One of the advantages of the new Marriott Club points program is that you can go on a wait list if the check-in dates you wish are not available. In 2011, I found that the wait list cleared regularly and that many of my clients did get confirmed within a few months of going on the wait list. Regardless of your tier status, you can be placed on the wait list 12 months in advance of your first desired check-in date. Even the Premier owners, who can book 13 months in advance, can only be wait listed 12 months in advance. Your position on the wait list is important and the sooner you put yourself on the wait list, the better chance you have of being confirmed.
The problem comes in when you want to change the wait list. If you decide, after being on the wait list for a few weeks, that you would consider adding on other check-in dates, your entire wait list has to be cancelled and you go to the bottom of the list. This will essentially put you behind all of the people that went on the original wait list after you. Marriott has no way to modify your request by adding dates on to your wait list. They have to cancel it and start over. You would think with all of the computer technology and skill available to them, that a simple task, like modifying a wait list, could be incorporated into their programming.
So remember, when you go on a wait list, make sure you request all of the possible consecutive check-in dates that you would consider. And don’t be human and change your mind!
