Fortunately California is pretty proactive in tearms of complaints like this.The folks at the Ca.Beaureu of tourisim would like to here about this.

And while I do agree with Pinniped that contacting Marriott HQ MIGHT have a quicker resolution to individual cases-a letter from a state AG will get a heck of a lot more attention by Marriott and the offending property.

One more example that disrespect is "The Marriott Way"

I agree - contacting Marriott HQ might fix it once in this situtation, contacting an AG might fix it permanently for all of us.

Did I miss something? Were the gift cards purchased with cash, check, or credit card at full face value?

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd think that if full face value was paid, I don't see where the hotel has a legal leg to stand on. Not to mention how outrageous and offensive this is.

A former colleague of mine was the son of a longtime Kentucky Supreme Court Justice. Based my colleague's "war stories", I think I could say with confidence that the Kentucky AG's office would definitely be interested if service was denied after full purchase price was paid.

Oh Chris....

I am working on this issue, as well as the issue regarding the Le Merigot JW. I sincerely apologize for these issues and I hope to receive a response from my associates soon. Thank you all for your patience.

Kind regards,

Sorry your associates have left you hanging Chris.Belive me-many of us feel your pain.

[QUOTE=cyberdad;7701104]Did I miss something? Were the gift cards purchased with cash, check, or credit card at full face value?
QUOTE]

Two of them I had were purchased at full price and I had a couple that were given to me as gifts. The thing is they never looked at them so they would not have any way of knowing. I mentioned I wanted to post these cards on my bill and right away they said no BB, PP, gift cards, etc..

These are sold as legal tender by Marriott via a fulfillment company.They should be handled the same as cash-they are not the same thing as a promotional Item such as a free night cert or Bonus buck.
Tough cheese that Marriott does not reimburse 100% back to the property.Not your problem.
Forget about going through Marriott-contact the KY AG's consumer affairs division.

Many a BB or PP are also handled by a Fulfillment company, they arent solely given out by a MR Hotel when making certain stays

I found these cards more of a problem than a benefit. First of all I ordered them in 3 lots and each one took forever to arrive and I had to call about each one.

The first time I used one, the gal had never seen one before - neither had her manager - and this was a situation I found more than once. In another case, the desk clerk swiped the card 3 times to pay the bill before finally getting a message that there was no value to the card. When she called them, it was put on temporary suspension by the fraud dept. for 30 days!

Each time I use one I'm fearful of the fight that might exist. Checking out of the Marriott Marquis Atlanta was a mess ... there was an impatient lineup of others checking out behind me and the gal told me there was no value to the card, Tried another one and it also said no value. It looked to the people behind that my credit cards were being refused!

I've got 3 more cards left ... once they are gone I won't order any more no matter how many bonus points they deliver. Well maybe. :)

used mine in the Middle East he swiped it once put in the amount and that was it. He didnt have to add a '4' either

used them afew times here in the States never a problem, except 1 place that sent a refund to my CC instead of the GC for a credit that was due

I've never had quite the same problems that pwrshift has, but I have to admit they are a pain in the butt to use. Why can't they just swipe them like a Visa? (With or without the 4...) Today, I checked out of a Toronto Marriott - with a $350-ish Gift Card in my wallet - and I didn't use it for the simple reason that I didn't want to deal with another front desk clerk having to go talk to a manager before I could pay and leave the hotel. Once this one is used up, it will take a very good promotion to make me buy another one. I'm not sure if the usual 10% off will do it.

When is the 10% promo around>?

It comes and goes. I've seen it a few times over the years. Right now, the promo is for your choice of discount certificates - 2-for-1 Golf, $50 off spa, or $50 off dining. Heavily restricted, of course...

Exactly what I was thinking. If you (or anyone else) has to pay full price for them, they should be treated the same as legal tender cash. NOT the same as a discretionary promotional item such as bonus bucks, premium pounds, b1g1 certs, etc.

Hopefully any mistake made here was an honest one, and at minimum an apology of some sort will be forthcoming. Based purely on the facts as they're known and available here, the OP is 100% right that these should have been honored.