Just another data point: the StR San Francisco yesterday officially denied my Your24 request for 12 pm noon check in today...but they this morning re-submitted it and already have our upgraded Metropolitan Suite ready for us at 11 am. We’re on our way.

I’d make the request ASAP. That gives the hotel more notice and more opportunity to approve IMO.

I saw that I’d been upgraded by checking the status of my reservation on spg.com. But I was upgraded well in advance (maybe 4 weeks?), probably more because I’m a frequent guest at this StR and only a little because I’m an Ambassador guest.

FWIW I also chose to stay here when the AAA rate was a mere $340. That’s about as low as I’ve ever seen here. So you know it’s a low occupancy/low demand period for the hotel.

There is no good answer for that question for all SPG hotels! I’m sure it varies widely based on many unrelated factors. In this case, as a frequent guest, I know the hotel worked to ensure they check me in as early as possible...and I also knew that it they couldn’t make it happen, it wasn’t possible to do it!

Sometimes they can check me in early, and sometimes they can’t. I’ve usually had very good luck getting checked in an hour or two before the official check in time, but then the StR Atlanta in April didn’t bother to check me in until several hours later than that official time. The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho in May checked us in around 7 am after our early morning arrival into HND; I never even bothered to submit a Your24. And they even still upgraded us to a Kioi Suite.

That’s funny: I’ve had better luck with Your24 with the luxury brands, but then I stay a lot more often at those brands, too.

I would expect that Your24 shifting to a 100 night Ambassador benefit from a 75 night benefit, not to mention the $20K req’t, should make it a bit easier for hotels to make Your24 work—again still depending on many factors. But I look at it as a wonderful perk to enjoy when it’s possible, not as something to expect or to depend on as a rule.