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Marriott fixes bug that added fees to reservations that included children

Sept. 17, 2019
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3 min read
Westin Princeville Hotel Review
Marriott fixes bug that added fees to reservations that included children
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The big Marriott news of the week has been the introduction of peak- and off-peak award pricing. However, there's more big news today for those who travel to Marriott properties with kids. Since at least early 2019, the Marriott booking system has been charging extra person fees for children who are included on paid or award reservations to the tune of up to $100 per person, per day.

This was not just the case at boutique or international properties where small room occupancy limits might be at play. Instead, these fees were being added to reservations at family-friendly, domestic hotels such as the Walt Disney World Swan, Westin Maui Resort & Spa and even the Courtyard Maui Kahului Airport.

When we reached out to Marriott about this issue earlier in the year, we got the sense this was an error and highlighted some workarounds, namely, don't add the kids on the initial booking reservation since that is what automatically triggers the fee.

But recently, a Marriott spokesperson told TPG that, "The IT bug should be fixed by the end of this month, if not sooner."

We've been doing regular test searches, and as of today, the bug seems to have been fixed. Additional child fees are no longer displaying at Marriott.com for any of the properties we searched, including:

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Previously, these were some of the properties that were incorrectly adding on additional fees for children. We are awaiting final confirmation from Marriott that this bug has been fixed across the system, but our tests show that the added child fees may be a problem of the past for Marriott.

Note that having more than two adults on the reservation will still trigger extra person fees at properties that purposefully charge such fees. Also note that the Marriott app doesn't ask the ages of the room occupants — only for a total number of people on the reservation. That means that booking your family's reservation on the desktop version of Marriott.com may be the best course of action so you can differentiate child occupants versus adult occupants.

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  • Solid welcome bonus

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
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