It's been a bumpy road for Marriott's new Bonvoy program. The loyalty program has been the subject of scorn since its launch earlier this year. In fact, customers were quick to voice their dissatisfaction as soon as the program's name was unveiled to the public.

Technical hiccups and criticism regarding the handling of integration along the way have only served as fuel for criticism. The negative reception that has been given to the Bonvoy program has caused many to wonder if Marriott would go back to the drawing table. We finally have an answer.

Nobody thought that the task of integrating Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest into one program was going to be easy. It turns out that the leaders at Marriott fully expected some backlash. However, CFO Leeny Oberg has gone on the record saying that the Bonvoy program won't be rebranded or abandoned. Oberg made the announcement at an event in New York City recently. Marriott's head of global creative and content marketing echoed that sentiment at another event. Scott Weisenthal told panel participants that Marriott is simply focused on moving past negativity when it comes to its Bonvoy program. Weisenthal also revealed that nobody at Marriott was surprised by the negative reactions to the new Bonvoy program.

Marriott fully recognizes the fact that integrating three separate loyalty programs into one system is a difficult process that cannot leave every customer fully satisfied. The fact of the matter is that Marriott has simply invested too much time and money into its new Bonvoy program to actually abandon it now.
