Originally Posted by
catcher1
I rarely see a significant upgrade offered with OLCI, and I no longer accept the "best of the bunch" despite the "we'll do our best to upgrade you" statement. Once, I selected a room and, when I arrived at the front desk and asked about an upgrade, I was told that they would have already upgraded me (as a Diamond), but the front desk staff are not allowed to touch a reservation when the client has selected a specific room.
Pre-selecting, or even checking in on OLCI with the offered room, also carries another risk: The complimentary bottled waters and sometimes a welcome letter from the manager may already have been placed in that room, and the front desk staff may want to keep you there instead of making a change.
That's why I said that I only complete the OLCI if I have been upgraded to the Executive Floor and, even more, if I have a choice of many rooms in my upgraded floor.
I only care about a letter from the manager if it comes with chocolates and wine. In the US, it never comes with anything for me as a Gold. In Europe and Asia, most times the letter comes with something really nice but then in Europe and Asia I'm upgraded to the Executive Floor 98% of the time and the Executive Floor has wine and pastries. If the letter from the manager comes with fruits, I'd rather not get the letter and the fruits as they end up rotting in the room.
In the US, I end up being upgraded to the Executive Floor about 75% of the time.
If I don't have water in my room I ask for it when I go to dinner. It's usually in the room by the time I come back from dinner.