How do you like the Element? Many are new around the world. I booked a 26 night stay at one. Just a regular studio with kitchen.

I'm only a Platinum, I've been reasonably happy with Marriott, I usually stay at Hyatt or Hilton, but for a mid range status I can't complain

I like it for the most part. Suite is nice and spacious and the staff are very friendly.

My Ambassador definitely helps but I have found that I get more "perks" when I reach out to the hotels myself. Then she sends a pre-arrival email and will contact the hotel if needed. Between the 2 of us it works very well.

Sorry, I'm not buying. Personal Ambassadors were abolished last year, per David Flueck's March 26, 2020 email ("I know many of you will miss the one-on-one relationship you may have built or were looking forward to building with your Ambassador this year.").

M&F = Managed & Franchised
F&M = Franchised & Managed
​​​​​​O&L = Owned & Leased

You're not buying? Well not that it's any of your business but I was given an exception by my Ambassador's manager to continue to use her 1 on 1 even during the past year. We work well together and she asked her manager last April if she could continue to be my personal Ambassador even though Marriott was doing away with that once the pandemic hit. And her manager approved it and it's noted on my account. I still call her direct number, leave her messages, we speak semi-regularly especially before an upcoming trip when she sends the pre-arrival email to the hotel.

And who are you to question me anyways? I post on here my experiences, sorry you feel the need to question it. And you know the sad part of your response to me? You got 6 likes calling me a liar. Ridiculous.

I wonder how many people with ambassador status have called Marriott since this post demanding that they have a personal ambassador reinstated….

I could see one-off high value clients still having a Marriott sanctioned direct relationship with an Ambassador given that Cobalt still exists and functions this way with a direct contact, but I agree the policy is clearly personal ambassadors are no more. Personally, I have not seen any evidence of dedicated personal ambassador arrangements.

I still know the extension and contact for my Ambassador, but they aren’t my dedicated Ambassador anymore.

What the truth is only the OP will know. 🙌🏻

Not enough to have Marriott even consider a change to the policy would be my guess. I don’t believe Marriott truly values the AE tier, perhaps a limited set of high spend guests, otherwise Marriott has demonstrated customer service and loyalty isn’t a priority.

The personal ambassador has been abolishef but that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions - maybe the ambassador and the client continue to cooperate specifically even if not officially (or semi - sanctioned) or of course some people spend a ton and thus earn special consideration

In my experience in this world there are always exceptions and it would be exceptional if there weren't

I often get specialty suites at Marriott and Hyatt even if I am paying on points. Why? I have no idea

​​​

Exactly. When I asked for and got the approval it was about a few weeks after the announcement by Marriott. I was still traveling and the Ambassador mgr made an exception for me. What gets me is some of these people on here act like they know it all and act so pompous. When I leave a voicemail for my Ambassador I always start out and mention I have an exception that my Ambassador is still my personal one and to make sure the message is forwarded to her in full. I also state in the voicemail for anyone else listening not to help me, I will wait for my Ambassador to call me when she gets the message. I guess once Flueck made the announcement last year Ambassadors just listen to each others voicemails and try and help because of the no personalized service anymore.

Regardless, If there are some on here that don't believe me it doesn't affect me 1 way or another. I got the exception and still have personalized service which I highly value. It would annoy me I must admit if I had to keep speaking to random Ambassadors all the time so I'm glad I don't.

Do you know why you were granted an exception? I’m sure your fellow AE guests would love to know if they also qualify.

Why? Probably because I was still traveling during the early days of the pandemic and there wasn't much going on within Marriott at the time in mid to end of April so the mgr decided to let me continue to have a personal Ambassador.

This isn't intended to be an attack on mikebor or their situation in any way, but to me and I'm sure countless others in my position, Marriott's complete and utter lack of any form of consistency at the top end is what makes Ambassador Elite too much of a wild card and ultimately, what makes it so disappointing. If a service is to be offered, it should be offered to all. If it should be discontinued, it should be discontinued to everyone. The fact that exceptions are ostensibly given to particular clients "because they requested it" may be the case even if it doesn't sit right with me: I too was traveling during the early days of the pandemic and spent two months at a W from last March to May and had a string of stays throughout the rest of the year, yet was shown the Ambassadorial door when the personalized service was discontinued so clearly my situation didn't ring a bell within Marriott to offer me an exception.

I'm not asking for or whinging over why I didn't get preferential treatment; rather, I'm annoyed that we continue to have experiences ranging from wonderful to deplorable years into the new Marriott. There's no reason for this much variability in service levels, why one member gets told one thing and the other five five different things, and why particular requests are honored yet others are painfully convoluted. I'm heading towards the three-months-waiting marker of my last request to get my lifetime years amended, and the fact that I've been repeatedly been told to be wrong and made to wait without justification or explanation is exactly the reason why, based on the current modus operandi, I will never pursue Ambassador Elite status again and will not stay at a Marriott-branded property unless I genuinely have no choice but to if/when travel takes me places. The flamers on here will be quick to jump and call me names and whatnot, but I believe this remains true: loyalty is a two-way street.

We digress. Back to the point of this thread: Platinum is the only status where things start to get more meaningful, particularly with lounge access. If one seeks the higher points bonus, United Silver and suite eligibility at Ritz-Carltons, then by all means pursue Titanium... but absolutely avoid actively attaining Ambassador.

khabah

I'm happy with my Titanium Level and I hope to be able to keep it for the future, since recognition and perks are good here in Europe (based on my stays).