Is this a T&C violation for suite upgrades?
 

Hi,

I was wondering if this is a T&C violation for Platinum comp upgrades…and if so is there any recourse?

we checked in this morning and we’re told no suites available because they were fully booked. I checked and there were so I waited a few hours and then messaged the front desk through chat:

I have never heard of a suite upgrade not being offered (when it normally would have been) due to occupancy


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And now the conversation is over:


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A complimentary suite upgrade has to be available at check-in for the duration of your stay. A suite that's available for only a portion of your stay doesn't have to be assigned.

There's also not any discussion of which suites are at issue, that is, whether they are suites that would be eligible for complimentary upgrades or not.

That is a fair point…I did not read that part about having to be available for the whole stay.

As far as the second question, they told me at check in “These are suites we upgrade to regularly, they are just not available.”

The language of the T&C is so that the hotel has full discretion on what is deemed available or not. It is not based on whether or not the suite is bookable.

They may have it pre-assigned for an upgrade for a different guest that will be staying for fewer nights, and/or they know will be arriving later. Since upgrades are "based on availability at check-in," they can still list the room for sale. If they happen to sell it before that other guest arrives, then the upgrade is no longer available for that guest. If not, then the other guest gets it.

That was not my initial read on it, but now that I re-read it a couple times; I can see how it gives some deference to the hotel.

I had never though if this, I’m sure that’s what they must be doing! Thanks for this, it makes a lot more sense now.

So if I understand you correctly, hotels can simply declare suites are "unavailable" and stop issuing upgrades?

probably the only suites left are the speciality suites which they don't need to provide comp, only standard or lowest level suites which may be sold out.

Even when suites are available for the whole stay, you can still get denied because they’ll say they aren’t in the upgrade pool and that Marriott says somewhere hotels can do this, rendering the suite benefit useless. This happened to me at AC Bella Sky Copenhagen.

of course. Has always been that way. And just because they are available ... they may want to give them to a higher value customer ... not the first person checking in,

One wonders then why not stop giving upgrades at all, if it's completely discretionary.

It's marketing. No different than cable companies advertising internet speeds "up to xxx". They didn't say you were going to get those speeds, they just said it might happen. And, some hotels do indeed give upgrades. There's a FlyerTalk thread on this: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...2022-23-a.html

If you're looking for an upgrade, I'd suggest looking at that thread and see if the hotel is listed there, or perhaps a competing property. Show these hotels some love and don't bother going back to the ones which don't.

Another example to the one above is:

I'm a hotel manager/owner. You're checking in on a Thursday and checking out Sunday. There is a suite available for your entire stay. As of right now, my Friday and Saturday nights are pretty high occupancy, might sell out. Pretty soon, that suite will be one of the only bookable rooms and someone is likely to pay full rate for it. Do I give you the complimentary upgrade, losing out on that revenue? Or do I hold off and see if I can make a good amount on letting that suite ride through the weekend? This would especially be true if you booked on points and I'm already making less for your room than someone who paid cash rate for that same room. This is why it's not "available" for you at check-in.

I know to most people, they plug their ears (cover their eyes?) when the financial side of upgrade decisions is laid out. Elite members just want their upgrade, they don't care how much it cost the hotel. At the end of the day, though, it's the hospitality business. The business part comes first to shareholders... and to the year end bonus for the managers too.