Originally Posted by
DJ_Iceman
Well, I'm not seeing all the posts by the controversial member in question because I blocked them quite some time ago. But I can already tell from the tone and tenor of the unblocked posts that it's more of the same. Basically bragging about how great the SPG treatment is, especially when getting credit for other people's spending and obsessing to a ridiculous degree to ensure every employee at every property knows just how important they are and why they deserve the biggest suite and the most pampering treatment even when staying on the cheapest possible rates when on actual, personal travel.
Amen to that! One thing that MR and SPG people have in common is that someone who influences or drives spend for groups, especially in luxury hotels, is going to be flagged for VIP treatment. It's my understanding that the Ambassador program was started to help drive spend and satisfaction among individual guests, letting the sales/SPG Pro team work their meeting/planner clients such as the OP.
My experience as an Ambasador guest (from it's invite-only days) is likely more mixed than what I'm guessing the OP has stated. It was an amazing program the first few years, lots of fun surprises and perks. Over time those have dwindled. Yet, the main feature of the program: a single point of contact for anything you need remains. I do believe that engagement with your ambassador is key, both to keep yourself top of mind with an ambassador that may be overworked due to growth of the program, but the more your ambassador knows your preferences and quirks, they will get better and better at helping you out. I do think that a higher end property (St. Regis, W, Luxury Collection and LeM is more likely to pay attention to Ambassador requests and preferences, but I'll also say that some Sheratons and Westins have truly surprised me with amazing treatment, while some W's have done nada. I do think the $20K spend bar will help the program manage its numbers and hopefully provide greater incentive for consistency in treatment/amenities.
Another thing that has continued to impress me about the program is that the Ambassadors are never pushy in terms of things like upsells or pressuring you to make a booking. And no problem if I booked on my own and later called to ask my Ambassador to change something with the reservation. This seems counter to my impression of Marriott as a sales machine and I hope the Ambassadors do not start suggestive selling or making annoying upsells under Marriott's direction.
I'm anxious to see how my Ambassador gets up to speed with MR properties and how well MR properties embrace the program. My guess is that the learning curve will be easier for an Edition, Autograph, Ritz, and JW while treatment at a regular Marriott, CY or Springhell will be limited.