peter42

Just got the information that the booking procedure for Diamond Suite upgrades has changed for NA properties.

The old procedure was, that the agent put you on hold while calling the hotel to reserve the suite.

The new procedure is, that the agent books the suite from the normal inventory and later a back office teams changes the reservation back to the original rate plus the suite upgrade and then you will receive an updated email. We received an email in between in errot with the original rate, that's why I called back and got the explanation about the new procedure.

IncyWincy

"Original" rate meaning the rate for the room or for the suite? Not quite understand this.

Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Original rate for the room. I've experienced this, too.

todorovic

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 5: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_1_4 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B350 Safari/8536.25)

So does this guarantee the suite as long as one is available for a revenue booking?

peter42

Yes.

@Rate: The original rate you made a reservation for.

todorovic

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If this is really the new policy then it is a big enhancement of diamond benefits. Wonder if hotels will respond with removing the entry level suites from the inventory.

peteropny

There should be a separate inventory for upgrades / awards that can be pulled from rather than all the entry suites or this may really happen.

peter42

The best would be, that it would be handled like outside of NA, were the suite is taken from the normal inventory (with few exceptions like the Bali Hyatt).

Ancien Maestro

Often the designated suites are not available online I've found.. Have to call the GP/reservation line for them to check availability on their system.

Maybe I just went through this with HR Waikiki. The agent though, had to call the hotel and block off the suite, but she was able to see it online. No suite rate adjusted back to normal room rate plus indication of suite upgrade through an additional email was received on my end. But perhaps Hawaii properties are handled differently?

Not clear about the indications of enhancements?.. If the hotel has it, you can book it. Seems to me you're able to book if the category is available, not from a setaside rewards inventory. Has there been a setaside inventory, or limited number of inventory for Diamond suite upgrades in the past?

soonerfanatic

Well, obviously not the case for all properties. The diamond desk would not apply one of my Diamond suite upgrades at the Andaz Maui. I was told they cannot until the property opens on 9/1.

BlissWorld

What is the procedure with international properties? I got an inexperienced phone agent when I called to upgrade a room overseas (property not yet open) using points. The agent argued with me that Hyatt Daily rate, the rack rate, was not eligible to upgrade using points and that I must book a "discount upgrade rate" in order to upgrade with points. After going back and forth several times, I asked her how much was the "discount upgrade rate." It ended being $20 cheaper than the Hyatt daily rate I had booked. Really? All she needed to say was that she found me a lower rate than the Hyatt Daily rate, even though she was still incorrect

Anyway, she changed my rate and used my points to upgrade. However, she didn't call the property to block the suite (well, she couldn't have, since the property isn't open yet). Do they not have to call the international property? I'm a bit concerned because the agent didn't know what she was doing, especially reading the last post where the OP said that the upgrade cert couldn't be applied until the property opened (andaz maui) and I have no idea what rate she booked me under...

Ancien Maestro

Just went through this Sunday booking Andaz. Rep told me to wait a couple of hours as the request is sent to the hotel, to block off the suite. Deposit is not taken until this is confirmed.

Nothing after two hours so I called Diamond desk again..

Told me that I was only Diamond Member until March 31, 2014.. Was told that they made the reservation by mistake since I'm not confirmed a Diamond Member until February 28, 2015 so this reservation is probably going to be rejected. I waited on the phone to verify with the supervisor in fact that this is a mistake, and should be Diamond Member until February 28, 2015 and that I have DSUs possible to apply towards a future reservation.. my cell phone cuts out.

So I phone Diamond Desk once again.. Rep tells me that I'm a Diamond Member until February 28, 2015, and tells me that the previous Rep doesn't know what she was talking about. Then looks at my reservations, and said that it was booked all wrong. So she books off the Andaz Suite, and says it'll take a couple of hours to lower the rate from retail.

I called Diamond Desk a couple of hours later, and was confirmed to the base room rate with use of DSU. Emailed confirmation.

I noticed that the room reservation confirmation did not list 'Diamond Suite Upgrade Confirmed.' The actual room is listed as a Andaz Suite p o view. I guess the techs fixed this recently, as the room usually read 'garden view' room, 'Diamond Suite Upgrade Confirmed'.