Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I'm in a similar situation: already 100+ nights and no one can tell me my spend to date or even how spend will be counted so that I can estimate it myself.
I've been trying to get some answers, including about when I'll be assigned an Ambassador, and if anyone knows anything, they aren't revealing it. After spending hours on the phone and waiting a long time, I finally got an extremely noncommittal email from a MR elite supervisor saying that things will be announced later.
I also got stiffed on the Ambassador experiment and I responded by voting with my feet and shifting 100+ nights to Hyatt, where I've been treated very well and have had a Private Line Agent > My Hyatt Concierge for almost a decade.
If you spent hours on the phone just to get answers, you've spent more time on it than the potential benefits you could receive.
You strike me as a proactive and knowledgeable person...I am too...I do have a quality Ambassador, but she is often a go-between for me and the hotel.
She has setup some great welcome amenities, used to "pass along" suite upgrade requests, and takes care of your24s (perhaps the written confirmation email on this is the best part). I'm sure the status designator has helped upgrades at some hotels, and it also usually causes you to end up on the VIP list at check in.
All that being said - and again, I haven't had to change mine and find her very competent - there are some things that they haven't been able to do:
*I read on FT about an aloft in Asia not doing suite upgrades (per the published benefit) but had read of them doing exceptions for P100s. I asked her to find out the current policy on this. She confirmed, in writing, they would do a suite upgrade if available. Arrive with my guest and property denied any upgrade. 8 hours after check in I hear from my AMB without much solution (I offered something which she setup, eventually)
*Needed to cancel an award within the cancel policy (only time ever) and it was due to a medical situation caused by another Starwood we were currently staying at. AMB could not get it done; I eventually had to follow up with Customer Care and it took awhile, but even a Preferred Guest can speak with Customer Care [meanwhile, MR has told me recently when I wanted to cancel 9 minutes before the 24 hour window expired, that they had a specific Platinum cancel override and that they have control to make any hotel allow a cancel for any Platinum; jarring, the differing approaches]
*Had potential bed bugs in Italy and she sent me an email with what the pest company found, hours after the GM had already communicated the same to me also via email
---> Frequently I now talk directly with property management; then I can be precise in my queries, I know who I spoke to (and they likely have more accountability with guest conversations), and properties have always been accommodating in requests. The AMB can be quite repetitive while I prefer efficiency.
I am also worried which CRM system they will use for the new AMB program; I know the current SPG AMBs have a different system than the Platinum Concierge, and given the cluster that the merging of BRG has been, I am not optimistic...