While I have no experience working at a Marriott property, I have worked in Reservations/Revenue Management for an independent hotel and a corporate owned/operated chain hotel. Here's my experience:

Both of my properties maintained waiting lists. Additionally, based on talking to my colleagues, every area hotel also maintained a waiting list. But, that waiting list is something done locally. It was not connected with the centralized brand database.

Managing a waiting list takes a lot of time. When a room opens up, a staff member has to call the guest. As the open room isn't in the database, the guest can't simply book online. Instead, she or he has to talk directly to the hotel. If the guest can't call during "normal" business hours, the task of making the reservation falls on the Front Desk. When that happens, the Front Desk can't do their actual job, which is to take care of in-house guests.

Of course, technologically, it's conceivable that a waitlist feature can be added to the computer system for a brand. But, practically, that would be a nightmare. Each hotel is going to have a different idea as to how to allocate any rooms that are canceled. Some hotels would want the highest nightly rate. Others would want to bridge two separate reservations. Still, others might want the highest elite member to get the room.

In both of my hotels, however, the decision on who gets a room almost always was made by the Director of Sales. In situations like city-wide conventions, the "regular" corporate guests are the ones that can't get rooms. When that happens, the Director of Sales gets innundated with calls from companies that have locally negotiated rates. Whenever a room opened up, it went to a guest connected to one of those companies. Although that may not be something an elite member wants to hear, keeping the local company that provides thousands of rooms nights happy is more important than the needs of a single guest who represents (at most) 366/room nights per year.

Basically my point is that it's complicated. My best guess is that the hotel in question does have a local waitlist; but, the OP is not high enough on the food chain to get on that list. (Adding someone that stands no chance of getting a room only creates the false hope that a room will open up.)

Important: Again, I haven't worked for Marriott. Please don't take my post as representative of anything that happens at a Marriott hotel. I'm merely adding a possible scenario as to why waitlists aren't more prevalent.

Thanks for sharing your experience - much appreciated & adds some insight.

Cheers.

Monitoring award availability?
 

Hi,

Is there some way to monitor award availability?

I have seen rooms open up at certain properties, even at the last minute but checking the website is tedious. For flying there's ExpertFlyer, but I haven't found anything analagous for hotels. It'd be great if it could email/text me.

TIA!

there was a recent thread on waitlisting which is what you're looking for and the basic response was no, except by individual properties..........
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...st-elites.html

Don't think there is anything for hotel chains like EF. So it's check the website or call Marrriott ressies.

Cheers.

Along the lines of this thread... say you booked a three night stay at some hotel, and in the morning of the last day you decide to stay another night. The hotel is sold out for that day.

Will you get "evicted" (for the lack of a better term)?

I remember a couple of years ago, at a Residence Inn, I woke up to find two sheets of paper by the room door, one was the expected invoice (it was the last morning of a week long stay) and the other was a polite letter telling me that the hotel is sold out, my room would be needed, etc. But it did not have any wording to the effect that I absolutely had to leave.

Depends on state law and the property. I have heard of hotel security and/or sheriff showing up to evict people who refuse to leave. OTOH I have heard of properties that will bill the extra night at the highest rack rate. YMMV.

Wouldn't MR Platinums be able to take advantage of the 48 hour guarenteed availability benefit to secure a room at the hotel? (Admittedly the rate would likely be the highest RACK rate)

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/mem...ts/platinum.mi

It applies with certain exceptions.

Cheers.