pinniped

Just to play devil's advocate, why should it?

Marriott acquired Starwood. While Marriott has so far, IMHO, been quite generous to the acquired company's frequent guests, there's no reason it has to. I believe it's in their business interests to entice SPG fans to keep staying at Marriott hotels, and they're trying to do that on the big-picture things that are important to millions of members.

Deep in the arcane minutiae of Things Only Flyertalkers Care About, it may not end up being 100% fair. So stop acting like you're somehow entitled to that.

CJKatl

What if frustrating is not just the entitlement, but how a few SPG members are not only unthankful for Marriott and Marriott members' generosity, but they are actively looking for ways to exclude Marriott members.

GoPhils

So just to be clear. Similar to how MR would grant a status if you were a few nights short, SPG would do the same thing? But that year would not count for your LT qualification at SPG?

yeunganson

The relationship between SPG Members and Marriott Members is a little more complex. In a family dynamic analogy. Here's a funny analogy I can think of.

It's our single mom/dad that are getting re-married (Marriott & Starwood). The children (SPG members & Marriott Members) don't want this marriage and like their homes and vacations homes just as they are now. The Marriott dad has 3 times rich with 3 times more homes and vacation estates than the Starwood mom. But we like mostly to stay in our own homes and our own vacation cottages. Now we're worried our step-brothers and step-sisters are coming into our vacation homes and changing the place. It's possible those step-siblings are going to keep the place as is. It is possible these step-siblings might even enhance our homes and make it more joyful and lively. We just fearful these step-siblings are going to show up and ruin the place and maybe insist in sleeping in our old corner bedroom while we need to to sleep in a guest room.

As for generosity among our step-siblings, I do not know or if they convinced their Marriott dad to be kind to us. I do know our mom (Starwood) has been very loving to us through the years and has showered us with amazing concerts/events and took us to amazing new locations and awe-inspiring vacation spots. Through the years, she listens and send her personal secretaries (Starwood Lurkers) to listen and solve our problems as reasonable as possible.

The Marriott members and SPG members are going to be family on Aug 1. They were sort of like strangers just 2 years ago and just started the "get to know you" a year ago and we notice there is a big gap in culture and upbringing. So it's natural it will take time for both sides to live together and share everything.

CJKatl

SPG is your parent? Sorry if you really fell for the marketing hype, but you participated in a marketing program. You were a customer. It was a business relationship. Kudos to SPG for getting you to fall for this. We are not becoming siblings in any sense of the word. We will now be customers of the same marketing program. The marketing program is not our parent, nor are we the children. Marriott and I are equal parties doing business together. Marriott offers a bundle of perks in return for an amount of business and I decide whether to give them my business. Other customers are unrelated to me. We are not a team, family or members of some club. We are customers. FT allows us to trade information allowing us to be better informed customers.

I live in ATL, Several years ago when Leo Mullen ran Delta into the ground I stopped flying the airline because what they were offering no longer made sense for me. I flew AirTran and USAir mostly. Others also fled DL, the airline went bankrupt, Leo and his team were fired, the airline changed its program and it was again a good deal for me, so I went back. I would do the same if Marriott stopped meeting my needs. Both MR and DL are business relationships. Losing that perspective opens a customer up to being taken advantage of. If what is now being offered by Marriott you should find another hotel chain that better meets your needs.

pinniped

I'm going to begin referring to Marriott as "Dad" from this point forward. @:-) But in a sheepish, awkward way, like you'd call a stepfather who desperately wants to be called "Dad."

This thread started weird and just got a lot weirder.

yeunganson

I did say funny analogy.... I didn't mean you should take it literally.

Eastbay1K

This may (or may not) be my final thought for a Friday afternoon on this post.

CJKatl

You. Have. No. Idea... I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Judith Durham and The Seekers and have been listening to them for 50+ years. Just this morning I was playing a string of their hits: The Carnival is Over, I'll Never Find Another You, Georgy Girl (Oscar clip on YouTube with Mitzi Gaynor dancing!), A World of Our Own, Morningtown Ride (the one song that can lull me to sleep), Turn, Turn, Turn, 500 Miles... My parents played the Seekers, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, and Roger Miller when I was a kid and I still love the genre.

The analogy encapsulates the stark difference between members of the two programs. Legacy Marriott members mostly looked at the relationship with the marketing program as a business arrangement. Kinda like I grew up on Hellman's/Best Foods Mayo, but after hearing good things tried and changed to Blue Plate Mayo. Now Heinz has a mayo, which having grown up near the 'burgh I tried. It's not good and it's expensive. Others have shared which mayo they like, but in no way would a family relationship be formed over mayo. Hotels are just another product with a different set of customers but the mayo example is more pertinent than any family analogy.

yeunganson

I will add we also have fans of Coke (and only when not available that they reluctantly drink Pepsi). When Coke tried to change the formula, there was an outrage and Coke had to revert back to the original formula (Coke Classic). When a friend tries to bring Safeway brand cola to your home for a party, you'll bark at them of not to bring such travesty into your fridge next time. Open happiness~~!

CJKatl

Nobody who knows me would bring any soda into my house. When I ended my Diet Coke addiction almost 100 pounds vanished. I went from size 46 jeans to 34-36. No real effort, just getting rid of diet soda. I truly believe the next generation will look at the way we drink soda like my generation looks at people who smoke.

X-ON

Exactly it would not count, and if I am being labeled "entitled" just because I am want the same rules to prevail across all accounts I wonder who is "entitled" now?
You can put it in a different way; I want the rule that determine legacy elite years for MR accounts, btw that is a rule that not currently exists, when it is decided upon I want it to do one of the following:
(1) Following the SPG rule for what was a valid elite year and what was not a valid elite year OR
(2) If different than the SPG rule impose the new MR rule on the SPG accounts
So please explain how that is entitled?? It reveals an ambition of equal treatment but maybe that is too much to stomach for some people.

CJKatl

The only important fact is that nobody at Marriott has stated or implied that any recognized status achieved under the applicable SPG or MR terms at the time will retroactively be taken away. What is in the posted quoted above is the opinion of a single poster that in no way reflects anything that will happen or is being considered. While there is no reason to debate this nonsense, hopefully nobody will take it seriously and be needlessly concerned.

Marriott has stated "total Elite years achieved at that level or a higher level" is what will be counted towards LT status, not some recounting under new rules nor any mention of "awarding" years. Anyone who MR recognized to have achieved a status in a previous year has nothing to worry about. The rule is very clear and does not call for any recalculation, newly incorporated rules nor retroactive consideration of the other program's rules. The statement is clear, straight forward and fair.

X-ON

Well if ""total Elite years achieved at that level or a higher level"" is how MAR intends to count elite year for legacy MR accounts I have no problem with that. My wish would be that the same principle would be applied for legacy SPG accounts as well, but that is probably hoping for too much and me being "entitled".... different strokes for different folks

GoPhils