Elite Night Credit on Vistana Stays

[echino]

I had a StarOptions stay at the Westin Resort and Spa Cancun (not Lagunamar), did not have any charges at the resort, zero bill at checkout, but they still charged my credit card $0.01. Nights credited automatically.

Then stayed at Lagunamar on my owner's week, no charges, nights did not credit. Bonvoy number attached and reservation was showing up in my Bonvoy account before and during stay.

 

[Mulege]

Everyone should email Vistana about this situation. Poor customer service on their part.

 

[islandguy]

I had a StarOptions stay at the Westin Resort and Spa Cancun (not Lagunamar), did not have any charges at the resort, zero bill at checkout, but they still charged my credit card $0.01. Nights credited automatically.

Then stayed at Lagunamar on my owner's week, no charges, nights did not credit. Bonvoy number attached and reservation was showing up in my Bonvoy account before and during stay.

Still fighting for 17 night stay at Lagunamar. Very fustrating with multipul emails.

 

[HankW]

Still fighting for 17 night stay at Lagunamar. Very fustrating with multipul emails.

During my last owners' review, I was asked what was my main concern? I said: Legit stay nights not being properly credited. I wrote it on the feedback form. If we all do it in our owners' feedbacks we may get some movement.

 

[cubigbird]

My December Westin Lagunamar stay FINALLY got credited, after a lengthy battle. This qualified me for Titanium Elite in 2020. What's sad was that this missing stay was credited AFTER the Bonvoy Titanium Annual Choice Benefit date so I will not be receiving a choice. I called Bonvoy numberious times, including a supervisor at Elite Services and was met with "nothing we can do." It's sad Bonvoy could not deliver upon this benefit. They stated that they can not allow a guest to make an election after the Jan 8th deadline, even though it was the missing stay issue that caused this. #Bonvoyed

 

[HankW]

My December Westin Lagunamar stay FINALLY got credited, after a lengthy battle. This qualified me for Titanium Elite in 2020. What's sad was that this missing stay was credited AFTER the Bonvoy Titanium Annual Choice Benefit date so I will not be receiving a choice. I called Bonvoy numberious times, including a supervisor at Elite Services and was met with "nothing we can do." It's sad Bonvoy could not deliver upon this benefit. They stated that they can not allow a guest to make an election after the Jan 8th deadline, even though it was the missing stay issue that caused this. #Bonvoyed

At least you are good until Feb, 2022.

 

[cubigbird]

At least you are good until Feb, 2022.

I am for the Titanium status, yes, but I was hoping to elect the free night that comes with the election at 75 nights. Nope. I’m not going to get to elect any Annual Choice Benefit because of the missing stay issues resulting in it posting after Jan 8th. I even tried to get the missing stay to post early knowing there was going to be a fight. Nope on that too. The elite services supervisor stated they can’t go back and fix that.

 

[bobpark56]

I am for the Titanium status, yes, but I was hoping to elect the free night that comes with the election at 75 nights. Nope. I’m not going to get to elect any Annual Choice Benefit because of the missing stay issues resulting in it posting after Jan 8th. I even tried to get the missing stay to post early knowing there was going to be a fight. Nope on that too. The elite services supervisor stated they can’t go back and fix that.

I'm in the same boat as you. Bonvoy never credited our 2 weeks at our villas at Westin St John in October. 5 different employees at Bonvoy could not fix this, and all but one did not try. Fortunately that one (Leslie W) elevated the issue to a supervisor, and he has assured me that we will be credited for those stays. We had no problems getting credited for our stays at Westin Lagunamar, even when booked through Interval. We have not yet received a final accounting for 2021. At last count, we had been credited for 38 nights stayed, though we stayed 55 nights. The 14 nights at St John brings us up to 52 nights...but the mystery of the remaining 3 nights remains unsolved...as far as I know at the moment. The battle continues. Makes me wonder how many nights Bonvoy/Marriott missed in past years. Who know?

 

[cubigbird]

What are we missing here? We are several years into this benefit availability and it doesn’t work more than 90% of the time in my experience. You would think the technology should exist. Is this a problem of Marriott? Vistana? Individual properties? All of the above? What astounds me is that no matter what, no customer care exists at either to resolve this, only creating further frustrations. You would think from a sales perspective they’d want to get this right as it is a pretty good benefit to ownership. I have been staying more in Marriott & Vistana timeshares now because of this benefit / further loyalty which leads to more on-property spend. Maybe that should be re-considered....

 

[YYJMSP]

I am for the Titanium status, yes, but I was hoping to elect the free night that comes with the election at 75 nights. Nope. I’m not going to get to elect any Annual Choice Benefit because of the missing stay issues resulting in it posting after Jan 8th. I even tried to get the missing stay to post early knowing there was going to be a fight. Nope on that too. The elite services supervisor stated they can’t go back and fix that.

do you not automatically get the 5 SNAs if you don't make a selection?

 

[Ken555]

do you not automatically get the 5 SNAs if you don't make a selection?

Yup. I remembered just this week to select mine and it was too late. I didn’t see any email about it, though it may have arrived and I missed it. I have 5 SNAs from last year and definitely don’t need 10 (probably don’t even need the 5). I really dislike the Marriott process for elite benefit selections.


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[cubigbird]

Yup. I remembered just this week to select mine and it was too late. I didn’t see any email about it, though it may have arrived and I missed it. I have 5 SNAs from last year and definitely don’t need 10 (probably don’t even need the 5). I really dislike the Marriott process for elite benefit selections.


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I didn’t even get SNAs. So far I have literally received nothing. My status qualification was retroactive to December after the missing stay was resolved but posted after the choice benefit period closure. I took to Twitter to politely complain about it and raise awareness. In the past they have responded to my requests and tweets. This time they ignored it. I’ve probably been #Bonvoyed. The lack of customer care on elites is astounding.

 

[YYJMSP]

I didn’t even get SNAs. So far I have literally received nothing. My status qualification was retroactive to December after the missing stay was resolved but posted after the choice benefit period closure. I took to Twitter to politely complain about it and raise awareness. In the past they have responded to my requests and tweets. This time they ignored it. I’ve probably been #Bonvoyed. The lack of customer care on elites is astounding.

they can "fix" this if they want to do so -- I've had SNAs manually put (back) in to my account more than once...

 

[cubigbird]

they can "fix" this if they want to do so -- I've had SNAs manually put (back) in to my account more than once...

They told me they are choosing not to "fix" this or do anything about it. When I called the Titanium Elite Services phone number I supposedly spoke to a supervisor who stated there is nothing that can be done that it is what it is at this point. I asked to escalate this further and he stated this was as far as it could go, that he was the escalation person. I explained to him this is a reoccurring issue and it makes we want to status match and consider loyalty at other chains, and he didn't care....at all. I subsequently took to Twitter to politely Tweet Bonvoy Assist my issue (no rudeness, no foul language, nothing derogatory) and there has since been no response. In the past, when I Tweeted Bonvoy Assist they have been quick to respond and helpful. This time, nothing. I would have thought there would have been better customer care for Titanium elites, but I guess not. In a world of huge hospitality competition, you'd think they'd step up the care for for the loyalty.

 

[Ken555]

They told me they are choosing not to "fix" this or do anything about it. When I called the Titanium Elite Services phone number I supposedly spoke to a supervisor who stated there is nothing that can be done that it is what it is at this point. I asked to escalate this further and he stated this was as far as it could go, that he was the escalation person. I explained to him this is a reoccurring issue and it makes we want to status match and consider loyalty at other chains, and he didn't care....at all. I subsequently took to Twitter to politely Tweet Bonvoy Assist my issue (no rudeness, no foul language, nothing derogatory) and there has since been no response. In the past, when I Tweeted Bonvoy Assist they have been quick to respond and helpful. This time, nothing. I would have thought there would have been better customer care for Titanium elites, but I guess not. In a world of huge hospitality competition, you'd think they'd step up the care for for the loyalty.

You assume Marriott staff want to help. I’ve found them generally much less flexible and helpful than Starwood. At this point, I’d suggest you tried...and if you want to do anything else, I’d simply write a letter to corporate.

I’ve been saying for years that travel companies (hotel, airline, etc) promote loyalty programs for themselves, not their customers. It’s a one way street. Knowing this, I no longer allow the programs to influence my decisions beyond what I reasonably can expect to receive with minimal effort.

And, once again, this root issue is, in my opinion, the responsibility of Vistana and not Marriott. We pay Vistana, not Marriott. Vistana told us we would receive Marriott credits for our stays and Vistana should be held accountable to honoring it. That’s what I suggested many posts back that we should all contact Vistana about this issue.


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[cubigbird]

You assume Marriott staff want to help. I’ve found them generally much less flexible and helpful than Starwood. At this point, I’d suggest you tried...and if you want to do anything else, I’d simply write a letter to corporate.

I’ve been saying for years that travel companies (hotel, airline, etc) promote loyalty programs for themselves, not their customers. It’s a one way street. Knowing this, I no longer allow the programs to influence my decisions beyond what I reasonably can expect to receive with minimal effort.

And, once again, this root issue is, in my opinion, the responsibility of Vistana and not Marriott. We pay Vistana, not Marriott. Vistana told us we would receive Marriott credits for our stays and Vistana should be held accountable to honoring it. That’s what I suggested many posts back that we should all contact Vistana about this issue.


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All very good points and you are right. Although, I have been (and still am) elite with other brands and have never had these issues. For example, I've even stayed at / rented Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares multiple times and nights credited just fine to IHG after each stay. At this point any more effort will be futile. I'm not sure who to contact at Vistana about this to where the concern would be actually heard. Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions and I could "run this up the flag pole?"

 

[controller1]

They told me they are choosing not to "fix" this or do anything about it. When I called the Titanium Elite Services phone number I supposedly spoke to a supervisor who stated there is nothing that can be done that it is what it is at this point. I asked to escalate this further and he stated this was as far as it could go, that he was the escalation person. I explained to him this is a reoccurring issue and it makes we want to status match and consider loyalty at other chains, and he didn't care....at all. I subsequently took to Twitter to politely Tweet Bonvoy Assist my issue (no rudeness, no foul language, nothing derogatory) and there has since been no response. In the past, when I Tweeted Bonvoy Assist they have been quick to respond and helpful. This time, nothing. I would have thought there would have been better customer care for Titanium elites, but I guess not. In a world of huge hospitality competition, you'd think they'd step up the care for for the loyalty.

Are you on Facebook? If so I recommend you join the group Marriott Insiders. Once accepted, make a simple post stating the nights providing you Titanium status posted after the January 8th deadline to select the 75-night Annual Choice Benefit and you have been denied any benefit. Marriott Bonvoy runs the group. Be simple with the statement without including all the other stuff about why the posting of nights was late.

 

[cubigbird]

Are you on Facebook? If so I recommend you join the group Marriott Insiders. Once accepted, make a simple post stating the nights providing you Titanium status posted after the January 8th deadline to select the 75-night Annual Choice Benefit and you have been denied any benefit. Marriott Bonvoy runs the group. Be simple with the statement without including all the other stuff about why the posting of nights was late.

I followed your suggestion and went to the Insiders FB page and posted. Marriott Bonvoy responded back via DM:

“Apologies for any misunderstanding. All Annual Choice Benefit selections are final and cannot be changed after the selection is made. Eligible members must select an Annual Choice Benefit by January 7th of the year following the year in which they earned required number of elite nights.”

Not sure there is any misunderstanding here. The December missing stay issue did not resolve and post until after their indicated date. I was never actually ever given an option to make a choice. In other words, their system did not work and they are choosing to not fix it.

#Bonvoyed

 

[lily28]

I got titanium platinum last year too. My understanding is that if you didn’t choose the 75 night elite choice, you get the default choice of 5 suite day reward.

 

[cubigbird]

I got titanium platinum last year too. My understanding is that if you didn’t choose the 75 night elite choice, you get the default choice of 5 suite day reward.

I have received nothing, not even SNAs.

I guess the take away to this story is if you are planning to complete a stay before the end of the year, but close to the end of the year (within the last 10 days of the year) that will step you up in status or benefits, and it’s doesn’t post and requires missing stay resolution, be aware you probably will not receive the anticipated benefits. Set expectations accordingly and truly....YMMV

 

[Ken555]

I followed your suggestion and went to the Insiders FB page and posted. Marriott Bonvoy responded back via DM:

“Apologies for any misunderstanding. All Annual Choice Benefit selections are final and cannot be changed after the selection is made. Eligible members must select an Annual Choice Benefit by January 7th of the year following the year in which they earned required number of elite nights.”

Not sure there is any misunderstanding here. The December missing stay issue did not resolve and post until after their indicated date. I was never actually ever given an option to make a choice. In other words, their system did not work and they are choosing to not fix it.

#Bonvoyed

This is exactly the type of corporate response that infuriates me, since it didn't address your specific question and concern other than to repeat the obvious.

FWIW, I haven't received my 2021 SNAs yet either (which will make 10 in my account, and I will have the opportunity to use exactly ZERO this year, unless plans change. I just booked an AC Hotel in Europe for late this year (which may or may not actually happen) and they don't have any suites so can't even use them.

 

[youknowthenight]

What are we missing here? We are several years into this benefit availability and it doesn’t work more than 90% of the time in my experience. You would think the technology should exist. Is this a problem of Marriott? Vistana? Individual properties? All of the above? What astounds me is that no matter what, no customer care exists at either to resolve this, only creating further frustrations. You would think from a sales perspective they’d want to get this right as it is a pretty good benefit to ownership. I have been staying more in Marriott & Vistana timeshares now because of this benefit / further loyalty which leads to more on-property spend. Maybe that should be re-considered....

This is a great point, and it seems like nobody at Bonvoy understands either. If they could provide a coherent explanation of why we weren't credited, it would be easier to resolve. For some reason they seem to have no clue.

 

[cubigbird]

This is a great point, and it seems like nobody at Bonvoy understands either. If they could provide a coherent explanation of why we weren't credited, it would be easier to resolve. For some reason they seem to have no clue.

I even have documentation in writing from missing stay response dating my missing stay resolution posting after the Annual Benefit Choice date. I can back up everything I am stating in my case, yet I am not seeing any results. If it weren’t for their 10 day wait after checkout we would not be here. I even proactively contacted them ahead of time before the end of the year after checkout KNOWING there was going to be an issue given history. They.just.don’t.care!

 

[Ken555]

I even have documentation in writing from missing stay response dating my missing stay resolution posting after the Annual Benefit Choice date. I can back up everything I am stating in my case, yet I am not seeing any results. If it weren’t for their 10 day wait after checkout we would not be here. I even proactively contacted them ahead of time before the end of the year after checkout KNOWING there was going to be an issue given history. They.just.don’t.care!

You should consider writing a letter to both Vistana and Marriott corporate offices about this, and include your notes of the calls, the emails, etc.


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[cubigbird]

You should consider writing a letter to both Vistana and Marriott corporate offices about this, and include your notes of the calls, the emails, etc.


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I even have the missing stay response email documenting the dates. I can document the timeline of the whole story.

My next attempt may be just to ask for 40k points which is equivalent to that free night Annual Choice Benefit that I originally wanted.