Marriott Platinum Elite Guarantee – What if they don’t honor it?
In a post merger world between Marriott and Starwood, there are a lot of new Platinum members trying to navigate the complicated world of Marriott Rewards (soon to be Bonvoy). One of the best benefits that Marriott offers their platinum members are the guarantees, but they can be hard to understand and even harder to master
There are several different types of guarantees
Marriott keeps a list of the guarantees on this page, so you should keep that bookmarked and show it to the hotels when need be:
Ultimate Reservation Guarantee: If for some reason we’re unable to honor your reservation, we’ll pay for your accommodations that night at a nearby hotel and compensate you for the inconvenience.
Guaranteed Platinum Welcome Gift: As a Platinum or Platinum Premier Elite member, you’ll receive a special gift upon arrival at all participating hotels, offering you a choice of an amenity gift or points. If guarantee is not met, guest compensation applies.
Breakfast at Le Meridien N’Fis Marrakech, Morocco
Guaranteed Room Type: Platinum Premier Elite members will have guaranteed priority for their requested type of bed and room. If guarantee is not met, guest compensation applies.
Guaranteed Lounge Access: Access to lounge for member plus one guest. This benefit only applies to the one guest room in which the Platinum Elite/Platinum Premier Elite member is staying.
The One that gets Missed Most Often
The one that is the easiest to get missed is the Platinum Elite Arrival Gift Guarantee. Let’s take a deeper dive into this one, and talk about what it is, how you can claim it, and what to expect.
Here’s the very simple black and white of the guarantee. Bolding is my own:
Get more when you check in. As a Platinum or Platinum Premier Elite member, you’ll receive a special gift upon arrival at all participating hotels, offering you a choice of an amenity gift or points. If guarantee is not met, guest compensation applies.
This is very clear. When you check in, if you’re not offered a choice of your amenity gift or points, you get compensation. There’s not a whole lot more to it. When we check in to the hotel the front desk associate has to give you a special gift and give you a choice of what that gift is. The options are typically breakfast, points, or a local gift.
If the hotel just gives you points, you may claim the guarantee. If the hotel just gives you breakfast, you may claim the guarantee. If the hotel offers you nothing, you can also claim the guarantee.
How much compensation should be offered depends on the brand. Here’s a handy chart to break down all the specifics.
|
BRAND
|
WELCOME GIFT CHOICE/POINTS
|
GUEST COMPENSATION*
|
|---|---|---|
|
Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, Delta Hotels, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels
|
U.S./CAN/EU:
1,000 points per stay or $10 Food & Beverage credit per stayAP/CALA/MEA: 1,000 points per stay or Food & Beverage amenityRESORTS only: U.S./CAN/EU: 1,000 points per stay or breakfast in restaurant per day. Member + 1AP/CALA/MEA: 1,000 points per stay or Food & Beverage per stay or breakfast in restaurant per day. Member + 1. |
$100 USD
|
| Gaylord Hotels | 1,000 points per stay or $10 Food & Beverage credit per stay | $100 USD |
| St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Sheraton, Le Méridien, Westin, Tribute Portfolio | 1,000 points per stay or amenity per stay or breakfast in restaurant per day (including resorts) |
$100 USD |
| The Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, Marriott Vacation Club, Design Hotelsâ„¢ | 1,000 points per stay | N/A |
| Courtyard | U.S./CAN/EU: 500 points per stay or $10 Food & Beverage credit per dayAP/CALA/MEA: Hotels without lounge – 500 points per stay or Food & Beverage amenity or $10 Food & Beverage credit per dayHotels with lounge – 500 points per stay and breakfast in lounge (if lounge is closed- breakfast in restaurant per day) |
$50 USD |
| AC Hotels, Moxy Hotels | U.S./CAN/EU: 500 points per stay or $10 Food & Beverage credit per dayAP/CALA/MEA: 500 points per stay or Food & Beverage amenity per stay or $10 Food & Beverage credit per day |
$50 USD (AC Hotel)$25 USD (Moxy Hotels) |
| SpringHill Suites, Fairfield by Marriott, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites | U.S./CAN/EU: 500 points per stay or Food & Beverage itemAP/CALA/MEA: 500 points per stay or Food & Beverage amenity |
$50 USD (SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn) $25 USD (Fairfield by Marriott, TownePlace Suites) |
| Four Points, Aloft | 500 points per stay or amenity or breakfast in restaurant per day | $50 USD (Four Points) $25 USD (Aloft) |
| Protea Hotels | 500 points per stay or breakfast in restaurant per day | $50 USD |
| Element | 500 points per stay or amenity | $25 USD |
Notice the glaring difference in brands. Aloft, Moxy, Element, Fairfield and Towneplace hotels are the lowest at $25 each. Protea, Four Points, Springhill, Residence Inn, AC and Courtyard offer $50. The other brands offer $100 with the exception of Ritz, Design, Vacation Club and Edition which don’t offer a damn thing. Womp womp…
How and when to claim your guarantee?
Once check-in has been completed and you have your keys, head up to your room. At this point, I usually send out a tweet to Marriott Rewards letting them know that I didn’t get the guarantee, asking for their advice. For me, this serves as the official complaint.
Once I send that tweet, I’ll call back down to the front desk and let them know that I didn’t get the platinum guarantee, and I’d like to claim the benefit.
Wasn’t given my platinum amenity arrival gift at check in here at a @sheratonhotels in Orlando. I’d like to make this my official claim for the Platinum guarantee. How can you help me claim my $100 compensation? Front desk? @spgassist @MarriottRewards
— No Mas Coach (@NoMasCoach) September 16, 2018
Usually, the person at the front desk has no clue what I’m talking about, so I refer them to the Marriott Platinum Elite Guarantee. The conversation usually goes something like this:
Hey there, I just wanted to let you know that when I checked in, you didn’t offer me the Platinum Arrival gift. Since that’s the case, I’d like to claim the elite compensation for that. I know that at your property the amount to be paid is $XX in cash. What’s the best way to proceed?
I’ve never met a front desk agent who KNOWS what the policy is, so they usually act confused, offer to give me the arrival gift, and think that’s it. While I’ll happily take the breakfast or points, that’s not the point. The hotel has to give you the compensation, paid in cash, at the property. You must make the claim before you leave the property as well.
Some hotels want to give you a discount on the stay or a property credit. This never flies for me, as the number of points that I’m going to earn is dependent on the stay itself and what I pay.
The Marriott Chicago O’Hare has sent us a check, the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Sandusky paid out cash, and we even took a resort credit of double the value at a Sheraton (because we wanted to go to the spa). The choice is yours, but it needs to be paid without fail and without delay.
What if the hotel doesn’t want to pay?
In a recent stay in Texas, the situation played out just like we mentioned above. The front desk attendant didn’t know about the guarantee and asked for time to reach out to management. Hey, no problem… I’m not a savage after all! Take all the time you need.
Two days later I still hadn’t got a response, so I headed back down to the front desk to ask for an update. The response was shocking
I don’t know where you got the idea that we have to give you a guarantee, we’re not paying you anything…
Oh. Hell. No.
(Don’t forget to bookmark the Marriott page)
At this point, you’re obviously not going anywhere with the front desk staff. Calling Marriott is the best and only way to work through this scenario. We called our ambassador and explained the situation. She was just as shocked as we were, and immediately put through a claim against the hotel and charged the hotel 30,000 points. It goes without saying that 30,000 points is worth a ton more than $25, so I’m not complaining one bit.
Why does Marriott do this?
Some would ask why Marriott even has this policy in place. Simply put, Platinum Elite and Platinum Premier Elite guests represent a consistent, loyal, and constant stream of revenue for the hotels, and making sure that they’re well taken care of is paramount.
When a hotel fails to deliver on this promise, knowing that their best customers are looked after is the most important part for Marriott. Having this small “penalty” in place for the hotels is a sort of elite check-and-balance.
It’s actually an ingenious way of making sure that hotels are kept in line. Without these sort of guarantees, some hotels could go rogue, and when you’re trying to maintain a consistent experience across the brands, consistency is key.
There’s a lot of controversy around this. I’ve spoken to many people who say “Oh, I’ll just tell them and move on” and others who say “you’re hurting those on the front lines by penalizing them. They don’t know any better.” And therein lies the point, the front line employees NEED to be trained to provide a better experience.
Stand your ground and make sure that the hotel knows about the guarantee. As always, be professional and courteous, but firm. Rely on the Marriott Rewards desk if you need some additional help, but don’t give up!
February 3, 2019
For perspective, please share how many times you have claimed compensation.
February 3, 2019
I’d say about a dozen.
November 17, 2019
A dozen at a dozen different hotels? I come to the same Marriott for work twice a month. I wonder how many times they will forget. Or if my account will have something on the screen saying “ALWAYS ASK FROM NOW ON!” or something
November 17, 2019
I mean – the glaring giant box that says “TITANIUM” should be enough for them…
let me know if you get a guarantee or not!
December 2, 2019
I tried numerous times for compensation relative to a stay in Guam. After multiple phone calls with Marriott Rewards, the only thing that I received is that “we contacted the hotel and it’s up to them to do something.” I said that I had contacted the hotel, and what is the remedy if they just ignore things? They said again that they have notified the hotel and it is up to them.
So to me, there is no such thing as a guaranteed arrival gift.
December 4, 2019
Dispute the charge on your credit card and call Marriott rewards corporate office.
September 2, 2021
How do you know which hotels are participating ?
Thank you in advance.
September 2, 2021
Another question
I have found best price Gautama doesn’t apply thru Priceline ( which is always cheaper)
So if I book thru Priceline can I still request the platinum guarantee ?
February 3, 2019
This is very interesting. I am also a Platinum member and i have never even thought of that. I got 1000 for my stays in New York, Miami, Warsaw and never complained since i had guaranteed breakfast. Now i will know better
June 4, 2020
It looks like all guarantees are off the table during covid, ofcourse nobody would know that because they don’t state it anywhere. I found out by booking a Fairfield
Inn in Abilene, TX, when I arrived they advised the Fairfield had been closed for a month but they keep the hotel ad up to funnel people into the owners other property, the Hilton Hampton Inn. Classic bait and switch, Marriott could have cared less… they advised guarantees are off the table indefinitely. When I questioned why they don’t state that in any of the emails they sent regarding covid, their covid webpage, or on the guarantees page I was told the magical line… Marriott has the right to discontinue any benefit anytime. Maybe blasting them on Twitter may be the best option.
June 25, 2020
I have had the same issue at the Westin and the welcome gift. Was told “Hotels are still offering Elite Welcome Gifts upon arrival. Due to the challenging and evolving business environment caused by COVID-19, compensation for the Elite Welcome Gift guarantee are currently not being extended.”
Meaning they are making up rules “on the fly”.
June 28, 2020
Well, that’s just not acceptable. I’ll call them out at the hotel right away if that’s the case.
February 3, 2019
good info, I’ve just let it go in the past, now it makes sense to call it out.
dont worry about the “front lines”, its a small sacrifice to make the system better, plus the corp endorses it.
February 3, 2019
Exactly! It’s a Marriott policy after all.
February 3, 2019
OK, so you receive breakfast and also an ammenity (usually a bag with chips and water) and/or points right?
A couple scenarios:
1) So if the front desk only says breakfast you are entitled compensation.
2) If the the front desk says you get breakfast and points (but does not process the points) you also get compensation?
3) Most time they let you chose something from the pantry, is that the “ammenity”?
thanks!
February 3, 2019
1). Yes. 2). No. 3. Yes.
February 3, 2019
I recently stayed at the Westin Nanea, and was told that the welcome gift was unavailable because I booked through Vistana, rather than directly through Marriott. I never though I could get compensation for that.
February 3, 2019
Platinum is platinum. I’m sure that Vistana shouldn’t make a difference.
February 4, 2019
We booked the Westin Lagunama for 4 nights with Vistana for a timeshare deal, during our booking the rep specifically highlighted to us that we will not get any platinum benefits during our stay. I guess we’ll find out when during our stay in June.
February 4, 2019
It’s one thing to not get a platinum benefit. It’s another for them not to recognize you at all … that sounds dreadful.
July 19, 2020
Hi,wondering what if the hotel like Renaissance has no lounge and I have booked a rate with breakfast included. What benefit I could claim then?
July 22, 2020
Right now Marriott is suspending claims citing coronavirus
February 6, 2019
This happened to me tonight at the JW Surabaya. Very friendly check in but not welcome gift. I sent a message to Marriott rewards since it’s so late and i’ll Check with the desk tomorrow.
February 7, 2019
Just to follow up. The front office manager apologized today and offered me a credit to my room or cash ($100 equivalent in IDR) and they promptly paid me. Thank you again for this thread!
March 15, 2019
Marriott doesn’t seem to want to enforce the Platinum welcome gift guarantee anymore. I had a Sheraton point-blank state I’m getting the points, rather than offering the welcome gift choice. I asked three times for the breakfast option which were denied as the hotel said I had lounge access. Filed the guarantee claim from the Marriott app chat, hotel denied the claim stating I had lounge access. Sent a link to the Marriott terms, denied. Filed a case with corporate, closed by hotel, reopened the claim, closed again. Called Marriott again, they will only call the hotel. They will not enforce the guarantee. Emailed a VP at Marriott, no response.
November 20, 2019
I tried calling down after not being offered any sort of welcome gift when I checked in. The manager told me that he is certain they don’t offer any sort of financial compensation…which is not the case. Where do I go from here?
November 23, 2019
Best bet is to make sure that you log your concern with the twitter team. Also, you need to involve your Ambassador (if you have one) or the customer service line. Feel free to bring the exact paragraph to the manager’s attention, and suggest that they call the internal service line while you’re there. You’ll accept cash or a check, but not a credit to your bill (because that would mean less points earning for you)
August 19, 2020
I just submitted a compliant at a Springhill suites and they honored it. The lady at checkin was very nice but did not mention my status nor did she offer a gift or points. When I mentioned to the front desk I was told that in the notes I had points in my profile. Regardless, I was given the $50 compensation and in a way I felt bad about it. Anyone else in that boat? I just feel like getting an employee reprimanded and also having three awakened conversations isn’t worth getting the “compensation” unless the hotel is being rude or providing bad service. Thoughts?
August 24, 2020
My two cents… they’ll never do it again
March 16, 2021
So I have just tried to get my guest compensation from Sheraton Vistana Resort Villages.
At the check in they said they don’t offer breakfast bewachse of covid and when we wake about points they said “no points”.
We went to the room and called the Marriott support and explained the situation requesting the guest compensation.
They said they will follow up with the hotel which they did next day and the hotel said they will offer us 1000 points (that is one of the check in choices). I replied that they should have offered that at the check in and at this point we request a guest compensation for not offering us this at the check in. They refused.
At the check out I once again asked about the guest compensation with no effect.
After getting back home I escalated this with Marriott support and went through 3 conversations that wasted more than hour of my time.
The fist person was nice and acknowledged I should have got that compensation, but she had no authorization to do it, so she transferred me to the manager. The manager hung up on me accidentally (I think).
I called back. The second person was very rude and said I won’t get anything as they don’t have to give it to me at all and the she hung up on me.
I called back again. The third person said she would offer me a “remedy” in form of 5000 points (that is worth nothing), which I refused. She said then she will pass it to the hotel as she can’t give me anything else. Then she also claimed that because this property operated like a timeshare they don’t have to give me anything.
I said I booked a sheraton resort, not a timeshare and I am paying a regular resort price. There is also no way I could have known this property operates like a timeshare as clearly the name doesn’t say that and there is no information on the Marriott app saying this is not an actual resort. How can a hotel advertise themselves as a sheraton resort and treat you like a timeshare person???? She was very rude at the end and purposely hung up on me while I was still speaking.
At this point I wasted tons of my time and nerve and got nothing out of this.
I have to say the customer service at Marriott went so downhill after the merger and they are lying to you about al these guarantees just to get you as a customer.
While I am a platinum member with Marriott (min 50 nights), I am personally also a globalist with hyatt (min 60 nights) and I have to say the treatment we get Witt hyatt is amazing so far. If we had any hiccups on the road they have been promptly solved and we were compensated for it accordingly. To me it looks like the platinum status with Marriott means nothing, the point System is very weak and the creator card is bad too.
I will never recommend Marriott program to anybody.