this worked for me. The hotel was close by, so I showed up for the meetings. Then when I finally met the salesperson one day, she said she knew what I was doing, and I didn't have to show up anymore.
rogo, karenkay, UA-NYC and 1 others like this.
jeanie is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 11:17 am
  #2138  
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 288
If I need 10 meetings, will a single contract with 10 different meetings (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for the next 3-4 weeks work for credit on 100 room nights or do I need a separate contract for each meeting.
The person said they will draft one contract but bill separately after each meeting. $70 per meeting is what I am getting.
100 nights away from LTP. Hoping this extra $700+ is worth for me to get LTPP over LTP. Not really sure.
Thanks
kcdude is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 11:35 am
  #2139  
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 kcdude
If I need 10 meetings, will a single contract with 10 different meetings (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for the next 3-4 weeks work for credit on 100 room nights or do I need a separate contract for each meeting.
The person said they will draft one contract but bill separately after each meeting. $70 per meeting is what I am getting.
100 nights away from LTP. Hoping this extra $700+ is worth for me to get LTPP over LTP. Not really sure.
Thanks
Caution, some have reported that since it was a single contract only one booking occurred using the Group Posting Tool that resulted in only getting 10 nights for the contract. Something about being the same contract number was the deciding factor.
RogerD408 is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 11:43 am
  #2140  
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 288
Originally Posted by RogerD408
Caution, some have reported that since it was a single contract only one booking occurred using the Group Posting Tool that resulted in only getting 10 nights for the contract. Something about being the same contract number was the deciding factor.
OK, thanks. What about consecutive days? If I have separate contracts, will fri/sat/sun will be treated as 3 separate meetings or is it like hotel night stays where consecutive nights will translate into single stay?
kcdude is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 11:56 am
  #2141  
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 kcdude
OK, thanks. What about consecutive days? If I have separate contracts, will fri/sat/sun will be treated as 3 separate meetings or is it like hotel night stays where consecutive nights will translate into single stay?
I have not tried it, but as long as you get separate contracts, even if they are on the same day, and they use the Group Posting Tool for each, you are good to go. There is not language in the program that any separation is necessary. It's all really going to depend upon what the property does.

If it was me, I'd space them out just so there is no room for creative rules.
RogerD408 is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:38 pm
  #2142  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
I skip at least one day and have separate contracts for each meeting. That said, I'm at 1.9 million points and will be getting enough nights for LT Platinum. Like a previous poster asked, should I go for another 25 meetings and get to LT Platinum Premier? Not sure the late checkout and extra 25% on base points matters that much, but there's also the FOMO side of me...
chongl is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:39 pm
  #2143  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Originally Posted by kcdude
OK, thanks. What about consecutive days? If I have separate contracts, will fri/sat/sun will be treated as 3 separate meetings or is it like hotel night stays where consecutive nights will translate into single stay?
I would negotiate with the property AHEAD of time to make sure they post them separately. I remember reading here about someone who had meetings combined and MR refused to fix it and the property as well. Just something to keep in mind....
kauppias is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 12:41 pm
  #2144  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Originally Posted by chongl
I skip at least one day and have separate contracts for each meeting. That said, I'm at 1.9 million points and will be getting enough nights for LT Platinum. Like a previous poster asked, should I go for another 25 meetings and get to LT Platinum Premier? Not sure the late checkout and extra 25% on base points matters that much, but there's also the FOMO side of me...
IF I were in your shoes I definately would. It might not be a big difference NOW but it may very well be more in the future and it wont be available in the future for LTPP as we know it now....
kauppias is offline  
Old May 11, 2018, 1:35 pm
  #2145  
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 chongl
I skip at least one day and have separate contracts for each meeting. That said, I'm at 1.9 million points and will be getting enough nights for LT Platinum. Like a previous poster asked, should I go for another 25 meetings and get to LT Platinum Premier? Not sure the late checkout and extra 25% on base points matters that much, but there's also the FOMO side of me...
I don't understand the bolded part. If you get LTP in the MR program, then LTPP will be granted. Why would you need another 25 meetings?
RogerD408 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.