NDDomer86

The MGM along with half of the other major hotels on the Strip (Bellagio, Circus Circus, CityCenter [if it ever opens], Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Monte Carlo, NYNY, and Treasure Island) are owned by MGM-Mirage. Any partnership Marriott had with MGM was probably done before MGM Grand merged with Mirage Resorts in 2000 and as such would more than likely no longer exist. The other half of the Strip (Bally's, Caesar's Palace, Flamingo, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Paris, and Rio [although not on the Strip]) is owned by Harrah's Corporation. (My UNLV education finally does me some good )

baglady

Other than the basic Marriott Suites, Renaissance and JW? No dice. The partnership with MGM ended years ago (again, I don't remember when, but it was quite a while ago).

Regarding earning at the Ritz Carlton, I used to spend a few nights every year at the Buckhead Atlanta property and remember always earning points there (90s); I do not recall whether or not I earned at Marina Del Rey which again was a property I spent a fair amount of time at. I'm guessing since I stayed there and stopped I was earning there. I don't remember if it was hit and miss; but Socrates would certainly know and it was just too long ago and too many stays ago Other chains have found that their top tier properties do just fine in their rewards program but MR for whatever reason keep theirs out.

DJ_Iceman

I suspect that the lack of points earning at RC has a multitude of reasons:

- They are turning a tidy profit without having to offer rewards. Their typical guest isn't affected by downturns in the economy and cares much more about consistently outstanding service than they do about earning points.
- They actually want to discourage the typical points hound from staying there, as this is NOT the clientele they want filling their hotels. The people who complain about paying $10 for breakfast or internet access and feel a sense of entitlement by staying a few dozen nights a year would actually break the RC model, because they try so very hard to wildly satisfy every guest.
- Marriott doesn't want to deal with the headache of setting up another whole points and rewards scheme for another tier of properties. They are already getting all kinds of flak for the perks they offer frequent repeat guests all the way from the FI to the FS. They certainly wouldn't offer free upgrades to the club level, and that alone would create a firestorm here from those who feel their 50 nights at $60/night SHS entitle them to the world.

Sorry to sound harsh, but the downsides are huge and I see very little upside to Marriott. To those of you who say you'd be giving more business to RC if they offered points, are you instead taking your money to the Four Seasons or the Fairmont? I doubt it--more likely (given that you're posting here in the Marriott board, after all) you've just shifted your stays to the more downscale Marriott brands, which is right where they want those of us who care about things like points and perks.

socrates

Short answer is MI feels that RZ is a much stronger name than Marriott and associating RZ with Marriott would actually harm the brand

MacDaddie

I agree with the previous post. The Ritz Carlton is a true luxury brand. There is a different established client base that probably has some cross over to Marriott hotels but not a big percentage.

And lets face it, those that generally stay at RC's don't really want to be rubbing elbows with the likes of myself

I'm looking for a clean room, free breakfast, the gym and a big screen TV somewhere at the bar to watch sports with a beer. Not exactly the RC demographic.

And the other thing I think they want to avoid is the "family vacation" crowd that goes to a hotel, to the local conveniance store, and camps out at the pool for a few days with their 3 kids and snacks....and wander the hallways in their swimsuits. Nothing wrong with that in my book, but likely to draw complaints from the RC crowd.

And at some of their extremely popular (and expensive) international locations there is simply no reason to be giving anything away. Plenty of demand exist and no real upside by having myself and folks like myself occasionally showing up.

Other hotel chain's luxury places don't compare (IMO) - Conrad isn't anywhere near the RC in terms of either service or reputation (and price since I've actually stayed at some conrads).

socrates

The second point is right one, the first one isn't

socrates

Gosh this is going WAY back as well...yes at one point MGM had a relationship with MI but yes that too ended many many years ago - as I recall MGM was going to build a huge MI branded complex, unfortunately Vegas experienced a downturn shortly afterwards and the project stalled....since that time Kirk Kerkorian went on a shopping spree and MGM has morphed into a much different company than it was back then (I have kicked myself a few times for not buying MGM stock back then, it's just scary to me when 1 individual owns so much of a public company)

socrates

very true but they dont have the image that RZ does either....I look at Conrad for one - the brand is weak outside of EU, most travelers in the US dont even know what it is and once they learn it offers HHonors points they assume it's a "Hilton", JW is another brand that most assume is just a "Marriott".....to my knowledge Four Seasons & Fairmont dont offer points however Raffles does

AustinFlyer76

Thanks for the clarifications everyone ... i learned my own lesson here: "to check the thread post dates!!" ha!

i just saw the thread in the most recent activities and assumed it was new.

Great explanations and i totally agree with the "why no RC points" ... although i always wish there was points >> .i can't disagree with any of the reasons of why there isn't any.

I smiled at a few of the responses. And i agree >> even though i've stayed at a few RC properties ... i really stick out like a sore thumb as i'm looking for the "marriott/traveler" amenities more than the Ritz service points. ha!

VA1379

I am glad Marriott offers the option of using points for RC stays, including pointsavers. I don't see myself using this option anytime soon, but I might one day if I find the right opportunity.

hhoope01

I agree. It is a great benefit that Marriott allows the use of points at RCs. I recently stayed at the Cayman RC on a PointSaver award. It was easily worth the points. ^

socrates

great hotel, I'm not sure who the GM is these days but I suspect it's the wonderful lady who opened the property, she has been with both MI and RZ for many years and is respected for her abilities (she was a SVP for RZ at one point and the GM of NYC Marquis before that)

JOUY31

Apologies for going slightly off-topic, but this is the same difficulty Inter-Continental had to manage with having both the SCC/Ambassador and the Priority Club programmes (Holiday Inns, Crowne Plazas ...) and the different approaches to perks vs points earning by different customer segments. I must say I am more comfortable with the approach taken by Marriot and RC.

GrizShel

Meaning customers would actually turn to a competitor instead because they perceive that if a RZ has some association with the Marriott company (which it does whether they know it or not), then it must be a lower quality property?

Not saying this is wrong (the marketing folks usually know what they are doing), but it is still seems strange to me that a significant number of customers would behave that way. At least for me, not having RZ even in the Marriott booking system makes me less likely to even check them out for a stay.

joshua362

Harsh, but no doubt very true. And just for the record, I earn my 75 nights at FS/REN north of $159 and get pissed when I can't redeem when I want at those SHS & RI's!