markbernstein
TUG Member
We spent last week at the Pulse in Manhattan. It was a smallish hotel room, but the location of the Pulse is perfect for exploring Manhattan, especially midtown.
Mostly, though, I wanted to offer an update on our update. About a week before arrival, I got the usual call, this time from Carlos, a manager with MVC. The incentives offered for attending a presentation were a choice of:
300 one-time MVC points
35,000 Bonvoy points
$150 gift card
$225 in vouchers good at a dozen different Manhattan restaurants.
I checked out TripAdvisor reviews on the restaurants and found that some of them were very highly rated, so we opted for the vouchers. They mostly paid for two good dinners, one at Patsy's Italian, and one at the Sea Fire Grill. (They can't be used for tips.)
The presentation hit all the usual points. It did include a couple of things that were new to me. First, I hadn't been paying attention to the Marriott program for renting homes, and it seems there are some good Bonvoy points values there. I'll look more closely at that in the future. Second, the one I hadn't been aware of, is that there are now 165 hotels that you can book directly with MVC points. Not all are good deals, but some of them might be.
The total time spent was about an hour and three quarters. I told them up front that we weren't going to buy anything, and stuck to that. The presenter (sorry, I'm bad at retaining names) was pleasant and enthusiastic, and only had to be told no a couple of times. Sure, there was a little pressure, but nothing I haven't dealt with before. Overall, I felt the incentive was worth the time.
Mostly, though, I wanted to offer an update on our update. About a week before arrival, I got the usual call, this time from Carlos, a manager with MVC. The incentives offered for attending a presentation were a choice of:
300 one-time MVC points
35,000 Bonvoy points
$150 gift card
$225 in vouchers good at a dozen different Manhattan restaurants.
I checked out TripAdvisor reviews on the restaurants and found that some of them were very highly rated, so we opted for the vouchers. They mostly paid for two good dinners, one at Patsy's Italian, and one at the Sea Fire Grill. (They can't be used for tips.)
The presentation hit all the usual points. It did include a couple of things that were new to me. First, I hadn't been paying attention to the Marriott program for renting homes, and it seems there are some good Bonvoy points values there. I'll look more closely at that in the future. Second, the one I hadn't been aware of, is that there are now 165 hotels that you can book directly with MVC points. Not all are good deals, but some of them might be.
The total time spent was about an hour and three quarters. I told them up front that we weren't going to buy anything, and stuck to that. The presenter (sorry, I'm bad at retaining names) was pleasant and enthusiastic, and only had to be told no a couple of times. Sure, there was a little pressure, but nothing I haven't dealt with before. Overall, I felt the incentive was worth the time.