KSA_USA

so tell me. i check in at 3 pm and spg.com shows suites available. how do i know i am first, second, third or last plat to check-in?

KSA_USA

what you are saying here is what is printed in the T&C. I understand as a SW employee you always need to stick with what the T&C says. the problem is what’s printed in the T&C is difficult if not almost impossible to implement. I think William approached this issue in a more realistic way.

consider this situation

Plat A just completed a challenge. checks into a property for the first time at 3 pm
Plat B a repeated guest at this property with long solid history with SW checkin at 11pm
only one suite is available for upgrade

logically who should get that one remaining suite, Plat A or Plat B?

the T&C says Plat A.
in practice hotel would loved to please both Plat A and Plat B. but since there is only one suite left they need to make a decision. the property will most likely assign the suite to Plat B.

another situation to consider

Plat A has little history with SW (2 years of history, 25 stays/ year ) checks in at 3 PM
Plat B has long and solid history with SW ( 8 years of history, 200+ nights/year) and equipped with an ambassador checks in at 11 pm. ambassador sends a request to upgrade his client

only one suite is available for upgrade

logically who should that one remaining suite, Plat A or Plat B?

the T&C says Plat A
in practice most likely Plat B will get the suite.

I can go on and on and on.. there are countless number of situations to consider. that’s why William repeatedly say managing upgrades if a difficult task. it is not as easy as first come first serve.

one last situation to consider ( just to give a flavor )

Plat A just completed a challenge. checks into a property for the first time at 3 pm. but Plat A is the GM best friend
Plat B has long and solid history with SW ( 8 years of history, 200+ nights/year) and equipped with an ambassador checks in at 11 pm. ambassador sends a request to upgrade his client


logically who should that one remaining suite, Plat A or Plat B?

the T&C says Plat A
in practice most likely Plat A will get the suite.

chinatraderjmr

Your examples are fine but you need to replace SW with the name of the hotel. The hotels don't care about which Plat has a longer history, the repeat guest, or guest with more stays at THAT hotel will trump the other

chinatraderjmr

It's happening to me now @ a Westin. They pre blocked a suite for me which is NOT a suite that is part of the Platinum upgrade pool. It's a higher cat specialty suite which when they upgrade to, has nothing to do w Plat status. They upgrade high spend / regular guests. So by pre blocking this suite for me, they have taken nothing away from other Platinums

Starwood Lurker

Thanks for providing some perspective. None of this should be considered as an SOP. Local management is responsible for deciding how these types of things are settled. Most, if not all, are going to try and preserve the integrity of the pre-arrival upgrade strategy because a lot of work has gone into setting it up to be the most fair distribution of a limited resource. However, I can see why some would accommodate a member who is checking in ahead of someone else who was pre-upgraded because the benefit says, "subject to availability at check-in". So, there is no wrong or right answer to the conundrum. It is a one-off situation and each individual instance is handled that way.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

KSA_USA

I agree with you that most likely a repeated guest at property A means nothing to property B. the first example shows how a repeated guest at a certain property ( read: this property) could have advantage over other guests

the second example shows how SW history could be an advantage at any Starwood property. I fully believe that SW history plays important role in deciding who gets what.

the third example shows how personal relationship could be an advantage.

there are countless number of situations to consider

KSA_USA

I truly believe this is the best way to handle suite upgrades. let the property decide who gets what. maybe the T&C needs to be updated to reflect this

the bottom line:

SW is in business to please customers not to upset them. I fully trust starwood on how they process the upgrades. if i don’t get the suite upgrade, i don’t start a fight and i don’t call people lairs.

KSA_USA

my experience is different. i got presidential suites many times ( SCL, BER, BCN, SFO,DEN, DMM, DOH,....etc). i am not a regular/high spend at any of the mentioned properties. i almost always book the cheapest room available. i am not sure why i keep getting them but it’s very much appreciated.

2ndTOTY

To be clear, I would have been totally cool with the hotel saving a suite for a "higher-ranked" platinum than me, however, in this case I was specifically told that the room had been held back to be sold (it was withdrawn for "revenue purposes") which is what made me so upset, especially after they lied to me and told me that there were absolutely no suites left in the hotel, that the availability showing was just a computer error, etc. In these cases, the FD needs to be upfront and honest with customers--I'm willing to be reasonable but when something looks shady I am a little less willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

allbrosca

I'm glad I'm only gold. Lots less to worry about! Just what to do when I am denied 4 pm check out!

ZenWorld

KSA_USA: I am not sure why you would want to rub it in here when OP is upset, and rightly so.
OP had pointed out a flawed upgrade system, and he justified it with evidences to call the Hotel's bluff. He was lied to, and what do you call people who lied to you blatantly, as pointed out in his scenario?

If the system works for you, and you have been getting many upgrades, and many over and above the standard suites, "", good for you.

OP was treated in a shabby manner and he is well-within his rights to stand up to the bullying tactics of the Hotel. He has shown that Starwood has some flaws in delivering the upgrades, as some Hotels blatantly do not follow the T&Cs.

On the other hand, if you have been getting so many good upgrades, I can see why you would let some things go. No need for you to get upset since you have an overall good experience so far.

Dr. HFH

Exactly, chinatraderjmr. If you're a regular/good/high spend customer of any business, that business usually gives you special treatment. IME, Starwood hotels do the same thing; and I see no reason why that should change. If an SPG member spend 150 nights in year at one property, s/he is a very good customer at that hotel; and the hotel undoubtedly wants to keep the business. You can bet that that person gets special treatment, from complimentary drinks at the bar from time to time to a complimentary meal to automatic suite upgrades whenever s/he stays, regardless of how many PLTs check in earlier that day. That is exactly as it should be.

jayer

William, would you please comment on the elephant that is still left in the corner of the room, being does Starwood take issue with a hotel holding back, or not holding back, minimum room-class inventory (meaning suites) from the upgrade pool? My friend the manager swears she has been caught in the middle between infrequent guests demanding upgrades and corporate demanding availability be retained for late-arrival walk-up VIP's more times than she can count. Her position is she is not obligated to commit her last few suites to comp upgrades, as many guests expect, and in fact she has been directed to hold back minimum inventory for walk-ups wanting to pay.

Keyser

i may have missed this but did we get an answer to this question????

Out of my Element

A lack of denial would suggest agreement to me.