I’ve Learned Something New About Marriott Rewards….And I Don’t Like It

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission which helps contribute to the running of the site – I’m very grateful to anyone who uses these links but their use is entirely optional. The compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site and does not impact reviews that are published.

Although I hold top-tier status with Marriott I don’t book that many award stays with the hotel chain so what I learned may be something which has been around for a while and is quite common…or perhaps it’s a rarity. I don’t know. Either way I can’t say I was too impressed by what I discovered.

Up until a few days ago eBookers was offering a truly jaw-dropping deal for flights between London and Sydney and, as I already know that I’ll be in need of some sunshine come November, I couldn’t let the opportunity pass.

London – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney (and back again) in Business Class on Malaysia Airlines is setting me back a little under $1,900 (around £1,500) but, while that’s an amazing deal, November hotel prices in Sydney seem to be high so I’ve been looking to book somewhere with my points.

I hold Platinum status with Starwood and as much as I’d like to try out one of the SPG properties in Sydney I’m not about to part with $450+ of 16,000 Starpoints per night…..

….so that rules out those properties.

I don’t have anywhere near enough Hilton points to contemplate any of its offering in Sydney, I’ve got my IHG points earmarked for a trip I’m hoping to take with Joanna earlier, I’ve just used up most of my Club Carlson points on a trip Joanna is taking and I’m not about to splurge out on the Park Hyatt when I’m traveling solo – that seems wasteful – so that really leaves me with Marriott.

Staying at a Marriott property is absolutely fine with me as it will give me more nights towards lifetime Platinum status (which I’m currently actively chasing) and, as my status gives me a guaranteed 4pm check-out, that will be useful on my final day when my departing flight isn’t until late in the evening.

Marriott has two major properties in Sydney – the Sydney Harbour Marriott and the Pier One Autograph Collection property and both have great locations and both cost 40,000 Marriott Rewards Points per night so either would work well for me.

I thought I’d try out the Pier One Autograph Collection property on this trip so I checked prices for my preferred dates…..

I happen to need to check-in on a Tuesday and as I’m not about to pay AU$1,078 + tax for a two night stay in Sydney I decided to check award availability.

Somewhat unbelievably there is no award availability for a Tuesday check-in in November (how unlucky am I?!)……

…or so I thought.

When searching for the award night availability I looked for a 2-night stay (the result is what you see above) but when I searched for a 3-night stay things looked very, very different:

Suddenly I can check in on any Tuesday in November!

I wasn’t too sure what was going on (I haven’t seen this happen with Marriott before) so sent a Tweet to Marriott Rewards to see if they could explain. This was the response:

Hmmmmm……

Firstly this clearly is just limited to point stays as I’ve just shown above but, besides that, I really wasn’t aware that hotels could place minimum stay requirements on an award reservation. I, naively, thought that a property either had award availability or it didn’t…….clearly not.

I really don’t like this at all and I like it even less now that I’ve spoken to Marriott reservations.

When I called up reservations to see if the Marriott Twitter team had got their reply right (they had) I was advised that I should book a 3-night stay now and then watch availability between now and when I fly to see if a 2-night option becomes available. Should that happen I could cancel the 3-night booking and re-book for the two nights I need.

I don’t like that idea at all.

Essentially I would be taking a night out award inventory that I know I have absolutely no intention of using and that could see someone else miss out on an award night they may actually want.

There’s a lot of selfishness around nowadays and the tendency for people to think only of themselves is on the rise…and I really don’t want to contribute to that.

Bottom Line

Award inventory should be a simple yes or no proposition. Either an award night is available on a given date or it’s not…there should be no minimum stay requirement.

I fully understand if a property chooses not to release award inventory on a date where they’re selling out fast – they’re in business to make money after all – but either the property has the capacity to release award nights or it doesn’t. There shouldn’t be anything in between.

Featured Image courtesy of Marriott