Marriott Bonvoy’s elite breakfast benefit is already complicated enough under normal circumstances. Now it’s getting even more inconsistent, with at least one St. Regis property no longer honoring one of the most valuable elite perks (thanks to @NDH330 for flagging this)…
In this post:
St. Regis hotel cuts free breakfast for Platinums and above
As of March 1, 2025, the St. Regis Macao will no longer offer Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members, complimentary breakfast. Specifically, complimentary breakfast is typically offered as part of the welcome amenity at St. Regis properties, with other choices being a modest number of points or a local gift.
At this property, members will soon just have the choice of points or a local gift, with no option for complimentary breakfast. However, members will reportedly be given a discount on breakfast.
Here’s how a note on the hotel’s website describes this:
Starting March 1, 2025, welcome gifts for Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador Marriott Bonvoy Elite Members have a choice of bonus points or a local amenity. Platinum and above Elite Members can also enjoy a discounted price for breakfast at the Manor.
The FlyerTalk member who noticed this change reports the following:
So I call the hotel and speak with the duty manager, he advised it will be a worldwide change, and St. Regis Macao is the first hotel to put it on trial. The new welcome gift will be 3000 points or local amenity, and also a 20% discount of breakfast. While asking if it will breach the elite benefits guarantee, he advised flexibility will be provided at the starting stage and breakfast will still be honoured if members insist.
Ordinarily the welcome amenity would be 1,000 points, so at least that’s being tripled to 3,000 points. Still, at a valuation of 0.7 cents per point, that’s like $21 worth of points, which is going to be a lot less than most people value breakfast for two people for the duration of the stay.
Unlike what the manager reportedly claimed, Marriott shares that this isn’t in fact a worldwide change, and this is something being done specifically by this hotel.
What should we make of this breakfast benefit change?
Let me once again emphasize that Marriott claims this change is specific to this one property as of now, so I have a couple of thoughts on that.
First of all, it’s interesting that Marriott is seemingly fine with individual properties setting their own rules around breakfast, and violating the brand standard. In the past, we’ve seen some newly opened St. Regis properties (like the St. Regis Chicago) try to not offer breakfast, arguing that the restaurant is run by a third party. But to see an existing hotel eliminate the benefit is something that I haven’t seen before.
I’m curious, what makes this property special, in that regard? Is there just such a high percentage of elite members, or why does Marriott think this is okay?
Along those lines, while this isn’t a brand-wide change as of now, I think many of us can’t help but wonder if that’s the direction in which things are headed:
- Among Marriott luxury brands, St. Regis offers free breakfast for elites, while Ritz-Carlton and EDITION don’t, and that comes down to precedent, as St. Regis is a legacy Starwood brand, and Ritz-Carlton and EDITION are legacy Marriott brands
- I can’t help but wonder if we’ll see owners of other St. Regis properties try to implement similar changes; after all, once Marriott is fine with one hotel doing this, what is there preventing other hotels from doing the same?
- I have to imagine that owners of many St. Regis properties are pushing for this change more broadly, pointing to the inconsistency between St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton, despite the brands being of a similar caliber
Bottom line
As of March 2025, the St. Regis Macao will no longer give Platinum members and above the option of selecting complimentary daily breakfast. While Marriott insists this isn’t part of a larger change at the brand, one wonders why this hotel received permission to make such a change, when it’s otherwise a brand standard.
So while this directly impacts those who are staying at this property, otherwise we’ll mark this as “developing.”
What do you make of the St. Regis Macao elite breakfast benefit change?
I thought it was the beginning of the end when Hyatt Centric Waikiki just decided breakfast wasn't their thing for Globalists anymore, and nobody at Hyatt HQ could do a thing about it. (Despite it being an "owned" property.) It turns out that while a hotel can ignore program rules in some way, not everyone does it.
It makes me wonder: what sort of back-end conversations happen when properties go rogue? Is it a permission-not-forgiveness...
I thought it was the beginning of the end when Hyatt Centric Waikiki just decided breakfast wasn't their thing for Globalists anymore, and nobody at Hyatt HQ could do a thing about it. (Despite it being an "owned" property.) It turns out that while a hotel can ignore program rules in some way, not everyone does it.
It makes me wonder: what sort of back-end conversations happen when properties go rogue? Is it a permission-not-forgiveness situation? In any normal contract, they should be ejected from the program, but hotels are the real customers these days. Will be interested to see how it plays out longer run.
Does that mean, no need to try to reach Titanium again this year? Well Globalist with Hyatt looks Fine and Park Hyatt's can Give St Regis a run for the money.(Even though I loved St Regis KL last month).
Then again Chinese have figured out to "Game" the system at Marriotts like they did with Hyatts.
I saw Chinese guests in Hyatts in Bali,KL,Jakarta,etc that definitely did not belong in the Lounges. they...
Does that mean, no need to try to reach Titanium again this year? Well Globalist with Hyatt looks Fine and Park Hyatt's can Give St Regis a run for the money.(Even though I loved St Regis KL last month).
Then again Chinese have figured out to "Game" the system at Marriotts like they did with Hyatts.
I saw Chinese guests in Hyatts in Bali,KL,Jakarta,etc that definitely did not belong in the Lounges. they were questioned multiple times upon entering which slowed down the Lines. Their favorite method was to BBB (Bring Big Bags) and take everything Off the Tables. They loved to scream and spit at the poor Help when they try to question their practices.
Well it's Macao, the Vegas of the most money-focused culture on the planet.
Not surprised the luxury hotels in that market continue to nickel and dime the high rollers...
On the broader topic of loyalty programs, today, CNN has this headline:
Frequent flyers have spent years staying loyal to airlines. Now airlines are giving them ‘the middle finger’
Thank you for pointing this out -- very interesting article.
AF was not on my list simply because of sooo many strikes many years ago, but I guess it would be a right time to try it.
It would be great to read an article about this also in this forum.
DenB makes a good point about how these hotel franchises don’t care about you. They used to pretend to care or did care a bit when you complained or provided feedback. Now, they either ignore you or give you some lame excuse including someone else from another department will get back to you but actually never did.
This is how it is with Hilton. How many silver, gold, and diamond elites from the U.S....
DenB makes a good point about how these hotel franchises don’t care about you. They used to pretend to care or did care a bit when you complained or provided feedback. Now, they either ignore you or give you some lame excuse including someone else from another department will get back to you but actually never did.
This is how it is with Hilton. How many silver, gold, and diamond elites from the U.S. are there with those AMEX Hilton branded CCs? Hilton corporate just don’t care about you as do many of their real customers the hoteliers. IHG still does care because it is more difficult to earn Diamond and those forty nights for lounge access. No credit card shortcut for Diamond or lounge access. No free elite nights either because of credit cards like Hyatt or Marriott.
Tier benefits have become less & less realizable over the years. Things boiled down to the economic value of points & nothing more. With the recent devaluation points & the leaked (yet to come) devaluation, my sense is that the value of a Marriott point is on a glide path to the value of a Hilton point (0.5 CPP). @FTW Delta Diamond was correct in saying (in comments to another article) that someone just starting out doesn't have a chance.
This goes hand-in-glove with another topic that's popping up in OMAAT: upgrade fails. Hotels post signs at checkin telling guests how many elites are staying. It's clear that hoteliers (Marriott's actual customers, remember) feel that there are "too many elites". Expect Marriott to help with this problem, by going easy on violators by diluting elite benefit delivery. How long before Titanium is the Breakfast threshold?
With Marriott revenue and net profits at all-time highs, Marriott has no reason to not continue on its path of devaluation and reduction of tier benefits. Disaffected loyalty program members have had no effect on its operating results. In short, as much as we might think otherwise, we truly don’t matter. Accept this reality and adjust your game accordingly. Best of luck.
As a reminder to everyone, the lounge benefit has been all but eliminated via exemptions. From the terms and conditions:
Lounge Access is not offered at the following brands: The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Design Hotels, Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Trailborn Properties, Four Points, SpringHill Suites, Protea Hotels, Fairfield, AC Hotels, Aloft, Moxy Hotels, City Express, Four Points Flex, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Element,...
As a reminder to everyone, the lounge benefit has been all but eliminated via exemptions. From the terms and conditions:
Lounge Access is not offered at the following brands: The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Design Hotels, Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Trailborn Properties, Four Points, SpringHill Suites, Protea Hotels, Fairfield, AC Hotels, Aloft, Moxy Hotels, City Express, Four Points Flex, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott Grand Residence Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, and at The Phoenician Residences, a Luxury Collection Residence Club, Scottsdale.
Fred - while Marriott revenue and net profits are at all time highs, hotel owner profits (not revenues, profits) in many cases were down in 2024 and are expected to shrink again in 2025. In some markets, profits never recovered to 2019 levels and are down meaningfully (think markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles). This is why you are seeing Marriott go through another round of "owner cost savings" initiatives.
Your comments and my comments are not mutually exclusive. Marriott's financial position allows it to make concessions to owners at the expense of elites.
Where this is going is obvious. Hotel owners, especially in the US, have complained about providing elite breakfasts for years. In the past year or so, Marriott owners have been complaining about increased costs, particularly labor. Hotel profitability growth has stalled in many markets due to higher costs (labor, interest, insurance, materials, loyalty programs), so Marriott has started to again promise "cost savings" to owners.
Within five years, I would guess Marriott's luxury brands (St...
Where this is going is obvious. Hotel owners, especially in the US, have complained about providing elite breakfasts for years. In the past year or so, Marriott owners have been complaining about increased costs, particularly labor. Hotel profitability growth has stalled in many markets due to higher costs (labor, interest, insurance, materials, loyalty programs), so Marriott has started to again promise "cost savings" to owners.
Within five years, I would guess Marriott's luxury brands (St Regis, W, Ritz Carlton, Edition, Luxury Collection, maybe even JW Marriott) will move away from free elite breakfast if they already haven't. Select service brands like Courtyard are already on the credit system. Brands like Residence Inn will continue to offer free breakfast for everyone. Marriott still cares about breakfast at its "business hotels," so Marriott brand will still have lounges, but I would expect the "breakfast benefit with no lounge" will be cut.
Hilton has moved to a credit system, while Hyatt retains a good free breakfast for its elites (though it should be noted that Hyatt's elite breakfast is only provided to Globalists, which is much more restrictive than Marriott or Hilton's current status based benefits). This differentiation doesn't seem to drive better or worse results either way. So expect Marriott to continue to cut back where they can.
Inconsistency weakens a brand. In my experience, I like to think of the Bonvoy Loyalty Program Terms and Conditions, not as a list of specified benefits that you are entitled to for your loyalty, but as a roulette wheel, with several spots labeled ... "Thank You for Playing Along", "Sorry, not Sorry", and "Dare to Dream."
It seems to me that establishments will keep pushing boundaries as long as they can, since loyal customers will continue to support them and blog about their experiences, influencing others to follow suit. Until people start voting with their wallets, there won’t be enough incentive for these places to implement positive, meaningful change.
Colour me cynical - I am fairly confident that this elimination of this perk is a testing of the waters that will...
It seems to me that establishments will keep pushing boundaries as long as they can, since loyal customers will continue to support them and blog about their experiences, influencing others to follow suit. Until people start voting with their wallets, there won’t be enough incentive for these places to implement positive, meaningful change.
Colour me cynical - I am fairly confident that this elimination of this perk is a testing of the waters that will be rolled out to all properties.
If you book through something like AMEX FHR or Virtuoso you’ll get breakfast each day. So this really hurts elites that use points and want a free breakfast. If anything, given the cost of staying at these hotels, elites should get breakfast at all luxury hotels including RCs and EDITIONs. This seems to be headed in the wrong way. And like others said, why is Marriott letting this hotel skip the brand standard of elite breakfast?
The fact that Marriott is letting this hotel cut the benefit for Ambassadors is totally pathetic. Ritz and Edition should offer free breakfast to these high-value guests.
But do the Bonvoy terms and conditions exempt this property? If they don't, they can't refuse to provide a breakfast. But then again, the provided breakfast may be inedible. The Sheraton at Toronto's airport, a Marriott corporate-managed property, is only offering toast or a muffin with coffee as the breakfast benefit.
It’s a St Regis in Macao (Las Vegas of Asia), and it’s also a property in Asia. Even Fairfield in Asia provides some of the best breakfast you can comparatively find in North America…
It’s more greed than anything else. I am sure this property might have been attraction a lot of award stays and this is being done to squeeze revenue out of them. That duty manager admitted they will honor breakfast if guests insist, so yeah this point is probably true