Misleading pricing on Marriott.com
#46
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#47
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 3
Disappointed and a Little Shady
I stay at Marriott's quite frequently. I went on-line this evening to make reservations and was disappointed to find that rates advertised on the main page were far lower than the actual overall cost for my 5 night stay. I caught this when I was just about to make the reservation and realized the cost had doubled from what it should have been based on the advertised price. I find it interesting that all of the hotels listed seem to reflect a lower price for the first night and the rates increase exponentially after that.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
I am a gold member with Marriott and could be well on my way to platinum for the year. I could reach it by the middle of October, but am now starting to question my comfort level in booking at their hotels given this current practice.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
I am a gold member with Marriott and could be well on my way to platinum for the year. I could reach it by the middle of October, but am now starting to question my comfort level in booking at their hotels given this current practice.
#48
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NYC - upper West Side
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,597
I stay at Marriott's quite frequently. I went on-line this evening to make reservations and was disappointed to find that rates advertised on the main page were far lower than the actual overall cost for my 5 night stay. I caught this when I was just about to make the reservation and realized the cost had doubled from what it should have been based on the advertised price. I find it interesting that all of the hotels listed seem to reflect a lower price for the first night and the rates increase exponentially after that.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
I am a gold member with Marriott and could be well on my way to platinum for the year. I could reach it by the middle of October, but am now starting to question my comfort level in booking at their hotels given this current practice.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
I am a gold member with Marriott and could be well on my way to platinum for the year. I could reach it by the middle of October, but am now starting to question my comfort level in booking at their hotels given this current practice.
Nothing deceitful at all here. The rate shown for a multi-night booking is the rate for the first night.
You press another button (or two) to get the breakdown for the other nights.
Very transparent.
And Dr. Seuss, you should be ashamed of yourself for referring to Marriott pricing policy as "shady"
"Shady" is going to Denny's and looking for the "green eggs and ham" special on their breakfast menu!
Shady indeed... Phooey.
Newman
#49
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I stay at Marriott's quite frequently. I went on-line this evening to make reservations and was disappointed to find that rates advertised on the main page were far lower than the actual overall cost for my 5 night stay. I caught this when I was just about to make the reservation and realized the cost had doubled from what it should have been based on the advertised price. I find it interesting that all of the hotels listed seem to reflect a lower price for the first night and the rates increase exponentially after that.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
In this particular instance a prepaid rate advertised as $87 per night for 5 nights is totaling $735, but they clearly state that they are going to actually charge my card $823.20. How did they come to this total? Well, when I actually view the summary of charges, it lists $87 for the first night, $158 for the second, $175 for the third and fourth nights and $140 for the fifth night, plus the $88.20 in taxes and fees.
I just find this extremely deceptive. I looked at multiple hotels on their site for he same date range and they all seemed to be doing the same thing.
I am a gold member with Marriott and could be well on my way to platinum for the year. I could reach it by the middle of October, but am now starting to question my comfort level in booking at their hotels given this current practice.
#50
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: England - UK
Posts: 512
Unfortunately I tend to agree with DrSeuss although it may be just another IT glitch. Just recently I booked a night stay which was marked €75 euros per night but when I clicked through to the buy page it went to £75 a night. The figure is the same but the currency has changed in their favor. I've spoken to Marriott and they've said they only had the £75 showing on their system. It's actually becoming a regular occurrence. Perhaps I should send in a claim under their lower price guarantee.
#51
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I always book hotels in the currency in which payment will actually be made, which is usually the local currency. With few exceptions, the rate in the local currency is definitive and anything else based on current exchange rates is just an estimate. [I never participate in dynamic currency conversion either.]
#52
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, United Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 2,276
Yes, Marriott.com shows the lowest rate for the first night of a multi-night stay. Clicking on "Continue" then reveals the actual rates for various room types, including the "Total per room" for the entire multi-day stay.
But I would not characterize this as bogus or deceptive.
Sometimes the first night is higher than the rest of nights, such as Thursday night for a 3-night stay at a hotel with low Friday and Saturday rates.
When there's a combined reservation website for all 30 Marriott brands, let's hope Marriott figures out a way to give customers control in how rates are displayed.
But I would not characterize this as bogus or deceptive.
Sometimes the first night is higher than the rest of nights, such as Thursday night for a 3-night stay at a hotel with low Friday and Saturday rates.
When there's a combined reservation website for all 30 Marriott brands, let's hope Marriott figures out a way to give customers control in how rates are displayed.
#53
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: England - UK
Posts: 512
I always book hotels in the currency in which payment will actually be made, which is usually the local currency. With few exceptions, the rate in the local currency is definitive and anything else based on current exchange rates is just an estimate. [I never participate in dynamic currency conversion either.]
#54
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AmEx doesn't participate in dynamic currency conversion. Normally when you pay with AmEx (at least the USA varieties), you sign for the charge in local currency. Then AmEx converts the amount to your own currency (based on interbank rates) and you pay the bill in your own currency.
With a USA based card, if I book a hotel room in London, it's really priced in British pounds (not USA dollars for Americans) and my contract is to pay the amount stated in pounds. The hotel bills me in pounds, charges pounds to my credit card, and it itself paid by AmEx in pounds. AmEx itself converts the amount in pounds to USA dollars and I pay my bill in USA dollars, from my USA checking account.
When I book the hotel in London, I set the (usually SPG or Hyatt) website to show me the prices in British pounds and print the confirmation in pounds (and expect my email confirmation to also show the price in pounds). If I phone to make a reservation, for example through FHR, I always insist that the agent tell me prices in local currency (British pounds in this example), not dollars since the binding contract will be in dollars. Also, I never book prepaid rates or go through OLTAs, priceline, airline website offers for hotels, package tours, etc.
ADDED: A couple countries are exceptions. When I last visited Russia, they maintained a separate "currency" (and defined official exchange rates) for foreigners which international chain hotels (and some stores specializing in imported luxury items) used. International hotels in Argentina tend to contractually define their prices in dollars for foreigners and then convert to local currency at the time of checkout. [Argentina also has a recent law saying that certain travel expensive such such as tours and plane tickets must be paid in hard currency.] Turkey seems to define prices in dollars in some places but in Euro in other establishments. There was a time when inflation in Israel was so bad that many shops had prices marked in dollars and converted to local currency at the time of purchase, using that morning's exchange rate, but one paid in local currency (whether in cash or by credit card) unless one could negotiate a deal for paying cash in foreign currency. There are also cases near borders or with many tourists where shops openly advertise that they are willing to accept foreign cash, usually at exchange rates they post (for example, US$1 = CAN$1 at times for convenience if you drive across the border and don't bother too change money), but other countries (Russia officially, East Germany in the past) forbid locals to transact in foreign currency. Some countries forbid their citizens/residents/businesses to hold foreign currency or maintain bank accounts in foreign currency without special permission. Obviously enforcement varies.
With a USA based card, if I book a hotel room in London, it's really priced in British pounds (not USA dollars for Americans) and my contract is to pay the amount stated in pounds. The hotel bills me in pounds, charges pounds to my credit card, and it itself paid by AmEx in pounds. AmEx itself converts the amount in pounds to USA dollars and I pay my bill in USA dollars, from my USA checking account.
When I book the hotel in London, I set the (usually SPG or Hyatt) website to show me the prices in British pounds and print the confirmation in pounds (and expect my email confirmation to also show the price in pounds). If I phone to make a reservation, for example through FHR, I always insist that the agent tell me prices in local currency (British pounds in this example), not dollars since the binding contract will be in dollars. Also, I never book prepaid rates or go through OLTAs, priceline, airline website offers for hotels, package tours, etc.
ADDED: A couple countries are exceptions. When I last visited Russia, they maintained a separate "currency" (and defined official exchange rates) for foreigners which international chain hotels (and some stores specializing in imported luxury items) used. International hotels in Argentina tend to contractually define their prices in dollars for foreigners and then convert to local currency at the time of checkout. [Argentina also has a recent law saying that certain travel expensive such such as tours and plane tickets must be paid in hard currency.] Turkey seems to define prices in dollars in some places but in Euro in other establishments. There was a time when inflation in Israel was so bad that many shops had prices marked in dollars and converted to local currency at the time of purchase, using that morning's exchange rate, but one paid in local currency (whether in cash or by credit card) unless one could negotiate a deal for paying cash in foreign currency. There are also cases near borders or with many tourists where shops openly advertise that they are willing to accept foreign cash, usually at exchange rates they post (for example, US$1 = CAN$1 at times for convenience if you drive across the border and don't bother too change money), but other countries (Russia officially, East Germany in the past) forbid locals to transact in foreign currency. Some countries forbid their citizens/residents/businesses to hold foreign currency or maintain bank accounts in foreign currency without special permission. Obviously enforcement varies.
Last edited by MSPeconomist; Jul 15, 2018 at 1:28 pm
#55
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Simple solution - average paid over X number of nights stayed. Good news, they just bought a company who has figured out the IT necessary to do it
#56
Join Date: Jul 2017
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If you click "organize by price" it does sort them by lowest to highest on the overall average price, even though it just list the first night price ( e.g. you might see 1st night $125 listed before $100 as the $125 hotel might have an overall lower average price).
I have found this helpful but it would be nice to see the average price listed
I have found this helpful but it would be nice to see the average price listed
#57
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Its unfortunate that the new website lacks the basic functionality to provide a notice that the rate changes/increases during the stay. The previous better website used to do this. Now they just display the teaser rate to try to get you to select the hotel and get a nice surprise that the rate went way up.
Old site used to immediately display the nightly rates when you selected a property also... now you have to click/select again to display the rates because they hide all useful info within dropdowns.
Old site used to immediately display the nightly rates when you selected a property also... now you have to click/select again to display the rates because they hide all useful info within dropdowns.
#58
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Marriott did it that way for years and just recently moved to this more confusing rate presentation. I would not expect Marriott to move back to what SPG is doing, which is more customer friendly. I would expect SPG's site will be changed soon, too.
#59
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The fact that some particular people are aware of how marriott does this and know to look for it doesn't show that it's not deceptive. To the contrary, actually, the argument that "well if you know where to look you'll see the actual pricing" adds weight to the claim that the way marriott is doing it is deceptive.
#60
Join Date: Mar 2017
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The fact that some particular people are aware of how marriott does this and know to look for it doesn't show that it's not deceptive. To the contrary, actually, the argument that "well if you know where to look you'll see the actual pricing" adds weight to the claim that the way marriott is doing it is deceptive.