Last edit by: SkiAdcock
Hat tip to joeags for this information:
More About Special Rates
AAA/CAA
Save on hotel rooms at 3,800+ Marriott brand hotels worldwide
Earn Marriott Rewards points in addition to discount
ID required at check-in (American, Canadian Automobile Association or any non-USA Automobile Club Affiliate)
Subject to availability at individual hotels
More About Special Rates
AAA/CAA
Save on hotel rooms at 3,800+ Marriott brand hotels worldwide
Earn Marriott Rewards points in addition to discount
ID required at check-in (American, Canadian Automobile Association or any non-USA Automobile Club Affiliate)
Subject to availability at individual hotels
Be prepared to show proof of AAA membership
#363
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Yes, any property should accept the Marriott GC for any on-site charges. The only possible exception could be an independent restaurant operating on site. If they allow billing to a room, then the front desk should be able to open a bogus room folio allowing them to charge the room and then you can use the GC to pay the folio.
#364
Join Date: Feb 2005
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium (former PP), Hilton Silver, UA Silver, AS Member, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,906
Where did the AAA rates go?
Marriott usually has a large number of hotels with AAA rates, but I have found a large drop in properties with AAA rates since sometime this afternoon. I only see maybe 15 hotels with AAA rates in the LA area where it was more than 60 this morning. I did a second search around the DC area right before Christmas, a known slow period with government workers off and business travel really slow. Again, AAA didnt pull up more than about 12 properties, and I know that is not a period of high demand.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
#366
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Programs: Sometimes known as [ARG:6 UNDEFINED]
Posts: 26,628
#367
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
I doubt that in this day and age AAA is much of a business driver. Once upon a time, when long-distance driving was how families traveled, looking in the AAA directory for places to stay made sense and hence the discounts. Not sure that's much of a business model anymore.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
#368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
Marriott usually has a large number of hotels with AAA rates, but I have found a large drop in properties with AAA rates since sometime this afternoon. I only see maybe 15 hotels with AAA rates in the LA area where it was more than 60 this morning. I did a second search around the DC area right before Christmas, a known slow period with government workers off and business travel really slow. Again, AAA didnt pull up more than about 12 properties, and I know that is not a period of high demand.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
David
#369
Join Date: Feb 2005
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium (former PP), Hilton Silver, UA Silver, AS Member, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,906
AAA has a large membership and makes much of its money from travel agents selling cruises, guided tours and group travel. I cannot see any major hotel chain deciding to abandon the opportunity to put their hotels in front of those travel agents. It doesnt mean that the AAA rate will even be used for hotel stays associated with cruises or other packages sold by the travel agents, but it is pretty safe to say that a hotel that doesnt participate in AAA at all will be given less priority than one that does by AAA travel agents. I dont cruise or use travel agents, but there are people who fit into both groups.
AAA rates are capacity controlled so they wont be offered during periods of high demand. They are also used to offer greater discounts during slower periods without reducing the BAR as much. Marriotts LNF guarantee doesnt apply to AAA rates, and this type of discounting gives the hotel greater opportunity to sell rooms that might normally be offered to third party sites like Priceline. I would call such discounting semi-opaque, and I am sure hotels do it with other groups that are eligible for discounts.
Marriott has also been offering prepaid discounts that are greater if you are a Marriott Rewards or AAA member. I see this as one more way of trying to slice up the potential customer market by maximizing revenue through various price points and packages.
#370
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,299
Thanks for the update (much more useful than the speculative misinformation posted by others). I'd guess that at least 50% of my Marriott bookings use the AAA rate.
#371
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Midwest
Programs: Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, HHonors Diamond, AA Plat Pro, UA Silver
Posts: 565
Was coming to post the same thing that I was finding in the Midwest. Glad to see it was a glitch. As a leisure traveler the aaa rates are the bar w/o advance purchase/ non refundable rates
#372
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,927
I doubt that in this day and age AAA is much of a business driver. Once upon a time, when long-distance driving was how families traveled, looking in the AAA directory for places to stay made sense and hence the discounts. Not sure that's much of a business model anymore.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
While this glitch is going on, I have to two searches, one with AAA and one without, just to my best rates for all hotels .
If this weren't a glitch, I'd suggest they'd change to like IHG has, where you can do a search on multiple rates simultaneously, and that doesn't require every hotel to have every rate to come up on the search, just to have one of the rates you selected. (Except at IHG, you can't deselect the "normal" rate, which is almost always an advance purchase rate for members, which then distorts the hotel results list if you're not interested in advance purchase.)
And as noted above, sometimes AAA rates are 2-day-cancel when the only member rate that matches the AAA rate is advance purchase. I'd rather have cancellable even if there's no discount, given that I am a AAA member.
Last edited by sdsearch; Dec 2, 2017 at 7:05 pm
#373
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,614
Marriott usually has a large number of hotels with AAA rates, but I have found a large drop in properties with AAA rates since sometime this afternoon. I only see maybe 15 hotels with AAA rates in the LA area where it was more than 60 this morning. I did a second search around the DC area right before Christmas, a known slow period with government workers off and business travel really slow. Again, AAA didnt pull up more than about 12 properties, and I know that is not a period of high demand.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
Im inclined to think something went wrong with the Marriott reservation system.
#374
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mostly living in the basement
Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE
Posts: 5,106
I doubt that in this day and age AAA is much of a business driver. Once upon a time, when long-distance driving was how families traveled, looking in the AAA directory for places to stay made sense and hence the discounts. Not sure that's much of a business model anymore.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
Big discounts for large businesses which can throw $.
#375
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Programs: Sometimes known as [ARG:6 UNDEFINED]
Posts: 26,628
Twenty years ago, it was common for AAA to be set at a 10% discount from BAR; these days, you're lucky to see it at 3-4% off BAR.
My own experience is that it is far easier to secure a AAA rate at IHG and Hilton properties vs. Marriott properties.
My own experience is that it is far easier to secure a AAA rate at IHG and Hilton properties vs. Marriott properties.