bmr12

I don't know about anybody else, but this whole "decline housekeeping" for 250 or 500 points per night has become a scam in my mind. My experiences this year have mostly been as follows: I dutifully follow the process to decline housekeeping, either through a hang tag or on the app when I check-in. Later, I check out and wait for my points to post. The stay posts, but the housekeeping points seldom post. Then I have to call the Rewards number to get them posted.

Earlier in the year, I called and they just posted them on the spot. Lately, they have to call the hotel and put me on hold while they check. Sometimes, they tell me that they will post them imminently and others tell me "the hotel will post them next week". Of course, next week comes and goes and the points have not posted. Given that the first call took over 30 minutes to complete between the lengthy hold and then the slow process with the agent, I gave up and emailed Marriott instead. Again, no response and no points.

The number of points is small, so it feels like the real goal here to "save properties money on the rewards program" is to save on the cost of housekeeping and then stiff the members who were chumped into thinking they'd get some points out of the deal. The only losers here are the guests and housekeepers.

Any other advice on how to actually get my measly 750 points posted?

Kree

Whats even worse is when you request to green option, and then they clean your room anyway. "Oh sorry, we can't give you points because we accidentally cleaned your room." They should be giving me double points for invading my privacy.

Tanic

These points post separately from the room bill. I stop at the FD to check out and ask them to post my "green choice" points while waiting. It's worked so far.

Trying to get points posted by customer service is now an exercise in futility. Last time my 500 arrival points failed to post they spent 30 minutes writing up a "trouble ticket" to the hotel. Apparently Marriott customer service has had their authority to fix small problems removed.

jeanie

I'm getting to the point where if there is any type of bonus expected on top of a normal stay posting, I try to get a business card for one of the hotel managers. Many times, they have the cards out on display at the front desk. I'll just grab one and take it with me. That way I'll have someone to email later when the points don't post.

In my experience, when something doesn't post right, I always contact the hotel first. MR usually will have to contact the hotel to clarify the issue anyway. If I don't have an email address, then I call and ask for the manager on duty. It usually gets resolved very quickly that way.

On my last trip, I found 3 hotels that gave bonuses on top of the normal room rate for the same price. None of those 3 bonuses posted correctly. So I had to contact all 3 hotels to get them to adjust it. I prefer emailing to calling.

EWRtoLAX4life

I have always assumed (please correct me if I am wrong) that housekeepers are paid per room...so I get roughly $1-2 in point value for them to not pay a housekeeper whose income is definitely more important than my $1-2 worth of points!!

So on principle I never take the green option (and I'm even the type of person who can go for a week on only 3 towels, no problem).

Kree

My understanding is they are paid per hour, and have a cleaning quota. X rooms per hour worked. So having them clean daily, means they get an easy room on multiple days, versus 1 dirtier room once. I always tip when I chose the green option.

writerguyfl

I'd guess that Hanlon's Razor is the culprit. This isn't a scam, it's just poor implementation of a company-wide program by some hotels. If it were a legitimate scam, that would mean that hundreds of hotels that are owned by dozens of different companies somehow conspired to cheat guests.

I've worked in and been associated with the hotel industry for decades. I've never heard of any housekeeping staff every being paid anything other than hourly. (I'm talking about the US.) As Kree notes, they will be required to clean "X" rooms per hour.

Where I worked, that "X" calculation was actually a bit complicated. For example, it takes longer to clean a check-out room than a stayover because you have to strip the bedding (even on unused beds), check every drawer for items, check under the beds, and replace all towels and toiletries. Similarly, any room larger than the average (junior or regular suites) would get allocated more time because there's more to clean.

As for the concept that people declining housekeeping are economically hurting the housekeeping staff, I've never seen that happen. Even a poorly-run hotel will know the approximate number of guests who will decline housekeeping. Different types of rates (corporate vs leisure) will be evaluated differently. Schedules are based on those projections. In my experience, it's pretty rare to have those projections be wrong. And the small variations like having a couple extra rooms that must be cleaned are easily accommodated by offering an extra hour of voluntary overtime. If you end up employees with "free" time at the end of their shift, you can offer voluntary early release or simply assign a different task like public space cleaning.

In the end, I applaud your mindset. Pausing to think about how our actions affect other people is never a bad thing. In practice, however, it's probably not as impactful as you may want. But, having your room cleaned certainly doesn't hurt the housekeeper. I'd probably recommend continuing to have your room cleaned every day.

Side Note: Don't underestimate the value of a compliment. If you have a great experience with a hotel housekeeper, tell someone. Housekeepers are often overlooked because they aren't under constant supervision by management. Compliments can help good employees get recognition via programs like Employee of the Month. (I've never heard of a hotel that doesn't do that program.) Compliments can also help good people get promoted to supervisory positions.

Baze

At the Courtyard Oklahoma City near Bricktown I got them no problem for the nights I put the sign out.

lexdevil

Unless they are exempt employees (earning $47k+ and meeting some other requirements) they must be paid hourly and receive overtime for hours over 8/40.

carzaddict

i have never had an issue. I always decline room service and always get my points. the few times they actually clean my room (when opting out), i talk to the front desk and they credit me anyway

BrightlyBob

Voodoo Daddy

[QUOTE=writerguyfl;29842127]I'd guess that Hanlon's Razor is the culprit. This isn't a scam, it's just poor implementation of a company-wide program by some hotels. If it were a legitimate scam, that would mean that hundreds of hotels that are owned by dozens of different companies somehow conspired to cheat guests.

If Marriott implemented it surmising correctly that the points would rarely post, it's still a scam. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it certainly wouldn't take much understanding of the system to foresee this result.

orca15

Marriott Huntsville claimed that I had to have confirmed the choice at the front desk on arrival (didn't even see the literature until I was at the room) but agreed to give me the points "as a goodwill gesture." Which is a pet peeve of mine...goodwill gestures to give me what you owe me and I had to waste time tracking you down...I bat around .500 on automatically getting these.

writerguyfl

Except there's zero evidence that Corporate did that. What you're implying would be a massive conspiracy against both the guests and the franchises.

Be honest: Do you honestly believe Marriott would risk losing customers and alienating their franchise partners over something this tiny?

RogerD408

I don't see it as a corporate scam, but more of a local implementation issue and with the properties sharing tips and tricks it's filtered around quickly. I also have mixed feelings about the program as well. Yes, the concept of "saving the environment" is noble, but looking at the downstream (no pun intended) effect is important too. I've seen several properties that contract out their housekeeping service so there's no employee cost savings. And I've chatted with a few housekeepers and learned they are paid (either by the property or their employer) on a piecemeal rate, so declining service directly cuts their pay which isn't anywhere near a living wage, and some move from one property to another maybe working three or four properties a day. I'll gladly give up 250/500 points to help. Most times, if I'm in the room when they come, I will hand over the dirty towels in exchange for clean and tell them to check my room off as being done.

In summary, it's a corporate program without much concern for local implementation.