Following the announcement of the shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government on February 8, we are providing guidance as it relates to both the group and transient cancellation policies across the Americas. Marriott’s cancellation policy has changed considerably since the last shutdown in 2013 from a 6:00 p.m. day of arrival cancellation policy to a more restrictive 48-hours or more prior to arrival cancellation policy.
Transient:
Marriott strongly encourages all U.S. brands to follow the guidance outlined below for Transient business.
We encourage all U.S. hotels with 48-hour and above cancellation policies to waive their fees for cancellations related to the U.S. Government shutdown, so long as the following two conditions are met:
- Rate Plans: Only Government Rates, which can include government contractors such as Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon; and
- Reservations made prior to February 8 and through February 15.
Group:
Marriott has provided guidance to Sales teams, Central Reservations, and Front Offices to follow the guidance outlined below for Group business.
Teams should review their agreements (both Group Sales Agreements and Letters of Intent (LOI)) to see what the force majeure, cancellation and attrition clauses provide. If the force majeure or cancellation clause mentions an outright right to cancel or a right to cancel in the event of a government shutdown, then the terms of the contract/LOI should be honored. If the force majeure clause follows the GSA manual form, a cancellation by the government in the event of a shutdown does not necessarily relieve the government from paying cancellation fees. If a group program is not cancelled, but delayed in starting, due to the shutdown, the attrition terms of the contract/LOI should be enforced.
Sales and Events teams should avoid stating that any cancellation fees in the Group Sales Agreement will be waived or are not due because of the occurrence of a force majeure clause. In the case of a LOI with a signed Banquet Event Order (BEO), Sales and Events teams should avoid stating that cancellation fees will be waived. Sales and Events teams should state that they will review the agreement with counsel following which they will communicate with the customer on Marriott’s final position. In the meantime, please accept the customer’s written cancellation request.
All Group Sales offices, Property Sales teams and Event Managers should track cancellations using the processes outlined below. Additional information will be forthcoming for hotels using Opera S&C and/or Delphi.
Note: this information will be shared with hotels via the Feb. 12 Weekly Update. Please reach out to bmscamericas@marriott.com with any questions.