Originally Posted by
Dark Blue
I actually spoke to a manager about the upgrade when I had an issue with breakfast. According to him, they normally allocate elite members to the best available room on checkin. They do not normally reserve better rooms prior to checking in, which I was told. So if you check in late, it's quite likely that all better rooms are taken.
Elites being given upgrades only at check-in time, not earlier in the day when hotels typically "block" rooms, makes sense with my experiences at HI properties. At my last HI stay I arrived after midnight and was assigned what seemed like the least desirable room in the house: the farthest from the front desk, at the end of the hall in the adjoining building, facing the highway. "That's our last room tonight," they explained.
At two other HIs I've stayed at a few times each and usually arrive at between 10-11pm, I've never gotten a meaningful upgrade. One at least usually gives me a better located standard room, facing the interior courtyard and pool instead of the parking lot. The other routinely puts me in the back corridor facing the parking lot. Once I even got a
downgrade.... I'd
booked a suite (the price was attractive) but when I arrived after 10pm they told me it was unavailable because of "a mistake". I accepted the standard room they offered because they discounted the rate by way of apology and at that hour of the night I didn't want to try finding alternative accommodation.