Originally Posted by
gpia
Found that this function somehow doesn't seem to work in several places (from the last couple of weeks: China, Thailand, Singapore) so gave up on it altogether. Upside is, status recognition (even Gold) is generally pretty good around here, so you'll likely end up with a better room than you booked.
China requires the hotel to report that you are staying to the local police, so they need to check your passport. Thailand hotels copy your passport, so you cannot check in through the app there, either. I do not remember if the Singapore Marriott required seeing my passport. All I remember is that it was easily the most disappointing Asian Marriott property I've been to. My room was filthy and the staff was incompetent.
With both the Shanghai JW and all the Thai properties, the app will show the UG even though you cannot check in.