Actually, I do notice that because the complimentary continental breakfast comes with smoke Salmon in LAX Ren. However, I noticed that their lacking effort to make the bill right actually gives me the best chance to finish 20 nights for Megabonus and the race to PLT. Sitting at 55 EQN, I would be spending most of the EEO weekends in Marriott LAX until I reach 100 and June 5. Then, I would get back to LAX Ren. Another nice thing about the LAX Ren is it's so close to Burger King so my friends all just have to park there instead of doing valet parking. W 98th can do the trick for Marriott LAX but it's quite a walk.

Thanks for the heads-up though.

IME, people who try to game the system to gain something for themselves for which they would otherwise not be entitled, generally wind up having the effect of screwing things up for others....Who are likely more deserving, and certainly more ethical.

+1

It does not need to be a worldwide event...it could have been the Association of Neighborhood Corner Streetsweeps and Light Bulb Changers annual convention where they only needed the rooms from 1 hotel (if they contract the entire hotel the hotel has lost control of their inventory, MI doesn't take the hotel's word that the group booked the entire hotel either, documentation must be provided and signed off at various levels)

There is no such rule in any merchant agreement mandating what a hotel's cancellation policy must be....there is a rule that it be implimented uniformly and cancallation numbers be provided but nothing mandating it to be 6pm DOA

Ren LAX is a great property with a great staff, but the upgrading policy comes down to the whims and discretion of the front desk staff. I am usually upgraded to the jr suite there or at least get the larger -28 room at the end of the hall. On the last visit there, I had just returned to the property after a trip to India and Thailand. I asked the female clerk for a junior suite. She said they were all occupied. Within one minute, a non-elite standing next to me was offered the junior suite PLUS lounge access for $20! He turned it down. Then a gold elite was offered the upgrade for free. Steam was coming out of my ears being a Platinum Elite who was denied the junior suite. I asked my check-in person why the junior suite was readily available for a non-elite and a gold elite, and she was caught off -guard. She said there was no junior suite on the club level so that is why it was not offered to me!!!!!!!! Then she proceeded to tell me that she wanted me to have 2000 points for my trouble. She said all of the junior suites were now gone and I asked for a room ending in 28. She said they were gone and proceeded to give me the one small room in the column of hotel rooms! I called the MOD from my small room and he proceeded to offer me one of two remaining junior suites. The room size would not have been a problem, but there were a couple of us with a lot of luggage and we couldn't comfortably get all of the luggage into the room.

If I were the desk clerk, I'd charge you for the suite you "just booked" if it was past the cancellation window.

This sounds like a horrible case of DYKWIA.

Funny, I don't have much to complain about. I've been Platinum for all of two days, and I've already received a nice upgrade to a suite with jacuzzi at a Courtyard, and a confirmed Club & prime view room upgrade at a JW next week (suite pending on availability as they only have a few).

So far, I"m very impressed.

Once again, another trip to these hotels, as they are handy to where I need to be. Club closed at the Ren over the weekend. Next trip I stayed down the street at Hotel H, and I received a personal note thanking me for returning. Now, that is classy service, plus the club was open over the weekend.

Gonna try again next week, I will report back.

Gold

@:-) How sweet would that have been.

I am wondering if the problem here is the property, not the chain. My wife used to stay at a Marriott hotel every week. She liked the staff but there were some room issues that were never addressed.

Finally she changed to the JW in the same city. World of difference. She received hotel cards from mgmt including personal cellphone numbers in case she ever had problems. Always received nice rooms and was given valet pkg for the price of self-park because she was traveling alone.

IME, Marriott is kind of okay domestically but really shines in their intl hotels. Besides always receiving nice rooms, often suites, the staff is outstanding. They regularly ask if there is anything they can do, no matter how small. In other words, they act like they really appreciate the business.

Hotels live and die based on their services. Marriott has some great properties but also some lousy ones. If I stay at one that stinks, I don't think twice about packing up and going across the street.

Some hotels/staff don't seem to care that you stay at other Marriotts 100+ nights a year, they treat one time/first time (especially on points) elite guests just like anyone else, because they aren't incentivized to treat you great- you aren't likely to come back as a paid guest to *their* property.