Closing the loop on this story, with my discussion of struggles to accomplish simple tasks with the Marriott program. Then there was an apology filled with corporate lingo, but little actual regret or acknowledgement of the inherent issues. On Christmas eve, eve I received an email stating their delight in helping me, and that they manually posted my stay. This finally posted to my account nearly 3 weeks after I checked out. Better late than never, and I’m now whole, but it took too long, and required extra work.
Delays in stays posting. Who cares?
Does waiting weeks after checking out for a stay to post really matter? Not really. But a task this simple should not need manual intervention. More than a week or so is too long, but if it would work automatically, I suppose I would begrudgingly accept it. Waiting 10 days after a stay to submit a request, then another 10 days for posting (this piece took a week for me) is a bit much. Something as simple as posting stays should be an automatic process. I have actively booked away from Marriott properties in the last part of the year, and this recent experience hasn’t encouraged me to change my plans going into the new year.
By mostly avoiding Marriott stays of late I haven’t had any more urgent issues to deal with, particularly those requiring any customer service. It remains unclear to me how to get help quickly if needed. There are long phone holds, slow (or no) responses on social media or emails.
While my stay posted, the details are wrong.
Notice my name missing in the letter posted above? Angela? That’s my wife. Not sure how that got messed up. I have Platinum status, one would think that a request from the account of any member would be easy to properly name that person in a reply. The stay posted to my account. My wife does have a Marriott account, but other than sharing a last name, I’m not sure how or why her name got populated into the field of the letter. Back to my first post about the IT issues Marriott is experiencing…they are far from fixed.
Why don’t you leave Marriott and book elsewhere?
Thanks to lifetime status, I’m off the hamster wheel of annual qualification. I still had over 50 nights in 2018 in Marriott hotels this year. My main program for hotel stays is Hyatt, that’s where I try to stay, and use Marriott as backup. Until some of these issues get worked out I may look elsewhere, and if issues remain, maybe 2019 will be the first year in more than a decade where I don’t have at least 50 nights in SPG/Marriott hotels.
I find little value in the Hilton or IHG programs, but I typically have a handful of stays each year so there are points in each program, but these are far from my top preferences. I don’t foresee this changing with my current travel patterns.
Hopefully your Marriott issues have been resolved, and your holiday travels are smooth.
