xkr0p

I have called customer service a few times in the past couple of days and they have been unable to assist me. Having used these many times in the past, I am aware of the process and rules. I booked a qualifying member rate for the Ritz Carlton Guangzhou (which they confirmed). There are many club level rooms available as well during my stay to be able to upgrade into (which they also confirmed). None of the reps have been able to do it, and they just simply state to me to call back another day because they can't figure it out. This is pretty upsetting, because the sole purpose of booking this property is me wanting to use my club level upgrade certs and if not I would book something else. Is there one of the Bonvoy lurkers who could assist?

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

My apologies for the inconvenience. I think I can speak for the entire Marriott Bonvoy Lurker staff and say that none of us have ever tried to apply one of these to a reservation. That being said, I guess there's always a first time for everything, so if you need our assistance, please send the details to the email address below.

xkr0p

Thank you for the quick response. I just don't know where else to reach out since the phone reps can't figure it out either. I've had the Chase Ritz card for many years and applying these were always an easy task over the phone so not sure whats changed.

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

Thanks for the opportunity to learn something new. Apparently, these days, the reservation has to be made with the proper cluster code. Hopefully, starting over will yield some success.

xkr0p

Just an update. The agent is not able to find any availability for any date at that property for the cluster code, even though there is great availability of club level rooms. Is it possible the property disabled the club level upgradeable room rate codes erroneously? Can the property be contacted to inquire about this?

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

We can open a case and have them contact you.

xkr0p

Thank You

dayone

Or the OP could call the hotel directly and discuss the issue with the Front Desk Manager.

writerguyfl

She or he would want to contact the Reservations Manager. Although they might do things differently in China, every hotel I've worked has a clear delineation of responsibility. The Front Desk Manager is only responsible for in-house guests (and maybe guests arriving the following day). Anything further out is handled by the Reservations Manager.

Also, there's the possibility that these types of certificates require reservations to be made through Marriott. An individual hotel might not be able to make a reservation for a guest, even if they want to do that task. That said, someone in management at the hotel should be able to explain whether or not there is availability for the certificate.

dayone

At a RC, a Reservations Manager would be a lower level than a FDM. It's likely that both would report to the Front Office Manager. That said, I've never encountered at FDM at a large luxury or full-service hotel who could not "fix" a reservation. I have been frustrated by RMs who hew too closely to policy. YMMV.

xkr0p

Just following up on this; the property never contacted me. Since then I have sent 2 emails to the front desk and reservations manager without any reply. I have called the property a few times asking for a manager and they are never available. Is there any resolution to this? I don't see how its fair that the property can completely block/disable the use of the club level upgrade certificates for the calendar when there are club level rooms available. I am extremely disappointed that nobody is willing to help either. The phone agents/twitter/etc, nobody is willing to call the property or inquire why the club level upgrades are disabled. I shouldn't have to try to get a hold of the manager calling/emailing 100 times. Banging my head here!

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

We opened a case with the Loyalty Performance team and they are still trying to work through the issue with the hotel. Once we have an update, we'll be getting back to you.

xkr0p

1120

nexusCFX

For anyone who has trouble with this, tell the agent to search using the rate code Z38. You can use the code Z34 as a proxy for this on the Marriott site, as it will not allow you to search for Z38 but if you get results for Z34 and there are club rooms open it's a good sign.