Marriott Bonvoy Misleads its Loyalty Members with Exclusive Room Rate Promotion

As a Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Gold Member, have seen the program change over the past few years and not for the better. The points have been devalued and to cash in the rewards points have become more challenging. Forget about room upgrades. I did think that one of the benefits of being a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Member was access to what they call exclusive member room rates.

I decided to put this Marriott Bonvoy exclusive room rate benefit to the test. I would check the rate for a one night stay at the Daytona, Autograph Collection in Daytona Beach Florida. Starting with the Marriott Bonvoy rate, I could book a non-refundable room for $169 (inclusive of a $20 Destination Fee) plus taxes or a refundable room for $177 (inclusive of a $20 Destination Fee) plus taxes.

For my first comparison, I chose the AAA site to see what kind of rate I could get. My AAA rate was $152 (plus taxes and fees) if I paid upfront. Alternatively, I could choose the refundable AAA rate at $152 (plus fees and expenses). Clearly, the refundable rate is the better option on the AAA site

My third comparison site was Booking.com. I was quoted a $152 non-refundable rate (plus fees and taxes) and a $169 refundable room rate (plus fees and expenses)

So to compare these three sites pricing, I will normalize the various taxes and fees. The Government Taxes and Fees that start at $21.31, the Hotel Destination Fee of $20 and there is a Hotel Destination Marketing Fee starting at $1.49

Marriott Bonvoy Rate

Non Refundable Fee – They confuse the matter by including the Hotel Destination Fee ($20) in the price quoted on the site. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you have a total of $191.80

Refundable Fee – Once again, Marriott Bonvoy includes the Hotel Destination Fee ($20) in the online price quoted. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you reach a total of $200.89. 

 AAA Rate

Non Refundable Fee – AAA provides a quote of the room rate and then the rate inclusive of all Government and Hotel Taxes and Fees. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you will pay a total of $192.71

Refundable Fee – AAA provides a quote of the room rate and then the rate inclusive of all Government and Hotel Taxes and Fees. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you will pay a total of $195.21

 Booking.com

Non Refundable Fee – Booking.com provides a quote of the room rate and then the rate inclusive of all Government and Hotel Taxes and Fees. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you will pay a total of $195.56

Refundable Fee – Booking.com provides a quote of the room rate and then the rate inclusive of all Government and Hotel Taxes and Fees. If you add in the other Governmental and Hotel Taxes and Fees, you will pay a total of $215.19

From my analysis, Marriott Bonvoy does provide a better exclusive rate by $.91 if you book a non-refundable room. If however, you book a refundable room (which is my preferred way to book), you would end up paying more than if you book the room through AAA. My conclusion is that the Marriott Bonvoy promotion of exclusive member room rates is misleading.

 As a result, we reinforce the concept that Marriott Bonvoy is not providing its loyalty members with any real benefits. Its exclusive member room rates are not what they are cracked up to be. You would be better served looking at other websites and finding the best rate (at a Marriott Hotel or other hotels). It does not appear that Marriott wants to provide value to its loyalty members.

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