Upgrade bait and switch
 

It has now happened to me several times-- mostly in NYC, but also recently at the Hyatt Regency Churchill -- that I check my reservation in the App right before the cancellation window ends and find that the room description has changed to an upgraded room. In these cases, it has been a modest upgrade -- like from a street view to a garden view room.

However, when I check-in, I find the "upgrade" is magically gone and I'm back in the base rate room. This has happened enough times that I question whether it is a coincidence. To me it's a serious thing, because In some cases these phantom upgrades dissuade me from re-booking elsewhere.

Ive seen this once before where it was down to the property’s incompetence rather than malice. It’s certainly annoying. For busy properties it may be that they were oversold in that room category, had guests extend at the last minute, etc.

This seems like a conspiracy theory. Why would you or anyone else be canceling reservations in such situations?

"Maybe this person is thinking about canceling his trip one day before arrival, so we'll entice him with an upgrade in the app."

Seems highly unlikely.

Because there are often other options that would be better if no upgrade is forthcoming. That has been particularly the case in NYC where there are lots of hotels in the same area.

You're saying you make speculative bookings at multiple hotels and then keep the one where an upgrade seems likeliest?

Not really a bait and switch though. More mismanaged expectations.

Yeah, from experience it typically goes like this:

Rooms department in the back office upgrades you to balance their inventory. They might pre-block you to a room that's currently occupied (potentially with one of those pesky globalists leaving at 4pm that only let the FD know at the last moment).

You arrive at the hotel at 5pm, housekeeping is swamped and hasn't cleaned the room, so they go back and find the first available room they can get you into now.

I personally prefer, especially when status/program is involved that includes an upgrade, that agents verbally confirm the room type and travel dates. We were trained to do that at Disney. Most agents however seem to just cut the keys and send you on your way hoping you won't notice.

Made that mistake once on 12/31 at the Grand Cypress and lost a Disney NYE Fireworks view that way.

I never said that. I'm saying I always look at what else is bookable when the cancellation window is about to close. That often doesn't even involve an upgrade, it just means a better price/value option somewhere else.

One other thing: at hotels where the rooms department is pre-blocking the front desk is trained that they can only upgrade Globalists into holes. They are not allowed to break a block just to get you into a suite - even if across all 3 nights of the stay there are one or more rooms available. So if the app is saying the room is available and the front desk is insisting it's not, that's probably what's going on.

Slightly less likely is they are overselling the standard suite category with the intention of upgrading.

But right there, when you are standing at the desk, if you haven't already been upgraded and the agent can't see a hole on the grid view between all the other blocks they won't upgrade you on arrival. They can ask rooms to move people but if things are tight expect rooms to say no.

That's when you say thank you, step away and call reservations and use your very soon to expire TSU on them ;). That took 45 mins to confirm as they moved everybody around to make room.

No. If a room is available for a TSU, it should be available for the Globalist upgrade.

I've noticed this has been happening much more so than I could ever recall during the past. I suppose, this is a result of all the newly minted Globalists exercising, don't blame them one bit, their 4 pm checkouts. Hyatt really needs to pare down the number of Globs, if only to get rid of this annoying issue.

And, no doubt, staffing issues.

Isn't there a deadline for applying a TSU to a reservation? I know this is a rule at Bonvoy (and earlier for SPG) for the use of SNAs.

I've not yet been downgraded from an app shown upgrade. I've actually seen it a couple times know where I am upgraded at 24-48 hours before hand, and then upgraded again the morning of.

Bait and switch is a bit strong though. No way does anyone bother to do this just to try to entice you not to drop last minute. They probably don't even think about you checking in on it. I suppose Hyatt should go back to never showing you the pre-placement into the upgraded space to begin with.

But, I will affirm the opinion that too many globs are in the system making upgrade at check-in space too limited. I don't know how many glob-lites were minted last year, but it was ridiculously easy for US-based casual travelers to quality last year between double credit promos, half nights needed etc.

I don't think so. I've definitely used TSUs within a few days of a stay.