Best Western Rewards - Best Western Platinum: "Room Upgrades" - a farce

I earned Platinum the hard way through this chain (actually staying there that much)... hardly ever any bonus point promotions, no on property benefits. My last couple of stays which just so happened to be back to back weeks, I actually physically brought my card that has "Room Upgrade" printed on it and showed it to them when checking in.

My experience (both locations were different ownership, but groups with a dozen or so hotels under Best Western, so not just one off licensees) was not good.

The first one told me they had no more suites otherwise I'd have gotten an upgrade. Later in the evening, I noticed the hotel seemed to have lots of empty rooms. I decided to log on to the Best Western website and see if they had any suites available for my reservation period. They had 4 available. I asked the morning clerk about this and she told me that nothing was available. It must be their standard line. Or maybe they just reserve one or two suites for upgrades but keep some open for potential walk ins? Okay, business decision, I understand.

The second one I was told upon arrival that my rate was so low (I used a 20% off promotion to reserve a 2 double bed room advertised on the Best Western site when booking) that they could not upgrade me. Further, due to my rate, they were giving me a room with just one queen bed. I asked if I could have a room with a single king. Yes, for another $28 a night. It was before 6 PM. I decided to leave and stay elsewhere. They tried to tell me I had to cancel the prior day, but my printed reservation stated cancel by 6 PM day of arrival for no charge.

I reported these incidents to Best Western Rewards customer service page that tells you to "tell them" if you do not receive recognition/benefits and received fast replies stating all benefits are subject to property discretion. Why do they even bother?

When I stay at Hilton properties, with gold, I always receive an upgrade. Sometimes a suite, sometimes a room with the better view (I always reserve the lowest cost room)...

Well, you know. That's the thing about Best Western. Also me, as a Diamond, don't see much benefits. Most hotels don't give you any substantial benefit. In the hotels where I am very often, I do get room upgrades and/or breakfast - but only after asking. Some hotels completely ignore my status. A complaint to BW customer service gives you 2,000 BW rewards points (there is a special form for that) but nothing more.

I also earned Diamond last year the hard way.

This year I've stayed in 6 different BW properties and so far not one single upgrade beyond the basic room that I book online. Not even so much as a mention of the Diamond status at check-in.

After my Diamond lapses, I highly doubt I'll renew it.

Any complaints / comments about lack of recognition here:

http://www.bwrewards4me.com/

Any complaints / comments about lack of recognition here:

http://www.bwrewards4me.com/


That gives you in most cases the 2,000 points which I mentioned. But also here, it's rather a farce and not a real benefit for the non-room upgrade.

I was Diamond in 2010 and 2011 and had numerous stays at numerous properties and never once received an upgrade. I asked once at a hotel I frequented about an upgrade to a Jacuzzi room and their response was "$99". I said "even for a Diamond?" and they didn't budge. It's a real shame too as a few upgrades go a long way.

As a Diamond I too rarely get upgraded.

I can only remember 2 slight upgrades and one major one. Once to a room with 2 beds instead of one, one time from a standard room to a renovated one, and the major upgrade was indeed to a suite.

Not nearly as good as my Priority Club Platinum which so far has gotten me suite upgrades 100 percent of the time. Oh well.

My experience is limited but quite different:
I stayed in BW only once and it was OK. I later asked for a match and was given a platinum.
I recently stayed with them again in Milwaukee. I first booked through BW website but later found a better price at travelocity. Asked for a price match and a $100 gift card, approved with minimum hassle.
The bigger surprise came at the time of check in. I asked gently to see if there was any upgrade availability, the front desk said they can upgrade me to a two queen bed two-room suite for the first two nights, but the third and last night I will have to move back to my original room type. I gladly accepted the offer.
On the third morning, I asked about my new room and was told that the suite became available and I was automatically upgraded for the third night thus no need to move. What a pleasant surprise.
The hotel itself is pretty basic, but you can't beat the location. For the money I paid and the room and service I got, it is a great deal even without the $100 gift card.

My experience is limited but quite different:
The Blind Men And the Elephant: Every BW hotel is independently owned and independently operated, so it's hard to extrapolate results from one hotel (good or bad) to another hotel in the program.

Or, in FT terms: YMMV! :)

That gives you in most cases the 2,000 points which I mentioned. But also here, it's rather a farce and not a real benefit for the non-room upgrade.

I wrote to BW Rewards customer service and they apologized and promised to contact property to improve consistency of recognition of elites . . . but all they awarded me was the 250 points I was supposed to get in the first place. I don't know where this 2,000 points came from . . . perhaps BW was doing that at one point early in their campaign to get guests and properties onboard with elite benefits . . . then discovered that the properties were so haphazard about it that 2,000-point "apologies" went away in favor of mere and more words. At least they should double the 250 bonus to 500 if guests have to take the trouble to write-in to claim it. ;)

My experience is limited but quite different:
I stayed in BW only once and it was OK. I later asked for a match and was given a platinum.
I recently stayed with them again in Milwaukee. I first booked through BW website but later found a better price at travelocity. Asked for a price match and a $100 gift card, approved with minimum hassle.
The bigger surprise came at the time of check in. I asked gently to see if there was any upgrade availability, the front desk said they can upgrade me to a two queen bed two-room suite for the first two nights, but the third and last night I will have to move back to my original room type. I gladly accepted the offer.
On the third morning, I asked about my new room and was told that the suite became available and I was automatically upgraded for the third night thus no need to move. What a pleasant surprise.
The hotel itself is pretty basic, but you can't beat the location. For the money I paid and the room and service I got, it is a great deal even without the $100 gift card.

I couldn't find any BRG information on their website. Where does it say you get $100 gift card for a successful BRG?

This all sounds like my HH Diamond experience. Never any suite upgrades except sometimes at the Waldorf NYC.

Embassy Suites are great as no upgrade needed, they are all suites! And you get 2 free bottles of water and small bag of prezels, wow, hold the phone on this generosity. LOL.

I had my first two stays as a matched Platinum member and yeah, YMMV indeed...I wrote to ask what upgrade would be available and the Best Western Gorizia Palace replied and upgraded me to an Executive room, while the Best Western Premier Slon did not reply or give an upgrade. To be fair, I arrived late at the latter property and didn't bother asking them again for an upgrade (and the place is otherwise excellent!). I think it's worth asking in advance by e-mail, it works very well with Priority Club.

So I just had 6 (1-night) stays over 3 weeks at BW Plus Meridian Inn & Suites in Orange CA (City Drive exit off of the 22 freeway next to the I-5), as a BWR Platinum Elite. (I was going for my max 8 stays for the FALL12 promo.)

The first 2 stays I was put into normal rooms. But each of the last 4 stays, they upgraded me to two-room suites (with a separate LCD TV in each room).

But was that because of my Platinum status, or was it because I was a frequent guest (for a while) at that particular hotel. I can't tell!

I could tell that (from the parking lot plus general activity, plus rates) that the hotel was not particularly heavily booked at the time. And the rates for the last 4 stays were lower than for the first 2, so maybe they were more heavily booked on my first 2 stays?

I'll drop down to Platinum for 2013. I was on my way to Diamond, staying at the same hotel every week. BW Plus in North Canton OH. My travel provider usually booked a suite for me to begin with, but when it wasn't available to book, I'd get the upgrade at check in if it had become available. But they lost all my business when they tried to walk me one night. Yep tried to walk a Diamond. I made the shuttle driver take me to the hotel at the threat of being held against my will, rather than be taken to the Ramada they were walking me to.

I made Diamond last year and Platinum on spend, not nights stayed. BW claims that the hotels are independently owned and operated". But most hotels, regardless of brand, are franchises. BW's lack of standards or enforcement on their franchisees puts them at a serious disadvantage. They need to do what Holiday Inn did a few years back. They need to tighten the standards and cull the herd of poor properties.

They need to tighten the standards and cull the herd of poor properties.

From what I can tell, that is exactly what they are doing. Many lower quality BW's have lost their flag, as they like to say in the industry do to not meeting the otherwise low standards of BW in the US. Intl it is a different ballgame.