I don’t pull out my phone at the check-in desk to check suite availability right then and there as I see no reason to offend or escalate, especially in an area where I am a significant minority in terms of language and culture.

Note, I never said that all of the properties that did not upgrade me had standard suites available online via Hyatt channels - I said “some.”

HC Xi’an - there weren’t standard suites available for sale on Hyatt.com

GH Changsha - the room they were going to place me
in had a maintenance problem they discovered after having me wait 40 minutes for it - instead of upgrading me to a River View Grand Suite (premium) for the inconvenience, they downgraded me further from the corner room I was placed in

PH Changsha - I checked close to arrival and saw Park Suites available online - my room type had already been changed to Deluxe - why not a Park Suite as it was also available when upgrades were processed? I did not ask at check-in - I should have.

Andaz Xiamen - I checked about an hour before arrival and saw Andaz Suites available (this is the lowest suite type at this hotel but does not have a standard ranking in the description) - I did ask at check-in and was told something along the lines of there weren’t any available - perhaps, she meant none cleaned - we were having some language difficulties, and no, I didn’t escalate

I am not including HP Changsha Airport in the calculation as suite upgrades are not a benefit at Hyatt Place properties. So, for all of those claiming I’m misrepresenting the situation, I actually feel like I’m being quite thoughtful and reasonable in this analysis.

I simply wish that suite upgrades were easier with Hyatt - perhaps with further tier differentiation - that would allow for an experience akin to the one I get with Marriott due to the tier diversity.