I was being cute in that thread...based upon my memory (which my spouse constantly tells me to stop relying upon) extended stay hotels have never offered upgrades

Which may very well be how Marriott's inventory system treats them, but if you check out Platinum Benefits, note that it specifically excludes "upgrades from studio to 1- or 2-bedrooms". I do believe that sometime in the past, this same site stated that upgrades from a studio to a 1-bedroom suite" were a part of the program. But even the existing text implies that going from a studio to a 1-bedroom suite would be an "upgrade".

Also note that the 48 hour room Guarantee is applicable at RIs for studio suites only, not 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom suites. So somehow Marriott has a distinction between them.

But per this thread, if upgrades to suites (i.e. 1 or 2 bedroom suite) at an RI are not part of the MR program, is it acceptable for a specific hotel to use rate or someother criteria for their own personal hotel upgrade process?

Or if there are more Gold/Plat elites than upgradeable rooms, is it acceptable for a hotel to use their own internal upgrade ordering process (i.e. rate)?

What I've been told before is that the distinction is in occupancy levels. It's possible your RI has a higher occupancy limit in the one-bedrooms than in the studios -- and certainly a higher level in their two-bedrooms. In order to accommodate an upgrade to every solo-traveling Plat who asks, they may have to "downgrade" somebody else who reserved the higher suite directly. And that might force them into violating fire codes if they have to downgrade a family of four, for example.

No idea if something like that would apply in your case, however.

Upgrades are always based on availability, per the rules. Nobody, who has reserved and is paying for an upgraded room, is going to be downgraded to make room for an elite. True at RI, and true everywhere else.

I believe you are reading too much into the language used (how the CRS treats the room types doesn't matter when it comes to upgrades)...the reason it treats 1 bedroom suites differently than studio suites at extended stay hotels is because they ARE different at the TPS brand...IMO a 1 bedroom suite at a TPS is the nicest room type in the hotel, unfortunately typically there are only (x) of these rooms in a TPS

(x) is a self edit but read x to be an extremely low number-yeah I'm in a self editing mood I guess

exactly (or at least it's suppose to work this way...)

Wow, I was not expecting this many replies. Thanks for all the help. I was more amazed by the fact the front desk agent used my "price level" as a basis for an upgrade. I saw in the terms and conditions it mentioned that the upgrades were not guaranteed. It seems like the hotel was using price as a way to explain their upgrades.

I am going to mention something to the manager because of the condition of the room when I arrived. The bathroom area wasn't the cleanest along with the dresser drawers not being cleaned out. There were still papers and pins from dress shirts left in the drawers along with the bag the shirts were bought in. The poor housekeeping continued all week and I was just too disgusted to care.

I will let everyone know what I find out.

I just finished a certificate stay at a Residence Inn the past weekend. When we checked in, I asked if there's any chance we would get a bigger room? We are gold and booked on a studio suite. He said he would check and asked how many people were in the party and assigned us a room.

Since he did not specifically say we were upgraded, we did not expect anything. It turned out he had upgraded us to a 2-bedroom suite. We were pleasantly surprised and the children were in cloud 9 (there are 3 TV in the suite and 2 bathrooms).

I guess this upgrade business is entirely upon the situation and the front desk person. We got an upgrade on a stay that we did not even pay.

It also depends a lot on the property. I think some managers have the attitude that if the room in not going to be used then upgrade the elites and hopefully they will come back and spend more dollars here. Others for whatever reason don't bother. JMHO.

I have stayed at RIs 3 times and have never received an upgrade. 2 of those stays were at a sold out Whistler-Blackcomb (RIP).

Absolutely true. But also remember that the elite benefit program just provides minimums for the particular benefit (upgrades, breakfast, etc.). RI's are not required to upgrade from studios to suites, but some will. Resorts are not required to provide breakfast or coupons for breakfast, but some will. Full service properties are not required to provide weekend breakfast or concierge lounge, but some do.

If I need to have a better / larger room or suite I reserve it. If I don't care, I don't say anything. If it would be more convenient to have an upgraded room, I may inquire at check-in (and many RI, FI, etc. are willing to do so if they have sufficient room availability). It really depends on the property and their Management's philosophy at a Residence Inn since it is not an enumerated Platinum benefit.