Thanks for the explanation!

For Marriott, I think they'd be even more useful than SPG since Marriott doesn't provide you with any way to send special requests to hotels prior to arrival and they don't have a guest services team at the hotel who contacts you via email prior to arrival to see if there's anything you need.

Yes, I know i could call the hotel directly but that's annoying when it's in a different country and multiple time zones away. Email communications (or at least messaging through the reservation) is much more convenient. Barring that, an ambassador or concierge to call would be great.