Marriott Manager Doesn’t Care About Status, “Gross” Elites Aren’t Royals

I’m not sure what’s worse — that a Marriott manager feels this way, or that she feels comfortable enough writing this online using her real name…

Marriott manager: “you’re just a number at every Marriott”

View from the Wing flags an interesting post in the Marriott Bonvoy Elites Uncensored Facebook group. A Bonvoy Ambassador member (Marriott’s highest elite tier, with a $23,000 annual spending requirement) shares the disappointing elite recognition he received while staying at the Garylord Palms property in Orlando, while spending $19,000 for 10 nights across two rooms:

At the Gaylord Palms here in Orlando. Ambassador level. no lounge. $10 1 time credit for dining for each of two rooms booked over the holidays. 10 nights at almost $19000 cost and cant even get a restaurant reservation. The staff seems inexperienced and doesn’t seem to care that we’re ambassador status. The resort is unique and interesting. Rooms are nice. But all in all I’ll travel to Europe or Asia for the cost of a 10 day 2 room family Disney trip. Were just a number here.

As you’d expect, this post received a variety of responses, though this one was perhaps the most interesting one:

You’re just a number at every Marriott you stay at. We do not care that you are “Ambassador status” because 98% of you got that status due to your job. Congrats. You’re not royalty. Gross.

You might not initially think much of this. But what’s interesting about the post is the use of the word “we,” which sure suggests that this commenter works for Marriott. If you look her name up, you’ll see a LinkedIn profile with exactly the same picture, and that states that she’s the assistant general manager at a franchised Marriott property in Arizona

In five sentences — two of which are a single word — she manages to make the point that:

• Guests are “just a number at every Marriott”
• “They” don’t care about elite status, because most people got status through their job
• Guests aren’t royalty
• “Gross”

My take on this manager’s perception of Bonvoy loyalty

Truth be told, I can’t say that I’m surprised that an assistant general manager at a random franchised Marriott property in Arizona feels this way. Many Marriott properties clearly have a disdain for elite status, and for delivering on promised perks.

Perhaps what surprises me most is the brashness of literally posting this publicly, using your real name, while essentially identifying as a Marriott employee (by using the term “we”). Like, this is beyond disrespectful in any line of work, especially when speaking about one of your best customers.

Like, how much does this person hate elite guests? She’s literally choosing to read a Facebook group where Marriott Bonvoy elite members share their experience, and she thinks the right thing to do is to tell guests that they really don’t matter, and she doesn’t care?

Now, I actually think her perception of elite members isn’t that far off from how many other Marriott employees feel:

• Marriott corporate really only cares about room count growth, and isn’t that invested in actually delivering on elite promises, unlike hotel groups like Hyatt, which still care
• Part of the issue is also that on a corporate level, Marriott profits off of handing out elite status like candy (like with credit cards), and then it’s up to individual hotels to deliver on those benefits, which is challenging, given the volume of guests we’re talking about
• The absurd thing is that *literally* the one thing Marriott has going for is its loyalty program, since that’s the only thing that would get someone to specifically seek out a Marriott over a competing property
• The truth is that we’re all the chumps for staying on the hamster wheel of elite status despite the clear indifference that Marriott has toward its guests (and I’m calling myself a chump here, because I’m an Ambassador as well!)
• In fairness, I do think this perspective is largely United States centric, and outside of the country, you’ll find that there are still plenty of places that care about elite members, and where hospitality is a thing (in my defense, I rarely stay at Bonvoy properties in the United States) 😉

Bottom line

A Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador member shared a negative experience staying at a property while spending $19K on the stay, to which an assistant general manager of another property responded by saying that Ambassador members are just a number at every property, that managers don’t care, you’re not royalty, and “gross.” Nice!!!

What do you make of this Marriott manager’s Facebook post?