As I stated in another thread, I have trouble finding credibility with:

(1) FlyerTalk members with few posts making sweeping pronouncements or accusations. Here we have someone with less than 10 posts on FlyerTalk suddenly questioning an unnamed hotel’s suite upgrade policy. Sorry, but I need more to establish credibility.

(2) FlyerTalk members who do not identify the hotel in question. Here we have someone unwilling to identify the hotel, yet more than willing to identify their version of a problem. That’s a problem for me. Name the hotel so we can evaluate. Or it’s all just rhetorical tomfoolery to me.

(3) FlyerTalk members who believe they are entitled to suite upgrades regardless of high hotel occupancy. Here we know nothing about the hotel or its occupancy for the OP’s stays. Curious. Doesn’t make for a credible claim to me.

(4) FlyerTalk members who don’t understand the very obvious and simple precept that hotels with a tiny proportion of suites won’t often upgrade to suites. Of course, we don’t even know which hotel we’re taking about. We only know that the hotel’s SNA pool includes at least some suites.

To the OP, welcome to FlyerTalk! We are happy to have you join the conversation. That being said, we are an extremely experienced audience that have a lot of perspective that you may not yet have.

The OP is entitled to share whatever information he or she chooses, just as we are entitled to know and ask for more information before jumping to or drawing any conclusions. Thus far, I’m not at all convinced that there is any problem at all other than a disgruntled OP who stays at high occupancy times at a hotel with few suites and rightfully doesn’t get upgraded.

There is no slippery slope. There only is a disgruntled OP who isn’t getting what he wants for reasons that aren’t remotely clear because the OP chooses to not share more.

In the absence of better information, the OP is advised to stay elsewhere. Problem solved.

For the record, hotels in Sydney:

Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park, 510 rooms, 48 suites, 8.6% suites
Westin Sydney, 397 rooms, 19 suites, 4.6% suites
Pier One Sydney Harbour, 171 rooms, 18 suites, 9.5% suites
Sydney Harbour Marriott Circular Quay, 543 rooms. 52 suites, 8.7% suites
Old Clare Sydney, 45 rooms, 17 suites, 27% suites
Four Points Sydney Central Park, 252 rooms. 45 suites, 15% suites
Courtyard Sydney North Ryde. 188 rooms, 8 suites, 4.1% suites

We can assume that over half of any hotel’s suites are not going to be eligible for Platinum upgrades or SNAs. Perhaps even as high as 3/4. When you recognize that basic fact, it’s obvious that getting a suite upgrade at hotels with fewer than 10% suites is going to be challenging. And that assumes low occupancy. At higher occupancy, more suites may be outright booked, and there will be more competition for higher room bookings and elites to get upgraded into such a small number of suites. The numbers don’t lie.

Actually, identifying the hotel allows us to judge for ourselves whether the OP’s reporting of what the Ambassdor said is actually credible or not. We don’t actually know whether or not the OP’s impression of what the Ambassador said or didn’t say is accurate or credible.

You are making the mistake of assuming that the OP’s impression is accurate. People often hear what they want to hear and often put words in others’ mouths. It happens here despite written responses. It is vastly more common when reporting hearsay. There’s a reason that hearsay isn’t admisisble in courts. This is nothing but hearsay.

Marriott terms and conditions with regard to Complimentary Platinum Enhanced Room Upgrades:

Each property identifies its own room and suite upgrade pool. With Marriott guidance, but still at each property’s discretion.

Yet the spirit of Marriott’s terms and conditions, as revealed by Marriott correcting the JW Guanacaste’s lack of Platinum suite inventory and Marriott’s clear indication of that spirit, is clearly intended to include at least the base/entry level suites (previously known as standard or select suites)—at least for properties that have a substantial inventory of suites.

So while the terms and conditions do not specify standard or select suites, we know that hotels certainly have a pool of standard or select suites that they can, at their discretion, include in their Platinum upgrade pool (which generally would and should match their SNA pool).

The spirit of the new Marriott program is exactly the same spirit as that of SPG. SPG terms similar gave discretion to hotels, especially those that had few suites.

If you don’t like the Platinum upgrade pool at certain hotels, you have the ability to choose to stay elsewhere. If you continue to stay at the same hotels knowing it doesn’t include many (or any) even entry level suites in its Platinum upgrade pool, then there is no need to complain.

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