Here is the cranky customer letter I am sending off to the hotel management as well as the corporate headquarters. Yes, it's all about the marketplace and the fact that even with this pre-pay crap, they will probably still sell all their rooms, but being a whiny little bitch once in a while is fun
. (FWIW, as of 1/20 in the evening, I am seeing available rooms for Wed-Sun stays.)
Dear Marriott Rewards Customer Relations,
I am writing to express my frustration at the reservation practices recently implemented at the Residence Inn Atlanta Midtown, whose management have apparently decided to take an antagonistic stand to a group of loyal customers who have provided them no small amount of business every year for almost a decade and a half.
Every year in the Fall, Midtown Atlanta is host to a music festival called ProgPower USA, held just a block away from the Residence Inn at the concert venue Center Stage. With the exception of two years when I was unable to travel, I have stayed at the Residence Inn Midtown Atlanta every single year for this event since 2003. My regular stays at this Residence Inn, as well as stays at Marriotts for my annual professional conferences, and stays at many Fairfields, Courtyards, and other Residence Inns, etc while on family travel, are all together how I have been able to (slowly, yes, but deliberately) achieve Silver Elite level in the Marriott Rewards program.
When attempting to make reservations for this coming Fall 2014s stay at the Residence Inn Midtown, I encountered something totally new the management of the hotel have not only cranked up the room rates by a significant proportion, but have also now implemented a policy of special event status for the week, requiring full payment in advance with no cancellation or changes allowed.
One has to wonder why, after more than a decade of standard reservations, I am suddenly faced with the requirement of about a $1000 out of pocket payment 9 months in advance of a 4-night stay in September. This is particularly puzzling since I was able to make reservations just a few blocks away at the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown for the same dates, with no such nonsense. The requirement to pre-pay the room this far in advance is an affront to the loyalty that I (and many other attendees) have shown to this hotel for many, many years. In fact, it makes me wonder why I have been bothering to show loyalty to the Marriott brand itself for so long, when that loyalty as a customer is clearly not valued in return - at least not by this particular hotel. After this experience, I am much less inclined to give priority to Marriott hotels when I am considering my travel arrangements in any circumstances, not just this one.
Sincerely disappointed,
Dr. Kenneth H. Luther
<I only trot out the "Dr" for rare circumstances like this!>
