gvic
TUG Member
Marriott’s NEW "Cancellation Policies" will mean Consumers will have to be more "aware" of changes
Marriott touts their buying Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a win for consumers. Not so fast.
Certainly, travelers who can combine accounts have to like the idea of having more ways to earn points. But as with most mergers, the more one company dominates a market, the less incentive they have to be consumer friendly. Last week, Marriott took a very unfriendly step and changed their cancellation policies.
Three years ago, Marriott and Hilton standardized their cancellation policies for bookings made June 15 and later to require cancellations at least 24 hours prior to arrival, or customers would have to pay for the first night. Now that policy has been changed to require cancellation by midnight, 48 hours in advance.
Moreover, the policy is local time, so depending on the destination, travelers may have to cancel three days out.
The new cancellation polices set a minimum, and resorts may ask for a week or more in advance. (Much more during holiday periods.) Plus, individual hotels in popular areas (think New York City, for example) could well demand more notice. A Marriott spokesperson, Allison Sitch, said in a statement, “A number of individual Marriott hotels already have implemented 48- or 72-hour cancellation policies; in some cases, hotels with 48-hour policies will be switching to 72-hour policies.”
The announced changes apply to hotels in the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. No doubt, Europe and Asia will not be far behind. It also applies across all Marriott brands, including many moderately-priced hotels that some travelers may not think of as Marriott-Starwood properties; for example, Fairfield Inns, Courtyard, Four Points, Aloft and Towneplace Suites.
To be fair, some travelers have been their own worst enemies here, because they book hotels for a vacation or business trip, then check last minute on various apps for a better deal. Now, these travelers will have to start the cancel-rebook policy earlier.
However, other travelers aren’t playing games. They might have an illness, a weather delay, or other travel issues. Or, it could be a business trip canceled for a number of legitimate reasons. In some cases, travel agents with clout can get the penalty waived, but not always. I just had a client last month with a Hilton Garden Inn in Palo Alto where the client told me first thing Monday morning he needed to cancel Tuesday night, and even though the hotel was not full and hadn’t been turning down other bookings, they flat out refused not to charge.
In other cases, my sense is that infrequent travelers won’t notice the new rules, assuming that they can still cancel the day before. Indeed, people should read all the rules before they book anything. But when travelers go to Marriott.com they don’t see a headline, “Please take notice of our new cancellation policies.” What they see front-and-center are all the perks of booking on the site and the “It pays to book direct” tagline.
It’s too soon to tell if Marriott will get any blowback from the change. But, my sense is that with the number of hotels they control combined with Americans’ love of their hotel points, this more draconian policy will stay in place.
One has to wonder, at what point will Marriott institute a penalty for ANY cancellation? Time and competition will tell.
Janice Hough, Travelers United
https://www.travelersunited.org/hotels/marriott-starwood-big-anti-consumer-step/
Happy Travels, gvic
Marriott touts their buying Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a win for consumers. Not so fast.Certainly, travelers who can combine accounts have to like the idea of having more ways to earn points. But as with most mergers, the more one company dominates a market, the less incentive they have to be consumer friendly. Last week, Marriott took a very unfriendly step and changed their cancellation policies.
Three years ago, Marriott and Hilton standardized their cancellation policies for bookings made June 15 and later to require cancellations at least 24 hours prior to arrival, or customers would have to pay for the first night. Now that policy has been changed to require cancellation by midnight, 48 hours in advance.
Moreover, the policy is local time, so depending on the destination, travelers may have to cancel three days out.
The new cancellation polices set a minimum, and resorts may ask for a week or more in advance. (Much more during holiday periods.) Plus, individual hotels in popular areas (think New York City, for example) could well demand more notice. A Marriott spokesperson, Allison Sitch, said in a statement, “A number of individual Marriott hotels already have implemented 48- or 72-hour cancellation policies; in some cases, hotels with 48-hour policies will be switching to 72-hour policies.”
The announced changes apply to hotels in the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. No doubt, Europe and Asia will not be far behind. It also applies across all Marriott brands, including many moderately-priced hotels that some travelers may not think of as Marriott-Starwood properties; for example, Fairfield Inns, Courtyard, Four Points, Aloft and Towneplace Suites.
To be fair, some travelers have been their own worst enemies here, because they book hotels for a vacation or business trip, then check last minute on various apps for a better deal. Now, these travelers will have to start the cancel-rebook policy earlier.
However, other travelers aren’t playing games. They might have an illness, a weather delay, or other travel issues. Or, it could be a business trip canceled for a number of legitimate reasons. In some cases, travel agents with clout can get the penalty waived, but not always. I just had a client last month with a Hilton Garden Inn in Palo Alto where the client told me first thing Monday morning he needed to cancel Tuesday night, and even though the hotel was not full and hadn’t been turning down other bookings, they flat out refused not to charge.
In other cases, my sense is that infrequent travelers won’t notice the new rules, assuming that they can still cancel the day before. Indeed, people should read all the rules before they book anything. But when travelers go to Marriott.com they don’t see a headline, “Please take notice of our new cancellation policies.” What they see front-and-center are all the perks of booking on the site and the “It pays to book direct” tagline.
It’s too soon to tell if Marriott will get any blowback from the change. But, my sense is that with the number of hotels they control combined with Americans’ love of their hotel points, this more draconian policy will stay in place.
One has to wonder, at what point will Marriott institute a penalty for ANY cancellation? Time and competition will tell.
Janice Hough, Travelers United
https://www.travelersunited.org/hotels/marriott-starwood-big-anti-consumer-step/
Happy Travels, gvic
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