Marriott Bonvoy has announced a change in the earning of elite nights and points, for members staying at Protea hotels.

At the moment, the earning is :

• 10 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 USD
• 1 elite qualifying night for each night

Effective March 1, 2023, members will get:

• 5 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 USD
• 1 elite qualifying night for every 2 nights of stay

Therefore, the number of points per dollar will decrease at the same level as the hotels:

• Residence Inn
• TownePlace Suites
• Element
• Homes & Villas by Marriott International

But this concept of an elite qualifying night every two nights is new to Marriott Bonvoy. So, if you stay consecutively at the same Protea hotel, you will get :

• 1 night = 0 elite qualifying night
• 2 nights = 1 elite qualifying night
• 3 nights = 1 elite qualifying night
• 4 nights = 2 elite qualifying night

And so on.

However, all other terms are unchanged. Elite members will have the same recognition of their status as in the other hotels of the chain, as usual.

There are 64 Protea hotels, which are only the African continent, such as South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Algeria.

It’s a change that may become a precedent and perhaps a test for the hotel chain’s other Select brands.

For travelers who only stay in Protea, it will now take 50 nights (or more) to only reach Gold status (25 nights). This is a definite inconvenience.