Complete Guide to the Marriott STARS & Marriott Luminous

Marriott is one of our top-selling hotel brands and for this reason, we have put together this helpful guide to their Marriott STARS and Luminous program. Keep reading if you want to find out how to get added benefits such as upgrades, hotel credits, and breakfasts at no extra cost.

Traditionally, people signed up to the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program and worked hard to get enough status in order to give them a whole lot of bonus value such as upgrades, credits, and so on. Booking through a Marriott STARS and Luminous travel agency such as Clements Travel means that you can skip all of the above and start getting your benefits right from your very first booking.

List of benefits That Our Clients Get With Marriott STARS and Luminous

The Complete List of all Marriott STARS benefits are:

• Complimentary breakfast daily for up to two guests per room
• A $100USD hotel or resort credit, once per stay
• Room upgrades, subject to availability at check-in
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• A welcome amenity and note from hotel management

The Complete List of All Marriott Luminous Benefits are:

• Complimentary breakfast daily for up to two guests per room
• A $100USD hotel credit once per stay (only at select hotels)
• Room upgrade, subject to availability upon check-in
• Complimentary basic Wi-Fi
• A welcome amenity and note from hotel management
• Early check-in, subject to availability
• Late checkout, subject to availability

As you can see from the above the benefits are essentially the same for each Marriott program except with STARS you will get the $100.00USD credit and with Luminous the credit is only available at some properties.

Let’s use a real-life example to make sense of this benefit program. The below table will compare reserving with Marriott direct, Expedia, and a Marriott STARS agency (this will give you an idea of how the Marriott Luminous program works as well).

Hotel: The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman – 4th of April for One Night, Garden-View Guestroom

What Marriott properties are STARS and what ones are Luminous?

The more luxury hotels or resorts in the Marriott portfolio luxurious / top tier Marriott brands participate in STARS, they are:

• Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts
• EDITION Hotels
• The Luxury Collection Hotels
• The Ritz Carlton
• Ritz Carlton Reserve
• St Regis

Medium tier / mid range brands are part of the Luminous program, they are:

• Autograph Collection
• JW Marriott Hotels
• Le Méridien
• Marriott Hotel and Resorts
• Renaissance Hotels
• Tribute Portfolio
• W Hotels
• Westin Hotels

Can I Still Get Benefits if My Chosen Hotel is Not Part of Marriott STARS or Marriott Luminous?

There is one more way to get benefits with a Marriott Hotels & Resorts booking.

A lot of the luxury brands mentioned above are members of the Virtuoso travel network. For hotels that are part of this program you can expect the following benefits for no extra cost:

• Preferred rates and availability
• Room upgrades (if available)
• Breakfast daily for two
• Dining, resort, or hotel credits
• Early check-in and late checkout (if available)
• Exclusive amenities and experiences

Contact us here at Clements Travel and let us know the Marriott property that you are interested in. In turn, we will let you know what benefits are available.

Furthermore…

On the small chance that your favorite Marriott hotel or resort is not on any program then don’t worry. We have a very close relationship with Marriott and will always work with the hotel to get you a well-appointed room and an upgrade where ever possible.

Introducing the Marriott Guardian Angel

A Guardian Angel is a staff member that is on site of every Marriott property that offers STARS and Luminous benefits. It is there job to do the following:

• Receive all Marriott reservations that are part of the Stars or Luminous programs
• Apply all benefits such as mentioned above
• Action any special requests such as connecting rooms etc.
• Allocating either an upgrade but should that not be available then the best room in category booked.

Essentially the guardian angels make sure that you have the best stay possible.

Does Clements Travel Charge a Fee for making hotel bookings?

We do not charge our clients any sort of fee for making hotel bookings. In fact, we do not take any payments from you. We simply make the reservation with benefits and you will pay the hotel direct, usually when you arrive at the hotel and check in.

This means that you can use your Marriott branded credit card (or any other credit card for that matter) to pay for bookings.

Can you still get Bonvoy loyalty points with the Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous rate?

You can still earn Bonvoy loyalty points and status while taking advantage of Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits

Are Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits available to all rate types?

Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits are applied to the “Best Available Rate” or “Flexible Rate”.

Benefits are not available on a discount rate such as senior and government. You may find it more cost effect to book a Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous rate due to the savings with the hotel credits and complimentary breakfasts.

Is there a minimum night stay for Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous bookings?

The good news is that there is no minimum stay required. Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits are available for a stay of just one night.

I Have Already Made A Marriott sand Resorts and Want To Add Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits

This could very well be possible. Email us a copy of your reservation and we can do our best to get Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous benefits added for you.

How to Make a Marriott STARS and Marriott Luminous reservation

Clements Travel is a Marriott Stars Travel Agent and a Marriott Luminous Travel Agent. We would be more than happy to help you with your next Marriott booking.

For a no obligation free quote or if you have a question about the program then do get in touch.