I have been either Silver or Gold (or their equivalents in SPG) for a very long time. In all that time I’ve never been upgraded in a hotel and have found hotels are rather stingy with late check out. I know these are the lowest status levels and temper my expectations accordingly, but even as a low status elite on United I would still get an occasional upgrade.

Do upgrades basically only happen for top tier elites? I’ve stayed all over the world in the last 20 years with SPG and Marriott and only ever gotten the room type I booked. I always book directly with Marriott too.