Limited "Pool" of Comps

Anyone else find it annoying that some properties, such as V/P, CET and others, send out offers for rooms and/or FP/FB, but only set aside a small number of rooms for those offers and when they're gone they no longer honor the offer, even if they have hundreds of rooms available? I am sure I could go through a host at any of those properties (Mlife is my primary and I just use my host to get whatever I want) but I'd rather not go through a host, as I typically look to use those comps when I'm planning on having a lower amount of gambling on a trip and don't want to upset my host at Mlife.

What I find annoying with these "offers" is that typically even if you call right away, they'll be sold out. And even if they aren't it's hard to find three consecutive days where they have a room available on the offer. My issue with that is, if my play warrants extending me the offer, then the offer should be good as long as you have a room available, not just if you have a room available in the small "pool" for the offer you send out.

I totally understand having a blackout weekend or something if there's a big convention, fight, SB or something, but if you are extending me an offer for 3 nights, $250FP and $250FB, I should be able to get it any time as long as you have a room available to put me in. Anyone else get annoyed with this?

 

Fully agree with you!
I think Mlife is better in this regard.
And it is also one of the reasons I no longer give a shit to V/P and CET.
Do this to me once, I'll never ever spend a penny in their casinos.

 

Totally agree. It is one thing if they sent you the offer in December or January and now in March you're trying to book for March Madness weekend, 2 weeks away. But within the first week of you receiving the offer? No way should they shut you out. There are 2 causes: 1) the offer never really existed... they send you a great offer (you stated 3 nights, $250 & $250) to get you to call, and hope once you're on the phone, you'll accept a lesser deal, or 2) they are incompetent at "yielding" their rooms. Resorts sell room nights through many many channels... standard or "mass mailing" offers (like you got) are just one. Sometimes the marketing offers aren't coordinated with the guy in charge of hotel revenue... the offers go out and then the hotel guy tells marketing that s/he can only give 100 rooms per night on that offer. Or the hotel guy originally signed off but now demand has changed (maybe a new convention was booked) and he re-negs. All kinds of stuff. But none of it is an excuse, they should honor the offers they mail out.

Fortunately the rise of social media has enabled you to express your opinion or to "shame" them into honoring. A Twitter post with a photo of your offer (make sure to black out your name/address!!!) and a note like "got this today, called 6 hours later and was sold out!!! Never again Casino Xxxx" might get your offer re-instated.

 

It'd be easier for me to just get a host to override it than go through that, I just don't want to bother. Clearly my past play warranted the offer.

The other problem is that depending on how the comp gets booked up, you'll end up with gaps where there are a day or two available but not together or three nights. For instance you can get a Monday and a Thursday night but not the Tuesday Wednesday.

I can always just go mlife or take just a comped room somewhere, I justf find this practice dumb and frustrating

 

Yes it is very annoying. It just happened to me when I tried to book my upcoming trip at the Orleans. I called on a mailer I got the previous day and that comped room turned into $105 plus resort fee. For the Orleans? Hell no! Booked elswhere

 

I am in total agreement with you. This practice is my number pet peeve with casinos. To me, it reeks of "bait and switch".

 

Annoying at times... but you have to understand why they send out way more than they have available. The vast majority are ignored.

BUT - if you have enough play, they will find a way.

 

This hasn't been much of a problem lately, but before the recession it came up pretty frequently.

The "problem" is that for some offers they only set aside a certain number of rooms and once those rooms are booked there aren't any more.

The issue people were having was: these offers were usually posted to the Total Rewards website as much as a month or more in advance before they were mailed or emailed out... so people who logged in to the TR website regularly would see the offer codes, book the rooms and then by the time the emails (or back then there were lots of physical mailers) went out most of the rooms were taken or would be taken on the first day the emails arrived (so if you didn't book right away and stopped to think about it, it would be too late).

 

I have never run into this experience with CET but I do as Auggie indicates ^^^ - I decide when my trip is & I start watching for the offers. Normally with CET there is a 'freeplay' standard monthly offer hanging around so if nothing else shows up, I will book that. The closest I came to that problem was a choice of concert tickets - I did wait & when I finally went to book, only one selection was left.

 

Never happened to me with CET but has happened to my mom. Shes a gold card and got an offer for comp room and little bit of FP/FB and they said there was no avail. I called an hour later and got 2 comp'd rooms with FP/FB no problem. I think that they hold a certain amount and then when they hit a certain amount cutoff the gold/Plat, then hit another certain amount and cutoff the Dia, and then leave the rest for 7*.

 

The reality is the hotels / casinos are not scamming anyone, the NGC would shut that down in a hurry. Its a business mix issue. The casino marketing team send out blanket offers with an expectation that X% will respond, and X% will actually show up.
The hotel has to maintain occupancy and the casino side of the house will only absorb so much risk. Everyone wants to jump on a good offer and book. The hotel is also giving the casino side of the house a wholesale rate, they can't afford to sell all the rooms (even to itself) at a discount rate. They are going to fill some of the rooms with direct booking rates, consolidators rooms, and casino rates This is where having a good host relationship benefits you. A good host / casino marketing person knows your
preferences and will alert you to upcoming offers or have some pull in ensuring you don't get frozen out.

Its just the rules of business to manage profitability. That being said if you feel like the property or marketing department is mistreating you, then you should escalate up the chain. A complaint to the executive office, your host, VIP services or even an email to casino marketing to voice your displeasure. Very rarely have I had an issue that I escalated not resolved to my satisfaction unless I was in direct conflict with corporate policy. In those cases I will give a critical review, let the business know I am leaving, and vote with my feet.

There are plenty of casinos in Vegas, and downtown seems very willing to take CET and MGM business by matching offers. My advice is to shop around.