milepig

Very odd. I know I used my 07/08 BOGO in May08.

dk_commuter

That is very interesting - I almost reach this level of activity this year. I wonder if the criteria for requalification is less strict than the initial qualification.

Have anyone had success in calling IC and getting a "challenge" for RA? (e.g. you will have to stay 20 nights this year to retain status)

Abdulmalik100

Raffles

very very thanks

Kindred

how do you join this private community? do you have to be refered to it? I am a RA if that matters.

thanks

Raffles

See the last question in Post 2!

Abdulmalik100

Dear Raffles

I am booking through the Internet
I did not receive 1000 points!
Why ?

TheBeerHunter

I have a question regarding the RA upgrade. Above Raffles said "The benefits of RA status, above the Ambassador benefits, are a two-level upgrade (and often a suite upgrade)". Is this still true given the updated, "more consistent" benefit redo earlier this year?

I ask because I am currently staying at the IC San Francisco. We booked a Junior Suite, and were upgraded to a 1 Bedroom Suite (which, according to their website, is the next room up, at least in cost). A 2-level upgrade would have been a "Bayview Suite", which coincidentally after telling me my room wasn't ready, they tried to upsell me to at check-in saying that room was immediately available for an extra $300 (and I refused). I then sat for 3 hours in the lounge because my room was not ready (we arrived at 12 noon, which was the same time I told them I would be arriving when they called yesterday to confirm my arrival). I was wondering if I should make this an issue or should I let it slide. My recollection of the "new" upgrade policy was to a superior room, suite, or club room -- that the words "2-level" were not a part of it. Am I mistaken?

gregorygrady

No, you are not mistaken. The people who are mistaken are those who say that RA's are entitled to a 2-level upgrade. In general that is what happens, but it is nowhere in the rules. As an RA, you are "supposedly" guaranteed either a Club room, an Exec room, a Suite, or a minimum of a 1-level upgrade (since you are also an Amb).

I say "supposedly" cuz I recently booked the 2nd highest category room at a hotel and got no upgrade (cuz the single room that was in the highest category was being "rennovated"), nor did I get a reduction in my room rate to the 3rd highest category rate. So I sometimes wonder what exactly their 1-level GUARANTEED upgrade for Ambassadors means in instances such as the high end rooms.

I also asked if I could book a Penthouse Suite (or Exec Suite) at IC Amstel and get a guaranteed upgrade to the next highest room, which is their ~2000-3000 sq ft Royal Suite. They said no that I could not be upgraded to that even if it was open since it costs ~$8k per night. So what's the deal? Do Amb's (and RA's) get a guaranteed upgrade or not? Nobody really seems to be able to answer that. But I am certain that nowhere is a 2-level upgrade a listed benefit of RA.

So I don't think you have a leg to stand on in demanding your way into the Bayview Suite unfortunately. Although they really could have given it to you seeing as how they made you wait 3 hours for your room. What you should have done is taken a standard room, killed the minibar during your 3 hour wait, and then you'd have a fully stocked minibar to go up to in your 1-bedroom Suite.

TheBeerHunter

Thanks for the feedback. I figured that was the case, but the more I thought about it the more miffed I was getting that I wasn't just given the Bayview Suite instead.

One problem on my part is that I did not check in at the Ambassador desk, although my experience at the IC SF is that the Ambassador desk is never manned when I arrive!

The thought did cross my mind -- although, I wasn't ever offered a standard room during the wait, just told to wait in the lounge or give them my cell if we were going out. We did get some revenge during cocktail hour however BTW the server here most nights, Luis, is fabulous. He's been there since they opened and is wonderfully attentive. ^

Cr4zyfish

Fab Raffles, a great resource ^ and thanks for your time in putting it together - quite a few things that were news to me, everyday's a school day

Raffles

I've added some clarification to the opening posts about the 2-level upgrade ...

ThomasBne

Regards RA status..

"Some hotels do not refill the mini-bar every day."

It is HQ official policy, as has been stated to me and other flyertalkers, that the minibar is to be refreshed daily. IC's are obliged to honor this rule.


Is there an official rule stating Royal Ambassador's are entitled to a two-level upgrade? What about if you book and pay for a suite?

Raffles

... but if you read the 'Please post your RA experiences thread' you'll see that sometimes they don't - until you make them - in the same way that they often strip out the expensive items.

uk1

Hiya,

There's real problems with expecations created and delivery at the individual property - or in fact several.

Historically the RA programme has been great and the Ambassador programme not bad as well. The opportunity and problem has been different sides of the same coin - ie the degree of lattitiude and lack of control centrally of what's actually provided. With some properties it's a joy and they make your stay magic - with others it's a constant struggle and so the information shared here gives the option for people to go to a better alternative if they want to avoid the inevitable. And it changes. And also there's the growing trend of purposefully misleading customers about what to expect on the different rates paid. It's the sign of a business putting short-term gains ahead of long-term relationships.

What's happening here is that we've been trying to understand what will actually happen seperately from what is the moving target of what we think was promised. No one wants the constant struggle when they travel of educating properties about what should be done compared with what they want to do. So this forums approach helps people understand the decent properties compared with those that aren't.

So your argument is with IHG.

johnep1

Hopefully this is correct; well, I would like the threshold to be 50 nights, but I'm at 58 nights (which was more that I thought I had) in the last year with 6 different ICs (about 16-18 nights in ICs). I just called the Ambassador desk and asked for them to review my account and the agent said that it takes 80 nights and 5 different ICs to get RA. It took everything I had to not tell her to stop feeding me BS. I know the requirements for RA are a secret, so don't feed me a line just to get me off the phone. I'll have the 2 nights needed to get to 60 in the next week or two. If that doesn't get my RA renewed then I will likely not get it since I need to focus on SPG Platinum and Hyatt Diamond the rest of the year.