C17PSGR

The Lexington is on my "prefer to avoid" list, but not my absolutely avoid. Even as an Ambassador level and repeat guest, I never feel any love there. I always have to argue about suite availability, have them tell me none are available, then show them the app with suites for booking, which then leads to discussion in the back, and sometimes an upgrade. If they can't pre-upgrade a repeat guest at Ambassador level, then who are they going to upgrade.

That being said, it's often at extremely low rates. NYC is pretty slow this week and my corporate rate at the Lexington for the cozy room was $72, which is silly considering the location. The property is nothing to sell but the rooms are fine, the location is excellent, and the rates are often very low compared to any other properties. Now .... if I didn't have to wait 20 minutes to get the free drink form the resort fee .... But ... since rates were low at other properties, I still booked elsewhere.

Zacnlinc

Thanks.... I think this solidifies things for me. As the trip into NYC is an extension of a work trip I have in Long Island and a chance for me to spend a couple days in The City before jetting back to SFO, I'm going to cancel and book elsewhere.

Again, this is solely based on feedback here. There are a few other Marriott places that I've spotted that have low rates using my AAA discount that seem better suited for me to be a tourist for 2-days. The site at the Lexington keeps trying to upsell me for a Queen size room but doesn't list the suites being available for SNA but are available for direct booking. Ugh!!

h2rdw1r3d

Just an update from my earlier posts. My complaint about the Marriot that confirmed my booking of a suite and then did not want to provide said suite.. On Jan 24th I was told I would get a response in 3-5 days. On Feb 1st I sent in a second email asking for an update and I was a little peeved that I did not get the previously promised update. It is now Feb 5th and still no word. I've sent in now a third email asking and referencing the first two emails.

BonVoy(age to good customer service).

hockeyinsider

Who are you emailing?

kaizen7

Name and shame the property ?

Back to the topic, how come people can see which room theya re pre assigned before actual check in ?
My apps and website trip list only show King or Double room only

C17PSGR

Depending on the hotel, I often see the rooms which are pre-assigned, and the upgrade often shows.

BillBurn

Has anyone else experienced this: you check in online and then on the day of arrival you get a message from the app saying "you've been upgraded" only to receive the same category room you originally reserved at check-in?

It's happened to me at a handful of properties. One time I even got the "you've been upgraded" message after I had already checked-in to the original category room.

Now the most likely explanation for this is that this is just another Marriott IT fail, however in my more cynical moments I have wondered if Marriott Corp has some way of tracking how many elite reservations are upgraded in the app and if the individual properties are trying to game those stats by showing more upgrades than they are actually giving out.

Flews

So, just for the record, I have gone from close to a 99% suite upgrade average with Starwood, to virtually zero with Marriott. The odd time front desk tells me I've been upgraded, it's only been to a similar room on a different floor. I have only once been upgraded to a suite by a Marriott property since the change - and I got the same upgrade from the same property even before the change. Mostly, there is no upgrade whatsoever, and a shrug of the shoulders when I ask about it.

So without the old SPG perks, I am taking a lot of my business to competing properties these days, especially on one of our many family vacations. After all, if I have to pay for a suite, why would I limit myself to just one (often most expensive) brand?

Cheers,

hockeyinsider

I've had this happen, but it's been at properties that claim a room on the high floor is an upgrade.

hockeyinsider

As others have said before, it often depends on the brand and the city. Many of legacy Marriott's Marriott and Renaissance properties, particularly airport hotels and even suburban office park hotels, don't have suites. If they have suites, it's maybe one or two suites for the whole hotel. Other times it's a hospitality suite with a drop-down Murphy bed. I think the same is true at legacy Starwood's Sheraton and maybe even Westin properties.

As an ambassador, I've had a suite upgrade for 9 of my last 12 stays. Of those, my ambassador pre-confirmed 2 suite upgrades before arrival. I received the other 7 suite upgrades after asking for them either at check-in, always 24-48 hours before my arrival through the Marriott mobile application.

UA-NYC

In Marriottland, an "upgraded" room is often times just on the club floor or a higher floor...very different from what Starwood considered to be an upgrade

3Cforme

Oh, I saw many 'upgrades' as an SPG Plat in the booked room category on the SPG Floor. Check-in time, length of stay, and ratio of suites to rooms play a part.

UA-NYC

Of course - just like some report getting suites with Marriott. YMMV.

End of the day, Starwood had much more "friendly" suite language as we know vs. Marriott (and old habits are hard to break), so not surprised at some of the declines "we" are seeing.

controller1

I agree with both of you. My data points: Prior to 8/18/18 my Starwood stays (all U.S.) resulted in upgrades to suites approximately 75% of the time. Prior to 8/18 I only stayed with Starwood except for an occasional Hyatt. Since 8/18/18 my legacy-Starwood stays have resulted in suite upgrades approximately 60% of the time and my legacy-Marriott stays have resulted in suite upgrades 0%.....

kennycrudup

I sent a request as soon as I'd checked in yesterday (Tuesday) for a stay on Thursday. They haven't replied yet (just got "Thank you for reaching out .." when I first hit 'em up, and then "We apologize for the delay ..." 5 mins later), but nothing since. I'll ping 'em again tomorrow morning, so we'll see. Ex-SPG property, FWIW