Hi All - bit of a noob here.

I have to attend a conference in Washington in April, and the Conference has some group rates setup at Marriott hotels. Thing is, you have to book the room through the conference website in order to get the discounted prices. I've called the hotels to confirm this - they will not give match the price for me.

So if I do that, I won't get any points...which is pretty substantial considering its $250/night x 7 nights. Has anyone in a similar situation figured somethign out?

Actually we would just be guessing. The people you really need to talk to are the organizers of the conference. Sometimes they negotiate a lower rate by negating the MR benefits you might be entitled. Also, will you be paying them for the room or the property? If they have set up a master bill, you should not get credit for the room either.

See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...ays-rooms.html for info on master billing.

Either the event planner has negotiated for the points to be awarded to the sponsor or, more likely, a better discount. It's pretty common business practice and your choice really is to book outside the negotiated rate and earn points or take advantage of the cheaper rate.

If this is a business trip, I'd find it hard to justify paying more to earn points for personal use.

Just about anything can be negotiated. The conference may be counting on x number of rooms to subsidize the meeting room rental or maybe some food/beverage services. Depending upon how they handle the attendee registration, you may not have the option of booking your own room, or maybe incur a higher registration fee.

Again, the only ones that can tell you for sure are the organizers themselves. We can only speculate.

Either follow company policy or ask your boss.

It can be hard to clarify the details of the group contract that affect you, namely points earning and elite benefits. Yet in many cases the conference organizers and organization officers have terms in the contract guaranteeing them upgrades (even to the Presidential Suite), lounge acess rooms, etc. in addition to points/nights/stay credits. In fact, these people could well be getting their rooms comped, so that you're subsidizing them beyond your registration fee for the conference.

Check the rules for your reimbursement policy, but it can make sense for you to book a room yourself outside of the room block if there isn't a huge price difference so that the perks are worth the increase in rate.

There's not that much to figure out. I've attended hundreds of conferences/conventions over the years & on the times I have to book through the organization's website or 800# to get the negotiated rate, I still get points. I just provide my MR # when making the reservation. If for some reason they can't take it, then I just call the property & have it added.

NOT ONCE in hundreds of conferences/conventions have I not gotten nights/points credit if booked through a conference/convention website. Booking through a conference website is not the same as booking through Priceline etc.

There are literally thousands of conventions/conferences booked at Marriott (and other major chain) properties per year. Marriott is not going to blow off elites worldwide by saying that because you book through a conference that has negotiated a rate with Marriott that you won't get points.

The reason some conferences/conventions have you book/require you to book through them is they've guaranteed "x" amount of rooms and they want to make sure they get the credit for them, as often it means they get discounted or free meeting room rentals or they get some free nights for the organizers or free Presidential Suite or free points for the meeting planner.

What I do do when booking a Marriott room for a conference/convention is check to see what the negotiated rate is by the conference & then see what is available on the Marriott website (whether that be no promo, AAA, etc) & book whichever is the least expensive. Sometimes the rates are better on the Marriott website; sometimes the conference rate is better.

Some conferences might offer certain extras if booked through them (gift in room) or say you'll only get certain things if booked through them (such as free shuttle bus ride to the convention center). Whether the extra items are important to you (you generically) only you can decide.

Cheers.

The key with conference bookings is the room has to be booked in your name and you pay for it directly. The booking mechanism (conference web site, phone, corporate travel, etc.) doesn't matter. If the room is paid for by a master billing arrangement (i.e. you don't pay directly), you won't get points. Even for those stays with a master billing arrangement, you should add your MR number to the reservation. By doing so you will still get the benefits for your status (e.g. CL Access, Enhanced WiFi, etc. for platinum and gold members).


--Jon

I would add that one should also compare cancellation and prepayment policies for the convention/conference room block versus conditions for whatever other rates rare available. Often I see conference rates requiring payment at the time that the reservation is made with a cancellation penalty of two nights' charges and even the full amount if cancelled within seven days of arrival for normal city hotels.

I've also experienced situations where the host organization tells the hotel who to upgrade (meeting planners, officers, board members, session chairs, etc.--a certain number of upgrades might be required by the contract) from the room block, but if the reservation is made independently, the elite is much more likely to be upgraded.

Actually this thread reminded me I need to book hotel for two major conventions this year that I attend annually. I'll go through the housing bureau of the conventions because the negotiated rates & cancel policy are better than going through Marriott directly. Ironically enough, Marriott for these two conventions has more restricted cancel policies & higher rates than the housing bureaus.

Cheers.

So much depends on the size of the group, whether the meeting is held during a period of low demand, and the organization's negotiating skills and willing to invest time to obtain good terms. There's also the issue of whether the focus is on getting lots of free rooms, upgrades for organization staff, meeting planners, officers, etc. or good deals for all participants.

That's true from the meeting planner side. Is mostly irrelevant to the MR member.

Anyway, back to the OP. If the conference you're attending has a lower rate than what Marriott is offering on their website, book through the conference organization. Give them your MR # (& have them note in the ressie requests an upgrade if available). If they say they can't (most have spots for reward #s; it's not their first rodeo either), then contact the property directly once you have a confirmation # & have them add your MR# to the ressie. Note that oftentimes the conf reservation # doesn't match Marriott's ressie #'ing system & you have to wait until the organizer transfers over the reservations to the Marriott property. Some of the larger conventions I attend the transfer doesn't happen until 2-3 weeks before the actual conference/convention. Prior to that I have to go through housing bureau. After the transfer I can see the ressie in the Marriott system/can contact Marriott directly.

Cheers.

I am curious why the op thinks they won't get points thru the conference booking site?

Probably thinks it's a 3rd party like priceline when it's not.

Btw -my kindle thinks priceline is actually provolone. Had to fix auto correct. Lol

Cheers

The meeting planners do this so they can cross check names with hotel reservations against those registered for the conference. This is to ensure only those registered for the conference get the special conference rate at the hotel. Usually there are notes in the rate details, or other information if MR benefits don't apply or points can not be earned. I just booked a room through a conference web site for a conference I will be attending in July and within a few minutes the reservation was already showing under my reservations when I sign in to MR. As others have mentioned, there maybe some perks booking through the conference website. For example, by booking through the conference website, the resort fee was waived for my room.

If by Washington in April, you mean Washington, DC, be aware that is a very busy time for hotels in DC. Lots of tourists and school groups in town for the Cherry Blossoms and other events during that time. Room rates in DC can run double your conference rate during April, so whatever you decide, book early!

Regards,

RIP...