Marriott changes terms and conditions language for upgrades to suites
 

https://onemileatatime.com/news/marriott-bonvoy-downgrades-elite-upgrade-benefit/

breakfast benefit probably next on the chopping block…have to keep the hotel owners happy and all

More narrative as requested - unless you are an AMB, or traveling in Asia where suites grow on trees - you aren’t likely to be seeing them again anytime soon. All about cost reduction for property owners.

If there’s nothing left, no reason to stay loyal. Therefore, I think Marriott needs to leave something of value.

As for the suite upgrades, I’ll be curious to see if this changes anything. Most hotels were already playing games with upgrades. Does this make things worse? We’ll have to see.

I would request that the moderator team change this sensationalist thread title to something more balanced, such as “Marriott changes terms and conditions language for upgrades”

As always, properties that were not being generous with upgrades will continue to be so, and properties that were being generous with upgrades will continue to be so.

The terms always had the fact that the “best room
available” would be determined by the hotel - making that language particularly useless as a leverage point of the guest against the hotel. Plus, we all know that the stay is already starting off wrong if a guest had to throw the T&Cs in to resolve an upgrade dispute with a property - they have made their intentions known.

I would bet that at least 99% of properties simply file away a notification from Bonvoy about this change without considering at all whether they should/could do anything different now.

It's only "bad" in the sense that it does not improve anything for guests (except perhaps aligning the language more closely with reality, which isn't a bad thing unless you fundamentally want to change the benefit).

If you were using Bonvoy language as your leverage, you were already losing.

It seems like the change simply reflects the reality of how the benefit is honored. Do people actually have luck pointing to the T&Cs at check in to get a suite upgrade?

This is a big nothing-burger as far as I'm concerned. In reality there is no change in how this is working. Maybe some elites were complaining to Marriott that they weren't upgraded to the 'best available room' at check in, which we know rarely if ever actually happens in practice. Hotels were demonstrably not giving Titaniums and Platinums the best available rooms. In many cases you'd be lucky to get a slightly better view, or a high floor, or one category better than you booked.

The change in verbiage just reflects reality and I don't see this changing anything, as hotels do their own thing anyway with how they provide upgrades and elite benefits.

The current title of this thread ("Bye bye to suites") suggests that suite upgrades are going away (or that suites are going away).

All that's gone away is a bit of language that has caused unrealistic expectations. The old wording in the T&Cs promised too much.

I don't expect anything to change. Whether I book a low category room or a higher category room, I generally receive an upgrade of a category or two above what I booked. It's seldom an actual two-room suite (unless I use an NUA), but occasionally it is.

The number of true premium rooms and suites varies widely by hotel. It's not unusual for a Marriott Bonvoy property to have dozens of elite arrivals on the same day -- and an inventory of cookie-cutter rooms differentiated primarily by floor and view, with perhaps a few larger rooms and a handful of suites. Not everyone will get a big executive corner suite on the top floor.

Hotels that know that it's good business to keep elite members loyal to Marriott Bonvoy properties will continue to provide good elite recognition. Hotels that consider elite members to be costly nuisances will continue to provide poor elite recognition (and will continue to deprive other Marriott Bonvoy properties of future business). Fortunately, I've stayed at far more of the former than the latter.

What I believe has now gone away are the small minority who consider it their right to have a suite if available, and are willing to sit and print out the T&Cs, plus doing searches with the app with the front desk associate checking them in to demand that upgrade per the T&Cs. This is perhaps not entirely a bad thing, as it leaves the suites and better rooms for higher status people who may be arriving later in the day and the magic algorithm has flagged for an upgrade (yes, that will be me).

It's a little off topic but I believe that iknowthings was correct in flagging higher hotel compensation and an increased likelihood of getting guaranteed upgrades when NUAs were launched: FAQ : NUA Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUAs), introduced Jan 2024, replacing SNAs - FlyerTalk Forums. As a result of this I have found far more value in NUAs, to the point where I just chose my 75th night award to be 5 more NUAs (of course the 40k night certificate has been devalued gradually) - but generally it is as I find that they are resulting in great outcomes when it matters to me.

Consequently, I am fairly beguine on this change.

Looks like many are trying to downplay the nerf, saying that there is no diff. In actual fact, there is a difference and a major one. Customers will no longer be able to use the terms and conditions to fight for a suite upgrade (if there is any available). Moving forward, upgrades will be based on hotel discretion.

I don't think I have received a good upgrade in years. Even in Chicago hotels where I am a frequent guest. I am a Hilton Gold through Amex Plat and an Accor something or other and in my last 4 stays between the two of them have been treated much better in both chains then by Marriott. I am not really sure why this is but Marriott is no longer my default.

Yes, north America Marriot are known to be stingy. But comes to Asia, the upgrade are quite generous. With this new t&c, hotel no longer need to provide suites as upgrade, even if they have them in their inventory.

As the post above yours said, many people actually consider it a good thing that hotels can assign upgrades based on a variety of factors (such as how frequent they stay at a particular hotel) instead of giving it to those who use the terms and conditions to fight for a suite upgrade.

Marriott striving to deliver bare minimum doesn't surprise me.. people who try to justify marriotts approach still do... ;)

They should be happier isn't it. More people leave Marriot, less people to fight with them for suite upgrade :)