A month on the road with Marriott Bonvoy
Just wrapping up a road trip involving several hotels, while sitting in a Residence Inn in Northern Ohio. We're a couple of days from finishing up a month of travel that included 11 different Bonvoy properties varying between full-service and bottom end (including one twice), and I've been documenting various aspects of the trip, including any differences I've seen since moving from LTP to Titanium - whatever that means. Here's some observations FWIW...
Room upgrades: 2 out of 11. One was a Residence Inn upgrade to 2-bedroom suite - unnecessary for 2 people, but nice nonetheless. The other was a Studio from Standard King for 5 days on points - much appreciated. The other 9 properties = nothing, although cash upgrades were offered or available for as little as $8/night.
Status acknowledgment: 9 out of 11. Bonus points or lounge access offered. In one case bonus points did not post with rest of stay - not sure whether it's worth to pursue 500 points given current status of Customer Service.
Interesting things I learned: "Yes, Titanium status is the new intermediate level for those who did not requalify for Platinum this year. We still extend them the Platinum benefits. Better luck next year."
Spinning the wheel: Especially enjoyed the hotel where I got to spin a wheel as my Platinum bonus. Lowest value was the 500 points I would have received anyway, with alternate prizes of something from the mini-store or up to 1000 points. I got... wait for it... 500 points. The odd thing was that every guest got to do this. Not sure how this was a benefit.
Hotels I'd stay in again: 9 out of 11. In some cases local management outdoes corporate expectations, which makes a huge difference - especially in lower-end properties.