Greg recently had two great stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels in South Florida: The Ben, The Belgrove Resort. But the fact that these positive experiences surprised him (and that they were kind of the exception to the rule) prompted some ideas on what’s wrong with Bonvoy.
How to fix Marriott Bonvoy
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(00:00) – Great stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels in south Florida: The Ben, The Belgrove Resort
(01:47) – What’s wrong with Bonvoy?
(09:19) – Potential solutions
(14:41) – If we could pick just one fix, which would it be?
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Hyatt has a much better program by far still a platinum member but slowly weaning off. Not as many options but I don’t travel enough to care plenty of high-end stuff and family friendly locations I only travel to larger cities anyway.
i would argue they have zero reason/incentive to ever improve because they are basically too big to fail at this point. as long as they keep adding hotels and growing revenue each year they will keep chugging along. This arrangement works fine for me when I’m paying points, if I happen to be paying cash I am much more picky and will choose a chain with better service
They don’t want to fix it. Too many clueless people still stay at their properties and pursue their status, just because they have so many properties. The way to fix it is to stop staying there. I have. To return, I’d settle for them promising less but actually delivering.
I’ve stayed at a great many Marriott properties over the years, and I’m currently closing in on lifetime platinum. Despite its loyalty program shortcomings, Marriott can still offer a quality stay, but the program doesn’t really incentivize me to make Marriott top of mind anymore when I’m choosing a place to stay.
Inconsistency is problematic because it risks brand reputation. I agree the brand has ample room for improvements, and feel the company needs to pay more attention to this. Even so, my expectations are aligned with reality.
Since I don’t travel with kids, I had no idea Marriott doesn’t include the whole family for Platinum members’ free breakfast.
Wow.
I don’t know what else to say.
You make a great many valid points. Unfortunately Marriott views engaged loyalty members in an antagonistic way. Since we’re pretty much the enemy Marriott sides against the guest in pretty much every instance and is likely to continue doing so until there’s a compelling reason for them to revise their thinking. That’s why as a Lifetime Platinum I tend to steer away from Marriotts unless I’m using a FNC or they’re just the best option for me.
@GregNick: You are the product!
Yes, we have upgrade-eligible rooms for the entire duration of your stay. And, you can buy an upgrade but we’re not going to give it to you simply because it’s a tier benefit. (Stink!)