The Marriott Statistic I Just Can’t Wrap My Arms Around
There’s a statistic in Marriott’s quarterly earnings that I just can’t believe.
There’s a statistic in Marriott’s quarterly earnings that I just can’t believe.
Color me shocked. Baffled, surprised. Use your own words. American Express came out of left field with an early Christmas present for me.
Have you ever looked back on something you’ve written and known that you were right at the time, only to find out a year later you really weren’t? I did recently. Oddly, it involves travel. Take a seat and hear me out.
2018 was a year of ups and downs. Most of the ups were improvements in the Hyatt program. The downs were mostly owned by Marriott. Here’s a brief look at my year in hotels and what I think the future holds.
One more bite of the apple? Marriott has announced that the increased category 8 pricing for awards won’t go into effect until at least March, 2019. We had assumed this would happen in January. That means you may still have time to book at least one or two more “once-in-a-lifetime” vacations at unbeatable redemption rates.
Want to sleep in a hotel suite that will only be occupied for one night? Just for the Super Bowl, with you as the only occupant. That sounds pretty cool to me.
Did you have a stay in the past 4 years at a Starwood property? If so, I want to know if you’ve been contacted by Marriott.
I’m pretty sure this is the last hotel elite status decision I’ll ever have to make. And, I could use your help. What would you do?
Two weeks is enough time to work out the kinks on the Marriott/SPG integration, right? How about two months? Apparently, that’s not long enough, either. While members continue to have these issues, Marriott sits mostly silent. They do find time to tell investors things are great. It doesn’t seem they’re spending the time to ask customers if that’s actually the case.
Marriott quietly made a change that’s likely to have a big impact on frequent travelers. Loyalty program members will no longer have elite benefits on stays booked through online travel agencies (OTAs). Will all Marriott properties be enforcing this rule, or will it be selectively enforced? Are you willing to risk it?