Do Marriott Friends and Family Rates always save you money on your hotel booking?
What are Marriott Friends and Family Rates?
Marriott offers employees' friends and family members discounted rates for non-business leisure travel at properties around the world. Now that Starwood and Marriott are merging, we thought it was time to see what's changed since our last post about Marriott friends and family rates and we'll also try a dummy booking to see how much money you can save by using these rates. On the Starwood site, it states that the new Explore program can be used by Starwood and Marriott associates and Starwood associates' immediate family members, while the Explore Friends program can be used by Starwood associates' friends and family and extended family members. There doesn't seem to be a similar page on the Marriott website as yet, so we checked to see if the code we used in the past (MMF) still works in the 'Special Rates' box when searching for a hotel - and it does! When using the code MMF, the rate details shows that it's now classed as the 'Explore Friends Rate' and valid ID and an authorization form is still required:
How much can I save with Marriott Friends and Family Rates?
We checked Marriott for a one-night stay for two in Arlington, VA, on March 20th, 2017 and the redesigned Category 4 Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park came up at $278.88 all-in for the flexible non-member rate or $273.28 all-in for the flexible Marriott Rewards member rate:
