Originally Posted by philelite

So, I'm struggling to understand how the "Guaranteed Room Type" works for Platinum Elite members.

I made a reservation at Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel. The only option was 2 doubles, so I selected that room and I put my preference as "King" on my profile and called in to make sure it was on my reservation.

The marriot.com website has this Hotel Alert for this property:
Please do not book 1 king bed and request 2 double beds. 2 beds can be confirmed only if that room type is available.

I ignore it because I'm booking "2 double" and requesting a "king" -- other way around, so they can't use that against me.

So of course at check-in I get told there's no King rooms available as they are completely sold out! I say DYKWIA and pull the Diamond card, but no luck. I get told that the guarantee doesn't apply to my situation because the hotel was sold out of the King beds when I booked it.

Can someone please help me? What is the point of a room type guarantee if I can only get it at time of booking if it's available? That's not a guarantee, that's the same benefit everyone gets! Is the hotel trying to pull a fast one? Am I entitled to compensation?