Marriott Bonvoy Welcome Gift Guarantee Compensation: Am I Too Sheepish?

The way you handle this is to send a message through the Marriott mobile application since the demand for compensation has to be made before checking out and departing the property. It is always a good idea to have this documented as opposed to being demanded in a verbal conversation. I've had a couple properties refuse compensation. But as I had the screenshots, I was able to escalate to Marriott corporate, which sided with me and required the property to mail a check.

Remember, it's not just about a welcome gift. There is also $100 compensation at some brands for things like bed type.

And don't forget about the wifi replacement benefit. All Bonvoy members (not just certain elite tiers) are required to receive a replacement benefit at properties charging a resort or destination fee that includes wireless internet access since wifi access is free for all Bonvoy members.

Didn't know the demand had to be made before checking out. Your solution seems completely reasonable and a good CYA process.

And I've generally invoked the demand at certain legacy Starwood properties, where the welcome gift benefit is a choice of restaurant breakfast, points, or an amenity.

Some of these properties have a club lounge (Westin San Francisco St. Francis, for example) and refused to offer a restaurant breakfast or refused to offer the third choice of a local amenity (Sheraton Frankfurt Airport, Westin DTW, Westin DFW, Westin Cleveland, Westin Honolulu Moana Surfrider).

In general, I think any kind of complaint, particularly about a property's failure to provide an advertised service or amenity or a required elite status benefit, should be made in writing either by text or email.

Marriott makes it easy with the Bonvoy mobile application's built-in chat feature. Hyatt and IHG makes it harder but some of their properties use text messaging.

Likewise, any issues with cleanliness, etc. in a room should be documented with photos taken on your phone.

Question, when/if you complete Mobile Check-In it states that you will receive Points as your Welcome Gift and if you would like ___ ___ ___ instead, to let them know at check-in...Is this a C.Y.A. on the Property's part...???

@ SEM -- Yeah, in that situation you wouldn't be entitled to anything.

Its a weird dynamic and I'm with you Ben — I don't think it's worth an argument or escalation to get $50 or $100 in compensation.

It happens countless times that FD "assumes" you want points in the US and I've even experienced oversight in Southeast Asia where they forget to ask.

I only claimed the policy once against the Aloft in Sunnyvale by the Caltrain where they don't offer breakfast on weekends at all.

There's a "Seinfeld" episode where Kramer attempts to get compensation when a local bank that promises $100 to any customer not greeted with a "hello." When greeted with "Hey," Kramer demands the money. He's not sheepish.

It ends with the bank manager saying "You got a greeting. It starts with an 'H'. How's twenty bucks sound?"

I tried to invoke this guarantee once when the welcome gift wasn't offered by approaching the front desk the next day. The front desk associate called over the manager who was nice under the circumstances and offered 10,000 points which I accepted. Of course, the points never posted. I now don't bother with trying to get this extra compensation, I just make sure that I am actually getting a welcome gift if it isn't initially offered.

It's ironic that one of the few Marriott policies that sounds customer friendly on paper is in reality awkward to use and difficult to actually obtain.

This is one of the reasons I've started to move my business from Marriott to Hilton. I just find Hilton is much better at enforcing brand standards, elite benefits, etc. I've checked in at too many Marriott properties lately where it seems everything from the reception to benefits to the condition of the rooms seems to be up to the whims of the staff...

you're entitled to it, and it totally makes sense when I was at a hotel where they had 1 chef and the chef had a car accident I had the hotel write a note attesting to it and just claimed it

Maybe it is just me (Like Lucky, I am averse to conflict) but I think that demanding compensation if you have to ask for the amenity is a jerk move. If you ask for it and are still refused, then that is a different matter and I would be sending messages to whoever needed to hear it.

My opinion - this is really only an issue if they don't give you a gift at any point during the stay. What harm does it do you to ask for it / remind them on day 2 if they forgot? At that point demanding compensation just feels like an entitled money grab, which is becoming all to prolific in our society.

Marriott is under the impression that they don’t have to honor anything they promise, so this is nothing new. It’s their standard MO. Personally I would fight for the benefit but ultimately expect nothing in return.

I’m at silver level with Hilton, and an employee. I get better benefits and far from an “Elite” member.

Hard disagree. Many people don't like demanding benefits. That can be confrontational too. The whole point of the compensation is to try to encourage hotels to proactively offer what you are owed. If everybody has to wait until day 2 to request their benefits, the hotel gets away without giving away most of their benefits.

It's often extremely difficult to get any of the benefits guaranteed for your level. Arguing for a breakfast is disturbing and infra dig.

If I can actually score a hundred for yet one more of their failures I'm taking it.

It never evens up the score, but one small win for the kid now and then, thank you.

Disclaimer is that if I'm staying at the property semi-frequently, I'll let it pass.

Hi,

I had a Tribute Portfolio refuse me the option of breakfast. They stated the restaurants were not affiliated with the hotel, and they could only offer me points. I went back and forth with the manager, with no luck.
After check- out, I filed a complaint to corporate and they forwarded the complaint to the hotel. It went back and forth. Marriott does not issue the cash…it’s up to the hotel. The hotel refused to honor it and in the end they offered me only the points instead.
Lesson learned: don’t leave the hotel until you receive the compensation.

Isn’t the welcome gift like 500 or 1000 points? Pretty worthless. Maybe more at elite place but I typically stay at Marriotts or Sheraton.

As a titanium elite I couldn’t get the 48 hr guarantee, as fine print says not available during special events. So useless.

Whether it's coming out of Marriott CEO's pocket or the greedy franchisee CEO's pocket, what's the difference? With Marriott hotels skimping and cheating guests on so many other elite "benefits" these days, and the hotels themselves being overpriced and not a great product, damn right I'm going to get everything owed to me including the $100 if they mess up. If they forget about the welcome gift, they're probably "forgetting" some other benefits too. And if a guest "forgets" to do something, the hotel sure as hell is coming after the money. Treat them the same. Who cares if they give stares the rest of your stay!

How about "don't leave the hotel registration desk until the hotel amenity is offered and in hand"?

Document it in an email or Marriott chat message. Then if they refuse, sue in small claims court or file a complaint with the state attorney general or state consumer protection office.

I've gotten better welcome gifts at mid range hotels in the US than some high end hotels. Of course nothing compares to Europe or Japan for welcoming gifts. The wife and grand kids like them, but I'm over it,

It's been a couple of years since I called them out on the guarantee, but never been comfortable asking for cash, in case it would make the employee look bad and get the person in trouble. So instead I ask for points which is easier for me to bring up. I have a predetermined equivalency: $25=5,000 pts; $50=10,000 pts; $100=20,000 pts. To date, I've never had a property say no to the points compensation and my max compensation so far has been 10,000 points.

The compensation amount should be $1000. You can bet the hotel wouldn’t forget to offer it to every elite at check-in.

You should absolutely be calling this out every single time and that’s as a hotel owner with a number of properties that qualify. We train our staff to handle these request and they’re part of the brand standard.

When you don’t you simply incentive the operator to miss other brand standards. It’s a disservice to those of us who follow them.

Remember: To Marriott, property owners are the ‘customers,’ and guests are the ‘product.’ (Shouldn’t be that way, but it sure seems so.)

Or you do a Michael Keaton impression, at the desk, "was I supposed to receive a welcome gift, or not, or I wasn't supposed to receive a welcome gift, I dont know, whatever, you know what I mean".

Yes as a Lifetime Titanium, it gets a bit dicey as some Marriott like to ignore it.