Originally Posted by
rausmade
Very interesting thread, thank you very much for that. A quick question: Does someone have experience in getting an upgrade when a suite is booked already? E.g. you have booked a Junior Suite and there are 3 more levels of suites above. Is it possible to get an upgrade as a Diamond?
Like most upgrade based questions, it really will depend on the property itself rather than a blanket policy. I've had upgrades to a top suite from a standard room and I've booked suites and not had a small upgrade to an available category of suite above as the hotel didn't stated at they don't normally upgrade to any suites.
Essentially, if the hotel does include the 3 higher levels of suites as part of their upgrade pool, then you are most likely at the upper end of the list for an upgrade to one of them. If the property doesn't usually make them upgrade eligible, then it's a cash upgrade option only. Sometimes that can actually be a small upcharge if you are already in a junior suite.
One property in London I used to stay at would normally pre-upgrade me to a junior suite a few days before my stay. At that point, the offered paid upgrade to a full Exec Suite would change from circa £150 from a standard room, to £20 from a Junior Suite. Accepting the £20 upgrade pretty much always guaranteed me the room and quite often they waived the fee anyway and treated it as a Diamond upgrade, even though they didn't upgrade to those suites normally.
So far since the reopening of hotels after lockdown in the UK, I've had one hotel where we paid for the only room set-up for 2 adults and a child. At the other hotel, they contacted me a few days prior and asked if I would be happy to switch from a family room to a suite with a rollaway, if they had one available. I confirmed we were happy with that and the upgrade came through the morning of the stay. I certainly didn't do online check-in, as I didn't want to potentially block an upgrade by confirming a room.