Originally Posted by
pinniped
Random thoughts...
- The Starwood crossover benefit doesn't prioritize DL elites over SPG Platinums. This is likely a statistically small number of total room-nights anyway, but if a DL elite gets great service at an SPG hotel, it's almost assuredly done within the context of Platinums getting treated well too. The T's & C's don't promise suites at all to the DL elites...if they get one, then good for them. The stated benefits are more like a Preferred Plus / Gold type of treatment.
- I think a lot of people overlook the importance of length of stay. People say upgrades go by status tier and then rate paid. You're a Plat 100 checking in for a week. I'm the basic 23-night Plat checking in for one night. I might get a suite even if you don't. I think this happens a *lot*, based on my own experiences over the years at all three of the big chains. If I get the Presidential Suite at
any status tier, it's inevitably for a 1 or 2 night stay. If I'm somewhere for a week, I consider a junior suite very lucky.
- I have never received a true suite in my SPG Gold years, so I can't imagine complaining that the DL elites are taking them from me. Back in the day, HH Gold was a much better upgrade tier than SPG Gold. (Now I realize neither of them are very good.) HH Gold definitely did result in multiple great suites over the years, including at some excellent resorts.
- With any hotel, anyone can write or call asking for an upgrade. If you have a decent story to tell and a decent elite status, I can see where they'd honor that request. It's one of those cards I've played maybe 3-4 times in my life. I'm just assuming that any halfway significant hotel management software would by able to alert a manager if I was doing this for every stay, so I do it rarely. But I wouldn't extrapolate this treatment broadly to the status tiers themselves.
- A Carriage House studio suite with a jacuzzi and balcony in the French Quarter sounds like an outstanding upgrade for any elite tier.
I wouldn't bum out too hard about not getting one of the "large" suites.
- Hotels don't know or care whether you're being reimbursed by someone else for your stay. (Large groups with direct billing obviously excepted.) Why would they or should they care? The only reason I was half-kiddingly suggesting that they prioritize award stays over paid stays is that they might be able to statistically correlate award usage to leisure stays and higher occupancy in the room, plus the customer relationship benefit of making a guest's "most important" stay his/her *best* stay. I fully realize this is not going to happen, and I realize some people pay for leisure stays and maybe even redeem awards on business trips. (e.g., A truly independent consultant who charges a fixed travel rate.)
I think with Delta elites getting suites at SPG, it's like Golds getting suites at Hilton. Not in the program T&C, but some properties do it anyway. Not sure though about Plats. getting treated well if a Delta elite does, look at some of the properties in this thread that are upgrading Golds by asking and not diamonds. If Hilton treats a gold better than a diamond, who is to say SPG doesn't treat a delta elite better than their their own top tier? Problem with hotels is there are a lot more variables than airlines. Airlines, every person is on the same flight so it's easy to give upgrades to first class by status, a hotel there are people staying different number of nights, different room types, different smoking preferences, etc.
I think a lot of the problems could be solved with Hilton giving guaranteed suite upgrades like their competitors and base it on number of nights. Personally if I am travelling to Europe I would rather get the revolving 24 hour check in that SPG gives their Plats with a lot of stays than an upgrade, it would be nice to go right from the airport to my hotel at noon and know my room is ready and I can go and take a hour nap and shower and change instead of having to drag my luggage to the Yotel at the airport to shower and change.
As far as who pays for the room, not sure why that should matter for status. As others have mentioned the employees are away from their families a lot and I like to see them have the points and miles to use for family vacations. Seeing a lot of times business travellers book at the last minute, they are also on a more expensive rate. Some business travellers who are road warriors literally live out of hotels and a chain is probably going to prefer a traveller who is spending 200 nights a year on their corporations dime over a traveller who only spends 10 nights a year on their own dime. Business travellers are also more likely to use expensive services at the hotel such as room service and laundry. There is no way a leisure traveller will pay for laundry at a hotel on his own dime but may if the company will pick it up.
And when a lot of my employees or myself travel for business, even though we have a corporate credit card, we prefer our own credit cards be used for mileage and points, etc and just get reimbursed. An business own could also be charging stuff and getting reimbursed by a client so it isn't really on his dime anyway.
As far as exec upgrades go, I have received some upgrades on other floors that are nicer than on the exec level. If I can't get a suite at the Palmer House, the 20th floor diamond level rooms are usually bigger than the exec level. I can understand a gold wanting an exec level room at properties that play by the rules for lounge access, but as a diamond we get the lounge access anyway.