Airline Employees Urge Marriott To Honor Elite Perks On All Stays

Someone from change.org reached out regarding a petition that has received thousands of signatures, which involves airline employees wanting their airline elite status honored on all stays. I thought this would be an interesting topic to cover.

Petition asks Marriott to recognize airline crew status at hotels

There’s a change.org petition that currently has around 7,000 signatures, which urges Marriott to start honoring Bonvoy elite status when airline crews (pilots and flight attendants) are staying at Marriott properties while on work trips. Let me just share the petition in its entirety:

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I am a military veteran who has spent more than an impressive total of 1011 nights in Marriott properties. Throughout my journeys, my family and I have remained loyal to the Marriott brand. We hold four Marriott credit cards and consistently choose Marriott hotels for our accommodations. However, there is an issue that leaves me deeply disappointed – the non-recognition of my loyalty status when staying in rooms purchased by my airline.

Among airline crew, many of us have cultivated a significant status with Marriott, a testament to our years, often decades, of loyalty. Yet, when we stay at your hotels during our trips, this status – a symbol of our lengthy and dedicated relationship with your brand – seems to be unacknowledged.

This lack of recognition is not only disappointing, but it also undermines the respect and appreciation we believe should be associated with our loyalty status. This is especially poignant in my case, as I am a proud Titanium for Life member – a rank illustrating my unwavering allegiance to Marriott.

Our request is simple: Please reconsider your policy regarding lounge access for those of us in the airline industry. We urge you – as valued members and lifelong supporters of your brand – to acknowledge our loyalty status at your hotels, as you do in your airline. Our loyalty to Marriott has not faltered; we just ask that you return the gesture.

Please honor our loyalty, respect our status, and allow us the enjoyment of our earned privileges across all platforms of your brand. Show us that our commitment matters. Sign this petition to stand with airline pilots around the world in urging Marriott to reconsider its policy.

My take on this hotel elite status petition

For some background, let me explain why Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t award elite nights or offer elite benefits on airline crew stays during layovers. Marriott Bonvoy offers points and elite benefits to members on “qualifying rates,” and in the case of airline crews, these rates are non-qualifying for two reasons:

• The terms specifically state that a rate is non-qualifying if “the Member does not directly pay the Participating Property for such room” (in these cases, the airline pays directly for the stay, and not the member)
• The terms also state that a rate is non-qualifying if “the guest room was booked at a tour operator, wholesaler, or crew room rate or package” (as you can see, these stays would be booked as crew room rates)

So, where do I stand on this? From the perspective of Marriott and individual hotels, obviously they don’t have much of an incentive to go above and beyond on crew hotel stays. Airlines get huge discounts on room rates by promising a certain amount of volume, and it’s not like the individual crew member has any discretion over where they stay. These contracts are negotiated on a really high level, and guarantee thousands of room nights for a property.

At the same time, I also get where airline employees are coming from. Obviously in an ideal world, a loyalty program would foster a long-term relationship with a company, and shouldn’t be transactional. Members earn their elite perks through qualifying stays, so it would be nice to be able to use them even when a stay isn’t qualifying.

But it’s also worth being realistic here, and understanding that loyalty has become incredibly transactional:

• Marriott doesn’t have to try as hard as some other hotel groups when it comes to loyalty, given its massive footprint; so if your “loyalty to Marriott has not faltered,” then that’s sort of on you, and you’re being loyal to a faceless corporation that doesn’t really value you back in the same way
• With how credit card perks have evolved, there are so many pathways to status, and it’s also so much easier to earn than in the past; that’s also why there’s less leeway or discretion than in the past, since hotels have no shortage of elite members
• Speaking of that last point, Marriott hotels just have an absolutely massive number of elite members, with things like club lounges being very overcrowded; so I also can’t blame hotels for not wanting to be overly generous there

It’s worth noting that some airlines do negotiate club lounge access for certain ranks of employees at many hotels. For example, at Emirates, pilots and pursers generally receive club lounge access, and it’s something the airline pays for (or negotiates).

Bottom line

There’s a change.org petition urging Marriott Bonvoy to honor elite perks for airline crew members when on work stays. Marriott doesn’t offer elite credit or honor elite perks on these stays, since they aren’t paid by the actual member, and crew rates are also excluded as qualifying stays.

While I can appreciate where airline employees are coming from — they’ve worked hard to earn status, and want those perks honored on all stays — I don’t see Marriott budging here.

Where do you stand on this petition for elite perks on crew stays?