New Marriott Reservation change policy?

[brianfox]

I've been renting out my Marriott weeks for many years.
Once I have been paid rant, I have always called Marriott to ADD the guests name to my reservation. The guest has always been able to go to Marriott online and look up the reservation using their name and confirmation number, and they can see the reservation under their name.

I just called Marriott to do that, and, as always I stayed on the phone to check that I could see the online info had changed. I tried to look up the reservation using my renter's name and it failed.

The rep on the hone said Marriott made changes recently where you can still only look up the reservation online using the owner's name. There NO INDICATION of my renter at all on the confirmation. Yet they assure me his name is on it. This is of zero help to my renter, to whom I have promised confirmation that the reservation was changed.

I asked if I could CHANGE the reservation to his name. They said I could but it is permanent. My name would be completely removed from the confirmation, and the confirmation deleted from my account. So if renter backed out, I could not get my week back.

If I am paid in full, I guess I have no problem with the name getting changed, but am I dealing with a phone rep who doesn't know what he is talking about? Can anyone else confirm that there was a change to the process?

If this is the new normal, I am not a fan of it...

The website does appear to be different in that when you do look up a reservation, you now get an option to edit guest info. While it would appear that you as the owner could actually modify guest info, it will not accept any changes. To make things even more strange, after I asked the agent to add the renter's info to the reservation, I asked him to make sure the room preference questionnaire was emailed to the renter. I gave them the renter's email. When I look at the reservation, it shows MY name and HIS email. Completely screwy.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I've been renting out my Marriott weeks for many years.
Once I have been paid rant, I have always called Marriott to ADD the guests name to my reservation. The guest has always been able to go to Marriott online and look up the reservation using their name and confirmation number, and they can see the reservation under their name.

I just called Marriott to do that, and, as always I stayed on the phone to check that I could see the online info had changed. I tried to look up the reservation using my renter's name and it failed.

The rep on the hone said Marriott made changes recently where you can still only look up the reservation online using the owner's name. There NO INDICATION of my renter at all on the confirmation. Yet they assure me his name is on it. This is of zero help to my renter, to whom I have promised confirmation that the reservation was changed.

I asked if I could CHANGE the reservation to his name. They said I could but it is permanent. My name would be completely removed from the confirmation, and the confirmation deleted from my account. So if renter backed out, I could not get my week back.

If I am paid in full, I guess I have no problem with the name getting changed, but am I dealing with a phone rep who doesn't know what he is talking about? Can anyone else confirm that there was a change to the process?

If this is the new normal, I am not a fan of it...

The website does appear to be different in that when you do look up a reservation, you now get an option to edit guest info. While it would appear that you as the owner could actually modify guest info, it will not accept any changes. To make things even more strange, after I asked the agent to add the renter's info to the reservation, I asked him to make sure the room preference questionnaire was emailed to the renter. I gave them the renter's email. When I look at the reservation, it shows MY name and HIS email. Completely screwy.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I haven't personally encountered this however I am thinking this may be Marriott's way to avoid giving the owner of record Marriott Reward Points when the tenant checks in......

 

[brianfox]

UPDATE: Phone rep Didn't know what he's talking about.

I called a second time and got a great agent - name is Dale. I think he's helped me in the past.

Here's what I learned:

• When adding a renter to your account - tell the agent you won't be staying, but you want to add person as a "Primary Guest". Renter will be able to access the reservation lookup using his name. You will NOT be able to access reservation using your name. He said the first agent was simply wrong in what he told me.
• In the Marriott system, you are still the owner of the week. If the renter who is listed as primary guest backs out, you can ask Marriott to change the primary guest back to you.
• The renter who is listed as primary guest is NOT permitted to call Marriott to further make any changes to the reservation. They would have to pretend to be you and provide your personal info.
• This is important: I told Dale I would like it if the renter would be notified by Email when time comes to do his checkin preferences. Dale said he could change the Email info on the reservation but he advised against it. He said it is a bother for me to forward the Email to the renter but it is for my protection. His reasoning: if I ever change Emails and Marriott cannot contact me, they would start looking through ALL past correspondence with me - including the email of my renter that is on a reservation. If someone else were to respond as me, it could cause problems. He said this after he looked at my reservation and noticed the first agent changed my email to the renter's.
• You should also ask the agent to remove your Marriott rewards number from your reservation you are renting out. The new Marriott website shows a good deal of personal information when you hit the "edit guests" button. And I was accessing it the exact same way my renter would access it (I was not logged into my Marriott account). That is scary, and I urge you to try that for yourself.

Lesson: if you don't feel comfortable with the phone agent you get, don't be hesitant to call again. For every ten Julios out there, you will find a Dale. Keep searching for your Dale.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Yes Marriott CSRs are inconsistent with this. To be honest it's a moot point because what I do is ask Marriott to add the guest name to the reservation and send me a electronic copy. I don't really care where they put the guest's name because as soon as I receive the email reservation from Marriott I hit the forward button in my email. Once you do that the email reservation because editable and that is when I change my name to the renter's name at the top of the reservation and send them a copy. They have a reservation with their name in big bold letters and if they call Marriott to ask if there name is on the reservation they will be told they are and all is good.