As I checked the messages in my e-mail account, I finally received my letter from Marriott International, Incorporated pertaining to the rough transition of the integration of Starwood Preferred Guest and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards into the Marriott Rewards frequent guest loyalty program since it occurred on August 18, 2018.
A Note About Our Transition Into One Program: I Finally Received My Letter From Marriott — Part 1
The following is the exact verbiage from the e-mail message:
Dear Brian,
2018 has been a year of change for us here at Marriott and for our members. In August we combined our three loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® and SPG®, giving you access to more hotels, benefits and status than ever before. While merging our programs brought you many new benefits and options, we know that for some, the integration presented challenges, and we apologize for these difficulties.
As we move toward the end of this year, I wanted to take a moment to reiterate that our goal is always to provide you with memorable travel experiences and to make you feel like a valued part of the Marriott family. With that in mind, I want to personally thank you for your ongoing support, patience and loyalty during a challenging year.
You’ll be hearing more from us next year when we introduce our new brand name, representing the most rewarding loyalty program in hospitality. I want to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, and we look forward to welcoming you at our 29 extraordinary hotel brands around the world in the new year and for many years to come.
Best,
David Flueck
SVP, Global Loyalty
Summary
Even though it was a form letter which essentially said nothing or provided any information of substance — and it is an apology in its weakest form — I suppose I should be happy that I received any communication at all…
…but I must admit that communication in general is not exactly a strength with Marriott Rewards. One of many examples is the poor response time which I received from Marriott Rewards concerning two simple questions, which really were never answered.
Surely a multinational company — which is also one of the largest hoteliers in the world — has the budget to considerably improve communications to its customers.
As for the new name of the loyalty program — which is rumored to be Marriott Bonvoy — that is not important to me at all. I suppose Bonvoy is a portmanteau of sorts of bon voyage and envoy — or maybe it is a tribute to Jon Bongiovi, who is better known as Jon Bon Jovi — but is there any real meaning to that when basic communication and loyalty program integration is deficient to the point of possible failure?
I sincerely wish David Fleck and the rest of the team at Marriott Rewards a happy and healthy holiday season as well; but how about a resolution for the new year of improving service and communications in general to the customer — as well as a significantly improved frequent guest loyalty program?
As for Part 2 of finally receiving a letter from Marriott, that pertains to the massive data breach which was recently revealed. That article is to come in the near future…
Source: Marriott Rewards.
