I am not going to complain about not getting an optional elite benefit, but I do tend to be a repeat customer more at properties where I get better treatment and part of that better treatment may sometimes be a complimentary upgrade offered without any nudging on my part.
I agree that what you were told might not actually be a general policy for the hotel, time will tell whether such is the case with the statement about the hotel's new "policy". Once in a while I have run into Guest Services Reps who have a penchant for saying no to any requests (not just room upgrade requests) in a very assertive fashion, these few tend to throw out phrases like "that's never been our policy", that was done "incorrectly" (at the 97 other properties you stayed at), that's "illegal", etc.