One Marriott property in Miami is offering a reward to guests who leave a review of the hotel… but only if it’s very positive.
Aloft Miami offers 3K points for top scores in survey
LoyaltyLobby flags how the Aloft Miami Brickell seems to be sending a post-stay email to Marriott Bonvoy members, with an interesting offer. “As a token of appreciation,” the hotel is offering 3,000 Bonvoy bonus points to anyone who completes the post-stay survey “with a top score.” In other words, if you give the hotel perfect scores in the survey, you get points. If you had any issues with your stay, that’s your problem… no points for you!
Here’s the body of the email that guests are receiving:
Thank you for being a valued Marriott Bonvoy member.
It was truly a pleasure having you with us at Aloft Miami Brickell. We hope your experience was enjoyable and that the vibrant energy of our hotel matched your rhythm during your stay.At Aloft Miami Brickell, we strive to deliver memorable experiences for each of our guests. Your feedback is an important part of that journey. If you happen to receive a survey from Marriott Bonvoy regarding your recent visit, we kindly invite you to share your thoughts with us. A perfect 9 or 10 not only inspires our team but also helps us continue raising the bar in service and hospitality.
As a token of our appreciation, we will be happy to award you with 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points for completing the survey with a top score.
Here’s how it works:
- Keep an eye on your inbox, the survey is usually sent a few days after check out.
- If you enjoyed your stay, we kindly ask you to select the top score.
- Once completed, we’ll take care of the rest and your points will be credited to your account.
Thank you once again for choosing Aloft Miami Brickell.
We look forward to welcoming you back soon and making your next stay even more memorable.
My take on this Marriott property’s sneaky practice
To state the obvious, what this Aloft property is doing is not only unethical, but violates Marriott’s policies. There’s nothing wrong with having some sort of a raffle for those who complete the post-stay survey, but dictating the types of reviews that are eligible for a reward is just plain wrong.
Marriott’s internal guidelines apparently say the following regarding this (not that Marriott cares all that much about enforcing its policies):
Properties must not offer compensation, incentives, or rewards (including Bonvoy points, discounts, or amenities) in exchange for a specific survey score or review rating. Guest Voice feedback must represent authentic guest experience without manipulation or conditional benefit.
For what it’s worth, this particular Aloft property currently has a score of 3.7 out of 5.0 on Marriott’s website, which is okay, but not great. Reviews lately have been overwhelmingly positive, so one wonders what the score would be without this incentive.
Here’s the thing — 3,000 points is actually a pretty decent reward for leaving a survey. Clearly the hotel cares a lot about improving its score, or at least is willing to throw money at it in this way. If I stayed at the hotel and had a good experience, I’d certainly be more likely to leave a review than otherwise, if 3,000 points were on the line.
But at the same time, it’s of course completely wrong to do this, and it undermines the entire point of having members provide their honest feedback about stays. If these ratings simply become a function of which hotel is willing to pay the most for positive feedback, then, well… that’s not so great.
Bottom line
The Aloft Miami Brickell is offering Marriott Bonvoy members 3,000 bonus points for completing the post-stay survey, and leaving “top scores.” The hotel doesn’t want your honest feedback, it just wants you to say nice things, and it’s willing to pay. While this violates Marriott’s rules, I can’t say I’m surprised that a hotel is trying to play this game.
What do you make of the Aloft Miami’s survey scheme?
