Marriott Listings On VRBO
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: 4éme
Posts: 12,042
Marriott Listings On VRBO
Last night I was browsing VRBO for a place to stay in London and noticed that the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale had a listing for a Deluxe Room, Guest room, 1 King which was about $20/night cheaper than the rate offered on marriott.com. The marriott.com rate was prepaid and I couldn't see what the conditions of the VRBO rate was. Anybody book a Marriott stay via VRBO?
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,110
Dig into the fine print to find out if you get points/night credit if booked through VRBO.
Cheers.
Cheers.
#3
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,570
We've used VRBO for years, but the last few times have been bad enough experiences that I really want to avoid them in the future. For instance, I'd rather be "walked" by Marriott, and at least have a place to stay, than to be told by VRBO that there's really nothing they can do when the VRBO owner sells their house and cancels my booking (that I made many months before for a wedding) 3 days before I'm due to arrive.
#4
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: None - previously UA
Posts: 4,864
You can probably get a LNF claim approved if they are selling on VRBO, either through VRBO or some other third party site.
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,110
Still think the OP should dig into the fine print to find out if nights/stay credit applies or is void because it's through VRBO. Not sure $20 is worth losing nights/points credit.
Cheers.
Cheers.
#6
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,574
Bizarre. Can you tell that it is a legit direct listing from the hotel?
My first fear is that it's some guy who booked a cheap prepaid rate months ago and has now determined he can't make it to London. So he lists on VRBO, you buy it, and he (hopefully) calls the hotel and makes you Guest 2. Seems a bit dodgy to me, as this is not how Marriott hotels typically sell their rooms. I suppose it's possible that VRBO (or whomever their holding company is) is blending in traditional hotel booking engine results with their owner-listed queries, although I haven't seen that myself.
I've stayed in that hotel before. It's an otherwise normal Marriott. It was an adequate place to stay for a business trip when I wanted to be somewhat near central London without paying the crazy-high rates *in* central London. Easy Tube access from the hotel.
My first fear is that it's some guy who booked a cheap prepaid rate months ago and has now determined he can't make it to London. So he lists on VRBO, you buy it, and he (hopefully) calls the hotel and makes you Guest 2. Seems a bit dodgy to me, as this is not how Marriott hotels typically sell their rooms. I suppose it's possible that VRBO (or whomever their holding company is) is blending in traditional hotel booking engine results with their owner-listed queries, although I haven't seen that myself.
I've stayed in that hotel before. It's an otherwise normal Marriott. It was an adequate place to stay for a business trip when I wanted to be somewhat near central London without paying the crazy-high rates *in* central London. Easy Tube access from the hotel.
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: 4éme
Posts: 12,042
Bizarre, that's what I thought too. I haven't encountered a major hotel chain on VRBO before. Unlike other listings, this one is really generic without any indication of who the property manager is. No plans to stay there as it's not in the area I want. Just thought it strange.