You can get big savings on Marriott hotels by booking them through Airbnb. Seriously! I’ve found several Marriott hotels sell their rooms for less on Airbnb than at Marriott.com over the years. Marriott isn’t ok with this and at times cracked down on the specific properties I’ve written about. However the practice continued.
Marriott Denver South offering lower price on air bnb than on app?
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I’ve even documented instances where the difference in room rate was over $450 per night. It’s amazing that even as hotel chains spend a lot marketing that you’ll find the best rates on their rooms through their own websites, hotels are unloading rooms for less through Airbnb. One guest even managed a successful Marriott best rate guarantee against an Airbnb listing.
Hotels sell through Airbnb to:
- reach a different market not searching Marriott.com or Expedia, and
- price discriminate, pick up business that’s more price sensitive while not undercutting the higher rates they’re getting through traditional channels.
Marriott is hurt when it’s possible to book their own rooms cheaper somewhere else, so the practice isn’t actually allowed. Plus they have their own home sharing site so Marriott hotel properties are fueling inventory for the competition – and it’s Airbnb getting a cut of the revenue instead of Marriott.
To be sure when price is the same you’re going to want to book direct, because
- You’ll receive elite benefits (while third party stays aren’t supposed to)
- You’ll earn points, and Airbnb still hasn’t launched a rewards program
- You’ll earn credit towards elite status
- Sometimes third party bookings get worse rooms, though it’s unclear how scofflaw properties posting their inventory to Airbnb treat Airbnb guests
However if a Best Rate Guarantee doesn’t work to match and even lower the Airbnb rate (since Marriott will frustratingly deny even obviously valid claims in my experience), book on Airbnb because the savings can be worth forgoing Bonvoy benefits.
What’s perhaps most striking is that even after I first pointed out to Marriott several of their hotels that were doing this, they didn’t assign someone to continue to Google “airbnb+[Marriott brand]” to suss this stuff out. Though I suppose there’s a certain laziness combined with desire not to anger owners – perhaps they view it as better in the short run to let owners generate incremental income and not give them a reason to reflag with another brand (taking their fees with them).
One of the hotels that stopped selling rooms on Airbnb is back doing it again, despite the admonishment from Marriott. That’s the Moxy Minneapolis.
Credit: Marriott
Fancy a stay at Aloft Savannah or Courtyard Edgewater near New York? Airbnb it is! I’ve been writing about this for over four years and it continues, and it’s not limited to Marriott, I’ve just found the most hotels doing it that are Marriotts over time.
