Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Continuing Marriott Partnership
MGM made a comment during the Nevada Gaming Board meeting yesterday that was a bit surprising. They mentioned that when they take over The Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in Vegas, they planned to keep the Marriott / Cosmo partnership going.
That wouldn’t be super surprising, since Cosmo and Marriott have had a partnership for a while now, except for the fact that MGM has a partnership with World of Hyatt for all of their other Vegas hotels. It was assumed that when MGM completed the sale of Cosmo, in the next month, that the Cosmopolitan would become a part of the Hyatt partnership. That would put it in line with every other MGM hotel on the strip.
This surprising news will make some happy and others a little upset. If you are a Marriott Bonvoy loyalist then you are pretty happy with this turn of events. If you rock World of Hyatt as your hotel brand then you are not very happy about this at all.
The award prices in the Hyatt program would have likely been more obtainable. I am guessing redemptions would have been in the 25K a night range. Marriott award prices are usually much higher, and it will only get worse with them going fully dynamic next year.
Overall, it probably isn’t a huge deal on the redemption side since points are usually not a great option in Vegas. Unless their is a major event driving up the cash price at hotels award redemptions are usually below average returns. If you spend a lot of money while on property though, you could be upset about missing out on earning Hyatt points during your stay. Anyone that values the Marriott program will be happy that they still get that option though.
As with most things in Vegas, there are some winners and some losers here. If you are getting saddled with that “L” or not depends on which program you prefer.
Hat Tip: Marc Meltzer
Big news for the miles/points people – During NGCB meeting MGM says it plans to keep the Marriott partnership w/Cosmopolitan.
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) May 12, 2022
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[…] September 2021 we learned about MGM’s acquisition of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. As noted by Miles To Memories, there’s now a major update about whether this hotel will be affiliated with Marriott or […]
The big question is will they drop resort fees if booked through mgm?
Or will one only be able to book through Marriott?
I doubt there will be waived resort fees either way. Would have to have MGM Gold status and book via MGM to get that imo.
Could have been worse, could have been a Hilton that cost a million points or IHG. I like IHG but their LV strip properties are stupid to book as awards.
I bet they have some hard-core contract in place with Marriott. I bet when that expires it will move over.
That is my thinking as well
The conspiracy theorist in me has to wonder if they are doing it because they want to see if Marriott might offer a more lucrative partnership (to drive bookings, etc.) than Hyatt. I suppose another reason might be an existing longterm agreement/contract that existed with Cosmo/Marriott that perhaps they are required to honor.
I lean into your theory that this is a try-out. But Marriott is a terrible company to deal with. I know because I used to be a travel agent and Marriott was despised. Not paying commissions and delivering benefits promised is universal with Marriott and has been for well over 30 years.
My guess would be they are honoring a contract in place. This is a chance for Marriott to make an impression. But, as we all know they probably won’t make a good one 🙂