"Stacking" Offers
 

Has anyone tried to use an Elite BOGO when booked at the "Savvy Savings" or "Bonus Bucks" promotion rate??

I had a reservation at Renaissance, booked and confirmed at the "Savvy Savings" rate for 2 nights, and then remembered that I had the Elite offer to use before Jan 15. So I called the Platinum line, as Marriott requires, and specifically asked about using the Elite offer with that rate. I was told it was OK and it was noted in my res. that I would be using the BOGO.

Upon checkout at the hotel in question,I was told I would not get the Savvy Savings certificate because I could not "stack" promotions...Funny thing is, I have done the exact same thing at a different property in the past and had no problems. Also, I see from various posts on this forum that Marriott seems to accept the "stacking" of many other promotions.( i.e. using Bonus Bucks to pay for a stay and then also using the EEO for one free night, etc.) Unless there is some distinction between "earning" and "using" these savings certificates, it would seem that they are one and the same as far as "stacking" goes.

I guess the one thing that irritates me the most is that since I did call and ask about it beforehand, the time to tell me it could not be done was right then-not at check-out time.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated-

I agree - the person you talked to you at the 800 number should have told you that the "BOGO" could not be used other than in conjunction with rates that require some sort of pre-qualification before they could be obtained or in conjunction with other discounts. (Said in not so many words on the back of the BOGO.)

(BOGOs are a perk of MR elite status so those rules would hold even if the bearer isn't an MR member).

What you're giving further evidence of is of an ongoing problem - that not every contact you have is knowledgeable as to the rules - understandable (evenif not really acceptable) from front desk associates (particularly on weekends when you're going to encounter the less-experienced ones), but certainly shouldn't be the experience with Marriott's public-contact people.

Many times hotel associates don't work for Marriott International, are "trained" by their own management so Marriott T's and C's can be misinterpeted or overlooked (and the result could well accrue to the guest's benefit).

But that certainly shouldn't be the case when you call Marriott itself.

Ok, I've heard this before on the forum, just want to be clear. (help me here).

1. Reserve a room at a hotel and see that there is an offer to RECEIVE a bonus buck/savvy saving certificate for the same price as a regular room (or slightly higher).

2. I call the plat line and they notate the EEO Certificate (Or even a bonus buck/savvy thinggy).

Explain to me how that is stacking offers? I could understand that I can't USE a bonus buck AND the EEO, but why can't I RECEIVE one?

I can think of many times last summer when they were hot and heavy on giving out the BB's, that after my first reservation, I used one on all subsuquent ones without a problem.

Just wanted to be certain I was understanding the original question...are we sure that is really stacking????

Oh, and by the way...Merry Christmas!

I think you are asking tooooo many questions. Once the reservation notes it in the record you should be OK. The agent will read the remarks/comments and assume you can use the certificates presented.

on the eeo certs it is written that the offer is not valid with any other offers, this includies the rates that give bbs or pps

some hotels will enforce the rule - ewr marriott and marriot trumball - for sure

other hotels do not
depending upon how strict they interpret the rules

Welcome to FT :)

If an agent remarked your reservation then it would have been up to her/him to ensure that the offer was valid for the rate you were paying. I would call Customer Service and explain to them what happened. I had a similar experience and I was given the points for a FREE night at that hotel cat. as they could not force the hotel to give me a refund. I was happy with the outcome. :)

Just to clarify about one of your points above. USING bonus bucks to pay for a stay is not a promotion. Bonus bucks are the same as cash when paying, although they have restrictions on when you can use them (e.g., only on a two night stay at a publicly listed rate); however, they are not a promotion really. I don't think it's really stacking" to use the EEO for one free night and pay for the other night with bonus bucks.

I'm not defending it, but it does state on the EEOs that they are not to be used with other discount orders or in conjunction with rates "not publicly available."

It could be that since the BB is issued in conjunction with M11/M12 coding that it's considered emenating from a "not publicly available" offer or they consider it a "discount" when it's really "cash" (since it doesn't affect the total of resultant MR points).

All the inconsistencies that are reported have a common genisis - lack of definitive training.

I should probably have added that the printed T's and C's are not clear (and in the case of buy one/get one free weekend night EEOs hotel processing instructions are missing despite assurances that they were to appear effective with the current batch.

Stacking Offers
 

Thanks for all your input on this problem.....

The "stacking" term came from Marriott's Customer Care...they say this is stacking offers, although intially they were obviously confused about the situation, even after many minutes of explanation. (While standing at the front desk of the hotel at check-out time).
They first said I would have had to book at the "Savvy Savings" rate to get the certificate. After directing them to my e mail confirmation from Marriott that clearly shows the booking at the SS rate, they changed course and said "stacking offers" was not permitted. I did point out more than once that the Platinum line had OK-ed the deal, but that fell on deaf ears.
Once back home I sent the customer care dept a note and tried again to explain my side of the story. This time they said it could not be done because the SS deal was a "direct mail' promotion, not a "public" rate, and BO-GO's could only be used with "public" rates. Once I pointed out that this rate readily appears on Marriott's web site as well as on the site of the Renaissance hotel, they they went back to the "stacking" issue.

I can understand that with so many promotions and offers out there, even Marriott's people have a hard time keeping them straight. But having gotten so many different reasons (excuses?) for not honoring this deal, and judging from what some of you on the forum have said, it seems more to be a case of getting the run-around.

I should add that we enjoyed our stay at the hotel very much, and had no other problems whatsoever. It's unfortunate that this issue tainted our otherwise happy experience.

The current Savvy offer is a noncoded offer (Not a Marriott Rewards Member Rate). This is a regular rate, which is why I disagree that it is stacking. If you go do a search for certain dates, they pop up. Thats my point.... I don't see why mclain is getting the run around.

Unless just like others have mentioned before, they didn't have the certificates to give, and so its easier to nitpick...

One More idea
 

This is an interesting thread. I have a three night stay booked at the Renassiance next weekend on a "stay for breakfast rate." I am also going to use my Elite coupon for a free night and was considering trying to use a bonus buck for part of the other two nights. I need to make some calls to see if this is feasible.

Unless a mistake is made, you should not be able to use a Bonus Buck and EEO together. Understand that going in...

I did this once. The hotel checked carefully, and decided it was appropriate to allow both coupons. Since it was a 3 night reservation, after they gave me one night free, I still had two paid nights. Thus, it was proper to let me use the bonus buck/premium pound.

I can't promise you that every hotel will come to the same conclusion, but I was certainly happy with the outcome.

I have a stay at the beginning of January where I am using the Renaissance offer for a free night and it was the regular (i.e., publicly available) rate so I intend to pay with Premium Pounds. I'll post back what happens, but oh man, I feel bad for the front desk clerk who tries to tell me that I can't use them both together. . .

I have booked the M11 rate (rate at which you can earn Bonus Bucks-BBs) for a 2-night stay. I submitted an EEO certificate to the front desk. She, in turn, asked a manager about it. The manager indicated that as long as it's a publicly known rate, then it's okay. I told him I was using the M11 rate and he indicated that it was acceptable. The front desk clerk said it would be applied to my folio. When I received the bill at the door, I was, in fact charged for 1 night, plus I received a $100 BB ccertificate.

What I'm reading in this and have read other threads on the subject tells me that there's inconsistent adherence (by the hotels) to what's printed on the back of EEO B1G1 and BBs. (And a multitude of opinions have been posted as to why.)

I've experienced the opposite of what many have releated on this one.

On 4 night stay (two 2-night back-to-backs) at a Connecticut FS Marriott on a publicly-available rate (required no group code) for Wednesday night through Sunday morning, they completely screwed up the application of the BB (for check in Thursday-check out Friday) and the EEO B1G1 (For check in Friday-check out Sunday).

When I required at check-in they confirmed that there would be "no problem" and reiterated it when I reconfirmed it (with the MOD) the evening prior to check-out.

I'm a regular there and upon and after it got straightened out they were very apologetic and generous in terms of the (unsolicited on my part) compensation.

I think you may have gotten lucky.

My understanding is that the BOGO EEO certs are only good with rates available to any member of the general public. M11, of course, is available only to MR Elite members. The only time I got a hotel to honor a rate not available to the general public was when a manager decided to waive the rule for me upftont and let me use the cert with the AAA rate.

M11 is publicly available, although I think you may have to register at the site (therefore generating an MR number and login) first.

M12 is technically only available to elites, but it does not appear to be systematically enforced.

E0S, E0G, and E0P appear to be systematically linked to your elite level.

To the topic at hand, yesterday I successfully combined a Premium Pounds and the Hertz HPR promo at a Residence Inn - but it took a lot of work. I had to call the Marriott Rewards line, who wasn't aware of the Hertz promo. They connected me to group sales (why, I don't know) who wasn't aware either. The RI clerk and manager insisted that they weren't running any Buy 2 Get 1 Free promos. Finally, I got ahold of someone at Marriott International who was able to talk the clerk through the promo (on my cell phone). 40 minutes later, they agreed to my free night.

They posted the 50 Premium Pounds as 50 dollars. I briefly attempted to explain the concept of other countries using different currencies that aren't dollars but got a blank stare. I was weary from the HPR battle. I accepted the $50 credit in exchange for my 50PP, thereby setting a FlyerTalk record for the worst exchange rate ever received for a PP. :rolleyes:

To follow up on the saga of the denied SS certificate:

After e mail correspondance with Marriott Customer Care, I was offered a $50 Marriott certificate to compensate me for "the confusion" about my rate.

While I appreciate the gesture, (and it does recover half the value of the errant SS certificate), I think only the Marriott folks are "confused". I have printed confirmation of the rate I reserved at and what it covered, and made a phone call to the Platimum Line to specifically ask whether I could combine the EOO with that rate. The answer was affirmative. I honored my end of the contract I entered into when I reserved the room, and Marriott ought to honor their end. If there was any "confusion" it was on the part of the Platinum service rep who apparently gave me bad information. I don't feel a good Marriott customer should literally or figuratively pay the price for their "mistake", if in fact it was a mistake.

Would the Marriott guru on the site care to comment?