Updated Cancellation Policy Standard
In light of strong occupancy levels, we are updating our reservation cancellation policy to mitigate the impact from last-minute cancellations. This will allow Revenue Management more time to manage inventory and make adjustments to strategy. Earlier this year, we piloted a 48-hour cancellation policy in both New York City and Boston, which did not show a material impact to gross bookings or cancellations.
Overview of Policy Change
The new policy changes the minimum standard cancellation deadline for all brands (excluding MVW and Design Hotels) to 48 hours prior to arrival. When referring to the 48-hour cancellation policy there are differences in the specific cancellation deadline. At Marriott-branded hotels (prior to Sept. 23, 2016), the new minimum standard 48-hour cancellation deadline is 11:59 p.m. local time, two days prior to arrival. For former Starwood-branded hotels, the cancellation lead time will be updated to meet the new 48-hour minimum deadline, two days prior to arrival. However, the cancellation time of day, which is set locally in the property system, such as 16:00 hours or 18:00 hours, will not change. All hotels and all brands (excluding MVW and Design Hotels), both Marriott and former Starwood, are expected to follow the new standard (or keep their current policy if more stringent).
For any franchise hotels wishing to continue to offer a “one day prior” cancellation policy, franchise management companies may opt hotel(s) out of the centralized changes by submitting this survey (franchise only) by June 8, 2017.
Special Corporate Pricing for 2018
Marriott’s Pricing & Accounts Services (PAS) team will present the new cancellation policy to centrally-priced accounts for 2018 pricing. If a more lenient cancellation policy is a requirement of the customer RFP, the PAS team will post an addendum question in MarRFP asking if the hotel will agree to the account’s requested cancel policy terms. Note that if the account did not specify if a more lenient cancellation policy was a requirement during the RFP review, the account may still renegotiate on a hotel’s cancel policy. The hotel will have the ability to accept or decline the customer request during renegotiations.
If the hotel agrees to a day-of-arrival or 24-hour cancellation policy for an account in MarRFP and the account accepts the pricing, then the PAS team will update the terms & conditions and add a special request code signifying the day-of-arrival or 24-hour cancellation policy on the account’s rate programs in High Performance Pricing (HPP) for Marriott-branded hotels.
There will also be a list of centrally-priced accounts that requested or mandated a day of arrival or 24-hour policy available at the end of January 2018 to help revenue managers to validate that this has been accounted for in HPP for any accounts that accepted their pricing.
Customer Engagement Center (CEC) US, Canada & CALA
Associates in the customer engagement centers will be able to cancel reservations past the cutoff and up to the day of scheduled check-in and provide an exception to any cancellation penalty under certain guidelines.
Marriott and Former Starwood Exceptions
- Scope: All Marriott and former Starwood brands (excluding MVW and Design Hotels) that have a standard cancellation policy of 72 hours or less prior to arrival.
- Exceptions can be granted for the following reasons:
- Guest is a Platinum member or Ambassador member
- Travel is being cancelled due to a weather-related travel disruption
- Part or all of the reservation is being paid for with points (MI only)
- PLEASE NOTE: This exception only applies to transient, non-advance deposit reservations. Group rates, advance deposit rates, and rates booked through Online Travel Agencies do not qualify.
- Any hotels that have a standard cancellation policy greater than 72-hours are excluded from the standard exceptions, as they may have their own exceptions in place
Market Trend Update
Additionally, many Managed by Marriott (MxM) hotels within the Marriott portfolio have already implemented a more aggressive 72-hour cancellation policy. As part of this change, we have identified additional major metropolitan markets where many MxM hotels will be moving to a 72-hour cancellation policy. We recommend that franchise management companies also consider implementing a 72-hour cancellation policy for their hotels. However, any decision in this regard should be based on a hotel’s independent business assessment. Franchise hotels that would like to opt-in to a 72-hour policy should complete this survey by June 8, 2017.
Additional Information & Next Steps
In an effort to minimize the work required of hotels to implement the new policy, Marriott will coordinate centralized changes. However, there are a few items that will need to be reviewed and updated by the hotel’s revenue management team by June 14. Hotels will receive notification of this change and links to resources, including Revenue Management Procedures, via the June 5 Weekly Update and Week Ahead emails.
