Marriott announced a combined loyalty program across all worldwide brands on Monday, and as I started sifting through the changes, I noticed some benefits and some detractors.
Most notably, the programs will have unified policies in August, but won't have a new name until 2019. There are also a lot of things not changing: no blackout dates, airline mile conversions and the Moments program (where guests can redeem points for cultural experiences) are all staying virtually the same.
SPG Members will also see their currency value change. The new program will award 10 points per dollar on all eligible charges, including in-house purchases (that's already standard for most SPG but new for some Marriott properties). Starpoints will convert to points at a 1-for-3 ratio. Property tiers for redemption in the new program haven't yet been assigned, so it's difficult to make a points value judgment until that's published.
I like that it's easier to "earn and burn" across all Marriott brands, but I find it a bit of a devaluation that stays have been supplanted by nights (and a lot of them) as the sole qualification criteria for elite status.
For example, an SPG member who would previously have earned SPG Gold after ten stays or 25 nights now has only the nights threshold as an option. Put another way, ten one-night stays that used to earn elite status now put members less than halfway there.
Sorting through all of this, I began to wonder about context. What was the situation like the last time there was such a seismic shift in the hotel loyalty space?
When Starwood Preferred Guest was introduced in 1999, it revolutionized loyalty programs in the hotel industry. Prior to that, hotel loyalty programs weren't particularly aspirational or rewarding. Airline-style inventory controls were standard (meaning only a certain number of rooms were allocated for reward bookings). Upgrades weren't a standard benefit for elites, and suites were virtually off-limits.
The earning of elite status via either nights or stays was a differentiator. It appears to be consistent with both the Westin Premier and Sheraton Club International programs that preceded SPG. Westin Premier offered elite status to guests after just three stays (Burgundy) or ten stays (Gold) or a higher number of nights.
Sheraton Club International awarded Gold after just four stays or payment of an annual fee. Both programs gave upgrades to Club or Club-like rooms based on availability at check-in. Admittedly; both brands had a comparatively tiny footprint compared to the behemoth that Marriott has created today.
As the unified program scales up across more global properties, it adds value in the form of added choice. The issue, however, is that many loyalty members won't scale with it. A former SPG Platinum who stayed more than 50 nights across all hotel brands, but only 25 stays with SPG won't see much change: all they need do is convert more of their business to Marriott (which is now easier to do on a larger network).
However, former SPG Platinum members who stayed 25 or 30 nights, all of them with Starwood-branded properties, now find themselves downgraded (and perhaps, free to be more brand-agnostic). While this has certainly all gone into Marriott's calculus, it leaves a subset of members inevitably disappointed.
Perhaps consistent with a large portfolio of brands, there are more carve-outs on benefits that Marriott Rewards loyalists will be used to (I previously wrote that the carve-outs make Marriott Rewards feel much more like a "hotel owners loyalty program" than a "guest loyalty program") but are a relatively new beast for SPG loyalists. For example, 23 of 29 brands participate in the Platinum-and-higher breakfast amenity that was a virtual guarantee for SPG Platinum members with very few exceptions.
Other elite status changes include:
Gold Elite late checkout moves to 2 p.m. from 4 p.m. (and is subject to availability where once was guaranteed at most properties excluding resorts; for Platinum and higher it remains guaranteed).
Thresholds for Lifetime Elite memberships are being increased for members who don't qualify by the end of 2018.
Delta Crossover Rewards earnings benefits are available through mid-July but a final determination on the future of that program is forthcoming.
The Takeaway
It could have been worse. The new program combines much of what made SPG an award-winning program and layers in the much larger reach of the new combined global network of hotels for earning and redemption. The loss of stay qualification for elite status may cost the new program some members, but with one in four hotel rooms currently under construction flying the flag of a Marriott brand, the hospitality conglomerate isn't likely to dwell.
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