Has anyone seen anything on the Summer 2015 Megabonus program? I thought those general started around the first part of June.
Has anyone seen anything on the Summer 2015 Megabonus program? I thought those general started around the first part of June.
totally agree a long hot Summer
Guess for once, I'm glad my summer travels are light since I won't be missing out on anything.
Maybe there will be something else this summer. Right now there are a few contests (Selfie with a Suitcase, 1 Million points contest for using mobile check-in, and 1,000 nights of summer). Not as good as a regular promotion, but at least it's something.
Now if I could win all of those, I'd be okay without a promotion.
BBoth here and on Flyertalk there is a growing number of posts indicating Marriott will not be running a summer promo.
in reality before the financial crisis Marriott only ran 2 megabonus promos each year, Mid Sept to end year and Mid Feb to end April. As a result of the financial crisis Marriott extended the dates of the regular megabonuses and introduced a summer megabonus-type promo which they were careful not to call megabonus, I guess to ensure we didn't all expect it every year.Alas, the recovery has been so weak for so long that it's become an annual event and only a few of us long-serving members can remember the days before global summer promos. Before the crisis summer promos, if any, were small and country specific.
It was kind of like bonuses at a company. the first year you give them it is a surprise and everyone is grateful. the second year again happy to have . By the third year they are viewed as ordinary income and if not given its a take away. Same here . It has become an expected bonus and now without it becomes a take away
Excellent way of looking at it. Louis CK did a comedy routine about some of the amenities on an airplane like wifi and his comment was something to the effect of how we start to feel entitled to something that didn't even exist a week ago. And if it doesn't work to our satisfaction it becomes "the worst day of our lives"
To add to your analogy, when someone works for a company that typically gives out bonuses but now stops giving out bonuses, that someone is free to seek employment elsewhere at another company that does still offer bonuses. Switching hotel providers is much easier than switching employers since the hotel is the seller vs an employer that is a buyer. I have done just that, and Marriott isn't seeing a single paid night from me all summer:)
If they're not going to run one, that's fine, but I'm annoyed over the lack of an announcement one way or another. I understand that they didn't always run seasonal bonuses, but they've now been doing it constantly for so long, that I think the lack of one deserves an official statement of some kind.
There's also a part of me that wants to be able to "count on" my regular hotel chain or airline, and not getting information from them makes them seem unreliable to me on some level. I work in IT, and one of the big rules for me is to always be communicative to customers - it's one thing to not deliver, but explain why you're not going to do so, and it's another to not deliver AND not explain or communicate. I dislike that intensely.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, ncboudicca. This is good stuff right here.
I'm happy to pass this along, as keeping communication channels open is always a good thing.
As other members of the Insiders family have pointed out, it seems there will not be a Summer Megabonus promotion.
Additionally, as bejacob pointed out, there are a number of sweepstakes going on!
Well after 5+ years (2+ platinum premier) of being a STRICT MARRIOTT ONLY traveler because of their rewards prog/benifits (i.e, bonus points, same day cancelation, priority chek in) to the point where i swore by Marriott and told everyone i came in contact with that i never even look at other hotel because other hotels canNOT even compare, ... I guess ill be CANCELING my 2 MONTH (May 31-June 25) stay at a Marriott since there’s no particular reason to stay there and reconsidering to move over into the HILTON.
Haven’t stayed in a HILTON in a while so I guess this year would be a good time to start catching up on acquiring more HILTON points and LIFETIME DIAMOND STATUS since Marriott’s benefits (bonus points, same day cancellation, etc) keep dwindling down.
Maybe the other members here are right when they say the summer bonus program was a temporary one that marriott instituted after the recession, but in the hospitality business you really have to STAND OUT to be the service of choice, such as the COMPLIMENTARY MADE TO ORDER BREAKFAST and EVENING MANAGERS RECEPTION at the EMBASSY SUITES. Seems most hotel companies areraising their rewards program perks (and maybe it is to catch up with Marriott top notch rewards program) but Marriott seems to be trimming the perks lately (i.e., raising reward category ratings at hotels by 2+ levels, decreasing number of bonus promos, going away from same night cancellations – essentially all the items that made Marriotts reward program the best and Marriott the go to hotel in the past).
In my opinion Marriott is going the wrong direction and I think their reputation and consequently, businesswill suffer because of it. But what do I know I’ve only been the BEST loyal Marriott guest as they get (i.e., 2+ years platinum premier, staying only at Marriotts even if it was 20 minutes farther then a HILTON or the particular Marriott hotel was much worse then a HILTON nearby, preaching to everyone one that Marriott is the only hotel there is and I never even consider other hotels unless the Marriott is sold out to the point where I would swear by Marriott, etc)
If I were you @joshm, I would forward this feedback to Mr. Marriotts office (which I might do myself also).
If I was Marriott I would take this feed back VERY serious... would hate to see such a great hospitality company turn into something like a HILTON god forbid.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts here in the forum. I'll get this forwarded onward, as you requested.
As a fellow Platinum Premier member I could not agree more with you observations. Last week I started looking for the next bonus promotion and when I couldn't find anything I came here and found a few references to the their not being one this summer. I then emailed Marriott and asked for confirmation that there would not be a bonus and stated that all of my business would move elsewhere until the next bonus opportunity presented itself. Their response is below. It pains me to have to change my loyalty and familiarity but the take away of same day cancellations, the increase in points needed for a reward stay, the fact that Marriott Brands are almost always 10%-20% higher rate than comparable accommodations, and most importantly the fact that apparently no one at Marriott cares whether their most loyal brand guests stay or go as evidenced by the canned response I received, tells me that I must switch to SPG, HHonors, or Haytt Passport.
Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards regarding promotions.
I see you are a Platinum Premier Elite member. Thank you for your valued loyalty and continued patronage.
I apologize that Marriott Rewards is not offering a summer promotion during 2015.
Marriott constantly strives to improve its various customer service departments and programs. Therefore, please be assured that we have documented your comments for our development team to review. We truly do appreciate the comments you share.
Thank you for choosing Marriott.
Sincerely,
Chad S.
Internet Correspondence Specialist
Marriott Rewards Guest Services
The key word is BonUs or lack of
I tweeted @marriottrewards on twitter to see if I could get in on the ritz megabonus since I have a few nights coming up in one, and no dice. =/ I would've had to switch before may 5th.
laaaaammmeee.
I'm staying at a hilton this weekend in disney partially for that reason, and partially because resorts are garbage for benefits.
Tis. I have no use for 9000 hilton points But every full service hotel near disney is a "Resort" and this hilton had no resort fee OR parking fee. plus there was no megabonus to convince me to use marriott.
I assume M thinks that "resorts" don't have business travelers and therefore no need for elite benefits. I guess you proved that theory wrong! However, a MegaBonus would have kept you in the fold. Fail. Again.
Yep, and marriott won't even let me register for the ritz summer bonus even though I have ritz stays coming up. Not very customer friendly =]
I Think it will impact people staying this summer but not sure it will be measured to see the impact
Best way to measure impact is earnings. I'm waiting to see how this summers quarterly earnings will compare with last summers earnings. Think it will decline by 5-10%
One has to wonder who is running Customer Loyalty at Marriott, first they stick it to us with their Cancellation Policy changes and now no Summer Megabonus.
Marriott Rewards, in my humble opinion, seems intent on racing to the bottom of the customer loyalty ladder. Looks like a summer of building my IHG and Hilton status, and at IHG I can still cancel same day without penalty.
You would think they hired the Hilton loyalty person after Hilton fired them for doing an awfully job.
There is an up-side to no summer bonus program
It means I am free to stay with other hotel chains in my summer travels and not worry about making bonus points
I Bet there are others like you . I wonder if they can track the impact of this decision
I'm Platinum Premier Elite and Diamond in Hilton. Yes, I love the megabonus promo, but to say that Marriott is sticking it to us because they are not giving us a marketing promotion is ridiculous. I'm seeing comments that I am staying somewhere else (like Hilton) because Marriott is offering no bonus is silly. So, the choice you are making to stick it back to Marriott is to stay with Hilton (That never offers decent bonuses and uses more points for a stay). Well there is no reason to stay at Marriott, without the bonus and I may as well stay somewhere else. Well, I get 10 Marriott point for each stay and a bunch of Platinum bonus points and Marriott Visa bonus points, so where am I going to stay to punish Marriott that won't hurt me? Someone said they stayed at a Hilton property because Marriott had no bonus, so they gave up Marriott point to get no bonus at Hilton and Hilton always costs more points to redeem than Marriott.
That said, I do maintain Hilton Diamond, so I can get the Diamond Bonus and upgrades when I travel with Hilton. Also, it gives me choices for vacation accommodations, when I can't get the Marriott location I want. When Marriott has no bonus, I fulfill my Hilton stays to renew Diamond status, so they are losing some of my business. Once I fulfill Diamond, I will be back at Marriott. Another area they could lose some of my business is that I may explore another program, like SPG, because they have a very good program and it may give me another choice for travel and hotel choices for vacation and with no bonus, I may be inclined to at least check it out. I have 1.25 million Marriott points, so It may make sense for me, to spread things out. Also, I am Platinum with ICG (Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza, etc.) and building my points there may make sense because I do some personal trips with a night stay and sometimes a Holiday Inn Express free night helps. There is not always a Marriott or Hilton Property where I want to stop.
Finally, I agree that the same day cancellation costs some stays, because as a business traveler, my schedule does change and being locked in to a 1 or even 2 day cancellation will keep me from booking until last minute or force me to try and find a hotel with a more lenient policy. Hilton does have 1 day advance cancellation, also. Maybe having same day cancellation for Platinum members would be a logical perk.
I was just wondering this too, and I guess I saw my answer. No Mega Bonus this summer. Not a good customer-loyalty decision Marriott!
I've been coming back and updating the promo page for the past couple of weeks. When I didn't find it I came here to the forums to discover what I feared. I'm closing in on my life time gold status and was hoping for a mega bonus to help me close the deal. While I will not stop staying at Marriott properties due to a lack of promotions it might entice me to change brands once I do lock in my lifetime gold status.
daisydude55,
Looks like Marriott has decided to stick it to the Bonus lovin' crowd this summer..Here's another thread to look over.
Re: Info Available on May, 2015 Mega Bonus?