How long might it take typically for a stay to post? I stayed at the Maui Wailea last month...checked out the 22nd of May...and it hasn't posted on my page on the website yet...is that typical? (Of course, I gave my mr rewards card on check in ...and later I got a 'courtesy call' welcoming me to the hotel as a 'marriott elite'...but it was a priceline stay...and I've seen some of them not post in the past so that is what makes me suspicious of no posting yet....of course there were some incidentals charged.)

I find Marriott to be terribly late in posting stays and they have the most archaic method for asking for notifying MR of missing miles (print a web page and fax it in).

J

Normal Continental U. S. posting time is one to two weeks. Since the first of the year Marriott has been much more efficient in sorting out third party bookings and not posting stay credit, so I shifted business to Hyatt when possible. You still have hope for another week, but my guess is memories of a nice trip is all Marriott is going to do for you this time. You can fax in the folio for points on the incidentals, but Salt Lake never adds stay credit. Seems to be the hotel gives it or it does not happen.

How is that area? Never have booked Wailea. Kaanapali has reached the been there-done that stage and looking for a new Hawaii spot to try.

I have been staying since January at an international Marriott.

The first 3 stays were posted within a week...then I don't know what has happened...

I am missing 4 stay requests for a total of about 46 nights and they have not posted. I have spoken to the front desk..and for over a week they can not seem to get it posted either...so I will have to wait until I get back to the US to sort it all out...

Marriott used to be the best program around (about 5 years ago) then they made changes to their plan. Increased the number of points for a stay...changed category of hotels...included blackouts, limited number of rooms available for reward redemption and added a 50% stay anytime feature.

I think what happened is the rewards program became too successful for them and their liability based on rewards outstanding became too high. so they looked for ways to limit redemption or increase the number of points you had to use.

I fear it will be a trend for all loyality programs. You will see increase in number of points required and fewer "standard" options. The corporations realize that if you use the points they lose reveune and they need to control the revenue loss due to loyality programs without appearing as ogers.

Sorry Marriott, you have been busted....

Actually we view it exactly opposite from what you've suggested

Excuse me, but your comment is rather cryptic to me. Sorry if I am slow but always willing to learn...

Opposite? By that are you saying that Marriott has NOT Increased the number of points to stay at hotel? and they have opened up MORE rooms to Reward Travel? and they remove blackout days...

If they have done these things (and they have) what on earth was their motivation to reduce benifits to Reward members?

I'll admit I am blind but willing to listen and be convinced to see the error of my views...Help me out here will ya...

Well, like the thread starter, I too am still chasing down missing stays from a month ago, partly why I started the 'what's your missing stay ratio' thread recently. I was on a matress run to YYC and jumped around over 3 nights to requalify for elite [i[and[/i] earn a promo at the same time. One of the stays from YYC Marriott has posted while the other hasn't. There doesn't seem to be too much rhyme or reason as to which stays don't post and which ones do. And it wasn't a case of me forgetting to include my MR number. In fact, not only were all booking made on the website which has my MR numbers stored in my profile, I also verified the number was on the reservation both at check in & check out AND that it was printed on the hotel receipt.

I will admit to being disappointed with MR in terms of the number of missing stays for whatever reason I seem to suffer as well as the hoops I have to go through to get those stays to post properly to my account. Hopefully someone is listening (or reading).

MN,

You had implied that MAR was holding back award rooms because of the cost of "giving them away", my post was to simple inform you this was not the case. Our standard proceedure is to account for the cost of the points at the time the points are awarded therefore the cost of an award room has already been accounted for before you actually stayed (for further details please see our SEC filings available on www.marriott.com/investor)...infact we do not view MR as a drain on our statement at all...if we the program wouldn't exsist today, afterall MR is the largest hotel program today and it continues to grow

Everyone is entitled to their own point of view but please realize each traveler has needs which may or may not be similar to you own and because of this the other programs may or may not be a better fit for different travelers

Right, and the Hilton program that you so proudly laud did not do the following:

1). Increase the Hawaiian Holiday award from 100,000 points to 175,000 points; or

2). Increase the number of points at all but the higest category of hotels for a 6 night stay by 50%, from 100,000 points to 150,000 points; or

3). Rejigger its hotels into various hotel classifications several times since changing from their earlier award structure prior to 5/31/03; or

4). Announce that Point Stretchers would not be available until a couple of months later than they normally had been available for booking; or

5). End entirely the Point Stretchers for Category 1 properties, without any notice, whatsoever; or

6). Terminate Reward Exchanges for many airlines -- inlcuding United, and Co, among others, far and away less than the required and 6 months that they had obligated themselves to do in their rules for the program.

Finally, I only wish that Hilton would add a stay anytime feature. It may not mean much to you, but for the vast majority of HHonors members -- who far and away outnumber you -- it would mean much to us. Moreover, inasmuch as our combined room revenue probably far exceeds yours, don't you think that Hilton should listen to our complaints a bit more than Marriott should listen to yours?

Oh, I forgot #7!

Whereas Hilton used to provide you a point discount on weekend night reservations, HHonors did away with this under their overhaul of HHonors.

If you want to save HHonors points, then it is a 6 night stay, or suffer the consequences. period.

On the other hand, with Marriott, you get a point discount -- regardless of your elite level, or lack thereof -- for each additional night you stay at the hotel.

Not to mention that you can intersperse paid stays with reward stays to string together award nights that you otherwise might not be able to do so.

With Hilton, this is impossible; but not to worry, those self-appointed arbiters of fairness who are Diamonds -- perhaps many times over -- do not have to bother with such trifling matters, as they are guarranteed award space for practically any lenght of time.

Have I discussed all the MAJOR changes that have occurred to HHonors in the past year, or did I leave something out?

It annoys me to no end that Marriott takes approximately 1 week for domestic stays to post. Hyatt can do this in one day -- But Hyatt is a far smaller company.

However, I would have thought that with a little effort, Marriott could cut this time to at most 4 days from checkout, including weekends.

I think that Marriott should strive to accomplish this.

With respect to missing stays, I don't think that I have had many of them, and I can't recall the last time this has happened to me.

However, with respect to HHonors, that is entirely another story.....

It's really should have given them the card again at checkout to make sure the number was entered in. When I got that 'welcome call' saying how 'we appreciate out marriott elites' ....I can see them erasing the MR number as they talk to me and see it's a priceline. It wasn't a lot of points for the incidentals...but it would have put me over the top for that one promotion they were running after 10 stays...and it would have requalified me as silver...not that silver means anything really. Of course I will never know what really happened ... but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth after what was an excellent stay... sometimes these properties forget that today's priceline might be tomorrow's non-priceline customer...and I was pleased enough that I would have considered paying the 'going rate' the next time...but now the 'sour taste'

AFAIK, Renard, PLN stays NEVER count as stay credit for elite requalification or promotions. As I understand it, you will get points for incidentals charged, but that is it. I think that reasonable, although Hyatt does allow stay credit for incidentals charged to the room on a PLN stay. That said, I don't have a quarrel with Marriott's apparent policy-- and if you had received stay credit in the past -- well, then, consider yourself lucky.

I don't see how that PLN stay would have qualified you for the bonus -- better to not have counted on it -- and arranged another stay for you to have qualified.

I have some problems with the Marriott program -- but this is not one of them.

As others have mentioned, as has Socrates, in the past, stay credits (towards elite memberships) do not accrue on PLN stays. Neither do stay points. Any received are a gift....thank you Incidental points are received from those properties who award them. Our stays normally post in about 5 business days, whether PLN or not. If I'm saving points for a travel package and don't wish to use them on an award stay, and the price of the property is more than I want to pay (booked with Marriott), then I'll target it on PLN. Between 30-40% of our stays are PLN stays.

If you wish Silver Elite status without strings, just get the MR VISA. That way you'll get the 20% bonus on your points right away and don't have to worry about qualifying. IIRC, the fee is waived the first year, incentives vary (15K right now I think) and you get 3 points for any Marriott purchase (we pay our MVCI MF's with it and will likely buy any future intervals using it as well). So, for a 100.00 stay (at a 10pt-per), you'll get 1000 base points, 200 bonus points, and 300 points for using the MR VISA. 1500 points total.
The real bonuses accrue when buying intervals, where incentives run to 150K/wk, and one can get 60-120K in self-referral and VISA points. You can figure a Cat 6/120K travel package for each week, if negotiated right.

When coupled with the incentives/points program of MVCI, the MR program has good value and marked flexibility, IMO. I hope they continue to work hard to maintain that opinion. So far, as leisure users, we're very satisfied.

Pat

Thanks to all for educating me in areas where I have been uninformed.

I betterunderstand the options and comparisons. I guess I just get frustrated after staying in a hotel for 25 nights straight, earn between 60,000 to 75,000 points for a stay...and then find out I can not use them when I need them or have to burn them a 50% rate. One just feels a bit bitter.

But now, at least, I can understnd their perspective and not take it personal.

thanks all agin

FYI...wholesaler rates like priceline do not generate any stay credit, only points on incidentals charged to the room, so it would not have requalified you or counted for the promotion