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Holding top tier elite status with one or more hotel chains is one of the best ways to travel for less. Breakfast is usually included, as is lounge access. A 4 p.m. late check-out comes in really handy for those weekend getaways or ahead of an overnight flight back home. And the bonus points you will receive can help pay for your next trip…
But reaching the heights of elite status can be quite difficult. Some credit cards offer a shortcut, but require an annual fee or significant spend. Sometimes a status match or challenge becomes available. (but you need to have status in the first place) But otherwise you need a large number of nights. If you re-read this post from April, you’ll see that the new Marriott loyalty programme will require 50 nights for Platinum status. (the minimum needed for lounge access, etc.)
Marriott Rewards offers a different option. I would have written about it earlier, but I always prefer to try out travel hacks for myself before suggesting them to readers. If you book a meeting room, not matter how small or inexpensive, Marriott Rewards will credit you with 10 elite nights for status purposes.
But I don’t need a meeting room, you might be wondering… Which is why you might want to book the cheapest meeting room you can find, and then not show up… 😉
Here’s how it is done… Visit the US version of the Marriott website and click on “Meetings and Events”.
Search for random cities that you think might be cheap. Perhaps near airports or those American states you’ve never thought of visiting. Perhaps in nearby countries whose dollar is worth less than the American version. 😉
You will receive a list of hotels offering meeting space. Ignore those who ask you to “request a quote” and focus on those that quote a price directly…
Five meetings at 150 USD apiece isn’t £300… But you don’t need a meeting room for the entire day, just an hour on Sunday morning… 😉 The price will automatically update…
Completing the online booking price is simple and straightforward. You will then receive an email confirmation. A day or two after booking, you should hear from the hotel confirming your booking, and asking whether you need anything else for your meeting. You occasionally will be asked to electronically sign a contract. (a good thing since one of the clauses confirms your 10 elite nights)
A few days after you “overslept” and missed your Sunday morning meeting, you will be billed as a no-show, but you also should receive an email from Marriott Rewards…
CAVEATS AND ADVICE
- Please please please don’t all rush off to book meetings at that Courtyard in Rossford, Ohio. There are many other hotels available, so let’s not overwhelm the one I chose for this example.
- Marriott Rewards has not confirmed that Rewarding Events will continue in the new loyalty programme. To be sure, you need to book your meetings for July and perhaps early August. Elite nights received during July will count for the new programme starting in August.
- Do not book consecutive meetings at the same hotel. The events manager might combine them all into one reference number, meaning that you will only be entitled to one set of 10 elite nights.
- If you are uncomfortable with the “no-show” element, I believe that the Marriott hotels near Heathrow and Manchester airports offer £65 per hour meeting rooms, but they cannot be booked online.
- If your 10 elite nights don’t post within a few days, you might need to chase your hotel contact to see whether they used the “Group Posting Tool”.
- Hopefully it is obvious, but don’t mention over email that you aren’t actually planning to show up! Many meeting managers know the game – and you are giving them free money for an empty meeting room – but there’s no need to be so blatant. That said, some ambitious travel hackers have spent time searching for those elusive managers willing to reduce their prices even further for “no show” meetings that cost the hotel almost nothing.
Have you ever booked a meeting room with Marriott Rewards in order to receive 10 elite nights? How did it work out for you?
Nice but I think you’d have to add any FX fees to that. Still cheaper though so nice hack thanks.
Very nice but how long would the platinum status last? …I’m new. Love the blog, reading it every morning
If you stay 50 nights (or 5 meetings) you’ll be Platinum for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019.
How long do you get platinum status for?
The remainder of 2018 and all of 2019. The perks are definitely worth it if you stay at Marriott / SPG hotels…
i think they may have cottoned on to this.. EVERY Marriot in London has “request a quote” button, not direct pricing
If you go via the UK version of the Marriott website, a few hotels will pop up with direct quotes, but they tend to be more expensive. I think it’s just a question of whether the hotel wants to automate their meeting room inventory.
The last time I was at Heathrow, the Marriott had a very prominent sign saying meeting rooms cost as little as £65.
I assume you’ll only get upgraded to Platinum status sometime in August when the new program starts? Because the existing program is actually 75 nights for Platinum Elite… Am I understanding that correctly?
You are correct. However the current Marriott Gold is also pretty good. (breakfast, etc.) I’m assuming that with 5 suitably spaced out meetings, and the time it takes to post to your account, we’ll be in August anyhow…
Do you know if you can do this with hotels in the far east. Would imagine they are cheap?
You can certainty try the Far East. But they might not understand the Rewarding Events systems. Your best bet is “middle-of-nowhere” USA or to negotiate a deal with some hotel in the UK like Simon seems to have done.
Just did this. It works. All 8 x bookings in London. Total cost: £320 for 8 x rooms. Did have to fight Martiott CS tooth and nail to get Elite nights to credit. Tooth and nail being: 13 emails / 2 calls / several tweets / and an email to hotel GM. Marriott customer services are DREADFUL, unlike SPG’s.
Question: do Platinum Premier Elites in the new programme get TWO lots of annual choice benefits, ie 10 x Suite Upgrade Vouchers?
Good job on the meetings. Just to make clear to others that these are “meeting rooms”, not 8 x rooms…
In the new Marriott, you should get 5 SNAs at 50 nights, and the choice of another 5 SNAs or a free night (Category tbd) at 75 nights.
Thanks, Craig.
So, if I earned 80 x elite nights in the last few days to earn the current Marriott Platinum tier — nothing has posted to my account yet beyond being told that I am now Marriott Platinum and that I have achieved 80 elite nights to get there (from my 8 x meeting room bookings) — THEN, when the new Marriott program comes into effect on Aug 1 and I map across to “Marriott Platinum Premier Elite”, will I already have satisfied the criteria to be awarded these 2 x 5 SNAs? I’m just not au fait with how I actually get my hands on these SNAs, and when?
Any help much appreciated!
Unfortunately I think we’ve almost made it to August without Marriott knowing themselves how it will all work out. I assume that qualifying members will eventually receive emails asking them to choose amongst their 50 and 75 night gift benefits.
That said, there is a tiny risk that those who reach the hurdles BEFORE August are going to be left without anything! I find it hard to believe, but people have reported on Flyertalk that both SPG and Marriott are non-committal about whether passing 75 nights before August is a bad idea.
I, on the other hand, am planning to bank a free night from SPG for 50 nights, and then see if I can get both the 50 and 75 night benefit from Marriott. Unlikely but who knows…
That sounds like a plan, Craig! As my SPG has turned Platinum in the last 24 hours, if I also wanted to bank a free SPG night, do I just contact their CS to get this in your experience? (Last question, I promise!) 🙂
You need to have stayed 50 nights in SPG-only hotels under the current system. So no shortcuts there from Marriott meetings…
Would you mind sharing which hotels are offering these rates? So far all the London based ones have only been offering rates upwards of £100, even for a 2h meeting!
If you send a “Request for Quote” to the Marriott Heathrow – ask for one hour to have a quiet space to make some calls – you should get a quote for £65.
Is this worth it if you already have SPG/Marriott Gold? I’m going on honeymoon in a few months and will be travelling around for several weeks, so I’m wondering whether locking in these benefits now will pay dividends then…
Do you have Marriott Gold via SPG Gold? Credit card? If so, your benefits will be devalued substantially in the new programme.
Whether it’s worth it? You’ve reminded me to write a post on the benefits of Marriott Rewards. You need a Masters level degree to figure out what benefits you get at Marriott hotels depending on brand. (breakfast, lounge, is it a resort? etc.)
At SPG hotels it’s pretty straightforward and Platinum is well worth it! I am currently writing this from yet another suite at a Sheraton…
Hi Craig. Any similar tricks for Hyatt Globalist? Hyatt has become x big pain and they are making it very difficult to reach Globalist. Paul
I wish…
The trick for Hyatt Globalist is to work for one of the small number of companies Hyatt is offering a 20 night fast track to Globalist status to – https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/wohpromotions/trialtier.html . Doesn’t help most of us, sadly!
Nice one. I went hunting and there are plenty of $75 meeting room options in the mid West.
Nice. I think I overslept and missed another meeting in Canada this morning. 😉
For the new programme I saw reference to 10 elite nights for your first booking – so this may not last. I may decide not to go through with the quote I’ve requested for an airport hotel I’m planning on staying at in November. But if my local Marriott quotes me a sensible price for an hour and I can show up (Friday evening etc.) I’ll probably push it through
Yes. I’ve seen that too… But the current T&Cs also essentially have the same language about “first meeting” (when you can do more than one for sure) so it’s a bit confusing.
But unquestionably this travel hack could disappear in a few weeks.
Reassuring. Well let’s see what my C$100 gets me – hoping it’s not the same place you went with!
Could be… Renata sounds nice over email 😉 But at least you can be confident that the elite nights will credit fairly quickly if you did end up in the same hotel as me.
Bloody hell. It was Renata! But turns out room is booked even though I could select online. Local Marriott is quoting £75, will get Amex points and can show in person easily (so I can reschedule in due course)
May still rebook Canada for the future though.
Does Marriott combine its lifetime nights with that of SPG lifetime nights? I am currently at 660 nights and am considering going for lifetime Platinum Pro at 750 – but all of my nights are with SPG not Marriott – any strategies on this?
If you have 10 years of Platinum status with SPG, then you could indeed consider doing several meetings to pick up 90 nights on the Marriott side before the end of the year.
My understanding is that you need 10 years of Platinum status and 750 nights for Lifetime Platinum Premier. (by the end of 2018)
Hi, and many thx for the research!
Does one have to book a stay (physically show) in addition to meeting room?
Thx again,
Heather
No. There is no need to book a room for the night in combination with your meeting.
I’ve now done 4 meetings in two different hotels. All no-shows…
The only thing I’d stress is that you are running out of time before the August changes, when this opportunity might go away…
Thx for the quick reply!
Have searched about 20 areas in various US areas, and they all have the request rate option only. Will keep trying.
I booked one meeting scheduled for tomorrow, but I just noticed that nowhere in the confirmation sent by the hotel does my Marriott Rewards number show. Is this normal or do I have to add it somewhere ?
I put my number in on a booking form I was sent. If you booked online were you logged in?
In this case, I made a mistake (which by the way not mentioned in the article), and booked a Residence Inn which hotels do not participate according to Marriott FAQ.
Me too! I booked 2 meetings in #eparate Residence Inns and am trying to get them cancelled now.
My Residence Inn booking posted.
That’s interesting – I didn’t get to cancel my meetings so let’s see if I get the nights posted too.
Hi, did you get your Residence Inn booking posted and did you get the elite nights? I’ve got nothing so far. Thanks.
I booked 2 RI meetings – 1 got posted ONLY with points, and the other is still missing. Looks rather unsuccessful with RI thus far.
If you were logged into your Marriott account when booking, you should be fine.
Hi Craig, I have only manage to find 2 bookings for July and 3 in the second week of August. Do you reckon it will work for this?
Fingers crossed… I reckon you’re good. It looks pretty unlikely to me that the full Marriott changeover will happen on 1st August. Even then, of course there are no guarantees that Marriott won’t keep the meetings thing going. (or that they won’t simply just stop it with no notice)
In light of the formal announcement of the change over taking place on 18 August, what will my status be after this date if my stays to date on 18 August is 51 nights.
You will be “Gold” as soon as you hit 50 nights. (current rules) Then on 18th August you will become “Platinum” and hopefully receive the choice of 5 suite night awards or some other gift.
Thanks for helping make sense of it.
Hm. I’ve had some points post but nothing on qualifying nights yet. Do they post together usually for these event bookings?
(Basically should I be chasing up now or give them a few more days)
The nights will post eventually. You should receive an email. There also seems to be a glitch with Marriott’s IT and you can see different figures in the US and UK versions of their website. No reason to be concerned.
How long does it typically take from the date of the meeting booking until the points/nights show in your account? I booked meetings on this Saturday past, but nothing showing yet.
The wait can be nerve-wracking. I don’t think there’s a standard, but in my case it took until the Thursday or Friday after a Saturday meeting.
You might want to check your credit card account. Once the no-show charge goes from pending to confirmed, then the hotel will hopefully see their money and will go ahead and process the meeting.
I’ve booked four different venues over the last three weeks and only one has been confirmed. I have not heard anything from the other three.
I have requested a quote from a UK hotel and they have got back to my with a price of £25 ph.
What information do I need from them to guarantee that I get the 10 nights credit?
Looks like a great rate. I understand that the hotels need to use the “Group Posting Tool” in order for members to receive their 10 elite nights. Unfortunately I don’t really know what that means, but if the hotel doesn’t know either… then you should worry.
Hi Craig,
Great tips here. I’ve booked 4 meetings in the 1st week of August, and currently have 11 SPG nights. Do you reckon they’ll add both SPG and Marriot nights so that I qualify for Marriott Plat come 18th August?
At the moment, it appears that the member must opt to merge their two accounts after 18 August. But once you do it and your Marriott meetings post, you should have the 51 nights you’d need for Marriott Platinum…
Excellent, thanks Craig! Back to waiting till 18th August then.
Failed miserably on this. 🙁
Not been able to get one booked, despite trying. Oh well.
One UK Marriott wanted £100 per meeting irrespective of whether it was 30 minutes or 6 hours!!
If anyone is willing to assist – please let me know.
Hi Craig,
Thanks for the great tip! I’ve booked some meetings, so far thr points for the first one was posted but no sign of elite nights, they did use the group booking tools. Who do I chase up regarding the nights?
The points can arrive a day or two ahead of the elite nights. But basically you need to chase up with the hotel in the first instance.
HOT TIP: forget looking for the ones that you can book online as the article suggests… rather contact the hotels directly and get quotes. There are a number in the UK that will do meetings for £25-40 per hour. And the points/nights post in your account within 48 hours in my experience.
To find the cheap ones, I got quotes from all the lowest category hotels first. There’s a particularly cheap one in Wales 😉
Good luck.
Brilliant. I hope it also works out on a no-show basis…
Mine have all been no-shows, and all the posts posted without fail. Having said that, I did do it at 5 different hotels, and didn’t try to do the same hotel twice…
Excellent travel hacking technique. You’re a real professional at this… 🙂
If you can still earn some elite nights for meetings in 2019, I’ll have to book myself a meeting in Wales. 😉
Hi Greig
I admire your talant my friend.. LOL.
I’m a point and miles addict. I had tons of starpoints with gold status and SPG is very stingy when it comes to breakfast and lounge access. soon, they will be automatically be transfered to marriot and I’ll end up with 1Mil + points. I’m also gold with Marriott because of the status match. I also heard that Marriott will discontinue the breakfast and lounge access for gold members. Any hot tips that I can use to maximize the benefits..?
Thanks
I’ve had four meetings so far all at different hotels and not one so far has posted 🙁 its now been 7 days and still nothing.
Finally after many emails two-ing and throwing 4 meetings have posted. The last one did not post as they credited the money back as I did not turn up 🙁
So that leaves me 10 nights short.
I know marriott have also stopped this loop hole and you will only receive 10 night credits on your 1st and only meeting.
My question is does anyone know if I book another meeting will I get the 10 night credit as the 1st meeting or will the previous meetings still count?
I don’t think I’ve seen unequivocal evidence that this has been shut down. All I’ve seen is Loyalty Lobby pointing to some T&Cs that were very similar to the old ones. (but weren’t fully enforced re. “first meeting”)
It still might be worth doing a meeting during all of the transition chaos, and see if you can get another 10 nights through…
I booked a meeting on 18th August, and it just got posted an hour ago. I received the points, but not the nights. I’m hoping the nights will get updated later, but it looks unlikely considering I received the email and the event shows up in my Marriott activity history.
Does your email say this “This meeting or event will count toward your qualification for Elite membership”? There can be a lag between points posting and nights posting.
Yes, it does.
I notice that today’s email has a slightly different format to the previous emails.
It shows the below, and there’s now an ‘Elite Qualifying Nights’ portion, which is blank, instead of 0 or 10.
BASE POINTS EARNED: 152
ELITE POINTS EARNED: 76
PURCHASED BONUS POINTS: 0
PURCHASED DOUBLE & TRIPLE POINTS: 0
TOTAL EARNED & PURCHASED POINTS: 228
ELITE QUALIFYING NIGHTS:
I’m having exactly the same problem, except my booking was on 09 Aug. I’ve just called Marriott Rewards customer service, and they are saying they should honour it, and that she will file a report for me.
Marriott fixed the missing Elite Nights for my last booking. FYI the meeting was before the cutoff date, but the points hadn’t posted until after the cutoff date. Good luck with yours.
Thanks for sharing, Luke.
I’ve called Marriott Rewards customer service, but the moment I mentioned Rewarding Events, the agent kept insisting that I should take it up directly with the hotel (even though I mentioned that the points have posted, and just missing the nights).
Checking in again with the hotel but fingers crossed something comes out of this.
I’ve got 3 stays still unresolved – 2 before the 18th (1 posted with points only, 1 with nothing so far), and 1 on the 18th with points only.
Has anyone had any further a do with receiving there event nights?
No. I queried about 5 weeks ago and nothing back (beyond the reference number), chased again yesterday so we’ll see…
So…multiple calls to customer service and several checks with the hotels, this is what I have:
– Marriott is strictly not awarding qualifying nights anymore for events held from 18/8 onwards. I had a few events before 18th and 1 on the 18th itself. Only the events before are recognized.
– After multiple promises to get IT to credit the nights to my account, Marriott now says that (system-wise) they can no longer credit the nights, even for those held before the 18th.
– My status has been upgraded to Platinum Elite, but the nights are missing 20 nights (I have 31) which they say cannot be updated. This is what they say they can do after recognizing that the 20 nights would have pushed me up to Platinum Elite.
– Dealing with Marriott is really frustrating. Not sure if it’s always been like this or if this is after the merger. Emails have taken up to a month for replies (which are often not very helpful) and the Customer Service reps make it sound like they’re struggling with internal departments not replying to them. SPG, on the other hand, were a joy to deal with in the past and the contrast couldn’t be more striking.
– I’ve kind of gotten what I wanted (Marriott says my Platinum status will stick till end 2019 even though I have less than 50 nights, let’s see what happens) so OK…but a rather unpleasant experience with Marriott so far.
Hope this helps!
Interesting. Between this and the continuing issues with Amex earnings not posting I’m getting close to done with Marriott. I’ve got 20 nights to book for the rest of the year and 0 of them will go to Marriott as it stands. (Apart from the free night cert I need to use!)
Have emailed the team I dealt with in hotel to see if they can prod for a response. I’m a troublesome a**e who will chargeback via Amex / take small claims court action over every breakfast I have to pay for with my remaining booked stays. Had to take Iberia there over EU261 issue and they ended up losing despite paying several thousand in solicitors and barrister fees…
Well, companies should definitely stand by what they promise / publicize or risk losing customers / legal action.
After spending some money to get Platinum (I’m cheap), I’m more inclined to stick it out with Marriott for 2018 / 2019 and ensure I get the status benefits…and then decide if I should switch for 2020.
Had a very constructive resolution once I called Marriott. They looped in the hotel I’d booked with, when I explained to them they initially came back with a response from Marriott Rewards that was wrong, but then went back and got me upgraded manually. 5 weeks without reply, then sorted inside 5 days with 1 call and 2 emails.
Pleased to hear it Lorcan
So can I assume from the new wording on the site that we can only gain the 10 night bonus credit for 1 booking now (instead of as many bookings as we wanted to make previously?)
Yep, afaik that’s right.
It’s on my list of things to research.
Historically Marriott hasn’t always followed their own T&Cs when it comes to meetings. So once we get more data points for 2019 and beyond we’ll be able to judge whether this loophole is still relatively open.
Hello guys is this still working?
Not really. I am planning a meeting in May to see how the new system works. Stay tuned for a post in a month or so…
Hi Craig, did you find any update with your meeting? Thanks, Oliver
https://insideflyer.co.uk/2019/05/marriott-elite-nights-meetings/
Smooth sailing…