SPG App showed nice room upgrade - downgraded at Check-In
Sep 20, 2016, 10:43 pm
#16
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I'm going to defend William (and most hotel chains) on this one. It sucks, but upgrades are based upon availability - and that usually means at check-in (which is spelled out in hotel chains' T&Cs). A lot of times we all get upgraded in advance, but if they have someone who's actually willing to pay for the upgrade vs. wanting a freebie, I don't blame some properties for going for the paid upgrade & dropping the free upgrade.
Note I say this when it comes to regular upgrades (aka, not secured in advance through a guaranteed upgrade cert, points taken out, etc). Not sure how the properties handle secured upgrades, but even then if it came to paid vs. trying to make it right w/ other bennies or extra points deposited in one's account, it wouldn't surprise me if the property went for hard cash.
We had a similar experience on the Marriott forum at a Cat 9. Elite was assigned a suite upgrade in advance but was downgraded to a superior room at check-in. The reason was that a NFL team was in town, had booked all the suites (in addition to regular rooms), & extended their stay by a night, thus bumping the elite. The property did offer to make it up to the elite on a future stay, but hard cold cash trumped the free upgrade on that one.
Cheers.
Note I say this when it comes to regular upgrades (aka, not secured in advance through a guaranteed upgrade cert, points taken out, etc). Not sure how the properties handle secured upgrades, but even then if it came to paid vs. trying to make it right w/ other bennies or extra points deposited in one's account, it wouldn't surprise me if the property went for hard cash.
We had a similar experience on the Marriott forum at a Cat 9. Elite was assigned a suite upgrade in advance but was downgraded to a superior room at check-in. The reason was that a NFL team was in town, had booked all the suites (in addition to regular rooms), & extended their stay by a night, thus bumping the elite. The property did offer to make it up to the elite on a future stay, but hard cold cash trumped the free upgrade on that one.
Cheers.
SNA upgrades are confirmed in advance.
Sep 21, 2016, 1:09 am
#17
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Sep 21, 2016, 2:28 am
#18
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it depends what time you check in too.
some suites may still be occupied by elites and if they check out 4pm, you may not get the upgrade until the room is ready.
some suites may still be occupied by elites and if they check out 4pm, you may not get the upgrade until the room is ready.
Sep 21, 2016, 3:19 am
#19
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Sep 21, 2016, 6:49 am
#20
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Yes, it's not just you : this 'I saw an advance upgrade online then I was un-upgraded at checkin' situation has been reported frequently in the past on the forum.
Sep 21, 2016, 8:10 am
#21
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Cheers,
Sep 21, 2016, 8:13 am
#22
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Yes, it's not just you : this 'I saw an advance upgrade online then I was un-upgraded at checkin' situation has been reported frequently in the past on the forum.
Cheers,
Sep 21, 2016, 8:31 am
#23
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Sep 21, 2016, 1:03 pm
#24
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"Note I say this when it comes to regular upgrades (aka, not secured in advance through a guaranteed upgrade cert, points taken out, etc)"
If one is going to be patronizing, one should at least get it right
Cheers.
Sep 21, 2016, 1:41 pm
#25
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Sep 21, 2016, 3:00 pm
#26
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Like somebody slipped a $20 across the counter and the upgrade "disappeared". Has happened to me a few times and the general attitude when I ask about it at check in is that they have no idea what I'm talking about.
Sep 21, 2016, 8:32 pm
#27
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Earlier this morning, the SPG app showed that I was upgraded to a 2-room suite.
I figured that would be a very nice way to ring in the Starwood-Marriott merger... but nope. Apparently i was downgraded to a traditional guest room at check-in 20min ago.
They did have a nice welcome bag with some candies, bottle of cold water, and a welcome note in the room. When I called the front desk, they stated that they're sold out tonight. And "sorry".
This has never happened to me before, and was curious if that's "how it is"?
BTW - I did not apply any SNA's to this 2-night stay, as it's a work trip. So was just looking for the normal Platinum upgrade.
I figured that would be a very nice way to ring in the Starwood-Marriott merger... but nope. Apparently i was downgraded to a traditional guest room at check-in 20min ago.
They did have a nice welcome bag with some candies, bottle of cold water, and a welcome note in the room. When I called the front desk, they stated that they're sold out tonight. And "sorry".
This has never happened to me before, and was curious if that's "how it is"?
BTW - I did not apply any SNA's to this 2-night stay, as it's a work trip. So was just looking for the normal Platinum upgrade.
You'd actually need to be a glass-maybe-half-full kind of person to appreciate receiving a message telling you about an upgrade that you might get. Being informed of unconfirmed upgrades is pointless in my opinion. I know I'm already eligible for an upgrade, teasing me with one that isn't even confirmed just does nothing for me.
Sep 21, 2016, 9:05 pm
#28
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Sep 21, 2016, 11:06 pm
#29
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Personally, I like to be able to see my tentative room type assignment on the Starwood app or website in advance even though I realize that these pre-upgrades aren't commitments.
Sep 22, 2016, 6:21 am
#30
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