A couple of weeks ago I published a timeline as to when Marriott would be integrating SPG properties into their system. This is an important milestone and one of the last remaining things Marriott needs to do in order to complete their merger. As of today, all Four Points and Tribute Portfolio brands should be fully integrated into the Marriott system.
The integration timeline looks like this:
Round | Date | Brand Integrating | |||
1 | September 18, 2018 | Some Four Points | |||
2 | October 10, 2018 | Remaining Four Points | Tribute Portfolio | ||
3 | Late October | Sheraton | |||
4 | Late November | Westin | Le Meridien | W Hotels | Design Hotels |
5 | December 11, 2018 | Luxury Collection | St. Regis | Aloft | Element |
Why Integration Matters
The most important reason integration matters is because some legacy SPG properties have been misbehaving by not listing any rewards availability. With the integration Marriott will have more control over the hotels rewards availability. This means that if you have been having trouble booking a Category 8 hotel at Category 7 pricing, expect it to become much easier from December 11, 2018 until January 1, 2019.
Additionally, members have not been able to book SPG properties with Marriott travel packages (legacy and new) and Points Advance reservations have not been possible at these properties. As integration happens all of these problems get solved immediately.
How to tell if a property has been integrated
You can easily tell whether a property has been integrated by the screen Marriott takes you to at check out.
If you see the purple SPG screen below at check out, the property is NOT integrated
If you see the blue Marriott check out screen, the property IS integrated and you can redeem travel packages and complete points advance reservations.
The Marriott merger has been rocky and Marriott has had some communication issues about these changes, but these are steps in the right direction. We should hopefully return to normalcy as of January 1, 2019.