Comp authorization with different brands
 

Curious about whether different Marriott brands have different guidance or authorization on compensation. I’ve noticed a pretty significant difference in what’s offered so started wondering if it's just the specific managers or there's something else. For reference:

1. I stayed in a brand new TownePlace were someone urinated in the laundry basket and it wasn’t caught by the housekeeper when turning the room. GM never called because “he didn’t have my number”. He apologized and promised 6000 points which never actually came through. I stayed there again (shame on me) and he just thanked me for coming back. This was a situation where I would actually expect some sort of comp or adjustment.
2. At a FS Marriott, I had a shower head that didn't work so I was limited to a bath… no big deal. This was more of a mention to fix for the next guest when I checked out. The front desk manager could not be more apologetic and 10000 points were in my account within an hour.
3. At a Renaissance, I was charged for water I didn't use, room was dirty and bulbs out. The GM talked about how she would address and 10000 points were deposited within the day.

So do they have different levels of comp authorizations or is it just lowered expectations all around with the limited service brands?

I think its more a factor of engaged, caring and onsite Management. Which is likely occur more at higher end properties, one would think, due to sheer magnitude and higher risk of the larger investment. But outliers can happens at both level for both the good & bad.

Data point: I had the same issue in two different hotels, a FS near the BUF airport and a SHS north of Philly. In both instances, when I checked into the hotel there was "solid matter" in the toilet. In both instances, this was shown to management. There was also a long hair on a towel at the SHS. My head is shaven bald and I had not yet used the bathroom. The FS gave me a free meal up to $40 while the SHS gave me 35k points.

It's that easy to get 10,000 bonus points per stay? I might give it a go.

Interesting and makes sense.

Are the full service brands franchised less? Thinking that engagement could be influenced by more consistent training by corporate, some level of hiring standards, etc.

Or I could just be looking for patterns where they don't exist.

You have possibly given me a good idea. In the year 2020 or 2021 I will give about 10 to 15 Marriott legacy brands between 75 and 100 stays and hit them up for 10,000 points per stay. If I average 10,000 points over 75 stays I would end up with 750,000 bonus Marriott points. I will post my success rate on this thread if its still going when I complete my self designed promo run.

Please do ..................

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If you read through various threads on this Marriott forum you'll find there are a few people that do what you propose. The majority of us, though, hate the way Marriott managers sometimes throw points at us when we bring something to their attention as though we are points "pros". Most of us want something corrected or want to make sure nobody else has the same issue. For example, as a bald man with a shaved head, finding a bobby pin in my bed is something brought to the hotel's attention so that management knows the housekeeper seems to be cutting corners, not an attempt to get a free vacation.

And yes, if you did this every stay someone at MR would notice, so you might want to limit yourself to every other stay. ;)

Over the years I've made peace with getting points for a couple reasons. First, it means the hotel had to pay a price which means the complaint will get noticed. If a front desk manager just apologizes, that might be the end of it. If the hotel has to purchase and give points, someone is more likely to notice, ask and make sure it does not happen again. Also, I only accept the points after making it clear I really don't want the points and would be fine if these are not offered.

As part of any CRM program, Marriott knows a lot about its customers and deals with them accordingly. People who spend a lot on room service may get better rooms and more attentive service. People who are serial whiners may wind up in broom closets.

While points are not truly cash, they do hit a property's bottom line. So, while some managers simply toss points around, others recognize that there is an out-of-pocket and crack down. Yet others just figure that the fraud rate as discussed above is likely quite low. So, it's worth making a good customer happy over doing something drastic to a fraudster.

Sooner or later, every time you read a threat about how points have been "devalued" or somehow Marriott has ruined your life because it hates you, think back to the frauds proposed in this thread and ask yourself why it's happening.

As a Front Office Manager at a Renaissance franchised property, my staff is empowered to compensate up to 5,000 points for any issue they seem worthy. But we always try to give out breakfast, dinner or drinks just because its easier to do/cheaper. Anything over 5,000 points needs either mine or the GMs approval, and this happens very rarely for us.Plus the staff will always have to write up a quick report on the issue, guest attitude, etc.

But for a single hair, we will apologies but rarely ever give out any compensation unless there are additional issues going on.

To be clear, I would not complain about a single hair. The hair referenced above was actually found by a hotel employee while cleaning the toilet because of what was floating when I checked into the room, which I'm sure we can all agree should never happen. The bobby pins, on the other hand, were in a CY king bed room, which obviously meant the bed linen had not been changed. The clerk asked "Are you sure they are not yours?" and from the expression on her face she immediately realized I'm bald. (Which is the third time I've mentioned that in this thread!) She immediately apologized, then obviously felt bad for pointing out my baldness, which is actually fine, but for a few seconds she was a blathering idiot trying to swim verbally back to shore.

I’m enjoying this thread more than I should (and completely taking it OT). I’ve had housekeeping ask me if I needed a hairdryer, additional shampoo and conditioners.

I haven’t had a full head of hair since college...

Thank you for this post. I am thinking if I am only going to average 5000 bonus Marriott points per stay I would need 100 stays to hit 500,000 points. Not sure if it is worth the effort?

Haha, you could just find the manager and throw a big tantrum.

To be fair to the OP, #1 sounds like a legit complaint worthy of comp and #2 & #3 seems mentioned in passing (the standard FD "how was your stay") and points offered without expectations. Correct me if wrong.

Thank you for your post. I think I am missing something could you tell me exactly which post or posts have as you state "frauds proposed"

Correct. This was a legitimate question and not a suggestion to start complaining about everything. I really do hate the people who demand comp or tweet every minor inconvenience to the brand. Just interested in what's going on behind the scenes because the levels offered didn't match the severity of the situation at all.

In #3 I really just wanted the charges reversed for bottles of water that I didn't use. No request for points.

#2 was exactly what you said. The FD asked how the room was and I told them they should have maintenance look at the shower. Didn't expect anything at all and was surprised at how apologetic the manager was. The gesture was enough that it's my first choice in that city now. It's consistently sold out which is probably why management is on the ball.

#1 (no pun intended), never seen anything like it and hope to never again. Didn't see a single point and would've preferred to just have had housekeeping done their job and never had a puddle of someone else's pee in the room.

You addressed this question to Often1, not me, but I've gotta say that when I read your line "It's that easy to get 10,000 bonus points per stay? I might give it a go," in post #4 I humorously imagined you packing a hammer on your next several hotel visits, whacking the shower head when you arrive in the room, and calling down to the front desk, "Hi, my shower's broken."

Oh I see. No definitely never intended to promote dishonesty by myself or anyone else. I think I responded to as easy "the room was dirty and bulbs out" which resulted in "here is 10,000 points" Thank you for staying. As a side note how big of hammer would one need?

I had a room at a SHS when it was 7 degrees outside the heat stop working over night and was very cold by very early morning. Would that be a 5000 or 10,000 point payout? A free night at the property cost 35,000 points. Also should mention they knew about the heat problem from the previous stay but was believed to be fixed by engineering before the room was given to me. Any feed back on this would be appreciated because similar to the OP I am now curious about service recovery payouts.

Since one of the goals should be to ensure that nobody else has this happen, it is helpful and customary to name the property. If the property knew about the heat problem, believed it was fixed and still gave you the room, the property should be named.

Thank you for your post. So since the service failure is so serious I will mark your vote as a full 35,000 point payout?