That's what I thought as well (should be available as an upgrade to Plats) so I asked if they had any "pure" rooms available and was told they had a few available; he was actually getting ready to assign one and charge me the extra fee.
After I declined the fee and inquired about their upgrade policy for those rooms, the front desk attendant at the Sheraton Philly got a tad defensive and said that the $20 fee was charged to "everyone" -status or not- and mentioned something about "businesses needing to make money" and that the new hotel management folks were enforcing it (or something along those lines; I wasn't really paying attention at that point)
Not a huge deal but seems to be another example (I've experienced it more this year than ever before) of SPG policies not being followed across various properties.
Would any of you have handled the situation differently? It rubbed me the wrong way a bit but I was in a rush and didn't feel like they were at all open to the idea of providing that room without a $20 surcharge. Def have not experienced this at an SPG property before tonight.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I suspect that it should not normally be comped for Golds as it wouldn't be an enhanced room in the same category (since this seems to be a separate room category generally costing $20 more per night), but it should be free for Plats if available at checkin from any rate booked on spg.com etc. However, I also suspect that the front desk will offer it as an upgrade only if prompted, just as they generally don't offer an upgrade to an accessible room or suite.