One of the most advertised cellphone plan gimmicks is rollover minutes. Which simply means that that AT&T customers who don’t need all their minutes in a given month, can keep them as a “credit” for the next month.
Now Marriott Rewards is applying that same strategy to hotel stays. With “Elite Rollover Nights” Marriott will allow guests who stay more nights than they need to achieve Elite status,to roll the extra nights over to 2010. The current levels are Silver (10 nights a year), Gold (50 nights) and Platinum (75) nights, so there are potentially a lot of extra rollover nights involved. Especially for clients who just miss the Gold level.
The hotel industry is fond of copycat programs and services, for example, the Westin “Heavenly Beds” that have now been emulated by many other chains, albeit with different names – Hyatt “Grand Beds, Sheraton “Sweet Sleeper Beds,” etc. So if the response to Marriott’s rollover plan is good, look for other chains to come up with some version of their own.
And that brings up a larger potential rollover marketing ploy: airline miles. As it stands now, airlines have set levels for elite status, on United, it’s 25,000 for Premier, 50,000 for Premier Executive, and 100,000 for 1k. But a Premier Executive who flies say, 85,000 thousand miles one year, and 45,000 the next, will fall short of requalifying, even though the two year total is certainly high enough.
In fact, I have had a number of women business clients run the problem of “losing status” when they take maternity leave, which generally elicits no sympathy from the airlines. But there are all sorts of reasons why a regular flier might have a year with limited travel – a sabbatical, a job change, or an illness.
Delta Air Lines actually recently initiated a rollover program of its own for clients who are at least Silver level status. It will allow extra 2009 miles to be rolled over towards qualifying in 2010. But no other carrier has followed it. Which is surprising, considering the airlines will match things like $10 holiday surcharges often within 24 hours.
The idea seems like a relatively easy way to earn good press, not to mention gratitude from travelers who are facing a tough economy, and hate the thought of losing perks that make flying, especially in coach, a little easier. Of course, the real benefit, rolling over 2009 miles, won’t really be felt until late 2010, when those miles help travelers become Elite in 2011.
Stay tuned.
photo by subpopstar/creative commons/flickr.com
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
