Booking back to back packages
 

I found a good package at a hotel where we want to spend 2 nights.

Several components of the package say that they are "per stay", but we want them both nights.

Is there anything dodgy about booking the first night under my husband's Marriott account, and the second night under mine?

I would highly doubt that very much, i bet if you clue in the front desk they'll arrange it so you don't even have to switch rooms...

it's not a problem. If the hotel is super busy you may have to switch rooms, but in most cases they will help you keep your room for both nights.

What particular benefits are you seeking for both nights that are limited to one per stay? Let's say you get one night's free parking per stay. The Marriott site states, "A "hotel stay" or "stay" is defined as the total of consecutive nights stayed at a participating Marriott hotel, regardless of check-in/check-out activity." You may find the hotel limits you to one free night of parking despite your checking in and out under different primary guest numbers. The more the benefit costs the hotel the less likely they will turn a blind eye towards this.

Interestingly, free parking is the one benefit that would have been available both nights.

It is a bar/restaurant credit and another small perk that were "per stay".

I was unclear on the c/I - c/o using two different names/Marriott numbers. How can that be treated as one reservation?

I did have my doubts about this that's why I'm seeking advice, so all viewpoints are welcome.

I really have no idea either, but there can be two reservations but still only one stay. This happens to me when I have a personal night followed by a business night. I'll have two reservations, but one stay. I've never had to change rooms (at a Marriott, but yes at another chain) but I'm only supposed to get a single Welcome Gift. Sometimes I get the second Welcome Gift, but by the rules I shouldn't. In your instance, the two of you are arriving once and staying two nights. Let's face it: The second reservation and swapping names is totally to game the system, which they will know.

My guess is if you called and asked the hotel, they would say it's one stay, so you probably won't want to do that. If you show up with two reservations and appear to be trying to pull one over on the hotel, they probably won't like that. Again, if these are small and of little cost to the hotel, you shouldn't have a problem, but if these are costly, you might. Again, while I don't know the ultimate result, if the hotel argues the point you wouldn't have much ground to stand on. Even if you say you are doing it so you each get some credit for the stay, it still fits within the definition of a single stay.

Disagree. If these are two separate reservations with two different member accounts, i.e. system will treat them as separate. Benefits, stay credits, perks will post separately. Property will not care. It is by all considerations two different stays by two different individuals.

Cool. So if the property disagrees, you'll cover their parking, the restaurant credit, etc? Why not? You seem certain so there would be no risk to you in making that promise...

My guess is it will likely work, but if she were to call the hotel ahead of time and ask, "I see the extra benefits are only once per stay, but would it be okay if we make two reservations so we can be the benefits both nights?" the hotel operator would say no, explaining it's one stay. While it's two reservations, the people are staying two nights so it is a single stay. She knows it's potentially wrong or she wouldn't be asking and wouldn't need to make the odd reservations. The point is she should be prepared that the hotel might not buy this. She should know there is risk involved.

The hotel went out of its way to give the benefits once per stay. Do you think they would be that but then make the rule so easily bypassed that all you have to do is switch spouses names on a reservation? The hotel operators aren't that stupid.

I am confused.
OP said they will be booking as 2 Reservations
1st reservation under Member A for 2 pax
2nd reservation under Member B for 2 pax
At most, they switch rooms in between.
Where's the gaming?
Where did property have to go out of the way?
It is only gaming (attempt) if both are under 1 account?

Since I knew that we were trying to game the system (a little), and since the package was such a good value even without the second night's add-ons, I went and changed it to 2 nights, one account.

Yes, I might have been able to pull it off, but honestly, this is fine.

Sorry but I see 2 glaring issues with this.

(1) In the scenario you mention, its the same member who is on the personal stay followed by the business stay. So in that instance it is correct that it is considered 1 stay. In the scenario that the OP asking about it is 2 stays. 1 Stay for member A and 1 stay for member B.

Listed below is from the Marriott Terms and Conditions. If its 2 different members with 2 different credit cards then they are abiding by the T&C's of the program.

Another example of this could be where a husband and wife are both trying to earn Platinum status so on a 6 night stay the husband has reservations and pays for nights 1,3,5 and the wife has reservations and pays for nights 2,4,6. Perfectly fine. The hotel has the right to make the couple switch rooms each night but this will still be considered 6 stays with all the bonuses, etc... (3 per person).

(2) You are mixing how the system works with what you think is morally the right thing to do (Note - I am not making a judgement here and even agree with some of what you say).

So in the end I think PayItForward had the right take on this.

Seriously too much worry & thought here. Pack up & leave after night one, kill a few hours and return. Better yet, have Mr. request a late checkout and have Mrs. check-in on day 2 then do the switch. 2 separate res, 2 separate people, 2 separate MR#'s are they really going to detect and police who is a guest in whom's room?

(1) You do realize that only on night 1 should there be a Welcome Gift. Because it is a six night stay you do not get six Welcome Gifts, per the rules. Yes, it often works out that you do but it's not guaranteed. If you don't get credit you cannot call Marriott and insist they break the rules. The people at Marriott are not stupid. They've written the rules specifically so they can stop people from doing this. Again, they don't always enforce their rule, but it's clearly in the rules.

(2) Easy solution: call the hotel and explain "we want to get benefits for both nights so we made two different reservations." If the hotel says yes, the problem is solved. Of course, nobody will call out of fear the hotel will say no, so trying to get away with it by being quiet is gaming the system. Yes, it will probably work, but given that in this instance the benefits cost the hotel directly, it might not. It's not a moral question, it's a question of are the guests staying at the hotel two nights in a row. The answer is clearly yes, although you seem to want to justify why it's not. Justification only comes into play when you know what your are doing is wrong. You never have to justify what is acceptable per the printed rules.

If I were the OP, I'd probably take the chance, but I'd be prepared to accept if the hotel says, "Wait a minute..."

Hate to interrupt, but see Post 10. Even if we weren't called out on it, I'd feel a little cheap doing it.

Which is respectable and admirable. Unfortunately, I'd have no problem feeling a little cheap, but we now know you are a better person than I. ;) OK, we probably knew that already. :rolleyes: :D

Nah, I doubt better, I'm just afraid of karma. :D

And after a little more digging I'm coming up with more and more great alternatives, so I'll have to weigh my options.

Actually, splitting the six night stay is a form of hotel hopping... It's just that you are changing members instead of properties. A 1-3-5 and 2-4-6 arrangement should garner six PAGs and six stay credits, three for each account. Where you get in trouble here is when the property "fixes" the reservations to be one. So best to keep it clear in their minds these are different people and accept different rooms. Pushing for the same room does make it dicey.

I guess it depends what the benefit is, but I've done exactly what the OP proposed on several occasions and never had a problem at the front desk. In fact, never bothered horsing around with changing names.

My examples *usually* involve golf packages. I'm staying a golf resort for a few days, they have a package deal, and I want to play golf on, say, 3 out of 5 days. So it's a couple different 1-2 night stays, some including golf and some not.

Usually it's easy to calculate the benefit of the golf package: I know what the green fee would be and what the room would cost, and maybe the package saves me fifty bucks or something. I suppose a rate included a substantial resort credit that they didn't want to be nightly, they would just control it with a minimum-stay requirement.

This is really where the hotel has control. If they are offering something they can't recoup the cost from a one night stay, they just require a 2, 3 or longer night stay to get that "extra". I've seen some resorts with a spa have a rate that includes a facial or a massage and quite often those rates come with a 3 night or more minimum. A number of resorts in the Caribbean will have a "Sand Dollar" rate that includes extras like free nights, resort credits, free breakfast, etc. And those tend to have 4 or 5 night minimum requirements.

Exactly what I was trying to say.