"Rewards Offers"...how many rooms can I reserve?
Jan 6, 2016, 9:21 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Gulf Coast/Ventura County/Somewhere in between
Programs: DL GM, Marriott PP, Avis Something or other
Posts: 4,431
"Rewards Offers"...how many rooms can I reserve?
I have a dilemma, a quandary...a conundrum. Every other year we take an informal group from my wife's dance studio to NYC in December. Mostly teenage girls and their moms, the dancers get to take some lessons at a Broadway dance school, etc. We always stay at the same Marriott property, which I hesitate to identify because I am currently negotiating room prices with them.
When I looked at the Marriott website for rates the "Standard Rates" weren't bad considering the time of year, but the "Rewards Offers" tab showed significantly lower rates. I started reserving rooms under my name at the RO rates and it occurred to me that I should ask if I can put a bunch of people in 10-12 rooms under my name. This question is not about points. I understand I can only get points for, I think, 3 of the rooms. That's fine.
I tend to think I'm not breaking the spirit of the "Rewards Offers" concept because the system is letting me make the ressies.
The last part is that I got a call from Group Sales at the hotel offering me a group room block, but the rates listed are the higher Standard Rates. I can save my group about $1K by doing the ressies myself.
As I said, the system lets me do it, but I would hate to get to the FD and have the GM tell me I can't have all the rooms at that rate because all the occupants don't qualify. My position is that if I pay for all the rooms, I'm staying within the parameters set by the system.
When I looked at the Marriott website for rates the "Standard Rates" weren't bad considering the time of year, but the "Rewards Offers" tab showed significantly lower rates. I started reserving rooms under my name at the RO rates and it occurred to me that I should ask if I can put a bunch of people in 10-12 rooms under my name. This question is not about points. I understand I can only get points for, I think, 3 of the rooms. That's fine.
I tend to think I'm not breaking the spirit of the "Rewards Offers" concept because the system is letting me make the ressies.
The last part is that I got a call from Group Sales at the hotel offering me a group room block, but the rates listed are the higher Standard Rates. I can save my group about $1K by doing the ressies myself.
As I said, the system lets me do it, but I would hate to get to the FD and have the GM tell me I can't have all the rooms at that rate because all the occupants don't qualify. My position is that if I pay for all the rooms, I'm staying within the parameters set by the system.
Jan 6, 2016, 9:43 am
#2
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,728
I've had the same situation as you. I used to take a large group of teenagers to various events.
I've made reservations for 10+ rooms before online and didn't have any issues. What I might suggest would be for you to go ahead and reserve those rooms. If its not a problem, I'd make half of them under your name and half under your wife's name. The website used to allow you to reserve up to 9 rooms per reservation. So you shouldn't have any problems making 2 reservations for 5 or 6 rooms each. This has the added benefit of allowing you to get points for 6 rooms/night rather than just 3. (Note that if there are more adults who might want points/night credits, you could even put more reservations under their names as well. But that can be a bit complex and not worth the effort in a lot of cases.)
Then I'd call the Group Sales team back and tell them that if they want you to go through their services, they have to give you a rate lower than what you can get on the website. If they bite and give you something better, great, you saved some money. If they don't, you aren't out anything as you still have your existing reservations. Also note, one thing I always hated in dealing with Marriott's Group Sales team is that they want you to sign an agreement with attrition clauses and cancellation fees. Usually, the rates on the website have 6PM day of or the day before cancellation clauses. IOW, no attrition clauses and much more flexibility in removing rooms or changing your reservations if you need to.
One more thing to think on is breakfast. If you go through the Group Sales team, I'd try to negotiate free breakfast for everyone (assuming you wouldn't already get it.)
I've made reservations for 10+ rooms before online and didn't have any issues. What I might suggest would be for you to go ahead and reserve those rooms. If its not a problem, I'd make half of them under your name and half under your wife's name. The website used to allow you to reserve up to 9 rooms per reservation. So you shouldn't have any problems making 2 reservations for 5 or 6 rooms each. This has the added benefit of allowing you to get points for 6 rooms/night rather than just 3. (Note that if there are more adults who might want points/night credits, you could even put more reservations under their names as well. But that can be a bit complex and not worth the effort in a lot of cases.)
Then I'd call the Group Sales team back and tell them that if they want you to go through their services, they have to give you a rate lower than what you can get on the website. If they bite and give you something better, great, you saved some money. If they don't, you aren't out anything as you still have your existing reservations. Also note, one thing I always hated in dealing with Marriott's Group Sales team is that they want you to sign an agreement with attrition clauses and cancellation fees. Usually, the rates on the website have 6PM day of or the day before cancellation clauses. IOW, no attrition clauses and much more flexibility in removing rooms or changing your reservations if you need to.
One more thing to think on is breakfast. If you go through the Group Sales team, I'd try to negotiate free breakfast for everyone (assuming you wouldn't already get it.)
Jan 6, 2016, 10:08 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Canada
Programs: Marriott LT Gold, IHG Club, Hertz Gold, Aeroplan, Avios, SkyMiles, Thrifty, AMEX
Posts: 985
The "Rewards Offer" rates are available to all Marriott Rewards members. As long as there's a MR member in each room, you're good.
And in fact, this would be a good way of earning extra points if there are some non-members in your group, as you can refer up to 5 for new memberships and collect the 2,000-point bonus for the stay for each (which they will receive as well).
And in fact, this would be a good way of earning extra points if there are some non-members in your group, as you can refer up to 5 for new memberships and collect the 2,000-point bonus for the stay for each (which they will receive as well).