Traveler56789

Has anyone noticed that if you click through the photos of a property on Marriott.com, you'll see suites that won't show up when you search for a room online (regardless of the dates)?

For example - if you view pictures of the St. Regis hotel in NYC, you'll see a Bentley Suite, a Tiffany Suite, an Imperial Suite and a Royal Suite. However, it doesn't seem possible to book any of these rooms online. The most expensive suite you can book is the 5th Ave suite (which is around $4-5K/night).

The same thing happens if you look at the St. Regis in San Francisco. There are a couple of suites, including the Presidential Suite, that won't show up when you search online, regardless of what dates you put in.

Has anyone else noticed this or know the reason why? My hypothesis is that these rooms are so expensive (think $10K+/night) and reserved for celebrities who have a team of people who take care of hotel reservations and won't be booking through Marriott.com like the rest of us.

Would love to here other's thoughts...

EuropeanPete

It’s reasonably common for top tier suites not to be available online - you’ll see the eWoW Suites at W’s are often behind a phone number. They’re usually on negotiation and the hotel often wants a bit more of a commitment than a random credit card number.

Same reason you usually can’t book over 8 rooms at a time.

ricktoronto

Not always. I was looking at Vancouver and they were asking for CAD$35,000 a night for a plain room at JW Marriott and $6,000 for a room at the Residence Inn for one night. Might have been busy but that's some dynamic pricing model.

MSPeconomist

It's a matter of the local hotel's policy. I know LCs that show availability online for two-level presidential suites with terrace, etc. and I similarly know of Hyatts that show whether their very special suites are available and the rates.

Especially if the suite has artwork or antiques, I can understand the hotel wanting to verify details and avoid renting the suite to large groups or someone planning a party. They might also want to keep it available in case some true VIP wants to book it at the last minute since walking someone from a confirmed presidential suite or downgrading a guest substantially would look very bad.

daloosh

Some FTers report upgrades to rooms like a Presidential Suite, and when I look to see what it costs, I find that one cannot book that Suite online thru the Marriott website. I figured you have to call, and some members luck into that sort of upgrade when they arrive at the hotel.

writerguyfl

I concur with the explanations other folks have noted. All true based on my experience working in hotels in Minnesota and Florida.

One hotel I used to work has a gorgeous 3,500 square foot (335 square meters) Presidential Suite with four bedrooms, fireplace, full kitchen, grand piano, and other amenities like a room for your butler. When I was there, the only way to book was via our in-house Reservations Office or through our Sales Department. I just looked online. The hotel is now affiliated with Hyatt and that suite is bookable online. It's about $4,000/night. (That's about $1,000 less than what I remember the going rate to be when I was there.)

I certainly met a number of celebrities while I worked at that hotel as Night Manager. But more often than not, that Presidential Suite was populated by Fortune 500 CEOs and non-famous wealthy people. Outside of a few hotels in very specific places, I'd bet that these top tier suites in high-end hotels aren't typically housing guests with names the general public would recognize.

Newman

Does the $4,000 per night include the butler?

Newman

arlflyer

People who pay $4k/night don’t trust other people’s butlers. BYOB for sure.

birdiedouble

I got upgraded to a Presidential Suite at a DoubleTree near Boston on a reservation that was for two separate King rooms. The hotel was oversold and this helped open two regular rooms for them. Afterwards, I looked online and could never find the room. No Butler, but they did leave us flowers and a bottle of wine to help celebrate our anniversary. Our son was moving out of the area and the Pres Suite was awesome with the space it offered made the stay extremely comfortable. They do a lot of weddings at this property so I'm guessing they offer it as part of a wedding booking.

1120

I got upgraded to the Governor’s Suite at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento last year. It was quite a room. I looked and it did not show as available for online booking or any reference to it at all on the hotel website. I have no idea what the rack rate was for the room.

arlflyer

This hints at what is likely the real reason why these rooms are often not shown for sale online - the property's desire to have maximum opacity and flexibility in pricing. That gives them a lot of leeway to price the room to the customer. For a wedding party spending tens of thousands already, maybe it's thrown in as an extra. For a celebrity on the night of a big event, maybe it's $10k/night. And for the right elite, maybe it's a very nice, very lucky upgrade.

damon88

Good news for you if you are looking to book the Gritti Palace’s top accommodation——literally——the top-floor Redentore Terrazza Suite (that goes for $16,200 per night in high season) It has a spiral staircase to reach the suite’s 2,700-square-foot rooftop terrace with private swimming pool with 360-degree views of the city and Grand Canal

You can book online now in January for only $6839 a night 😊

RunningforMiles

When I got married last year at a busy and fairly well known hotel we negotiated the largest suites into the contract for 4 days for way less then what I imagine the ordinary rates are. This was significantly easier to negotiate in compared to other things.

On several other occasions, due to some very kind friends, I’ve found myself upgraded to large multi room or multi floor suites—the most memorable of which was a certain storied hotel in place Vendôme. Staying in these types of suites, especially those with a rich history, are truly some of the most special experiences in life.

Dr. HFH

How many points?

1120

Well if you think Marriott’s sale on points is a reasonable value at 0.875 cpp, it’s only 781,000 points per night. Who knows - maybe it will be a points saver and you can get it for 450,000 per night.