With Marriott IT, you can be assured at this 'AI' will only cause more confusion and issues.

And yes, I'm sure it isn't really AI... its just the buzzword for everything. Remember how everything used to be 'Smart' like Smart TV, Smart Phones, Smart washer etc etc etc... then they just replaced the 'Smart' with AI.

I asked ChatGPT about Marriott's AI room assignment platform. Here is the response:

If ChatGPT is correct (hilarious that we're asking AI to help us evaluate AI), this could actually be a positive step for Marriott. Unlike some others, I don't have a viscerally negative reaction to "Marriott IT", and I suspect they actually know more about the process of room assignments than any other company on the planet.

More like automatons :D
Instead of relying (and wasting hotel's associate time) to manually assign upgrades, Marriott provide their customers with tools to automate the process.
Hotel will still have the ultimate control on the available inventories like before and for sure they could manually intervene if they need to further upgrade someone (or even downgrade unlucky one)

Currently on my 2nd Marriott hotel stays and I got my usual upgrades in these hotels although there are no notification email that I got upgraded.
Will have another stay with a hotel I never stayed before (W Sydney) in 4 days time.
Applied NUA as well there, and so far received 2 we keep trying emails.

It will be interesting to see how this plays. Like you, I suspect that ultimately this won't be a big change, in that much will depend on the individual property.
Why is that hilarious? One of AI's advantages is that it can essentially duplicate human effort to research, analyze, and synthesize information available on the internet exponentially quicker than a human being can. For this particular task, it's basically a super-charged google search.

Ai generates a nicely packaged consice and very believable output even if the underlying facts are incorrect. With own seach you can probably gauge validity of information generated based on your knowledge and experience.

It's like a dish that looks perfect every time but it may or may not taste that way.

As opposed to the 100% factual accuracy and reliability of non-AI generated posts here on FT. ROFL.

Hopefully it will treat earned Plats better than credit card Plats :)

My guess - this is just a fancy way of automating the room allocation. The FD person can accept the recommendation and save time, or tinker to adjust for accommodations.

As much as AI is automating things, humans are still able to mess things up. After two lovely stays at other properties in Thailand where I was automatically upgraded 3 days out (and generously), my third property - in BKK, where I had booked a "studio suite" but 3 days out showed me upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite (and I even messaged them to thank them, to which they replied, "It's our pleasure!") - downgraded me once I did online check-in about 3 hours before arrival. They said nothing to me when I was checking in, and it wasn't until they left my room after escorting me there that I looked around and said to myself, "This ain't no 1-bedroom suite." At first, they said it was because I "indicated I would be arriving early" (I indicated 2:30pm...), but once a manager came to speak to me (I didn't ask for her lol), it was because a guest extended his stay. Either way, it all felt dishonest and ...... - especially when they were still selling a bigger 1-bedroom suite for the nights I am staying in the app. Well, *was* staying - I told them it all felt dishonest of them to at least not say something to me, and I told them I no longer wanted to stay there. I felt somewhat bad doing this, but it just felt shady. Moved to the Hyatt Regency using points - when I arrived and told them why I booked so last minute when they asked me ("You booked 20 minutes ago, kha!"), they upgraded me to a club room. After a month here, it seems that competition for 5-star hotel guests is getting hotter. Of course, had I just booked the SGS for these three last nights here, none of this would have happened!

I don't see anything dishonest. It's even likely well intentioned.

The hotel *may* think it's more important to get you into a room when you are arriving then making you wait. So they reassigned you to a room they know will be ready.

So after having me believe I was upgraded to a one-bedroom suite for three days prior to arrival - and even acknowledging it in correspondence - they downgrade me day of arrival and say nothing about it to me when I'm there and they are taking my credit card....then when I figure it out, they tell me it's basically my fault for coming at 2:30pm instead of what, 3:00pm? And then they change the reason for why the room is not available when a higher up comes to speak to me? Right - that's totally well intentioned.

Before you assume the worst, I think it's helpful to remember the large number of people and systems involved in a big hotel chain. The person (or algorithm) upgrading you is likely different from the person who said you are welcome for the upgrade, which is likely different than the person who handed you the key, and again different from the hotel who gave you the reason for changing your room.

Should it or could it work better? Sure. I understand why you are upset. But incompetence or poor communication isn't always due to bad intentions

I didn't say there were bad intentions - I said it all just felt dishonest when I was getting different reasons for why it happened. Regardless, appreciate your perspective.

Incompetence and inconsistency isn't always malicious, although if as you say they had an even better room available than the one you had originally been upgraded to still available for sale they could have made it right by moving you there. Did you ask them to do that or just said you wanted to leave because you felt they were dis-honest?