I think one of the things that makes Marriot better is that it is hard to get top teir status.
I think one of the problems with some FF programs is how easy everyone makes status.
I refused to fly delta because I think everyone in the south is born as a silver medallion member. It is funny to watch them try and load the plane as 90% are "pre-boarded" with usually only a few non "elites" left.
I have never had a problem with Marriot having room for elites and I hope they keep it that way.

Ditto. The benefits may not be great on paper but I do get the feeling I stand out with most hotel employees as a Platinum.

Another ditto. I have been a Marriott Plat member going on three years. I also have platinum "equivalent" status at Starwood and fairly close to it at Hilton. Marriott still treats me the best in my opinion...

Anyone know of a way to get comped to Gold? I am silver and there is no way I can stay the 50 nights to gold. I have heard that some hotels and airlines will comp you up a tier. But that may be only if you can prove equivalent elite status on their competitor.

Hope this question doesn't make you annoyed if you earned status the hard way.

Just curious - How does Marriot do in terms of providing Executive/Concierge Level floor accomodations to its top tiers ? Are they consistent ? Do they ever give top tiers a suite ? - kazman

Salesman from Marriott timeshare told me that one can gain platinum by carrying a balance of over 200,000 Marriott reward points. I have never heard of this and it doesn't sound true. I have had over the 200K in my account and nothing special happened. Anyone know?

kazman: I've been platinum for a few years and get a suite from time to time -- certainly not every time.

paradocs: Timeshare salespeople say all kinds of things. What they told you is absolutely untrue. What they tell most people is that owning a timeshare gets you one step up in elite level; in other words, a timeshare owner who stays 50 nights per year would be upped to platinum. That's not true either. Apparently, owning a timeshare can get you gold status (if you are silver), but not platinum.

Bruce

Kazman:
as a platinum I almost always get a room on the concierge floors. The only difference between these floors and the regular ones seem to be the bathrobes.
However, I have never gotten upgraded to a suite unless I specifically raised the issue with the front desk.
One positive is that even if not on the concierge floor, I always get access to the lounge - where as at hilton, the policy seems to be that if you are not on a lounge floor, you do not get access to the lounge. Also, if the concierge lounge is closed for any reason, a plat member can get free breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel (the front desk people sometimes forget to give you the coupon for this)

I do not believe there is any written documentation from Marriott on this. On the other hand, the elite guide specifies that MVC stays as owners DO NOT count towards elite status.

It's not related to stays. The timeshare people apparently have the authority to call and get people upgraded to gold, if they are silver, or to silver, if they are not elite. They cannot get a person upgraded to platinum, and the upgrade is for 1 year only.

Bruce

My read of the Marriott rules is if the property doesn't HAVE a concierge lounge you get free breakfast downstairs. But if it HAS one and it's closed you get nothing..

That what happens to me most of the time. Sometimes I've been surprised -- one time they gave me the full buffet for free since the lounge was closed. That was nice. In any case, can anyone tell me where in the membership guide it says that if the concierge lounge is closed you still get breakfast downstairs?

I've only three times in nearly a hundred stays been put in a suite. I never ask. Had another uneventful, completely unexceptional stay at a Marriott last night. Everything went exactly to plan. Dunno if that's good or bad.

I remember reading about the breakfast thing in FYI years ago, dg1, don't know where you'd find it now. For "regular" Marriotts, if the lounge is closed during the business week, Plats and Golds are supposed to get free Healthy Start breakfast in the restaurant. The policy on weekends is up to the individual GM. Some hotels are more generous. Resorts don't participate. We've run across hotels that give you the option of the Lounge or the restaurant, presumably because the Lounge is way overcrowded. The San Antonio Rivercenter Marriott once sent Room Service breakfasts every morning for a week for my husband, me, and our four helpers because they'd closed the Concierge Lounge because of a big convention. Love that hotel.

In our experience, you're more likely to get a suite upgrade if the hotel is 1)very empty or 2)very full. If they need to sell every room in the house, somebody gets that suite; usually they'd rather be nice to one of their elites than give it to Joe Blow. If the hotel is empty, it seems to be an Oh Why Not? attitude. Also, we get most of our suite upgrades for short, one or two night, stays. No surprises there.

We don't normally ask for suite upgrades; they just happen when they happen. The exception to that is if we're at a big convention, and are taking several rooms for ourselves, helpers, and equipment. Then we will ask if the hotel can let us have a parlor at a regular room price. We've usually been able to work something out.

rthib, we've been "elite" in other hotel programs, but have always thought Marriott treated us far and away the best. It never occurred to me that it might be because it is pretty hard to get to Platinum. That may be a factor. I did get a bit concerned when I read about Marriott now counting room nights at their downscale properties toward elite status. My optimistic take is that most people aren't going to radically change their hotel choices, so we won't be overwhelmed with Fairfield Platinums. Crossing my fingers.

dg1, count your blessings!



[This message has been edited by GG (edited 01-08-2001).]

In cases like this I have found that a quick call to the front desk gets you a bathrobe sent up to your room asap - now you may need to be platinum to get this done, do not know.

SimonC