In this post I wanted to take a look at Homes & Villas by Marriott International, which is an initiative that Marriott launched back in 2019. Is there any value to booking your home rentals this way?
In this post:
What is Homes & Villas by Marriott?
Over the past several years, we’ve seen vacation rentals through companies like Airbnb become increasingly popular. This has posed a threat to the major hotel groups. While home rentals offer a different experience than staying in a hotel, there are pros and cons to each. A home rental typically offers a lot more space, and is often more affordable, while a hotel typically offers more services.
With the introduction of Homes & Villas by Marriott, the world’s largest hotel group essentially decided that “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Homes & Villas by Marriott gives Bonvoy members access to tens of thousands of vacation rentals around the globe. These are premium and luxury rentals — they’re not all outrageously priced, but they’re definitely on the higher end of home rental pricing.
Now, the key thing to understand is that this is more of a marketing agreement than anything. Marriott isn’t personally managing these homes, but rather Marriott is marketing home rentals available through other platforms, while giving Bonvoy members an incentive to book through Marriott (at a cost).
Homes & Villas by Marriott basics
What should Marriott Bonvoy members expect with Homes & Villas by Marriott, in terms of earning points, redeeming points, elite benefits, pricing, and more? Let’s cover what you need to know.
Earn Bonvoy points for homes & villas
If you’re booking a stay with Homes & Villas by Marriott, you can expect to receive the following as a Bonvoy member:
- Earn 5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent (this is the same points earning rate as Marriott’s extended stay properties, while most Marriott properties offer 10x points per dollar)
- Marriott Bonvoy elite members receive their usual points bonuses for these stays as well, of 10-75%
- Spending with Homes & Villas by Marriott counts toward the $20,000 Ambassador Elite status spending requirement, if that’s a consideration
- Marriott Bonvoy members earn one elite night for every night booked
- Marriott Bonvoy points will only post three to six weeks after an eligible stay
- Marriott Bonvoy elite members receive bonus points as a welcome gift — Gold Elite members receive 500 Bonvoy points, while Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite, and Ambassador Elite members receive 1,000 Bonvoy points
- Paying with a co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit card could earn you up to 6x points per dollar spent, as this counts the same as Marriott spending for those purposes
Redeem Bonvoy points for homes & villas
It’s possible to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for all or part of the cost of a stay with Homes & Villas by Marriott. As it currently stands, you can expect that each Marriott Bonvoy point will get you roughly 0.6 cents toward the cost of a stay. You can even redeem points toward the cost of taxes and the cleaning fee.
Personally I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so this isn’t how I would choose to redeem my Marriott points.
What makes Homes & Villas by Marriott different?
What makes Homes & Villas by Marriott different than other home rental experiences? Here’s what Marriott claims sets its platform apart:
- Marriott claims to offer a highly-curated offering, working just with professional management companies offering premium and luxury private home inventory, and each home is evaluated either in person or digitally
- Marriott claims to only have professionally managed homes, by a trusted property management partner, providing a professionally cleaned home, 24/7 local support, high-speed Wi-Fi, premium linens and amenities, and family friendly conveniences upon request
- Marriott offers the ability to earn & redeem Bonvoy points on all stays
Homes & Villas by Marriott is typically more expensive
A major catch with Homes & Villas by Marriott is that you’ll almost always pay more through the site than you’d pay if booking through another site. For example, most of the Homes & Villas by Marriott inventory is also available through Vacasa, so let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
For example, I found a rental in Key West for three days that costs $5,531.11 with Homes & Villas by Marriott.
Meanwhile the same rental costs $4,845.10 through Vacasa. So you’re paying a ~14% premium for booking through Marriott.
I found another rental in Palm Springs for three days that costs $3,667.87 with Homes & Villas by Marriott.
Meanwhile the same rental costs $3,308.12 through Vacasa. So you’re paying an ~11% premium for booking through Marriott.
Is Marriott Homes & Villas worth it?
When Homes & Villas by Marriott was launched, it was essentially positioned as a way for Marriott to compete with the likes of Airbnb. In that sense, I find the execution to be quite lackluster:
- All of these listings are also available through other home rental websites
- Marriott is almost always charging a premium for the privilege of earning points
- Marriott’s not really doing a whole lot here that adds peace of mind with booking; someone from Marriott having digitally reviewed a property isn’t exactly a high threshold for deciding on the quality of a place
This is essentially no different than if Marriott started letting you buy gas at a 10-15% premium with existing gas stations while earning points. It’s the same concept.
I don’t really see this being a long-term viable business model. Then again, I guess Marriott isn’t investing a whole lot of money in this, so it’s a source of passive income for the company.
Ultimately Homes & Villas by Marriott is only worth it if you’re looking to earn or redeem points, and are willing to pay a premium for the privilege. I wouldn’t redeem Bonvoy points this way, since you’re getting 0.6 cents per point based on the inflated rental cost.
Meanwhile I think it could be worth booking through Homes & Villas by Marriott in some situations, like if the spending would help you earn Ambassador Elite status, or if there’s a great promotion. Marriott does sometimes have promotions offering bonus points for Homes & Villas by Marriott bookings, so in those cases the math may work out favorably.
Bottom line
Homes & Villas by Marriott is sort of Marriott’s attempt to compete with the home rental industry. Essentially Marriott is marketing select home rentals available through other sites (primarily Vacasa). Marriott charges extra for these stays, and in turn Bonvoy members can earn and redeem points.
Personally I don’t think there’s very wide appeal here, though for some Bonvoy members this could be worth considering, especially if there’s a promotion.
Have any OMAAT readers made bookings through Homes & Villas by Marriott? If so, what was your experience like?
It's very helpful when you want to stay with Marriott in Europe. We are a family of 5 so hotels are basically not an option for us.
The home rented through Marriott H&V for $26,000+ in Puerto Vallarta was amazing!
The problem is that NINE WEEKS following the end of the contract, we still don't have our Bonvoy points and have lost our platinum status.
I've contacted both Marriott and Tripwix. Neither company takes responsibility to correct the problem. I'll be using VRBO or Airbnb in the future.
My experience has been disastrous. I made a booking for 3 days for Myrtle Beach starting 3/25 and I booked it 3/21. The day after I booked (and they’d taken their money) they cancelled the reservation - for what reason I have no idea, I did not want it to be cancelled.
You cannot call them as they don’t monitor the phone number, just a recording and they gave not answered my email and...
My experience has been disastrous. I made a booking for 3 days for Myrtle Beach starting 3/25 and I booked it 3/21. The day after I booked (and they’d taken their money) they cancelled the reservation - for what reason I have no idea, I did not want it to be cancelled.
You cannot call them as they don’t monitor the phone number, just a recording and they gave not answered my email and contact form submission.
The plus side was I did get a refund after 24 hours, the downside was it cost me $12 in unnecessary currency exchange (got less back) and I have to make another reservation somewhere.
I’ll never use this service again.
Would the elite night earned for home & villa count towards the year we stay or the year the elite nights are posted? Since there would be 3-6 weeks delay, I wonder my stay in November will be counted this year?
Reviews are still very much needed.
That said, I'd still prefer to book with H&V if they can pull it together. The mess of fees, arbitrary cleaning requirements, safety concerns, and issues that minorities have experienced with questionable hosts all makes me extremely cautious to deal with Airbnb. I don't have time for the back-and-forth. A hotel booking is simple, and that's the appeal of H&V.
I'd happily pay a 14% premium to not...
Reviews are still very much needed.
That said, I'd still prefer to book with H&V if they can pull it together. The mess of fees, arbitrary cleaning requirements, safety concerns, and issues that minorities have experienced with questionable hosts all makes me extremely cautious to deal with Airbnb. I don't have time for the back-and-forth. A hotel booking is simple, and that's the appeal of H&V.
I'd happily pay a 14% premium to not have to worry about a host second-guessing my motives because I'm a PoC, or to rip into me because I didn't take out the trash while trying to get my kids out the door. I just wish Marriott allowed guests to review properties...
Just one data point here, but stayed at a homes and villas condo in Phoenix, Arizona this past week. It was perfectly fine. Easy check-in, nice clean space. Nothing fancy, but got the job done. My only miscalculation. I had hoped the nights would post so I would jump upper level for a Marriott stay this week, but it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get the night posted. Drat.
Just a small note. If you are paying a -14% premium, you are actually getting a 14% discount.
The squiggly dash "~" that Ben used is very common sign that means "about". So about 14%.
-1 point for reading comprehension and -1 point for being (incorrectly) pedantic.
No reviews on their website of the their allegedly "curated" properties. I have had terrible experience with a disgusting property this past May 2022. BEWARE.
Did they give you some points for your distress?
You also have the ability to double-dip through a shopping portal if booking through Homes & Villas as opposed to VRBO, Vacasa, etc. AAdvantage Shopping offers 1 pt. per $ (currently 2 pts. per $) whereas VBRO, Vacasa, Airbnb aren't available through the portals. Just another consideration....
Im not one to bag on Bonvoy in general or even trash things on message boards...but Homes and Villas will gets my blood boiling. I wont go into all the gory details here but this summer I had two massive issues with H&V properties and Marriott basically said "Sorry for you, not our problem." I complained to the local rental companies and they said, sounds like a Marriott issue to me. Just know that if...
Im not one to bag on Bonvoy in general or even trash things on message boards...but Homes and Villas will gets my blood boiling. I wont go into all the gory details here but this summer I had two massive issues with H&V properties and Marriott basically said "Sorry for you, not our problem." I complained to the local rental companies and they said, sounds like a Marriott issue to me. Just know that if you rent through this this is the chain: Marriott to H&Vs to Local Agent to Independent Landlord....it's a trap. H&V has no customer service, at all. This is not a subjective statement, it's fact. Marriott will tell you this, there is no one to call when your rental property changes there mind....There are no numbers and no one replies to email.
To put a fine point on it, I'll be fully leaving the Bonvoy program in January after having been loyalist for years simply due to the CSR interactions. The utter lack of customer support was demoralizing...I would rather plan a trip where I slept in my rental car.
Same experience as Colin. I’m a Titanium Elite and love Marriott in general, but I stayed in a MHV rental in Marseille France and it was the worst rental experience of my life. The mold smell in the common area was mind blowingly noxious that it made us gag and sick every time we had to walk up and down 4 floors of stairs. It was so bad that we had to check out after...
Same experience as Colin. I’m a Titanium Elite and love Marriott in general, but I stayed in a MHV rental in Marseille France and it was the worst rental experience of my life. The mold smell in the common area was mind blowingly noxious that it made us gag and sick every time we had to walk up and down 4 floors of stairs. It was so bad that we had to check out after one short night out of three nights. I contacted the French management company and they said to go pound sand and refused to refund. MHV’s response was the same. Nothing about that place was “highly curated”. You take chances with Airbnb rentals but you really shouldn’t if it’s run by Marriott and claim to be selectively curated. I will not use MHV ever again for sure.