MR's Own Words Make "No Blackout Dates" a Blatant Lie
 

Actually, MR can say no blackout dates all it wants with caveats (well hidden in the fine print) and it can contend that it means B, not A. What's really damning is this statement right on their website -
That is anything but the case. It impies, if Marriott has a room, you have a room. If this were a car dealership, you'd all call it bait-and-switch. A CSR on the Platinum line told me they have fielded hundreds of complaints and they themselves voiced their concern to management that the wording is deceptive. Hell, look at the URL for the page that quote is from -

http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?...tRoomAvailable

It says "...page=LastRoomAvailable." Frankly, that should be their policy for Platinums - if there's a room available, it's yours. Limiting it to their best customers will have very little impact on their bottom line. What it will do is help remove the bad taste that MR's new sham policy has left in the mouths of those who have been clients for years, were promised an improvement and instead had their points and the program devalued. Hell, now there' not even the chance of a stay anytime reward.

MR needs to honor the words it wrote on its own webpages, in its emails and in its mailings that clearly state, not just imply, that you go where and when you want, at least for Platinums, until a date in the near future when they can roll this back in writing to correct their mistake.

Not one person who has read Marriott's own words can be faulted for undersrtanding their meaning to be as liberal as "anytime and anywhere." That's what MR itself writes and words do matter. Reading it any other way is just being an apologist for Marriott at this point.

So which one of you consumer lawyers or tort lawyers out there will be the first to take this up in the hopes of a class action? MR's own words seem to make a good prima facie case for you.

Interesting, most folks seem to be commenting on resorts but the limitations aren't limited there. Trying to use a category 2 award at the Farmington NM CY. There are cash rooms available which appear to be ordinary guest rooms at the rack rate.


According to the rules ...

Every participating hotel makes standard rooms available for redemption every day. There may be times when a room is available for cash sale but not for point redemption, including:
No Blackout Dates only applies to standard rooms. The hotel may have sold out of standard rooms for both cash and point redemption. The rooms available for cash sale may be upgraded rooms.
The date is an approved Inventory Control Date. On a limited number of nights, hotels may limit the number of rooms available for redemption. You may be trying to redeem on one of these nights and the hotel has already reached its maximum number of redemptions.

Since this is a standard room, this must logically be an approved inventory control date. Seems pretty bizarre if they are setting inventory controls on category 2 hotels.

Agree 100%. Two pearls of wisdom come to mind.

#1 Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

#2 Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with their experience.

I equate marketing with idiots, especially in the travel industry.