Report: Marriott Calls Cops On Guest Asking For Elite Benefits

It might be a new low for elite recognition at a hotel.

Courtyard Niagara Falls calls cops on guest for WHAT?!

There is a shocking FlyerTalk post about what happened when a Platinum member spent a night at the Courtyard.

Marriott elite benefits can be hard to understand, but when staying at a Courtyard property in North America, Platinum members should receive a welcome gift of either 500 points or a $10 food and beverage credit. There's an elite welcome gift guarantee if this isn't offered.

This FlyerTalk member says so.

• Breakfast was closed, so the Platinum member asked if he could use the $10 food & beverage credit for grab & go items from the pantry; the agent initially said yes, but when he came down later to grab the food, he was told no, and that he’d have to pay
• The Platinum member pointed out the elite perks from Marriott’s website, but the supervisor said no
• At this point the Platinum member pointed out that this was going against the elite welcome gift guarantee, and the supervisor said to take it up with Marriott
• The supervisor then said that if he didn’t pay for the food, they’d call the police for shoplifting
• At this point the Platinum member asked for the general manager, and the supervisor accused the guest of making threats, and said he would call the police; the supervisor picked up the phone and started dialing, and at this point the guest walked away and said his credit card could be charged

This is a new low for elite recognition

We only have one version of the story. There are a few thoughts.

• It’s kind of unbelievable that there was this much drama over a $10 food & beverage credit
• Hotels typically care so much about TripAdvisor and other online reviews, and as a result you’d think hotels would typically make reasonable accommodations to ensure that guests leave happy; clearly that’s not the case at this property
• Even if the supervisor had a different take, how ridiculous to accuse a loyal customer of shoplifting because they have a different (correct) interpretation of the rules
• Unfortunately Marriott hotels making up their own rules is nothing new; there’s no reason the guest shouldn’t have been allowed to use a food & beverage credit this way, especially if the restaurant was closed for breakfast

Bottom line

Platinum member was threatened by the Courtyard because he wanted to use a food and beverage credit when breakfast was not open. The value of elite status has fallen.

What do you think about this incident?