dgparent

I am thinking of trying for PLT at Marriott next year instead of always staying at Hiltons. Basically for a couple of reasons.

1. Maybe after staying 100+ nights in Marriott's next year maybe I will get one of those fabulous "We want you back and get 50K bonus points" emails from Hilton, they sure don't give anything to me now to stay loyal.

2. Get PLT at Marriott and you get PLT at SPG - they actually get upgrades.

As a HHonors Diamond, I have never gotten a upgrade, in fact it is now to the point that I sometimes have to ask for my water etc. I would like to rack up a few hundred thousand M points and move them to SPG and take my wife to some really nice properties.

Looks like I will spending over 200 nights on the road next year, so they will be losing quite a bit of that business. If they actually introduced a new level that guaranteed upgrades Diamond + or what ever and NEVER matched it /gave it away I would consider staying.

365RoadWarrior

I'm moving the other direction (s). I was an original SPG Lifetime Platinum. It seems like that status is doomed, so I'm redoubling efforts for Lifetime Gold Passport and Lifetime HHonors (I should be very close on the latter. )

And I don't care for Marriott hotels, especially at the cheap end of the spectrum where I live.

Kacee

It would probably be much easier to go for Plat at SPG (25 stays) then match over to Plat at Marriott.

hhoope01

Only if you are traveling to locations with a Starwood hotel close by.

jeffandnicole

Statements like this make me wonder why someone would care about what a corporate giant would be losing? If it was me, I'm more worried about what I'M spending.

If you have the opportunity to go to another hotel and make it cost-effective for you, why wouldn't you do it?

As far as "guaranteed" upgrades, I don't know if that could ever happen. If there's 5 rooms available for an upgrade, and 6 Diamond+ checking into the same hotel, someone's not going to be happy. Or when the hotel considered an upgraded room a top floor room and the customer doesn't see it that way.

Need

It would be great if 5 Diamond get upgrade! Right now it is if there are 5 rooms available and 6 Diamond check in... none of the Diamond get upgraded. Seriously I have been Diamond on HH for 3 years and rarely got any upgrade better than higher floor.

I have been Marriott Plat for less than 1 year and got upgraded to better room just about every time. And I heard SPG Plat is even better.

geekboy

I have been upgraded as a Diamond member (and more as a Lifetime Diamond member) nearly consistently.

The Orlando Hilton (the new one) has always given me some sort of upgrade, whether it's on the Concierge Lounge floor with "theme park" views (Disney/SeaWorld), a 2-bedroom hospitality suite (1,600 square feet), the actual presidential suite (it's about the size of 8 regular rooms), or just a regular 1-bedroom suite.

The WDW Hilton (Downtown Disney/Disney Springs) has consistently given me a junior suite, parlor suite, or at least a room on the top two floor (executive floors).

The Orlando Hilton Bonnet Creek has always given me an upgrade (park view or suite).

The Waldorf*Astoria Bonnet Creek has always given me an upgrade to a suite.

The Tampa Doubletree has always given me at least a junior suite, and many times what I called a "named" suite (like Bonsai Suite).

The Houston Hobby (HOU) Doubletree has given me a suite the last three visits with one of them the large hospitality suite.

The Hilton Providence has never given me a suite, but always gives me a great upgraded room.

The Newport Hampton Inn has almost consistently upgraded me to at least a studio and at times the 1-bedroom suite.

The HGI Ybor City (Tampa) has been about 50% on upgrades over my last 4 visits.

Just stayed at the Hilton Daytona Beach for 7 nights and received (upon my request) an upgrade to a 1-Bedroom Terrace Suite on the 12th floor.

The Providence Biltmore(Curio Collection) didn't really do much for me and they have the WORST "continental" breakfast for Diamond/Gold members. (The breakfast at the nearby Holiday Inn Express is 1000X better.)

Buena Vista Palace at WDW Resort upgraded me to a 1-bedroom Penthouse suite by just placing a comment in the comment box when making the booking.

DoubleTree Hilton Orlando Airport upgraded me to a junior suite upon my request in the comment box as well.

The Hilton Winhoek (Namibia) upgraded my room to an King Diplomatic Suite upon my request, on an award stay.

These have all been this year (2016). While I am a Lifetime Diamond member, I have had pretty consistent results having been a Diamond for 14 years and a member of HHonors since 1988. I don't know if any of that counts alongside my average of 120 nights a year at Hilton.

(I also stay at IHG, SPG, and Marriott properties. I am Gold on all three now but have been Platinum on all three. Of the three, SPG/Starwood is better for upgrades to suites when you hold Platinum status. In my personal experience of having been Platinum with SPG for 5 years (at one point) and Hilton Diamond, my experiences have been about the same. Of course your mileage will literally vary!)

IsleOfMan

Every year around this time (usually a little later, once I've re-qualified for Diamond but have enough stays left to possibly do a challenge elsewhere) I do an analysis on my travel for the current year, expected travel for the upcoming year, and what program(s) I think will serve me best. I always look at consolidating in a single program, having top-tier with one and lower-tier with one or two others, or having mid-tier with several. I fluctuate between 40-60 nights a year, usually right in the middle. I also travel mostly to mid-size cities (Dallas, Tulsa, Orlando, Phoenix, Charlotte, etc), with probably only ~6 trips a year to larger cities (NYC, LA, Chicago, Seattle, etc).

So far, every year, my analysis has lead me to maintain HHonors as my primary program at the Diamond level and usually as my only program of note. Several times I've given strong consideration to trying to maintain both SPG Plat and HHonors Diamond, but I would have to move every possible stay to SPG in markets where viable, regardless of cost, which would be difficult given the premium they sometimes demand and lack of entry/mid-scale properties in many markets. I also considered HHonors Diamond + SPG Gold JUST to give myself some tertiary status and open up options for when a reasonably priced Aloft property is available, but the mediocre benefits of SPG Gold didn't seem to make it worth moving points earnings away from HHonors.

This year has been the first year I've branched out to having HHonors Diamond + Marriott Gold, but the addition of the latter was due purely to a higher level of conference stays requiring Ritz/Marriott and being able to time a status challenge to net nearly 2 full years of Gold. Unless I do status buy-back in early '18 just to keep Marriott Gold for conference stays, that will probably drop to Silver. I've enjoyed the benefits of Marriott Gold but, for the ~75% of my travels where I end up in lower-to-midscal properties, I think HHonors has the vastly superior product and the Marriott Gold status is also somewhat diluted at these properties, most notably by the exclusions at Courtyards.

This thread has triggered me to start my analysis for '16/'17. The Marriott + SPG merger does change things a bit, but the issue at hand is I don't see myself able to earn and maintain Marriott Platinum once the programs are completely merged. The best I could hope for is to earn Marriott Gold on nights and keep HHonors Gold from Surpass. Given the somewhat marginal differences I see in HHonors Diamond and Gold at the bulk of the properties I stay at, this doesn't sound like a terrible option... but only once the Marriott + SPG program is merged enough that all properties earn elite nights together. I could likely start at Platinum by doing a challenge on the SPG side, but it still wouldn't help me maintain it beyond 2017. The net effect is I would be open to stay at Aloft & Element when available, Marriott properties in smaller markets where they're not, have a LOT more options for the handful of larger city stays I have each year, and still have status at Hilton for the off times I end up back there and for if I still have points to burn past 2017. What I have to decide is whether the number of Town Place and Fairfield properties I'd find myself in are worth it.

shorthauldad

Q: If you were HHonors Gold instead of Diamond, what would you miss most?

Kacee

If someone is spending 200 nights per year on the road, it's a good bet there are SPG options for 25 stays

shorthauldad

There are parts of the world where SPG coverage is thin-to-non-existant, go take a look at the UK just for starters:

London (x21 ?), Liverpool (x1), Edinburgh (x1), plus one at a Scottish golf course named after a guy no-one's heard of ...

IsleOfMan

It's hard to quantify. My head tells me my upgrade frequency wouldn't see a major impact, but my gut possibly disagrees ever so slightly. Beyond that, it would be the marginal differences in My Way benefits and bonus earnings, along with the Diamond Desk. That said, if I moved enough nights to Marriott to maintain Gold, I probably wouldn't be at at HHonors properties to miss any of those all that much, and would still likely have some upgrades here-or-there, breakfast, etc.

zachary

If that's not hyperbole, you have some very bad luck or you book upgraded rooms. I have found upgrades to be less common in 2016, but I've received an upgrade at least 10 in my 32 stays so far this year. In my last 3 stays (1 Hilton, 1 ES, 1 Hampton), I've received 2 upgrades. Now I always book the cheapest room available, which gives more opportunities for upgrades.

dgparent

I guess it is bad luck then. I have tried several different strategies, none of which worked so now I just do not even bother. I have tried choosing my room and asking nicely for a upgrade at check-in, not choosing a room and asking for a upgrade at checkin, phoning the hotel and asking before arriving. The one time I stayed at a IHG I got upgraded without asking not even a very high member at that chain.
I guess what you think a upgrade is, to me going from a King bed on floor 5 to a King bed on floor 7 is not a upgrade, maybe the hotel considers it one though.

I should also add that 95% of my stays are for either 4 or 5 nights, not sure if that influences my 0 UPG %, I would assume someone who stays a lot for 1 night has a better chance at a real UPG - to a nice suite for example.

shorthauldad

How do you define "upgrade"? When the front desk tells you it's an upgrade? There are rooms that properties will tell you are upgrades but are only very marginally better.

Hilton Watford (UK) springs to mind, they upgraded me to a slightly larger end-of-corridor room, with a view of ... the back corner of the car-park where all the refuse is stored. If that's my Diamond upgrade power at work, I think I'd cope just fine down a level at Gold.

Hilton Salalah upgraded us to a "suite" (and it said "junior suite" by the door) but it was really just a larger square room with a sofa and dining table in it. Of course it was better than the room we'd booked, but I'd hate to pay cash for a "suite" like that! Maybe they keep it free for (easily-impressed) Diamonds?