otptravels

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find a thread as "different" and "other" were removed as search words.

I'm booking 5 nights at the Grosvenor House London using points for my parents. If I put my name and my dad's name on the reservation (same last name, different first name), can he check in and get the platinum benefits (upgrade/lounge access)?

MAMOHT

Last week booked Key West Marriott for my friends. They got the arrival gift, free breakfast and upgrade to the ocean view suite. I got the nights.

hhoope01

I booked a room a month ago for my parents using my points. I put my father's name on the reservation, but given that our names are the same (except for the suffix) the hotel treated them as if they were me. So it does seem to happen.

My suggestion though is to not expect it to happen and if it does, great. Your parents may get a little better treatment. If it is OK for them to stay in the room category you book and not get Plat benefits, then fine play the game and maybe everyone is pleasantly surprised. But if you really want them to have that room upgrade or something else, I would suggest calling the hotel directly and to try and work a deal with extra points or cash or something. That way there are no disappointments.

bt13

my dad (who is plat) booked me and the wife (neither of us have elite status) the Marriott resort on curacao a few years ago for our honeymoon. he booked us into an beachfront room, and told us that the agent told him to make sure that we asked for an upgrade once we arrived, and that if there was a suite available they would give us one. when we got to the desk they gave us our room assignment and it was the beachfront, so i politely asked if there was a chance for an upgrade to a suite. they apologized for not recognizing it immediately and without a question put us in a suite for the week. i was surprised that we were able to upgrade in the first place, having no elite status, and also pleased with the willingness of the desk to immediately make the switch.

long story short, you should be able to do it. it worked for me as the non elite traveler.

edit: my dad and i have different first names, so there wasn't any way they could confuse me for him.

hhoope01

While your situation may (or may not) be the more likely outcome, realize that only the elite member themselves is "supposed" to get the elite benefits, not everyone else. Almost everytime I have traveled with others and booked more than one room, everyone in both rooms has been able to get CL access, breakfast benefits, or even room upgrades, but again, the program rules don't require that. So I when I do book multiple rooms, I come in not expecting the benefits to be applied to all rooms, but am definitely happy when they are.

So as I stated earlier, don't plan on your parents getting the room upgrades and other elite benefits and then get angry/disappointed if they don't get them. If it is important enough that they get an upgrade room, then book the upgraded room. No disappointments then.