I’m Quietly Confident About Aspirational Marriott Award Availability

a beach with palm trees and a boat

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Now that Marriott has revealed what categories all of its properties will be in from August 2018 we know that there’s going to be a small window of opportunity during which there will be bargains to be had.

Between 1 August and 31 December 2018 some of the more aspirational Marriott/Starwood properties in the world will be bookable for 60,000 Marriott Points….and that’s cheap.

To avoid confusion this is what that means: Bookings will need to be made between 1 August and 31 December but the stays can be made as far into the future as Marriott will allow you to book.

I genuinely didn’t think this opportunity would arise as I didn’t envisage a world in which Marriott would be this generous (even if it’s only for a limited time) so you may be expecting me to be a bit cynical about the opportunity that we’re about to be given….but I’m not.

a bird's eye view of a resort
St Regis Bora Bora – Image Starwood

A number of people have been saying that having the likes of the St Regis Bora Bora and the St Regis Maldives Vommuli priced at 60,000 points/night is only really a good deal on paper.

In reality, they say, award availability will be very limited (due to demand) so only a few of us will be able to get the reservations we want.

I see things in a slightly different way.

Yes, awards may be slightly trickier to come by but it won’t be because of demand. If award inventory is limited it will be because Marriott will be making fewer room categories open to award bookings (View From The Wing confirmed this last Thursday).

In the past a number of different room categories will have been open for award reservations (because the awards cost so much) but, going forward, that’s not going to be the case.

The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort
St Regis Bora Bora – Image Starwood

Where pool villas, beach villas and overwater villas were once all available for award bookings now it could be that only the first two categories are released for awards.

But I’m still quietly confident that a lot of us will be able to book awards at some truly fantastic properties….and this is why:

Travel Times

Most of the 60,000/night properties that people are talking about are not particularly close to the parts of the world where I suspect the larger Marriott Points balances reside (Europe and the US) – I expect the travel involved in getting to these destinations to put off a good number of people.

a map of the world with red lines

For destinations in Bora Bora and the Maldives (for example) it will take at least two flights to get to the right country/region before a third flight is needed to get to the resort (or close enough to the resort so you can catch a boat to get there).

It can take a lot of hours of travel time to get to some of these amazing locations and that’ will definitely put some people off when they sit down and try to plan the trip

The Cost of Travel

If the amount travel involved doesn’t put people off then the cost of getting to the luxurious resorts may do the job instead.

Have you been to Bora Bora? Have you planned a trip there? If not, you may be in for a surprise. I’ve done both and I can tell you that it’s not cheap and, because there aren’t a lot of flight options, award availability isn’t exactly easy to find either.

a row of seats in an airplane
Air Tahiti Nui A340 Business Class

A lot of people will refuse to fly the distances involved in anything worse than Business Class and once they find out that flight awards aren’t available they’ll be put off by the cost of fares.

If the cost of the main flights isn’t bad enough the cost of the in-country transfers (which you’ll have to take) can be expensive too – Roundtrip between Tahiti and Bora Bora costs around $400 per person and that’s just for a short 35-minute flight. Flights within the Maldives can cost even more.

The Costs Once You’re There

This is often something people don’t consider until they get to their destination but it’s well worth thinking about before you book anything (I wrote about this in greater depth earlier in the week).

The resorts we’re talking about here are true 5* luxury resorts and are often in the middle of nowhere. Dining is expensive at these resorts (as are most of the activities) and you don’t have anywhere else to go if you don’t like the prices – you’re essentially a captive for the duration of your stay.

a plate of fruit on a table

Dinner can easily run to $150 per person every night you’re at one of these resorts so, for a couple visiting for 5 nights, that’s $1,500…and they haven’t paid for lunch, breakfast or drinks yet.

People Are Overestimating Demand

Those of us who live and breathe the miles and points world live in a bubble that most of the outside world knows nothing about or, if they do know about it, they don’t understand it.

We, as a community, know that come August there will be some great bargains available to book but the number of people who understand this and also have the right combination of points, vacation days and knowhow to book these trips is a lot lower than people seem to think.

Yes there will be a rush of demand from those in the know when the new award chart goes live in August but that group isn’t as large as you may think.

Bottom Line

I’m not saying that it’s going to be simple to book the exact dates you want at your first choice resort but I don’t think that booking awards will be as hard or as impossible as some are suggesting either.

We all love a bargain and there’s no doubt that 60,000 points/night for properties that frequently cost over $1,000 /night is a bargain….but you have to factor in all the other costs too.

The rooms at these top-end luxury resorts may essentially be free but once people start to add up the costs of travel and the costs of eating, drinking and having fun at the resort I suspect they’ll start to have second thoughts.

I’m rapidly being put off trying to book the St Regis Maldives because I don’t like being forced to pay $650+ for a roundtrip seaplane transfer between Male and the resort and I doubt I’m the only one who feels that way.

I’ll probably still try to use one or more of the sweet spots in the new Marriott award chart when inventory is released but the chances of me heading to Bora Bora or the Maldives are pretty slim.

Is anyone else being put off from trying to book the more exotic properties because of the travel times/cost or the other costs involved?