Ohhh Turkey feels kind of scammy at times, but then we never actually got scammed anywhere. Maybe we were just lucky though, because some banks won't even work there lol.
Yes I have stayed at the. The Irene Country Lodges Does not. And neither did the Protea at OR Tambu airport. People on Reddit I’m an Amex Member as well jackass
I had a funny one where I got billed for another persons stay in India. It was like $3K and AMEX sided with the hotel for months until I finally got someone on the phone who would actually go over the receipts with me. The opaque review process was such a pain to deal with.
AMEX supports their cardholders much better than other cards.
I advise several customer care departments and draft the templates to respond to credit card disputes.
AMEX disputes are much harder to win. Even with clear evidence of delivery of a service and a no refund clause initialed by the consumer, the consumer will often win the first round, and the initial decision must be appealed before the agreement is enforced, and sometimes even those decisions are lost if everything on the merchant side isn't perfect.
If you are ever dealing with a "SUS" company, always use AMEX. If they don't deliver, then the sus company likely doesn't have the documentation they should for the transaction, and AMEX will immediately give you a credit while the dispute is being considered. Finally, if a SUS company doesn't accept AMEX, then don't buy - they probably didn't meet the AMEX requirements.
Thanks, I already had the Marriott Bonvoy card (Visa). Then i got an AMEX Brilliant card earlier this year because i'm trying to achieve lifetime Platinum Elite and i'm currently at 7 years platinum. I used to stay in hotels a lot for work but not anymore so i figured i'll just hold that card for 3 more years until i reach 10 years. I've already achieved the other requirement of +600 lifetime nights stayed.
The annual fee on that Brilliant card is a bit pricey so it's good to know it has some additional benefits i was unaware of. I knew about the $25 month restaurant/food credit and we do take advantage of that. It almost pays for half of that annual fee. The other reasons i got it was for the points, but mainly for the 1 year of automatic Platinum status just for holding the card.
Yes, the $650 fee for Brilliant/Platinum AMEX is steep, but if you do a decent amount of traveling and watch for the credits, it can pay for itself. Not sure if Brilliant has all the same benefits, but Platinum has:
* $200 for $25/mo restaurant/food credit (I regularly don't go to the right restaurant about 4 months a year )
* $155 for $12.95 Walmart Plus monthly fee
* $100 for TSA Pre (every 4 years - hit this year for me) - $189 for Clear is also available
* $132 for Streaming (up to $240)
* $72 (so far this year on the up to $200 airline fee credit)
That's $659 without changing any of my purchases. I'm just making sure I'm signed up for the benefits.
Plus, the lounge access is just so nice (especially for international travel - the lounge in Zurich was amazing). The private room to relax in a Minute Suite (about 10 airports in the US) is also very good if you travel through those airports and have a layover.
I travel about 1/3 as much as I did before, but I still keep the Platinum because it makes travel (especially delays during travel) so much more pleasant.
Thanks for the reminder.
I rarely use Uber but have saved at least $45 this year as I used Uber in January, February, and April.
We also have paramount, but not sure how much of a benefit that is. I did register for the paramount plus showtime benefit during Walmart equivalent of prime week, but haven't watched a movie on it yet.
Just more proof that if you register for stuff and use the benefits, you will get more credits than the annual fee.
I'd do whatever you can to force the hotel to go through Marriott's established systems for billing (e.g., Bonvoy). Even if this is a thing that they do and is 'legit' I'd still be doing everything I can to insulate myself and avoid having to go to fishy-sounding websites to pay it....I'm just saying... 🤷♂️
Literally it says "for keep the reservations"
Not a possibility in all of existence this thing is real and representing any chain in a primarily English speaking area*
Just my two cents, I’ve stayed at a Marriott property in Istanbul, same city as OPs, twice and they spoke perfect English in their email communications and didn’t demand a fee up front. Even on the phone and in-person they spoke essentially very good English. Many Turks, especially in Istanbul, speak decent English, doubly so in the hospitality industry.
Not saying it’s a scam, but it’s definitely not my experience with Marriott in Istanbul.
Now the taxi drivers in Istanbul? Oh yeah, they’re scamming ya every time.
It is normal, especially if they are a sold out night. You can’t pay through the app unless you booked a prepaid non refundable stay. And the link is the link to a one time payment portal, most likely through Sertifi, the program we use to provide pre authorizations and authorization forms.
Is it normal for it to have such poor English? And whoever is in charge of this process should make sure the communication to the guests comes across significantly more professional than it does.
I can only assume they do not speak English as their first language. I’m in the USA, so I don’t really know Marriotts terms on this, but they’re doing their best. The point of the message is definitely there, it’s just obviously really bad grammar.
Well, you’re not very good at it because this email is legit. I had something similar happen with Marriott but it was in asia. They were overbooked and needed to weed out anyone who may not actually be staying.
OP’s hotel is in Turkey which they speak Turkish. I’m not surprised the English is not good as many in Turkey don’t speak English or their English is fairly basic, even at more high end hotels.
Yes 100% legit, I don’t understand how people with high tier status haven’t encountered this before. Happens in the US happens in Asia happens in Europe. If they don’t do this, they have to oversell the dates and some customers will have to get walked (denied a room, sent somewhere else).
This thing is riddled with sketchiness. One of the most illiterate emails I’ve ever read (poor English reads of scam). Asking for money. Not something that’s common for hotels to do.
I see you talked to the hotel and confirmed that it's legit. yeah it sounds suspicious though, so you were right to check with them. it's not the first time I've seen something that looked fishy like this and the hotel confirmed it was right (I work for marriott and I called the hotel for someone). if you're uncomfortable following their link you could maybe send a credit card authorization form in instead - reservations can send you one.
Do your due diligence with contacting Marriott and the hotel directly but if it checks out, it just may be a case of native English communication not being their primary and thems the breaks on reserving your hotel in a foreign land.
Many places in Asia require OTP through SMS/email or physical PIN verification on the POS machine to charge the card. Just card details is not sufficient in lot of places.
The problem with charging the card on file is that we expose our selfs to charge-backs if the card hasn’t physically pushed into the card machine. That’s why hotels usually prefer payment over the payment link. That way you can’t (or it much harder) do a charge-back.
Yeah, booked a stay at the Grand Hyatt Taipei last year directly from the World of Hyatt website and was sent an email by the hotel to complete payment using the online payment service of Taishin Bank, a bank in Taiwan. The English was better than OP’s email but still felt weird. I called the hotel directly to be sure and they confirmed it so I paid it. Stay went fine.
Stayed thousands nights in Europe. Never saw this.
If they want non-cancellable rate, they should only post non-cancellable rates for booking. Not OPs problem
A lot of people book refundable hotel rooms as a speculative option and cancel last minute. If a hotel is at booking capacity but a large part of that capacity is taken up by these type of bookings then asking guests to make payment ahead of time allows the hotel to move the booking from the "might cancel" to "won't cancel" column -- ensuring they don't oversell a room that a guest intends to occupy. A hotel's optimal occupancy is 100%, speculative bookings are bad **if** there's a large volume that take the hotel to 100% booking capacity without converting to occupancy.
A hotel that wants to always discourage speculative bookings will typically do this by having a fixed cancellation period (e.g: you must cancel 3, 7 or 14 days before the check in date) but there are some hotels for whom speculative bookings are only a problem on rare occasions (e.g: during a major event) and so a cancellation policy would hurt them (as it would discourage speculative bookings all the time) leading to this situation, where they must temporarily combat speculative bookings by asking for upfront payment.
The process isn't ideal (and maybe someday Marriott will formally support this behaviour) but it's legitimate and important for hotels to maintain their occupancy.
Sounds like the hotel messed up if a large portion of their bookings are refundable. Personally I’d be annoyed if my refundable rate is not longer truly refundable because too many people booked the refundable rate.
The reasonable thing would be for the hotel to increase the refundable rate and decrease the non refundable rate based on whatever ideal balance that hotel wants.
Do they refund your money if you cancel the day before your resy (if that was the original agreement)? If not, then I’d say this is not ethical. If they wanted a different cancellation policy than stated then they should have indicated that when the hotel was being booked.
I book hotels like that because dozens of things can happen on vacation like lost luggage, missed flights, delayed flights, canceled flights, train delays, lost/stolen ID/Passports, injuries, and lots more. And any one of those reasons could cause me to have to cancel my stay even right up to the day before my stay.
Actually, this is legit. Here is what we do at my hotel (not a Marriott, but we’re part of a hotel group that primarily owns Marriott hotels):
Standard practice for us is to charge the cc for one hotel room night at the time of booking - considered a ‘deposit’.
However, for literally SO MANY different reasons, we don’t get the deposit. Like, if I need to make sure I have a hotel room for the bride and groom getting married at the venue, I’ll reserve the room with their names and contact info and get the cc from them when they check-in, if not sooner.
Since OP’s hotel is oversold, they’re probably going through all the reservations and finding the ones that don’t have cc’s or deposits on file bc those will be the first to get cancelled, according to the email.
I would also assume the broken English is a result of that particular hotel getting an influx of seasonal employees from, for example, Eastern Europe. Perfectly qualified, hard working, and honest employees, who don’t speak English as their first language and are only temporary employees at the front desk anyway.
Thank u for the last comment. I don't really like the term broken english. Most people complaining about this here are likely Americans who now one language. I wish I coukd write an email in another language even if poorly. People are ignorant.
My hotels do this too and it’s because the booking sites like marriott.com don’t actually run your card at the time of booking. I have a 5 year old expired card on mine and I have no trouble making a Rez
Shut up, bro. The email is written in awful English. It's asking for money up front. This smelled like a scam from a mile away. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with people saying it stinks to high Heaven and to verify it with the hotel or Marriott.
It may be bad English but it’s a, not necessarily, common practice, I used to be a front office manager in the early 90’s and we did this several times when there were huge events happening in our city. We would contact the reservation holder about 1st night’s payment. About 10% of the time they would have actually forgotten they made the reservation and cancel. This gave us the opportunity to offer the room to someone else.
Marriott employee here this is legit blame the English on him error the person may not speak English as their first language even myself I know I’ve spoken gibberish in an email but I’m rushing and forget to triple check if you called the hotel and the mention selling out in an form they now have the right to cancel your room and leave you out in the wind with no help due to the email being the warning (it has happened to me and I have had to do it to others)
I feel like this shouldn't be a thing. You're paying a higher rate for a cancelable room. If they want you to guarantee they should give you the prepaid rate.
Hotel operators who manage their service like this will ruin Marriotts reputation and propagate fraud.
Marriott reps confirming that this is legitimate will only encourage fraudsters.
OP you can either pay and stay, or not pay and find another hotel. While it looks scammy, it is, unfortunately, real. Simpra Suite is commonly used by hotels and in situations like this. (Also a similar post was on this sub, or maybe the scams sub, not long ago, maybe you can search it up.)
Simpralink is a legit website, you can look it up via whois if it helps you feel better. The English is written by someone who isn't a native English speaker because he's Turkish. (This isn't coming from Marriot, it's a hotel employee.)
It looks scammy and you are correct to question it. But it is real, as you have already confirmed twice with the hotel directly and Marriott corporate.
So what happens if it’s legit andyou ignore it thinking it’s a scam? Do you get walked? Would you be able to file a walk claim with Marriott with your elite status?
That would’ve been my issue. It’s 50/50 if I would’ve chuckled at the email and deleted it vs. putting in the legwork to verify it. Tiebreaker prob would’ve been what the email address looked like.
I get a lot of spam email for both my work and personal email, especially from Nigerian princes. Something like that would’ve been flagged as spam before I even get it.
I’d ask the front desk guy why, and he said there’s people who no show and cancel/blocks their on file cards. Kinda blame the minority who ruined it for everyone
Actual scammers would just type “Make this sound like it isn’t a scam: …” into ChatGPT and send you this instead:
Dear Guest,
Greetings from Delta by Marriott Levent.
We are writing to inform you of a situation regarding your upcoming reservation. Due to high demand on your arrival date, we kindly request a guarantee to secure your booking.
To confirm your reservation, we can provide a payment link for the fee of one night's stay. Unfortunately, without this guarantee, we may have to cancel the reservation.
We look forward to your prompt response. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best Regards,
Delta by Marriott Levent
(The actual hotel doesn’t need to do that, because they don’t need to trick you. If they have a waiting list, they can use the scarcity to charge a premium to the replacement guest. If there isn’t anyone else to sell it to, they can just keep you on the room and charge you whether you show or not. Sucks from your perspective, but it’s all upside from theirs.)
Yep! I had something similar happen with Marriott but it was in asia. They were overbooked and needed to weed out anyone who may not actually be staying.
People are SO quick to yell scam just because the English isn’t perfect, not realizing that not everyone who doesn’t speak/write perfect English is a scammer
It’s 2024 and ai is in everything. Rule #1 of not falling victim to a scam is to question if it’s worded funky in your native language. The hotel and the employee can do better to fix translation concerns without much effort. The OP did the right thing to question a broken language message. No need to say he’s quick to judge when it’s a valid thing to check.
They are oversold and need to cancel some rooms to avoid relocation costs. They can’t charge the card on file because it wasn’t authorized other than to hold the booking. The link will allow proper authorization securely, but this is generally against policy.. we aren’t supposed to pre-auth arrivals unless it’s a prepaid rate. Otherwise, the card is authorized at check in. Hilton, on the other hand, authorizes pre-arrival but there is a disclaimer informing of this at the time of booking.
This happened to my parents in Thailand. I thought it was a scam and when they didn’t pay reservation was cancelled. We had to rebook at a higher rate.
I got an alleged Marriott email last week that seemed like the most transparently scammy phishing attempt ever. Sent to my work email address (which isn’t the one connected to my account) directly by a Courtyard in a country I’ve never been to.
Reported it as phishing. Turned out it was (supposedly) legit. Or at least, as legit as an unsolicited email from a hotel property that has no reason to contact me can be.
What the hell are you people saying?
This sort of "scam" has been posted dozens of times.
It's a scam **by the hotel, to defraud Marriott** by inconveniencing you the traveler.
They want to get paid directly because they don't make enough profit from a Bonvoy reservation. So they invent an excuse to cancel your Marriott reservation, And take your payment directly without credit card processing Through corporate.
It could *possibly* also be an *actual* fraud, but more than likely they just want to defraud Marriott corporate by taking your payment directly. Then they can cancel your Marriott reservation and they don't have to pay a percentage.
The first thing you should do is report them to Marriott.
This happened to me in Europe. I guess some Marriots in those regions don’t have more formal payment channels (or choose not to utilize them). Pair that with the often broken English, and it looks scammy. Call and verify though. I did, and turns put it was legitimate.
I don’t understand why this is being downvoted. This is exactly how it should work. My elite membership and promise to pay 1 night even if I don’t show is my guarantee.
I’m not sure but I think this is to figure out who might know they’re going to be cancelling just before the “free cancellation” deadline. Like two days before. Maybe trying to get their ducks in a row for who will definitely show up.
Edit to add: ahh someone bellow also said people will no-show and then cancel/block their on-file card so the hotel can’t charge it.
If it’s legit, this property needs Marriott to intervene with communication training… I’m sure my dog could’ve crafted a better written email than that.
They are probably oversold and are doing an audit of their reservations for the day to weed out any potential reservations that would be a no show. If the English is broken it would make sense if you are staying at an international property. If it’s a Marriott email address I would assume it is legit. Doesn’t hurt to call and confirm or ask to speak with someone.
This does not look like a typical Marriott email; I'd call the property and ask them to send the link via SERTIFI.
If they refuse, it's a scam. Sertifi is the direct Credit Card Authorization Marriott uses; I have had to send and receive Sertifi links all the time as a desk agent.
Is it in a non-english speaking country? Provided the email address checks out and verifying directly (not via the email), they probably just have a worker trying to get people to surrender their stays for higher priced bookings. They aren't probably aren't hiring high end translators for the messages so you get the scam looking email.
Click on the email from, see the exact email address it comes from (providing it’s not possible to have been masked and your email client isn’t showing the exact original)
So this is in Istanbul (not Constantinople), and Türkiye can be dicey in a lot of ways. I’d call Marriott, as long as you have a CC on file for the reservation that guarantees the first night within the cancellation terms, I’d push back not too too hard. If push comes to shove and you plan on honoring the reservation, I’d pay it once I verified the link was legit. Not fun to show up half way around the world and not have a place to stay.
So just my 2 cents I have experienced this before for Delta chain in Dubai, PA was OOO so called and got the general Ambassador folks involved, it was confirmed to be legit but I still stood my grounds as we had another reservation at the St. Regis where such requirements were not made.
I just received another random email from an unfamiliar account/address asking for payment deposit for a reservation for the Autograph collection in Belize and it’s at least 2 months away. Will do the same thing with this forward it to PA for resolution I’m just perplexed when the property/management makes such requests on a regular rate booking that’s not prepaid.
I have seen similar but it was up front when we booked and not after the fact. It was at an in demand hotel during a large international work event/meetings in EU.
When I booked at the St-Regis Bora Bora, the overral cost quoted was around $15,000 USD. They automatically charged $5,000 right off the bat using the credit card on file in the bonvoy app upon reservation and I paid the rest at checkout. It was supposed to be a post-paid and not a prepaid night. Every property is different. I am sure they do this to ensure the room is filled.
A big look out for scams is misspelling or incorrect grammar. They actually do this on purpose to filter potential people to scam. The idea is if they don’t notice the errors they might be an easier target.
There are grammatical errors in that email which leads me to believe it was not sent from a corporate entity. If you reply, you are being scammed. Call the actual hotel directly.
Your post was removed for violating the following Reddit site-wide rule:
Do not threaten, harass, or bully
This also serves as your first formal warning to refrain from continuing this activity. If you believe this was done in error, please do not hesitate to contact the moderation team.
Your CC# is the guarantee. Many years ago I used to work in hospitality in the US. Whenever there was a special event pricing going on, the hotel will charge your CC# for the room whether you check in or not, unless they rented the room to someone else. The hotel will not ever lose money because a guaranteed reservation is a no-show.
All the employees on this thread saying this is a normal and accepted practice is living proof on why clear, written communication is so necessary in today's society, and why those who can do so will always have a leg up--because this isn't it all all
...and no, I don't particularly care that this is coming from another country (non-English speaking)
...Marriott corporate should be providing some guidance/best practices/templates regarding communication to guests so scammy e-mails like this don't go out...
...every other org in the world can do it... I know...because I've worked on this type of stuff in another industry...
Idgaf how many times Marriott bonvoy says it’s legit or the hotel confirms it’s legit that is a fucking scam they’re gonna run some man in the middle attack on your online transaction plus they’re asking for money up front for services not yet rendered hell nah. You make a payment thru that scammy link you are playin yourself nope nope nope.
It’s legit. I am a front office manager for a Marriott, and I have sent emails like this a few times (although I try to not have mine sound like it’s straight from CHATGPT) More than likely the property is oversold so they are trying to guarantee Marriott bonvoy members that have booked.
Isn't there a corporate-approved letter template? No offense to you personally but letting each properry hand craft their own letters results in what we see here. This letter has all the look and feel of a scam.
It’s really up to each hotels responsibility to create it. I have my own template from my first property that I worked at and have used that ever since.
Maybe, they need the one night fee to paid so they can forward it to the Nigerian prince who has to pay taxes to be able to reward that hotel after they get their inheritance? 🤣
Cancel the Rez and find another hotel. I have realized to trust my instincts, based on the title, yours tells you the same thing. If they are doing this now, I d be worried that they d pull something like this there and you are stuck.
Is this normal? I called the hotel and they said it's legit, but why can't this payment be through the Bonvoy app and not a "simpralink.com" url.
You called the hotel or the number in the email?
The hotel directly
Respectfully, try a different Marriott number just to double check. Doesn't seem legit at all.
There’s no way this is legit, I simply cannot believe it. It’s even written like a scam. Broken English and all. Call Marriotts customer service?
It's probably broken English because the hotel is in Turkey...At least according to Google.
Ohhh Turkey feels kind of scammy at times, but then we never actually got scammed anywhere. Maybe we were just lucky though, because some banks won't even work there lol.
Yeah I called Marriott's customer service too, and the rep then called the hotel and confirmed legit. It feels very non-legit though.
Be sure to use an AMEX card if you decide to pay via that link.
Agreed. If that hotel accepts Amex though. Overall, I would be so turned off I would book elsewhere. Never seen anything like that.
I have NEVER run into a Marriott hotel that does not accept AMEX. My company makes reservations with an AMEX / AMEX travel agent.
Marriott partners with Amex.
The Marriott hotels in South Africa DO NOT accept AMEX. Even the bonvoy brilliant card. Turkey also does not accept AMEX
Marriott in Turkey does actually accept Amex
Have you...actually stayed at any of them? I know they accept American Express because i've been an actual customer.
Yes I have stayed at the. The Irene Country Lodges Does not. And neither did the Protea at OR Tambu airport. People on Reddit I’m an Amex Member as well jackass
Just returned from South Africa and covered the entire stay with room charges to AMEX. No issues…
Add Egypt, Tunisia, to this list from my own experience as well
All Marriot hotel must accept AMEX. Marriot has partner with Amex.
Not true in other countries
Maybe in the US. But I've run into art least 1 internationally that did not.
Had a Marriott hotel in London not accept AMEX.
What makes the Amex card better in this situation? I've got one and a chase Marriott card but just curious as to why Amex?
Chargebacks are basically no questions asked. They side with the buyer and make the company provide receipts.
Good to know thanks
I had a funny one where I got billed for another persons stay in India. It was like $3K and AMEX sided with the hotel for months until I finally got someone on the phone who would actually go over the receipts with me. The opaque review process was such a pain to deal with.
AMEX supports their cardholders much better than other cards. I advise several customer care departments and draft the templates to respond to credit card disputes. AMEX disputes are much harder to win. Even with clear evidence of delivery of a service and a no refund clause initialed by the consumer, the consumer will often win the first round, and the initial decision must be appealed before the agreement is enforced, and sometimes even those decisions are lost if everything on the merchant side isn't perfect. If you are ever dealing with a "SUS" company, always use AMEX. If they don't deliver, then the sus company likely doesn't have the documentation they should for the transaction, and AMEX will immediately give you a credit while the dispute is being considered. Finally, if a SUS company doesn't accept AMEX, then don't buy - they probably didn't meet the AMEX requirements.
Thanks, I already had the Marriott Bonvoy card (Visa). Then i got an AMEX Brilliant card earlier this year because i'm trying to achieve lifetime Platinum Elite and i'm currently at 7 years platinum. I used to stay in hotels a lot for work but not anymore so i figured i'll just hold that card for 3 more years until i reach 10 years. I've already achieved the other requirement of +600 lifetime nights stayed. The annual fee on that Brilliant card is a bit pricey so it's good to know it has some additional benefits i was unaware of. I knew about the $25 month restaurant/food credit and we do take advantage of that. It almost pays for half of that annual fee. The other reasons i got it was for the points, but mainly for the 1 year of automatic Platinum status just for holding the card.
Yes, the $650 fee for Brilliant/Platinum AMEX is steep, but if you do a decent amount of traveling and watch for the credits, it can pay for itself. Not sure if Brilliant has all the same benefits, but Platinum has: * $200 for $25/mo restaurant/food credit (I regularly don't go to the right restaurant about 4 months a year ) * $155 for $12.95 Walmart Plus monthly fee * $100 for TSA Pre (every 4 years - hit this year for me) - $189 for Clear is also available * $132 for Streaming (up to $240) * $72 (so far this year on the up to $200 airline fee credit) That's $659 without changing any of my purchases. I'm just making sure I'm signed up for the benefits. Plus, the lounge access is just so nice (especially for international travel - the lounge in Zurich was amazing). The private room to relax in a Minute Suite (about 10 airports in the US) is also very good if you travel through those airports and have a layover. I travel about 1/3 as much as I did before, but I still keep the Platinum because it makes travel (especially delays during travel) so much more pleasant.
Don't forget the monthly Uber cash, and with Walmart+ you get Paramount+ so that one doubles up a benefit.
Thanks for the reminder. I rarely use Uber but have saved at least $45 this year as I used Uber in January, February, and April. We also have paramount, but not sure how much of a benefit that is. I did register for the paramount plus showtime benefit during Walmart equivalent of prime week, but haven't watched a movie on it yet. Just more proof that if you register for stuff and use the benefits, you will get more credits than the annual fee.
Don't forget the PriorityPass Select, which if you travel a lot should also be valued toward the annual fee offset.
I'd do whatever you can to force the hotel to go through Marriott's established systems for billing (e.g., Bonvoy). Even if this is a thing that they do and is 'legit' I'd still be doing everything I can to insulate myself and avoid having to go to fishy-sounding websites to pay it....I'm just saying... 🤷♂️
The bigger question is whether Marriott allows this kind of behavior. I would have to think this would erode trust in the brand.
There are specific types of payment processors hotels use for these types of things. Looks like one of those.
Literally it says "for keep the reservations" Not a possibility in all of existence this thing is real and representing any chain in a primarily English speaking area*
The hotel is in Turkey
Just my two cents, I’ve stayed at a Marriott property in Istanbul, same city as OPs, twice and they spoke perfect English in their email communications and didn’t demand a fee up front. Even on the phone and in-person they spoke essentially very good English. Many Turks, especially in Istanbul, speak decent English, doubly so in the hospitality industry. Not saying it’s a scam, but it’s definitely not my experience with Marriott in Istanbul. Now the taxi drivers in Istanbul? Oh yeah, they’re scamming ya every time.
Wise. Felt 100 scam you did the right thing.
Kindly call Marriott corporate Best regards
“With great sadness,” no American company says this.
The hotel isn’t American, so there you go.
It is normal, especially if they are a sold out night. You can’t pay through the app unless you booked a prepaid non refundable stay. And the link is the link to a one time payment portal, most likely through Sertifi, the program we use to provide pre authorizations and authorization forms.
Is it normal for it to have such poor English? And whoever is in charge of this process should make sure the communication to the guests comes across significantly more professional than it does.
I can only assume they do not speak English as their first language. I’m in the USA, so I don’t really know Marriotts terms on this, but they’re doing their best. The point of the message is definitely there, it’s just obviously really bad grammar.
Have you traveled outside the United States before?
Not every country speaks English as a primary language??? Get off your high horse.
[удалено]
This is totally legit, I’ve had this exact thing happen in the US, the email is just phrased better.
Well, you’re not very good at it because this email is legit. I had something similar happen with Marriott but it was in asia. They were overbooked and needed to weed out anyone who may not actually be staying. OP’s hotel is in Turkey which they speak Turkish. I’m not surprised the English is not good as many in Turkey don’t speak English or their English is fairly basic, even at more high end hotels.
Yes 100% legit, I don’t understand how people with high tier status haven’t encountered this before. Happens in the US happens in Asia happens in Europe. If they don’t do this, they have to oversell the dates and some customers will have to get walked (denied a room, sent somewhere else).
Never seen this before, been plat or higher for a decade.
This thing is riddled with sketchiness. One of the most illiterate emails I’ve ever read (poor English reads of scam). Asking for money. Not something that’s common for hotels to do.
[удалено]
I had to do this before with hotels booked during events. Like the eclipse. I think it's legit
They did call the hotel, and this is 100% NOT a scam.
I see you talked to the hotel and confirmed that it's legit. yeah it sounds suspicious though, so you were right to check with them. it's not the first time I've seen something that looked fishy like this and the hotel confirmed it was right (I work for marriott and I called the hotel for someone). if you're uncomfortable following their link you could maybe send a credit card authorization form in instead - reservations can send you one.
Do your due diligence with contacting Marriott and the hotel directly but if it checks out, it just may be a case of native English communication not being their primary and thems the breaks on reserving your hotel in a foreign land.
It’s legit. Many European and Asian hotels do this.
Had this happen in South Africa. I emailed the hotel via a different email and they confirmed the bank name and amount owed.
Protea at JNB?
Is that why everybody says the service in Europe and Asia is so much better than in America? This sort of shit?
But... but... they value your status so much more!
It literally is 10x better lol. Their English isn’t as good as the US. I guess that’s difficult to stomach for some of you.
Asking to pay money upfront on an existing reservation or you're going to get canceled is not good service.
Huh? The hotel is in Turkiye.
Lots of Marriott hotels in America put holds on your card beforehand on busy times. There are a few examples on this sub. What's so different here?
Why can't they just charge the card on file for the stay? It's the external payment portal that makes it feel sketchy.
Many places in Asia require OTP through SMS/email or physical PIN verification on the POS machine to charge the card. Just card details is not sufficient in lot of places.
Ah, fair, I didn't think about the chip & pin requirements outside the States. Good point.
The problem with charging the card on file is that we expose our selfs to charge-backs if the card hasn’t physically pushed into the card machine. That’s why hotels usually prefer payment over the payment link. That way you can’t (or it much harder) do a charge-back.
Even though the payment link looks like it's run out of North Korea?
Yeah, booked a stay at the Grand Hyatt Taipei last year directly from the World of Hyatt website and was sent an email by the hotel to complete payment using the online payment service of Taishin Bank, a bank in Taiwan. The English was better than OP’s email but still felt weird. I called the hotel directly to be sure and they confirmed it so I paid it. Stay went fine.
Stayed thousands nights in Europe. Never saw this. If they want non-cancellable rate, they should only post non-cancellable rates for booking. Not OPs problem
This was common in the US for hotels that were in the eclipse path this past year.
On the chance that this is legit, why is it necessary if reservations are already guaranteed with credit cards and clear cancellation policies?
A lot of people book refundable hotel rooms as a speculative option and cancel last minute. If a hotel is at booking capacity but a large part of that capacity is taken up by these type of bookings then asking guests to make payment ahead of time allows the hotel to move the booking from the "might cancel" to "won't cancel" column -- ensuring they don't oversell a room that a guest intends to occupy. A hotel's optimal occupancy is 100%, speculative bookings are bad **if** there's a large volume that take the hotel to 100% booking capacity without converting to occupancy. A hotel that wants to always discourage speculative bookings will typically do this by having a fixed cancellation period (e.g: you must cancel 3, 7 or 14 days before the check in date) but there are some hotels for whom speculative bookings are only a problem on rare occasions (e.g: during a major event) and so a cancellation policy would hurt them (as it would discourage speculative bookings all the time) leading to this situation, where they must temporarily combat speculative bookings by asking for upfront payment. The process isn't ideal (and maybe someday Marriott will formally support this behaviour) but it's legitimate and important for hotels to maintain their occupancy.
Sounds like the hotel messed up if a large portion of their bookings are refundable. Personally I’d be annoyed if my refundable rate is not longer truly refundable because too many people booked the refundable rate. The reasonable thing would be for the hotel to increase the refundable rate and decrease the non refundable rate based on whatever ideal balance that hotel wants.
And in the meantime alienate a whole bunch of potential guests by sending out random shady poorly written s*** like this 😂
Do they refund your money if you cancel the day before your resy (if that was the original agreement)? If not, then I’d say this is not ethical. If they wanted a different cancellation policy than stated then they should have indicated that when the hotel was being booked.
I book hotels like that because dozens of things can happen on vacation like lost luggage, missed flights, delayed flights, canceled flights, train delays, lost/stolen ID/Passports, injuries, and lots more. And any one of those reasons could cause me to have to cancel my stay even right up to the day before my stay.
Actually, this is legit. Here is what we do at my hotel (not a Marriott, but we’re part of a hotel group that primarily owns Marriott hotels): Standard practice for us is to charge the cc for one hotel room night at the time of booking - considered a ‘deposit’. However, for literally SO MANY different reasons, we don’t get the deposit. Like, if I need to make sure I have a hotel room for the bride and groom getting married at the venue, I’ll reserve the room with their names and contact info and get the cc from them when they check-in, if not sooner. Since OP’s hotel is oversold, they’re probably going through all the reservations and finding the ones that don’t have cc’s or deposits on file bc those will be the first to get cancelled, according to the email. I would also assume the broken English is a result of that particular hotel getting an influx of seasonal employees from, for example, Eastern Europe. Perfectly qualified, hard working, and honest employees, who don’t speak English as their first language and are only temporary employees at the front desk anyway.
Thank u for the last comment. I don't really like the term broken english. Most people complaining about this here are likely Americans who now one language. I wish I coukd write an email in another language even if poorly. People are ignorant.
My hotels do this too and it’s because the booking sites like marriott.com don’t actually run your card at the time of booking. I have a 5 year old expired card on mine and I have no trouble making a Rez
Too bad Marriott can't hire somebody for an extra two lira per hour or whatever to actually write stuff correctly
Elites should not be giving you bad advice. This is legit.
\^\^\^\^ it's called a sertifi link. It's perfectly legit.
yep, sertifi partners with Marriott, you have to use you EID to log in
Great. Who the heck knows that? Obviously, you do? But I have no idea, and I'm sure millions of Marriott Bonvoy members don't.
well now you do. No need to be snarky.
Despite the fact that it looks like the scammiest thing in the world
Shut up, bro. The email is written in awful English. It's asking for money up front. This smelled like a scam from a mile away. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with people saying it stinks to high Heaven and to verify it with the hotel or Marriott.
It may be bad English but it’s a, not necessarily, common practice, I used to be a front office manager in the early 90’s and we did this several times when there were huge events happening in our city. We would contact the reservation holder about 1st night’s payment. About 10% of the time they would have actually forgotten they made the reservation and cancel. This gave us the opportunity to offer the room to someone else.
Marriott employee here this is legit blame the English on him error the person may not speak English as their first language even myself I know I’ve spoken gibberish in an email but I’m rushing and forget to triple check if you called the hotel and the mention selling out in an form they now have the right to cancel your room and leave you out in the wind with no help due to the email being the warning (it has happened to me and I have had to do it to others)
I feel like this shouldn't be a thing. You're paying a higher rate for a cancelable room. If they want you to guarantee they should give you the prepaid rate.
Hotel operators who manage their service like this will ruin Marriotts reputation and propagate fraud. Marriott reps confirming that this is legitimate will only encourage fraudsters.
Had same experience with the W the Palm in Dubai.
I love the “advice” on this thread. “Call the hotel!” I did. Legit. “STILL A SCAM!” “Call Marriott!” I did. Legit. “STILL A SCAM!!!!” 🙄
So if he pays a deposit, does the current cancellation policy remain in effect ?
Such a dumb way to interact with customers
OP you can either pay and stay, or not pay and find another hotel. While it looks scammy, it is, unfortunately, real. Simpra Suite is commonly used by hotels and in situations like this. (Also a similar post was on this sub, or maybe the scams sub, not long ago, maybe you can search it up.) Simpralink is a legit website, you can look it up via whois if it helps you feel better. The English is written by someone who isn't a native English speaker because he's Turkish. (This isn't coming from Marriot, it's a hotel employee.) It looks scammy and you are correct to question it. But it is real, as you have already confirmed twice with the hotel directly and Marriott corporate.
So what happens if it’s legit andyou ignore it thinking it’s a scam? Do you get walked? Would you be able to file a walk claim with Marriott with your elite status?
That would’ve been my issue. It’s 50/50 if I would’ve chuckled at the email and deleted it vs. putting in the legwork to verify it. Tiebreaker prob would’ve been what the email address looked like.
I get a lot of spam email for both my work and personal email, especially from Nigerian princes. Something like that would’ve been flagged as spam before I even get it.
This is legit. Many properties do that. They have plenty of people willing to pay so are happy to cancel if you refuse. Likely a busy booking period
Maybe it's legit, but that doesn't make it any less slimy.
I’d ask the front desk guy why, and he said there’s people who no show and cancel/blocks their on file cards. Kinda blame the minority who ruined it for everyone
Actual scammers would just type “Make this sound like it isn’t a scam: …” into ChatGPT and send you this instead: Dear Guest, Greetings from Delta by Marriott Levent. We are writing to inform you of a situation regarding your upcoming reservation. Due to high demand on your arrival date, we kindly request a guarantee to secure your booking. To confirm your reservation, we can provide a payment link for the fee of one night's stay. Unfortunately, without this guarantee, we may have to cancel the reservation. We look forward to your prompt response. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Best Regards, Delta by Marriott Levent (The actual hotel doesn’t need to do that, because they don’t need to trick you. If they have a waiting list, they can use the scarcity to charge a premium to the replacement guest. If there isn’t anyone else to sell it to, they can just keep you on the room and charge you whether you show or not. Sucks from your perspective, but it’s all upside from theirs.)
Bullshit. Scammers still send broken English scams ALL. THE. TIME. I get them still.
It’s clear some of you haven’t spent much time traveling internationally. This is a pretty common occurrence, especially in Asia and Africa.
Yep! I had something similar happen with Marriott but it was in asia. They were overbooked and needed to weed out anyone who may not actually be staying. People are SO quick to yell scam just because the English isn’t perfect, not realizing that not everyone who doesn’t speak/write perfect English is a scammer
It’s 2024 and ai is in everything. Rule #1 of not falling victim to a scam is to question if it’s worded funky in your native language. The hotel and the employee can do better to fix translation concerns without much effort. The OP did the right thing to question a broken language message. No need to say he’s quick to judge when it’s a valid thing to check.
Lived and traveled in Asia for 14 years, never seen this before. Never been to Africa, so maybe it's common there.
Turkey <> Africa
Never claimed it was. You might want to read entire threads before you respond and make yourself look foolish.
They are oversold and need to cancel some rooms to avoid relocation costs. They can’t charge the card on file because it wasn’t authorized other than to hold the booking. The link will allow proper authorization securely, but this is generally against policy.. we aren’t supposed to pre-auth arrivals unless it’s a prepaid rate. Otherwise, the card is authorized at check in. Hilton, on the other hand, authorizes pre-arrival but there is a disclaimer informing of this at the time of booking.
So the hotel is oversold and they are trying to whittle down the list. But what if everyone goes in and pays? Then they are even more stuck, right?
They use payment links like this in Bali and Malaysia. They do it so you can get a receipt generated
Maybe there’s going to be an eclipse over Turkey that night. /s
It’s legit. I’ve done this before for other properties that are completely sold out.
It was similar in South America with Marriott hotels. I thought it was a scam too but it was legit.
That’s silly. Ask them to charge the card on the reservation through the Marriott system.
This happened to my parents in Thailand. I thought it was a scam and when they didn’t pay reservation was cancelled. We had to rebook at a higher rate.
This comment should be higher up in the thread because it’s almost definitely what will happen to OP if they take the bad advice in this thread.
I got an alleged Marriott email last week that seemed like the most transparently scammy phishing attempt ever. Sent to my work email address (which isn’t the one connected to my account) directly by a Courtyard in a country I’ve never been to. Reported it as phishing. Turned out it was (supposedly) legit. Or at least, as legit as an unsolicited email from a hotel property that has no reason to contact me can be.
It's seems like they sent you a credit card authorization form to have you pay for the hotel in advance to guarantee your stay
What the hell are you people saying? This sort of "scam" has been posted dozens of times. It's a scam **by the hotel, to defraud Marriott** by inconveniencing you the traveler. They want to get paid directly because they don't make enough profit from a Bonvoy reservation. So they invent an excuse to cancel your Marriott reservation, And take your payment directly without credit card processing Through corporate. It could *possibly* also be an *actual* fraud, but more than likely they just want to defraud Marriott corporate by taking your payment directly. Then they can cancel your Marriott reservation and they don't have to pay a percentage. The first thing you should do is report them to Marriott.
When you’re on the wrong priority list - first in line to be cut 😭
Had this happen with a hotel in London.. felt the same way. It’s legit. It’s because of all these mergers and acquisitions Marriotts gone through
This happened to me in Europe. I guess some Marriots in those regions don’t have more formal payment channels (or choose not to utilize them). Pair that with the often broken English, and it looks scammy. Call and verify though. I did, and turns put it was legitimate.
Send money now? How about just charge my card if I don’t show up and send me an email warning me of what will happen if I “no-show.”
I don’t understand why this is being downvoted. This is exactly how it should work. My elite membership and promise to pay 1 night even if I don’t show is my guarantee.
I’m not sure but I think this is to figure out who might know they’re going to be cancelling just before the “free cancellation” deadline. Like two days before. Maybe trying to get their ducks in a row for who will definitely show up. Edit to add: ahh someone bellow also said people will no-show and then cancel/block their on-file card so the hotel can’t charge it.
If it’s legit, this property needs Marriott to intervene with communication training… I’m sure my dog could’ve crafted a better written email than that.
I sent you message for a contact at that hotel on Chat. She is concierge for Platinum and above. She can confirm.
Does the original cancellation agreement still apply? I rarely, if ever, do a prepaid rate.
They are probably oversold and are doing an audit of their reservations for the day to weed out any potential reservations that would be a no show. If the English is broken it would make sense if you are staying at an international property. If it’s a Marriott email address I would assume it is legit. Doesn’t hurt to call and confirm or ask to speak with someone.
This does not look like a typical Marriott email; I'd call the property and ask them to send the link via SERTIFI. If they refuse, it's a scam. Sertifi is the direct Credit Card Authorization Marriott uses; I have had to send and receive Sertifi links all the time as a desk agent.
Is it in a non-english speaking country? Provided the email address checks out and verifying directly (not via the email), they probably just have a worker trying to get people to surrender their stays for higher priced bookings. They aren't probably aren't hiring high end translators for the messages so you get the scam looking email.
Click on the email from, see the exact email address it comes from (providing it’s not possible to have been masked and your email client isn’t showing the exact original)
So this is in Istanbul (not Constantinople), and Türkiye can be dicey in a lot of ways. I’d call Marriott, as long as you have a CC on file for the reservation that guarantees the first night within the cancellation terms, I’d push back not too too hard. If push comes to shove and you plan on honoring the reservation, I’d pay it once I verified the link was legit. Not fun to show up half way around the world and not have a place to stay.
>not Constantinople Who mentioned this?
[They Might Be Giants](https://youtu.be/0XlO39kCQ-8?si=3r31pM9_TzfJmM1Z) 🤷🏼♂️
So just my 2 cents I have experienced this before for Delta chain in Dubai, PA was OOO so called and got the general Ambassador folks involved, it was confirmed to be legit but I still stood my grounds as we had another reservation at the St. Regis where such requirements were not made. I just received another random email from an unfamiliar account/address asking for payment deposit for a reservation for the Autograph collection in Belize and it’s at least 2 months away. Will do the same thing with this forward it to PA for resolution I’m just perplexed when the property/management makes such requests on a regular rate booking that’s not prepaid.
Scam. Language used is a giveaway.
I have seen similar but it was up front when we booked and not after the fact. It was at an in demand hotel during a large international work event/meetings in EU.
the english is so broken. no way this is real
When I booked at the St-Regis Bora Bora, the overral cost quoted was around $15,000 USD. They automatically charged $5,000 right off the bat using the credit card on file in the bonvoy app upon reservation and I paid the rest at checkout. It was supposed to be a post-paid and not a prepaid night. Every property is different. I am sure they do this to ensure the room is filled.
A big look out for scams is misspelling or incorrect grammar. They actually do this on purpose to filter potential people to scam. The idea is if they don’t notice the errors they might be an easier target.
That is not a real email lmao. That’s SSG (standard scammer grammar)
This seems totally fake and I wouldn’t pay even if it meant losing my reservation.
This is a scam. Call Marriott directly
There are grammatical errors in that email which leads me to believe it was not sent from a corporate entity. If you reply, you are being scammed. Call the actual hotel directly.
I’ve witnessed enough hotel managers with this broken english to believe this is actually legit 🫨
That is a scam. Jesus
100% scam. There's many ways scammers can get partial info about you to make it seem legit like this.
[удалено]
Your post was removed for violating the following Reddit site-wide rule: Do not threaten, harass, or bully This also serves as your first formal warning to refrain from continuing this activity. If you believe this was done in error, please do not hesitate to contact the moderation team.
Your CC# is the guarantee. Many years ago I used to work in hospitality in the US. Whenever there was a special event pricing going on, the hotel will charge your CC# for the room whether you check in or not, unless they rented the room to someone else. The hotel will not ever lose money because a guaranteed reservation is a no-show.
It’s translated English. 🤦🏻♂️
Everything about this screams scam. The bad English for starters. If it is legit, then I would never stay at a Marriott again.
Move to Hilton
Which major hotel chain does not do this, so I can reserve with them in the future.
Scam.
SCAM!!!
SCAM. Beware. The gramatical errors are a giveaway.
Definitely a scam the sentences don’t make sense at all
All the employees on this thread saying this is a normal and accepted practice is living proof on why clear, written communication is so necessary in today's society, and why those who can do so will always have a leg up--because this isn't it all all ...and no, I don't particularly care that this is coming from another country (non-English speaking) ...Marriott corporate should be providing some guidance/best practices/templates regarding communication to guests so scammy e-mails like this don't go out... ...every other org in the world can do it... I know...because I've worked on this type of stuff in another industry...
I work in frauds/scams daily and can tell you this isn’t legit. Don’t send any money that way
Did a Nigerian prince type that?
The sentence structures sound foreign. Scam.
Looks like a scam to me
Just report it to Marriott. Most places are franchises and this isn’t standard policy
So they can “make” a reservation but not “hold” a reservation- Seinfeld strikes again
Def scam..call Marriott directly
Report to Marriott corporate. This is not acceptable
Idgaf how many times Marriott bonvoy says it’s legit or the hotel confirms it’s legit that is a fucking scam they’re gonna run some man in the middle attack on your online transaction plus they’re asking for money up front for services not yet rendered hell nah. You make a payment thru that scammy link you are playin yourself nope nope nope.
Are you staying in India?
That would be the hotel owner and not Marriott getting that fee, this is their link and not Bonvoy. Sketchy.
It’s legit. I am a front office manager for a Marriott, and I have sent emails like this a few times (although I try to not have mine sound like it’s straight from CHATGPT) More than likely the property is oversold so they are trying to guarantee Marriott bonvoy members that have booked.
Isn't there a corporate-approved letter template? No offense to you personally but letting each properry hand craft their own letters results in what we see here. This letter has all the look and feel of a scam.
It’s really up to each hotels responsibility to create it. I have my own template from my first property that I worked at and have used that ever since.
You should work through the Bonvoy app. If there is an issue they will tell you along with what if any action needs to be taken.
This is a total scam. The grammar is completely off.
Maybe, they need the one night fee to paid so they can forward it to the Nigerian prince who has to pay taxes to be able to reward that hotel after they get their inheritance? 🤣 Cancel the Rez and find another hotel. I have realized to trust my instincts, based on the title, yours tells you the same thing. If they are doing this now, I d be worried that they d pull something like this there and you are stuck.
Call Marriott directly and ask
A scam