damon88

bhrubin

I think the Ambassador STATUS change that Marriott made has been an actual major improvement over the SPG program, to be honest. By making Ambassador its own definitive status tier, it is more obvious that Ambassador guests should be first in line for suite upgrades, first in line for VIP treatment and elevated experiences, etc. And those should no longer require Ambassadors to contact the hotels in order to affect such actions in most circumstances--allowing the hotels to execute their Ambassador perks as they should, and allowing the Ambassadors to spend more time handling specific requests, account details, and other communications on behalf of their guests.

There are problems, but there always were problems even with SPG. So far, I think Marriott is treating Ambassadors pretty darn well. And I think more and more Marriott properties are treating Ambassadors pretty darn well, too.

C17PSGR

I'm hoping that's how it will operate. Some, but not all, legacy Marriott properties put pre 8/18 Plat Premier first in line. Based on my stays this month, I'm cautiously optimistic the defined level will be an improvement on both programs that will, as you note, allow Ambassadors to focus on specific requests. Hopefully, since points seem to be back to crediting in March, they'll get out of that business!

flyerbjorn

Same here. I have gotten better and more consistent suite upgrades since the merger. A number of times, the checkin agents have pointed out that I have an ambassador and wondered what that's like.

So far this year, I've been upgraded to suites 20/24 nights.

helvetic

I have yet to experience this level of Amazingness, though I've been mostly staying with Hyatt the last month. I'll be doing quite a bit of Starriott in a couple weeks, so we'll see if anything has changed

bhrubin

I'm at suite upgrades for 14/14 nights. And 8 of those were StR and RC, though I did downgrade to get better air con at the RC after a night!

helvetic

With Starriott I've actually only done 3 stays / 6 nights since the change over.

St. Regis Bangkok 1 night — unsure if it was a suite or not, it was somewhere in between. Room 2107. Quite nice though, I was more than happy.
Le Meridien Ko Samui 1 night — all suites hotel, but got upgraded to a Pool access suite king
Marriott Marquis Queen's Park BKK — suite upgrade

So, I did alright on upgrades, but hard to tell if it's a new development or not. I feel like I would've easily made those upgrades back in the SPG days, but perhaps not 2 months ago. Hard to say. Will have more data over the upcoming months.

bhrubin

For me, it's more than just the number of suite upgrades. It's also that the hotels almost universally are treating me like a VIP--with elevated service, elevated recognition, and even elevated service recovery when things have gone awry. They have bent over backwards when I've asked for just about anything--not that I've asked for that much.

That's what top tier status for someone spending $20K or more should provide: better service and an elevated experience.

helvetic

I get that, I just haven't really gotten to feeling like that. Honestly. I've been getting that level of service from Hyatt a lot, but it's been very inconsistent and rare on the Starriott side

bhrubin

Haha, well that's one of those apples to oranges comparisons. With the 973 or so hotels in Hyatt's overall portfolio pleasing you, there almost certainly are 1000 hotels in Marriott's portfolio that also can please you as much or more--and likely in the same locations!

Of course, Marriott's portfolio is so much bigger with almost 5,000 hotels. But I doubt that only 1,000 of Marriott's 5,000 hotels are comparable to the positive experience Hyatt hotels that please you. Even if only 60% of Marriott hotels comparably please you, and 100% of Hyatt hotels please you, that's still 3 times as many options with Marriott as with Hyatt that can please you. It just depends on what options you choose.

Hyatt's total portfolio leans overall to the more upscale brands overall when compared with Marriott having far more midscale properties. Comparisons between those seems misplaced--hence the apples and oranges problem mentioned above.

Yet Marriott has far more upscale and luxury properties overall. Marriott has far more properties that have higher reviews of service than Hyatt. But if you don't stay in those, you certainly can get a different view.

helvetic

I'd take 90% of a smaller pool being good vs. 30% of a much larger pool… consistency matters. How are you supposed to find the 30% when you don't know which they are ahead of time?

When a Hyatt screws up, it's a fluke. When a Marriott screws up, it's the norm. Big difference.

The reality is 1000 hotels is pretty damn good coverage. Most major cities will have at least one decent option.

Anyways, those numbers are silly. The point is that I am made to feel more taken care of with Hyatt hotels lately, and have shifted my business accordingly. I'm not giving up on Marriott, but I no longer give it the full loyalty of yesteryear.

bhrubin

Again, I think we may be talking around each other without realizing it.

If you stick to the comparable brands in Marriott that Hyatt also offers, the mostly upscale to luxury brands, I think you'll discover the service experiences to be quite comparable. For Marriott Ambassador elites compared to Hyatt Globalist elites, I think you might find the Ambassador elites having comparably nice or nicer experiences--but at far more hotels and with far more hotel options in almost any location.

I'm delighted you're happy with Hyatt. Of course, this is a Marriott thread, and I and a few others simply expressed how happy we are with our Ambassador experiences at Marriott hotels. I don't think pointing out the discrepancy is silly in this case at all.

hockeyinsider

It's simple: Hyatt manages the vast majority of its full-service properties. Marriott doesn't.

Zurich35

Maybe I am a bit impatient or something just went wrong. My status changed to Platinum Elite with Ambassador by mid December 2018. Since then I did not receive an email which I guess was supposed to assign an Ambassador to my account nor could I use the Your24 benefit, which to me is the biggest benefit of this tier if you travel to Asia from Europe. Previously in the old SPG reservation/stay form this was quite easy to do by simply choosing the arrival and departure time.
I tried to call the hotline but after being on hold twice for roughly 40 to 45 minutes I did not try again. Any good idea to sort this out? Does someone respond to the general Ambassador email or does this only work for already assigned members?

LostInTranslation

I reached out to the general ambassador email prior to my status being processed, and received a pleasant and helpful answer back in remarkably short order.