Time to forget Marriott (and tell your friends)
 

This is the time were you realize you took a bad decision.

Remember that "the good fellas" would probably comp your status.

Time to leave Marriott.

I am not aware of any plans to change this benefit. You will still receive the same category 5 certificate on your anniversary. Since this award is only valid for six months, having no black out dates and only limited capacity controls should make this particular reward a better value.

Travel packages are unique because they are set up so that they can be ordered without a reservation, allowing for the stay and flight to be coordinated more easily. All other non-promotional hotel rewards are attached to a reservation and when the reservation is cancelled so is the reward. On the other hand, the hotel portion of a travel package is not canceled with the reservation. Instead it floats in your account until it is attached to a new reservation. The only way to use the current seven night rewards next year is to book your stays prior January 15th.

We are still communicating with MVCI on this issue. I will post something when I have something concrete.

If you are wanting to know if you will be able to extend one of the current travel packages after January 15th, effectively extending its expiration until some time in 2010, the answer is “no you will not be able to.”

Please let me know if I missed the point on this question.


Like all category changes, if you book before the hotel category changes the original price at the time you booked will be honored.

Ira

Marriott Concierge-
Would you please clarify the following:

So you can't book a Euro Hopper award now, then make reservations for Europe hotels after Jan. 15 when they are category 8 properties?

You have to have the Hopper award before Jan. 15 and the reservations confirmed before the change to a category 8 property?

Thanks!

This was not my question, but I am afraid your answer is yet another change to the disbenefit of members. As I have already posted I am a long standing member who has 3million points, and this all adds up to a massive devaluation of accrued benefit for me personally.

If I can ask 3 related questions just so we can get it all out in the open.

1)

At the moment if I order a travel package with 120K miles (235,000/250,000/270,000 points) and then do not use the hotel portion I get a redeposit of 10,000 25,000 and 40,000 for a cat(1-5) cat(6) and cat(7) respectively. Can you confirm that this would still apply in the scenario you mention where a hotel portion ordered before January 15th is not used within 12 months and you no longer let it be extended.

2)

Will we be able to extend the hotel portions of travel packages after 12 months for travel packages ordered from 15th January (as we could do before this set of changes)

3)

Under the new pricing of 270,000/300,000/330,000/360,000 for a 120,000 miles travel package what will the redeposit amount be if a hotel portion is not extended/cancelled.


Finally I don't envy your job at the moment, you have a lot of pretty upset people here, don't take it personally !

For MVCI members if you go to the website you will see they are offering a special hotel/miles package with 5 nights. The points requirement appears to be the same as the current 7 night package. I guess this will enable owners to still plan a trip after exchanging two years for points. We will now get 5 nights instead of seven. This is for Marriott Hotels. So I guess Platinums get the extra bonus points and vacation club owners get a special package. They would have destroyed vacation club sales if they had not given them some incentive to buy direct.

I think you understand this correctly.

For clarity I will give you an example.

If you want to use your hopper reward at the Paris Champs Elysees next year, (it will be a category 8) you need to book your stay prior to the change. If you book your stay prior to the change, then after the 15th of January change your dates or decide to stay at a different category 8 hotel, you will need to order the new rewards. However, if you wanted to use the hopper for the Paris hotel La Defense Renaissance, or the Hotel Le Parc – Trocadero Paris, you could use the hopper without making your reservation before January 15 (because they will not be category 8 Properties).

*Edit* I have looked into this further. If you order a European Hooper reward prior to the change you will be able to use it at any European property regardless of when you book. As long as the expiration date has not expired on the reward and the stay is booked for reward redemption you will be able to use it. This includes all the properties that will become category 8. *End Edit*

Ira

Marriott Concierge,

If I order TP now, can I change the hotel name(same Catergory) and date after Jan 15 without being charged extra?

Is MR taking a page out of USAirways' play book?
 

Once again, it appears that the business traveler is getting the short end of the stick here. The increase in bonus points for Platinum only is an attempt to mask yet another devaluation of our accrued points as well as increasing needs for future stays. I understand Marriott is running a business and expects to make a profit, but we are the most loyal customers and, like USAirways, they seem to be looking for ways to "p___ us off." Starwood is looking better and better.....if only Hyatt had more properties!

Tired of the poor fitness equipment, tired facilities and choice of a 'market item'. The Marriott platinum designation has turned into a sucker badge over the past year.

I am well into Platinum status again this year and am jumping the Marriott ship.

Hotel incentives are generally poor across the board, from what I have seen. Time to pick a hotel for its value to me (time, comfort and useful amenities).

I would disagree that Marriott is following US. Marriott has elite bonuses. US has squat in that area. Marriott is raising the reimbursement rates to properties in exchanging for getting rid of most of the blackout dates. The tradeoff is that it will cost more points to redeem for the free nights.

Starwood is great if you fit certain travel patterns and needs. For me, Starwood is not a good fit because:
(1) Most Westins have no lounge.
(2) Free breakfast is not an elite benefit, unlike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott.
(3) Most Sheraton and Westin properties do not participate with Boingo or T-Mobile's Hotspot. I am not paying an extra $10+/night for internet when Marriott and Hyatt have most FS properties that have free roaming with those two plans.
(4) Most *wood properties in the DC area have cancellation penalties if you cancel before 24 hours of arrival. I can cancel up to 6 pm on day of arrival for most Marriott properties (4 pm for RI). Hyatt is similar to *wood in cancellation policies for FS properties, but they offer a larger AAA discount.
(5) 4 Points and many Sheraton properties at *wood compare poorly with Marriott's equivalent properties. I know *wood is in a major upgrade of the Sheraton brand, but I am not going to bother to put in the effort to look for the good Sheraton properties and avoid the dumps.
(6) No lifetime elite status at *wood.
(7) Gold status at *wood is similar to platinum at Hyatt, a poor substitute for the top status at both brands.
(8) No EEOs

Of course, *wood has stuff that is attractive. Points & cash redemptions, guaranteed suite upgrades for platinum members, more frequent promos, a good credit card, a guaranteed 4 pm late checkout for elite members and a lower threshold for platinum status are some appealing parts of the *wood program. However, most of my stays are 2 nights, and I would rather put most of my one night stays at Hyatt.

Since I am a breakfast person, not having free breakfast would probably cost me at least $1000 extra a year if I stayed at *wood. The extra cost for internet would probably be another $1200 (versus the $480 I pay for my two Hotspot accounts, which I also use outside of hotels) since I stay mostly at FS properties. This is important for me because I pay for my own travel.

The dilution at Marriott is not great for me, since I have usually been able to find standard awards. However, I like the Marriott properties that I stay at frequently, and I am not going to jump ship in the hope of something better. I never stayed at Marriott solely for the points. The customer service has brought me back repeatedly, and I go to properties that offer free gym passes or have decent gyms.

Everyone's needs and wants will be different, and your stay pattern based on geography would play a part in what brand you choose to stay at. If I was visiting Tokyo, New Zealand, Taiwan, and parts of Africa on a regular basis, Marriott would not be such a good fit because they have few FS properties in these locations.

Most of the posts on this thread remind me of a story I read as a child. Something about a chicken and the sky falling?

Verbal representations are binding plenty of times, but when the printed and executed agreement claim that verbal representations are to be disregarded, it's an uphill battle.

This kind of change is yet another reason I'm glad I've never jumped on board an MVCI package -- I just feel awful for my relatives and friends and the others who bought in and will be left short of what they too used to get and thought they would continue to get.

Why? The Euro hopper certificate, IIRC, says "x free nights at any hotel in Europe". No reference to hotel category whatsoever. And "any" is a very unambiguous word…

Because -

Hopper awards will be phased out with this change.

As stated by MC in Post #90.

I'm questioning Marriott's ability to retroactively change T&C on certificates already issued which state that they are valid at any Marriott hotel in Europe.