megalab

Along those lines, according to SNA T&Cs:
What types of reservations are eligible?
You can request an upgrade when you book SPG Starpoint-eligible room rates, Free Night Award stays and/or Cash & Points stays.

Recently I've tried to apply SNAs to stays booked under various special/group rates. Sometimes I could do it on SPG.com. Sometimes I couldn't but the Plat Concierge could. Sometimes neither was possible. Sometimes they were booked through SPG.com or the hotel website. Sometimes they were booked through 3rd party sites (e.g. my corporate travel site, the conference site). Sometimes they were booked by phone directly with the hotel. In all cases I received all SPG points & benefits including upgrades (sometimes suites even when SNAs failed). If they all provided full benefits, why were some not eligible for SNAs, and why would the Plat Concierge be able to apply them if the website wouldn't allow it?

I ask because I have a conference rate booked at Westin.com that isn't SNA-eligible, though the hotel assures me it's Starpoints-eligible. I'd like to apply SNAs but neither SPG.com nor the Plat Concierge can do it and she couldn't explain why, contrary to the T&Cs, a Starpoint-eligible rate would ever be SNA-ineligible. Thank you for any clarification.

Starwood Lurker II

All I can clarify is that when this happens, you should immediately highlight to either one of the lurkers here and we can look into this. Most of us can tell what happened and would try our best to get help in resolving it.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

FlyerBeek

Lurkers,

Any idea whether or not expiring SNAs will be extended again this year?

Ideally, I'd like to find out before I try to burn them needlessly at random airport hotels for business travel.

-FlyerBeek

Starwood Lurker III

Hi FlyerBeek,

We have not received any information if Suite Night Awards will be extended again this year.

Best Regards,

Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

luvtotravel72

Lifetime Platinum here with over 1200 nights.. Attempting to use SNA's for Sheraton Mirage Resort in Port Douglas Australia. Hotel has 3 suites… 2 suites were free from one your out until 15 hrs - before Starwood would begin their sweep to apply the suites to PLAT's. 5pm hotel time- 6 days before arrival- both suites suddenly disappear from hotel inventory. Hopefully hotels will stop treating their most loyal guests like utter fools. I have stayed at this hotel many times. This will be my last. Rant over..

UKTraveller4Fun

While I am anything but a fan of SNA's and think they should be abolished or overhauled massively. The "sweep" to apply SNA's does not always seem to happen at an exact time and if the suites vanished 15 hours before your "sweep" it is possible with such a small number of suites 2 Plats were arriving the day before you and had applied SNA's to their reservation also and thus taken the suites.

Did you check at all when the suites became available again, were they gone for the entire length of your booking or only some of the days?

UKTraveller4Fun

Hi

Your question suggests that SNA's were extended last year, but to my knowledge it was only when they were first introduced they got extra time and any not used by end of last year were lost that expired at that point, no extention?

Did some people have a different experience?

Thanks

FozBoy

The deadline on my SNA's expiring on Dec 31, 2013 was extended to April 30, 2014.

I hope they do the same thing this year... it's Sept 25 and I haven't managed to clear a SINGLE SNA cert this year !!

controller1

Why would anyone expect the ability to utilize SNAs change in the coming year?

FozBoy

You're probably right, I'm being naďve.

But at least, I'll still have the hope...

UKTraveller4Fun

Did this just happen automatically or did you request it?

Thanks

Flews

I've had 100% success with SNAs this year, at least a dozen bookings or so, including multiple nights.

Cheers,

controller1

Yes, but you are not FozBoy.

With the differences in experiences of members in the use of SNAs, it reminds me of someone who each year rolls 50%-75% of their vacation from one year to the next in anticipation that next year they will be able to utilize it. OTOH, some people utilize all their vacation.

FozBoy

Got an email from Starwood telling me they were extending the expiration of my SNAs… totally unprompted on my side

Flews

Actually, it's September 25. So there you go, you just gained a month!

Cheers,