Originally Posted by AAir_head

A plat could stay at any property (doesn't have to be RC), pay rack or corporate rates, and easily spend more than a titanium on any given stay or through any given year. I don't think how the airlines do upgrades is relevant here--it's a completely different product: everyone shows at the same time and all the seats are available at the same time (you DO know "your seat" isn't really "your seat"...right?). It's possible to have three top-tier flyers seated in coach together who all paid more for their seat than every person in F (none of whom are elite or top-tier) because they all walked up an hour before the flight. Do you think airlines should hold all the seats in the F cabin because the elites who spent the most money for the flight should get those seats? That would be silly. I don't think hotels work that way, either.

You said in your original post DYKWIA is important to you--okay, then: pony up the money and just buy the room you want. Presto: you'll probably (but not necessarily) spend the most money AND have the better room. You can even tell everyone about it and some may be very impressed. Or call ahead, tell them exactly when you're arriving, and pointedly ask "DYKWIA?...Great, if you have an upgraded room available, I expect you to hold it for me until I get there." Maybe that will work, and maybe it won't. I don't know.

If you want to try to spend as little as possible and get the most out of it, play the game by the rules the program lays out just like everyone else. That means that a nicer room isn't "your upgrade"; it's a perk the hotel may or may not give. I am sure the hotel will leave a suite or premium room empty if they don't see a benefit in giving it as an upgrade--because it is empty doesn't mean they're required to upgrade you into it. I'm guessing it isn't exceedingly common that an upgraded room is available for the length of a given stay AND upgrading someone into it leaves another like it to be sold. There's a thread around here somewhere about the dark arts of revenue management; I don't pretend to understand it fully, but I'm sure they're not going to shoot themselves in the foot with upgrades--if they think they can sell it they're not going to give it away and we ought not begrudge the fact.

Upgrades are often a pleasant surprise (but sometimes not--like the this past weekend when I got "upgraded" into a executive suite that's also accessible, which is literally a pain in my back). I'm perfectly happy to get the room I paid for and the lounge access/PAG I "earned" under the program rules--if that changes, so be it. MR/MBv doesn't "owe" me anything that's not in the T&C and I'm very clear-eyed about the fact they can change the T&C any time and for any reason. "Lifetime" means "lifetime of the loyalty program", which can be terminated with as little as 6 months notice (less in some jurisdictions)--that's all spelled out up front in the T&C. And if you don't think you're getting enough love, you can terminate it too...

cheers and happy travels!