Marriott Guest Redeems 212K Points, Ends Up In 8 Square Meter Room: “Did I Get Scammed?”

An Instagram post about a guest checking into a Marriott affiliated property is getting quite a bit of attention, as the Bonvoy member redeemed 212,000 points for a stay, only to end up in a room so small that he couldn’t even open his suitcase.

I’m actually not sympathetic toward the traveler, but I do think this exposes a bigger issue about the general degradation of hotel branding, and how that leads to hotel groups doing a poor job managing expectations.

Bonvoy member shocked to find how small his hotel room is

A social media influencer type took to Instagram to share his experience staying at a Marriott affiliated property in London. In the short video, he posed the question of whether he just got scammed by Marriott, as he walked around his absolutely tiny hotel room.

He said that “I never expected this from Marriott,” as he filmed from what he claims is the smallest hotel room he has ever been in. The room was so small that the bathroom door hit his suitcase when it opened, and for that matter, there wasn’t even really a way for him to fully open his suitcase.

He felt claustrophobic in the room, and noted how he knew the room would be small, but he didn’t expect it to be this small. He also acknowledged that he should’ve read the description more carefully when booking, but even so, he would never expect this to even be an option that Marriott has. In the comments, he also talked about how he expects better when staying at a Sheraton.

Before I share my take, let me acknowledge that I’d take the tone of this all as being pretty lighthearted, so I’m not going to slam him here as some entitled influencer who “wants to speak to the manager” and is playing the victim.

What’s the backstory of this tiny Marriott hotel room?

For some background, it appears he was staying at the Four Points Flex London Euston. Four Points is already a lower end Sheraton offshoot brand, and then Four Points Flex by Sheraton is an offshoot of the Four Points brand. The way I’d describe it, if something has a roof and has a bed, it qualifies as a Four Points Flex.

Now, it’s worth emphasizing that when booking, the hotel clearly advertises the room in question as being a “Pod 8sqm,” and the pictures of the room actually look pretty accurate. It’s hard to be too sympathetic when you specifically book an eight square meter room, and are then disappointed to find that the room is… eight square meters.

At first I thought “the real crime here is the cost of 212,000 Bonvoy points for a weekend, how is that possible?” But the highest rate I could find at this hotel was 54,000 points per night. My guess is that he actually booked five nights, with the fifth night free, and that came out to 216,000 points total, so he was just several thousand points off. I’d say five nights is a mighty long weekend, but I digress.

Even at the rate of 54,000 points per night, I assumed that was an absolute ripoff redemption compared to the cash rate, but shockingly, the rate for this room is currently £270, which comes out to $362. YOWZERS.

A few things stand out to me:

• This guy keeps saying he expects more from Marriott, but that’s on him for expecting anything from Marriott — as long as Marriott can get a commission on getting a head into a bed, it’ll take it, and gladly sell that to Bonvoy members, as the brand has very few standards
• This is an example where loyalty programs really screw us — if you’re going to spend nearly $400 per night in London, even in peak season, you can do much better than this by just staying away from a hotel affiliated with a major loyalty program
• As mentioned above, this reflects the general issue of brands doing a terrible job managing expectations; I mean, just look at the Marriott user reviews of this property, the average rating is only a little over three stars, because even if you tell guests exactly what they’re going to get, they may still be disappointed, and expect more from Marriott
• Having the word “Sheraton” in the brand’s name sort of degrades the Sheraton brand as well, since I imagine a Sheraton Grand doesn’t want to be associated with a hotel like this

Bottom line

A Marriott Bonvoy member redeemed points to stay at a Four Points Flex by Sheraton property in London, and was shocked to find out that the room was just eight square meters… despite being advertised as being exactly that size. He claims he redeemed 212,000 points for this for a weekend, though I suspect it was actually a five night stay.

Ultimately it’s hard to be angry when you get exactly what you booked, and just failed to read the room description. At the same time, there’s no denying that the cash rate for this kind of an experience is absurdly expensive, and that people incorrectly expect that because something is a Marriott, it’ll be a quality experience.

So yeah, I’d sort of feel ripped off if I redeemed this way as well, but it’s hard to be too frustrated when that’s exactly what was being promised.

What do you make of this “scam” Marriott hotel stay?