FYI: What happened in the past at one hotel isn't going to be a predictor of what will happen in the future. As noted, the method used to create a conference reservation (Passkey) isn't the deciding factor on whether elite benefits apply. What matters is the contract. Some group contracts will provide benefits and other ones will not.

And to make things more convoluted, some hotels will ignore a contract that says no benefits are required and provide them anyway in an effort to keep frequent guests of the hotel group happy.