It’s always frustrating to see loyalty program devaluations, especially those without notice. So here’s an interesting update, as Marriott is now committing to providing advance notice of negative changes, but only to select members, as flagged by LoyaltyLobby.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy commits to providing notice of devaluations
The Marriott Bonvoy terms & conditions have just been updated, to add a new section with “special terms applicable to members with Chinese citizenship residing in Chinese mainland.” Here’s the part that stands out:
9.15.a. Loyalty Program benefits, amenities, offers, awards and relevant services may be adjusted subject to availability. Unless otherwise mandated by applicable laws, the Company may make reasonable adjustments to the Loyalty Program and these Program Rules.
Should such adjustments be likely to have a material adverse impact on the core rights and interests of Members, the Company will, in compliance with applicable legal requirements, provide prior notice to members in a reasonable manner.
So as you can see, Marriott is stating that it can make changes to its Bonvoy loyalty program, but if the changes could have a negative impact on members, the company should provide advance notice to members.
It’s nice to see a commitment to providing warning of changes. I imagine China has some sort of consumer protections that are causing Marriott to update its policy in this way, especially with the same promise not being made to other members.
You’d think that if Marriott is going to let some members know of negative changes, it would let all members know, since such information would obviously be shared online.
Will this change Marriott’s transparency with members?
It’s ultimately good to see Marriott promising to be more transparent with members, because on that front, something is better than nothing.
I will say, the way the terms are updated sure is vague. There’s no mention of how much advance notice has to be provided. So could Marriott just let people know five minutes before the negative changes are rolled out, or…? For that matter, one wonders what constitutes a “material adverse impact.”
I’m not convinced this policy change will actually have that many implications in practice, though:
- Marriott’s biggest no notice devaluations involve increasing points pricing, but that’s dynamic pricing, and wouldn’t be covered by this, since the claim is that it that dynamic pricing reflects market conditions
- If/when Marriott does make negative program changes, like watering down elite perks, the company does often provide advance notice of those changes, both positive and negative
- I suspect Marriott will take some liberties by not labeling things as “likely to have a material adverse impact on the core rights and interests of Members”
Bottom line
The Marriott Bonvoy terms & conditions have been updated to reflect improved rights for program members in China. Specifically, the hotel giant is promising to give advance notice of any changes that materially impact the program. It would be nice if this were a promise for all members, rather than just those in China, but I guess with information sharing online, that’s fine too.
Unfortunately Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic award pricing is typically the worst “devaluation” we see from the program, and that’s not something we’ll get notice about.
What do you make of these updates Marriott Bonvoy terms?
The only reason I'm loyal to Bonvoy is that it is so great in China. There are other brands there as well that are good but overall, any branded hotel I stay in China, is better than any branded hotel anywhere else I've been in the world. It also has to do with how much competition there is there. Like I was surprised how a courtyard by Marriott is nicer than a lot of the five star hotels in the US when it comes to food quality and pool quality and gym quality.
It all boils down to the people. In other countries people expect corporations to not shortchange them in every which way.
Here we accept it. Look back to all the posts of various airlines and hotel and card issuers downgrading their offerings. There is at the very least one post of someone saying : "It's not as bad as it could be". I guess as a society we are attuned to accepting less value for...
It all boils down to the people. In other countries people expect corporations to not shortchange them in every which way.
Here we accept it. Look back to all the posts of various airlines and hotel and card issuers downgrading their offerings. There is at the very least one post of someone saying : "It's not as bad as it could be". I guess as a society we are attuned to accepting less value for same price.
So corporations keep pushing the envelope. Its great so see that somewhere on this planet these corporations are being held accountable.
"You’d think that if Marriott is going to let some members know of negative changes, it would let all members know, since such information would obviously be shared online."
Let's be realistic. Marriott views engaged loyalty members as the enemy. Unless forced to Marriott is not going to do anything to benefit those people. Bonvoyed is Bonvoyed for a reason.
That’s what Xi said?
Ben, not sure who needs to hear this, but Alaska Air finally added MFA for account login, so, unless you like getting hacked and losing all your pointies, please do set that up, friends!
Just weeks after the Chinese Consumer protection agencies summoned IHG's Chinese operator over its membership agreements, which contain what Chinese law considers "overlord clauses" (highly unfair, one-sided terms) on these matters:
First, Forced U.S. Arbitration: If one of IHG's 15 million Chinese members has a dispute regarding a stay at a Chinese hotel, the terms force them to seek arbitration in the United States under Georgia state law.
Second, Deterring Complaints: Experts point out that...
Just weeks after the Chinese Consumer protection agencies summoned IHG's Chinese operator over its membership agreements, which contain what Chinese law considers "overlord clauses" (highly unfair, one-sided terms) on these matters:
First, Forced U.S. Arbitration: If one of IHG's 15 million Chinese members has a dispute regarding a stay at a Chinese hotel, the terms force them to seek arbitration in the United States under Georgia state law.
Second, Deterring Complaints: Experts point out that this is an intentional strategy to raise the cost and complexity of defending consumer rights, effectively scaring people out of pursuing lawsuits over unfulfilled perks or canceled bookings.
Third, Unilateral Power: IHG’s agreement also claims the right to change terms at any time without explicit consent, assuming that a user "keeping their membership" means they agree.
Guess Marriott don't want to summoned again.
What’s your age?
All of those seem like reasonable complaints against the change policy. It's a shame that it requires that level of heavy handedness aimed at a competitor for a company to change their consumer protections.
Why anyone continues to be loyal to this company is beyond me…
So even communist China protects its citizens from predatory corporations better than the US. What a time to be alive.
Not a fan of totalitarianism, authoritarians, or one-party rule, because it tends to mistreat people who don’t conform.
I mean, no one really gripes too harshly about Singapore (other than the caning and high-cost), and it’s a benevolent dictatorship, basically. PAP is their one-party ruler.
Yay!!!!
Chinese consumer protection laws.