Marriott Certs Sale

[leeboy]

We delivered a reservation that was 100% ok and was cancelled or cannot be changed for reasons beyond our control by the third party service provider (for example Marriott audits the reservation for buying and selling).

If you are buying a reservation than you need to go through a travel agent who will guarantee your stay even if he needs to pay out of pocket. He will also charge you 10% off the retail price and pocket 50% - 70% of the price.

Even so the travel agent is still restricted by the rules of the third party service provider. There are cancelation fees and restrictions the travel agent cannot change. Just so happens that the product you are buying from rewards allows the service provider to do whatever they want . Again 90% of the time there is no issue. but for the 10% someone will be upset. It sucks but that's the reality when dealing with super discounted stays
When you purchase a certificate from a broker the risk is on you ONLY when the service.


And yes, our booking requests forms do spell it out in simple words

[Yehudaa]

We delivered a reservation that was 100% ok and was cancelled or cannot be changed for reasons beyond our control by the third party service provider (for example Marriott audits the reservation for buying and selling).

If you are buying a reservation than you need to go through a travel agent who will guarantee your stay even if he needs to pay out of pocket. He will also charge you 10% off the retail price and pocket 50% - 70% of the price.

Even so the travel agent is still restricted by the rules of the third party service provider. There are cancelation fees and restrictions the travel agent cannot change. Just so happens that the product you are buying from rewards allows the service provider to do whatever they want . Again 90% of the time there is no issue. but for the 10% someone will be upset. It sucks but that's the reality when dealing with super discounted stays
When you purchase a certificate from a broker the risk is on you ONLY when the service.


And yes, our booking requests forms do spell it out in simple words

I lost you here but I don't think you addressed my point about DDF vs other platforms that you deal on.

IMHO, I think it's pretty simple: IF you spoke to these circumstances in your booking form (which someone upthread asked for, though you're perfectly entitled not to post it) then of course you follow that. If you didn't, then you follow DDF norms, not your industry's norms that you keep referencing as though they apply here.

[leeboy]

I lost you here but I don't think you addressed my point about DDF vs other platforms that you deal on.

IMHO, I think it's pretty simple: IF you spoke to these circumstances in your booking form (which someone upthread asked for, though you're perfectly entitled not to post it) then of course you follow that. If you didn't, then you follow DDF norms, not your industry's norms that you keep referencing as though they apply here.

My point is when you book travel even from a travel agent you are restricted by the terms of the service provider (like the airlines or hotels). When the service provider cancels your flights to go dispute the charge with the agent is unethical.

If you booked with me in the past you have access to the forms

[farvus nisht?]

leeboy

Even if you are right (which I don't think you are) you are probably loosing more money by not refunding then by just eating the loos, think about post corona, this is very very bad CS, you don't want people to rather look for a different seller in the future.

 

[ah giten]

leeboy

Even if you are right (which I don't think you are) you are probably loosing more money by not refunding then by just eating the loos, think about post corona, this is very very bad CS, you don't want people to rather look for a different seller in the future.

I believe he wasn't asking for ideas on how to run his business.

[dealtastic]

About 90% of the time we manage to get a reservation booked properly and there are no issues.
It's in my best interest to offer the best service I possibly can.

Since you know the failure rate is 10%, increase the price by that amount. It's clear from the reaction of your customers that there is an expectation for the broker to take the risk.

[israshot]

The mark up is no secret If you ask me to buy a cert you would see our markup isn't even close to 50%.

Buyer is staying at hotels for 10% the listed rate, the broker (myself) makes 10%

What's the markup then?

[leeboy]

Since you know the failure rate is 10%, increase the price by that amount. It's clear from the reaction of your customers that there is an expectation for the broker to take the risk.

These conversations are actually good. It only allows people to understand what they are purchasing. Though, people will still purchase and still get upset when something doesn't work out the way they imagined....
You probably may not know but many of the guys that give advice aren't actually clients lol.
Thank g-d I've been doing the business the same way for past 8 years. I work hard to give be as transparent and go out of my way to do the right thing when an issue arises. Those that actually had conversations with me on the phone before they purchased heard everything I am writing here

[leeboy]

What's the markup then?

For example.

If I buy a category 8 certificate for $1500 I sell it for $1800.
The retail price of the reservation may be anywhere from $7k to $25k for the week.
Hotels like Santa Marina Mykonos, st regis maldives, st regis nyc or Bal harbour, St Regis aspen etc. can go for up to $30k for 7nights.
Essentially the buyer is paying $1800 for a $20k +/- dollar reservation

[g8trgr8t]

If the buyers are saving 90%, the risk is on them. That would only be fair. 90% savings with a 10% risk. No where else can you get numbers like that.

except it is not 90%. Rack rate for my room was $440 per night. Cert was $1100. And that was on one of the better value redemptions. More like 65%. Request to cancel was made 7 days in advance. offered to pay rebooking fee. was told 5 days prior to arrival date (hotel had 48 hour cancellation notice) that certificate would be lost and there was nothing that could be done

[cks33]

In defense of @leeboy - I booked the Bodrum Edition - had to cancel due to Covid. He waived his fees, and was really accommodating in helping me rebook the Phoenician Scottsdale. He waived the change fee, was responsive.

Overall, we had a great experience.

Now, I will say this: if I had lost the certificate, even with all the fine print, I would have hoped he would've worked on making me whole or half at least through a discussion with the buyer.  I don't think one party should bear all the blame in an audit situation unless they called or there was a reason for Marriott to conduct the audit because of the buyer.

I truly didn't appreciate the chances (which I still think are incredibly low) of something like this happening.  I do think leeboy would go out of his way to avoid these types of situations.

[bigdipper8545]

Another defense of @leeboy I stayed in the Ritz Carlton Herziliya and they charged me 575$ for the 7 night package and he paid me back all the money really strait and honest guy to deal with in my opinion.

[Pickles]

Another defense of @leeboy I stayed in the Ritz Carlton Herziliya and they charged me 575$ for the 7 night package and he paid me back all the money really strait and honest guy to deal with in my opinion.

What did they charge you for?

[RichardA323]

After reading for the past couple of days I can agree with some points from buyer and seller
1) Purchasing certificates is risky no matter who your are! this is due to the terms by Marriott which explicitly bans this type of activity. That being said the type of deals being offered are amazing. It seems that his customers do have success and properties will bypass this requirement in an effort to gather more revenue. I have different experiences where I could checkin with no problems and others where it was a headache due to me not being the primary guest on reservation on someone’s else’s reservation.
2)Cancellation with certificates is very tricky because once again properties are not responding in the customers favor. Some properties have different terms on cancellation such as 30 days, 2 weeks, and even 24 hours. This is why it’s important to research and look at reviews from Expedia,Booking.com,TripAdvisor to see this trend taking place where guest who actually paid and cancelled are not receiving refunds due to Covid 19 or any reason you come up with .
3) The reason the certificates are selling for low prices is many certificates are coming close to expiration or the individual is not traveling due to reasons known. So my recommendation is too purchase these certificates if you are sure of your dates. Trying to reschedule is really tough when certificates are expiring and will result in loss value.
Lastly... it does seem leeboy has many repeat customers but it seems many buyers are unaware of terms of agreement and reason for the low prices and risk involved. That being said if you want flexibility other Hotel programs are available but the cost is significantly higher but result in more peace of mind

[Mootkim]

others where it was a headache due to me not being the primary guest on reservation on someone’s else’s reservation.

I hope this wasnt with me...

[RichardA323]

No way!! Mootkim highly recommended

[sprasad]

I was also negatively impacted by the loss of a certificate while booking through @leeboy.  Unfortunately, it is what it is.  There are risks associated with booking certificates and that is something that needs to be taken into account.  @leeboy was responsive in explaining what happened with the certificate and did try their best to have it reinstated with Marriott. Unfortunately with no luck.  I would not hesitate to book with @leeboy again.

However, there are a few points for future consideration and some of the lessons that I have learned:

• There is a three month guarantee.  If you are booking a stay that is farther out than three months, it may be best to reevaluate and book closer to the actual stay
• Find out exactly when the certificate was issued and when it expires.  The certificate that I had purchased was issued in 2019.  Due to COVID-19 I moved my booking from August 2020 to New Years.  Unfortunately, the original certificate had expired and I was riding on a flaky extension provided by Marriott which they rescinded.
• One area of improvement is that maybe the broker can hold half the funds from the seller until after the stay is completed at which point the funds are released?  This way the buyer doesn't take on 100% of the risk if the certificate is cancelled by Marriott.

[maxswanson]

My experience with leeboy is bad, really bad. if you need, i can paste the whole emails with him or his people.
Because marriott extend all certificates at least 6 more months. my two certificate from 2019 extended again to 2021/8/1. I asked leeboy(or his people0 to change my reservation fronm this dec to next Mar. He/she refused and said the change is impossible. After i send them at least three emails and get no response. And my name is not on reservation and leeboy told me when checkin, tell hotel the account owner gifts me the certificate.

I called marriott the first time three days ago after no response from Leeboy. I retrieved the reservation detail and got the first guest name and address and email. Thw agent told me this account was under audit long time ago. They require account owner to send them ID. Now i understand the reason leeboy and his people do not want to help me to change the reservation.

Leeboy,i please give a response.

I booked a category 8 7-night certificate through this leeboy by the end of last year. I tried to use this reservation but...everybody knows the reason. These guys refused to refund,cancel or even change the reservation. I can understand the big blow to travel industry. But at least you should try for your customer to change to a later date. But they said it took 2-3 hours to change. When i asked the detail of the first guest and I call marriott to change, there is no response after that.

So...be careful!

[Agoldsc1]

Sounds to me like but the resolution here depends on whether the goods being sold here are certificates or stays. In these transactions, as the topic clearly states, the sale is for certificates, which may provide, but does not guaranty, access to a room at the property. The sale is not for a stay at the property, as if the buyer would be booking directly on Hotel.com. It seems that the buyer received the certificate (which the seller applied towards a reservation), so strictly speaking, I probably agree with Leeboy. That being said, to Yehudaa's point, most buyers here are users and not brokers, so from a PR perspective, it's probably worthwhile to make shalom with the buyer.

[Alexs]

I would like to jump in this conversation and tell my personal experience with Leeboy.

I joined the forum this year, to look for guidance on buying a Marriott certificate.

As a first time buyer I was very skeptical and the many positive reviews for Leeboy reassured me.

I had several conversations with him and he clearly explained all the risks and we went through all the possible scenarios.

I must say I encountered 2 of the possible problems (my reservation being upgraded for cash plus points which would have costed me $2000 more dollars per week! and the account being put under audit for 1 of the 2 certificates I bought) and in both cases I panicked and Leeboy worked on resolving the problems, which he did. It was not a quickfix, from what I understood it is a painfully slow process for him to correct these problems. Anyways after several days of anxiety, both my bookings were corrected and ready to go.

I arrived at the most amazing and luxurious resort of the island in August (super peak season) and I was still so skeptical, even after check-in I was scared they would ask me for extra money cause the deal was just too good to be true! The cheapest room at the hotel in August is $1000 per day. At the check-in I was so scared it wouldn’t work and instead I even got upgraded to a room that would have costed $3000 per day!!

I have spent the most incredible 2 weeks in an amazing resort, treated like royalty and I still can’t believe it.

My friends that were staying in a nearby 4star hotel paying more than me, asked me if I had won the lottery!

My brother kept on teasing me that I would be presented with a $40k bill at checkout. Instead I was warmly sent off by all the amazing staff and even accompanied at the airport!

Would I book again ? Definetely.

I can’t wait for my next holiday!