socrates

Correct

chicaloca453

On the certificate, it says "any public rate." I'm guessing that leaves out things like AARP, AAA, GOV, VIP, and TVL. What I'd like to know is do you have to book at the full undiscounted rate to use them? That's what a Marriott CSR told me. But having been a hotel CSR in college, I know that many of them will tell you anything to get you off the phone so I don't hold a lot of faith in what they say.

I'm looking at the Waikiki Beach Marriott. I want a nice room, but the best ones are EXPENSIVE without any discount.

What I'd like to know is what rates can I apply bonus bucks to? I've been to this property before, and they are sticklers to the rules. They wouldn't even give us as platinum last year more than 1 hour of late check-out.

Any ideas? Oh, and if any Marriott CSR's are reading this post, I mean no offense. I worked with the Cendant Hotel Groups (the cheap stuff that I wouldn't even stay in with my discount), and I just know the general hatred of the job. =)

gardener

I have specific experience with this property. I booked a cityview room at a corporate rate of $112 a nite. When I went to check in, they offered to upgrade me (I am Gold) to an oceanview room in the makai tower vs a cityview in the mauka tower - but I had to wait an hour for it to be cleaned, I said OK.

I presented a Bonus Buck and the woman checking me in said she could take it (after studying the back for a few minutes and acting like she'd never seen one before). Then she said to bring it back later when she could actually check me in and she would post it to my folio.

So I come back later, check in with a different woman who says Bonus Buck no good on this corporate rate. Shows me a card with rack rates and says BB only good on rack rate which was ridiculous maybe $349 a nite. I call over first woman and politely complain that she had earlier agreed the BB was acceptable but couldn't accept it at the time because my folio had not been opened. 2nd lady goes into back office, confers with manager, comes out and says they will accept the BB.

Moral of the story: Don't give them two chances to say no. I should also point out that I have redeemed many BB's over the past two years and this was the only property that gave me any hard time at all.

chicaloca453

I think they probably would tell me no because I'd be using either 3 or 4 of them.

Right now I don't have status with Marriott because I just love Hilton too much. I was there with a Platinum last year, which was nice. We got a great room at a great price. It was a deluxe ocean view for less than $150 a night.

For some reason, the rates are more this year. This was mid-August so the timing is about the same. Now, the rates run from $200-$340 a night at the "rack" rate. Paradise Plus is a bit cheaper, and it's a public rate I would think. However, I'm there as a media member writing a piece for a magazine. The media rate is cheap -- about $120, and they're likely to upgrade you because they want tyou to talk nice about their property. There's still no guarantee, though, especially without status.

That leads to my dilemma. Do I go for the expensive room and use the bonus bucks? Do I book at the media rate and HOPE to get to use them? Or can I find a bit cheaper rate where I can still use the Bonus Bucks. I'm hoping for the latter, but the rates in Hawaii are up this year so I don't know.

socrates

FYI...Marriott considers AAA a published rate even though you must show id....but you can use them at any rate offered by the reservation agent, website or other booking means (except wholesaler rates) as long as you don't ask for a discount...ie when you call and ask for hotel x on day x for x night the rates they quote are all ok...it does not have to be the full "corp/rack" rate

socrates

Let me add to my above post...different BB"s have different restrictions ......but "rack/corp" rates are "public avail rates" but not the only ones.....if the rate is avail to the general public (ie you dont have to be a part of a specific group to obtain the rate) then it's a public avail rate.....

socrates

The current BB's can only be used for a 2 night stay...ie you can only use 2 BB's for a 4 night stay

bdschobel

Fifteen minutes ago, I used $100 in Bonus Bucks on an "OTP" rate at the San Francisco Marriott. They merely asked if the certificate was the same one I got on check-in. It wasn't, so no problem.

Bruce

chicaloca453

Right.........I'm looking at a 7-8 night stay at this property. I love the location. The property also has a new Paul Brown spa that I'm aching to try. =)

chicaloca453

Do Marriott CSR's automatically offer you the best rate available? At Cendant, we had to do a song and dance. First we offered them the hotel's rack rate. Then, we chose a mid-range discount. Then we chose the "rock bottom rate" if they still said it was too high.

The goal of the job at Cendant was to sell quickly so you'd make bonus every week and get commission. Is that how it works with Marriott too?

Also, would I get a better raate by calling the Waikiki reservations center instead of the main Marriott number?

socrates

All agents (regardless of where you call) are required to quote the screen in front of them and it should always be the best rate (hense the best rate gtd)

chicaloca453

That's good to know. With Cendant, we had to quote the screen, and they usually started out with the higher rates, and then you had to go back and choose a mid-range public rate and then a "rock bottom" rate if that still wasn't good enough. I'm glad Marriott doesn't partake in those games. It's such a waste of time.

That being said, I thought best rate guaranteed was that they wouldn't be undersold by another website (i.e. Hotels.com). I didn't think it had anything to do with the call centers. Of course, I don't fool with the call centers much because of fear of said games above. I usually do it myself online.

socrates

Our Gtd basically stays you won't find a cheaper rate regardless of how you book

chicaloca453

BRAVO to Marriott on this one! That's great customer service.

Thanks for the info.

pitflyer

I noted that someone else has used bonus bucks on a stay where they get a new bonus buck, however I also hear that bonus bucks have different rules. The one I have states

Bonus bucks can not be used in conjunction with any other Marriott certificate stays and certain discounts

What's a certificate stay? is that an award stay, or is that a stay that earns a certificate like a future bonus buck?

Any change that our Marriott Concierge can give me a clear answer if I can use this bonus buck on a stay where I earn a bonus buck?

Thanks