Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
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.
Hard question to answer. It depends on when and where you stay and what you consider an upgrade. Many hotels do not have a lot of suites so you are competing with both higher level elites and guests that may be willing to pay for an upgrade. Plus, many hotels leverage suites as part of large group bookings which reduces your likelihood of getting one.
I am an Ambassador level guest and usually get some sort of upgrade. It may be a suite, or a club level room or just a bigger room or it may have a Peloton bike in it. I tend to stay in NY, Chicago, SF and Atlanta but my travels do take to many smaller cities.
If you want an upgrade, pick a property with lots of potential upgrades when very few people are staying there.