Marriott Rewards members are about to be rewarded again: The chain has announced it will offer new lower booking rates exclusive to subscribers to the loyalty program.
As you can imagine, we are loyal bunch Marriott Rewards groupies so it was particularly exciting news to us that Marriott is now taking away a hige pain point for everyone.
What is this pain point?
It's when you find a lower rate on Expedia or Priceline. When you find a lower rate on a website other than Marriott, we did not get the rewards points so while we got a cheaper rate, we were always at risk of not getting enough points to maintain the Elite status.
Well, that all has changed. Marriott is now guaranteeing the lowest rate. I fyou find a lower rate elsewhere in 24 hours of booking, they will match it AND give you 25% off. Now that's as sweet a guarantee as I can get.
So why is Marriott doing this?
A couple of reasons really. The first being that Marriott (and their franchised owners) don't have to pay travel agents the 10-120% commissions. That kind of savings can add up quick when we are talking about billions of dollars in gross bookings.
But that is not the only reason for this move. You see, when you book through Priceline/Expedia, these companies control the contact information for the customer. And then they market to that customer over and over again. By getting people to book direct, Marriott gets additional customer onto their lists and by the same logic, one less person on the online travel agents list.
And the final reason for this
One final reason is that Marriott wants it's loyal customers to book with the confidence that they are in fact getting the lowest rate anywhere. In their announcement, Marriott's global marketing officer Karin Timpone said "We also want to help dispel the myth that other travel websites offer better rates for our hotels. The simple fact is that you will find the lowest rates across our portfolio when you join Marriott Rewards and book direct."
Beginning April 11, Marriott Rewards members (make sure you're logged in), will have access to cheaper rates via Marriott.com, their mobile app, and through the call centers. In addition to the lowest rates, all other benefits (points, checkin/out privelidges, free wi-fi) stay the same.
So how much will I save?
While the change applies to all 4200 hotels under the Marriott brand, it isn't immediately clear how much of a discount we will actually get. I guess we will find out soon enough. In the meantime, book on Marriott.com and know that the rate is backed up by the price matching guarantee and they'll give you 25% off of that too.
That's a guarantee we can take to the bank.
As you can imagine, we are loyal bunch Marriott Rewards groupies so it was particularly exciting news to us that Marriott is now taking away a hige pain point for everyone.
What is this pain point?
It's when you find a lower rate on Expedia or Priceline. When you find a lower rate on a website other than Marriott, we did not get the rewards points so while we got a cheaper rate, we were always at risk of not getting enough points to maintain the Elite status.
Well, that all has changed. Marriott is now guaranteeing the lowest rate. I fyou find a lower rate elsewhere in 24 hours of booking, they will match it AND give you 25% off. Now that's as sweet a guarantee as I can get.
So why is Marriott doing this?
A couple of reasons really. The first being that Marriott (and their franchised owners) don't have to pay travel agents the 10-120% commissions. That kind of savings can add up quick when we are talking about billions of dollars in gross bookings.
But that is not the only reason for this move. You see, when you book through Priceline/Expedia, these companies control the contact information for the customer. And then they market to that customer over and over again. By getting people to book direct, Marriott gets additional customer onto their lists and by the same logic, one less person on the online travel agents list.
And the final reason for this
One final reason is that Marriott wants it's loyal customers to book with the confidence that they are in fact getting the lowest rate anywhere. In their announcement, Marriott's global marketing officer Karin Timpone said "We also want to help dispel the myth that other travel websites offer better rates for our hotels. The simple fact is that you will find the lowest rates across our portfolio when you join Marriott Rewards and book direct."
Beginning April 11, Marriott Rewards members (make sure you're logged in), will have access to cheaper rates via Marriott.com, their mobile app, and through the call centers. In addition to the lowest rates, all other benefits (points, checkin/out privelidges, free wi-fi) stay the same.
So how much will I save?
While the change applies to all 4200 hotels under the Marriott brand, it isn't immediately clear how much of a discount we will actually get. I guess we will find out soon enough. In the meantime, book on Marriott.com and know that the rate is backed up by the price matching guarantee and they'll give you 25% off of that too.
That's a guarantee we can take to the bank.
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