Plat Recognition
 

Just stayed a number of days in S. Calif at a Marriott and Ren. Checked in and asked for a generally placed room, and was given one on the opposite end of hotel than my request. The Marriott did not place me on the Concierge level. I guess I am being whiny again. Absolutely NO recognition except at check-in for any elite. Hyatt outshined Marriott in every way on previous trip. Just the little things make a difference... Anyone feel the same.

Interesting observation. I have had hits and misses with all chains but I want to provide a recent counter experience:

I checked into the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel this month and didn't mention my status at all and was staying on points. I was upgraded to a junior suite with a view of the ocean and thanked for being a platinum.

Things to consider:

1. Was the hotel sold out?
2. Was the room considered a better view/better amenities/could be considered an upgrade?
3. Could a group have been booked into a block of rooms in that general area (for example a high school sports team)?
4. When did you arrive?
5. When did you place the request?
6. How did you place the request?
7. How busy was it during check-in?

There are so many things that can come into play. Did you ask why they placed you opposite of your requested location?

Was your Platinum number in the reservation? Did they provide the Platinum welcome amenity?

I don't really stress too much about whether I'm physically on the Concierge Level - but I certainly expect them to acknowledge my general room preference (which happens to be high floor, away from elevator). Although Marriott's not known for doling out big upgrades to Plats, for me they have always been extremely good at getting the general preference and bed/smoke correct.

Starwood, on the other hand, seems to give me a greater mix of true suites but generally less Platinum recognition in other ways. More of their properties have no Plat breakfast option, nor do they offer the food/bev option upon arrival. I don't sneeze at 500 Starpoints...that's $20 to me...but when it's the wife and I we kind of enjoy the wine and cheese.

With Hyatt, I only stay at Hyatt Place in a couple of places where our company uses that property. I'm impressed with that brand...my stays have been good even though I have no real Hyatt status.

It's hit and miss for me. Overall I think being plat is not a big deal and not worth the effort for the small amount of nights I travel. If I were a true road warrior I am sure the status would be more beneficial.

I always ask for it. I have not been upgraded but when I have seen my room I promptly go back and ask if they have something better. If they say that they do not have anything better, then I just tell them to cancel the reservation of a suite I just made and to give me that suite. Worked at least 2 times. : )

I feel like that's going against the unwritten rules of life. Maybe it's just me but I play by a different set of rules.

Thanks for all the chatter back. Regarding my room placement. Based on placement of USA today papers at 0630 the following morningl, there were exactly two of us on the corridor of say 30 rooms, C-lounge had nobody in it the following morning.

The recognition I did get was a 630am call on a Saturday morning (un-ordered) to tell me what the weather for the day would be.

Hyatt, the prev week had the concierge call me and thank me for staying, how they appreciated my business and to come back soon. Weekend Lounge was open, and just a total feeling of gratefulness.

Plat number in my profile, I think it is just how Marrirot is.... Not enough to never stay there, but just looking for a barometer of feelings from others.

Since upgrades to suites are not part of the Marriott rewards program that is an interesting approach. I would think this strategy would make the front desk mad and you wouldn't be treated very well the rest of your stay.

What happened all the other times besides the 2 you were upgraded to a suite?

This has never happened to me. Come to think of it, wake up calls are almost 100% automated. Their system must have been screwed up. You should let them know. You care to mention the property name?


I guess Hyatt treated you much better. If I were you, I'd take my business to where people appreciate me.

Sorry, you had a bad experience. This is NOT how Marriott is. I know, I spent plenty of nights with them. Do you care to mention the name of the property so that can compare experience? Anyway, you get one barometer.

This is Lame
 

This is really lame, book two rooms and cancel one to get the better room. Is getting that upgrade really that important?

Why can i see hotels changing the cancel time from 6 PM day of arrival to 1 day before or 3 day's before if this shady practice continues.

I just returned from a two-week trip to Asia, and was upgraded to suites (without asking) at the JWM Shanghai, JWM Bangkok, and HKG Airport Marriott. In each case - especially in Bangkok - it was a great surprise and really appreciated.

Since the OP provided an update in the exec lounge thread (much appreciated btw), my guess is the 2 properties are the Long Beach Marriott & the Long Beach Renaissance, and the Long Beach Hyatt (although the Hyatt one is just a guess on my part).

FWIW - I'm in the don't really care that much if I'm on exec level, as long as I have lounge access. Of course it helps if the lounges are open, which both LB ones weren't according to the weekend report (but of course are during the week).

Cheers.

+1. That's a shady practice...enough so that I can see a hotel noting your account as someone who does this, thus limiting your upgrades in the future.

Agreed... The more I think about this thread, the more I wonder if it was just a low-energy front desk clerk. No real vocal "Thanks for your Platinumness!" welcome...generally, Marriott clerks don't do this. If your floor only had 2 occupied rooms, the clerk may have thought he/she was doing you a favor: I can see them putting a Plat member on a relatively empty floor on purpose. Again, I don't think the lounge floor itself is important as long as they key the card right for access.

+2 its just crazy.

1. 2 papers on the floor means nothing. marriott stopped giving everyone a paper months ago to be cheap, err... green. yeah, to be green...

2. the ONLY way I could condone the "reserve a suite to game an upgrade" would be if you made the reservation _after_ you checked in and didn't like the room you got. If I (Plat Prem) was denied a suite upgrade after asking, got a crappy room, went online and found I could make a res. for a suite for my length of stay, I'd be tempted... This scenario doesn't quite fit the poster's story though.

I have pretty good luck calling the hotel beforehand and asking if they could do something nice because "my wife is coming with me this week and she rarely travels with me and i never get an upgrade when she comes with me so i decided to call and ask first. oh, and it's our anniversary/birthday too..." I stay at one property about 60-70 nights a year and the staff there takes very good care of me....

My bold. Every time I see something in my hotel room that mentions "GREEN", an alarm in my head goes off. "CHEAP is what comes to mind. Funny, I thought I was alone in thinking that!

I'm generally not impressed with Marriott service for plat. I've worked my way up from the bottom over the last two years, and have seen no difference between gold and plat. Lately, it has made me question whether to stay plat. or hit gold and movie to another program. I used to be a Hilton diamond, but started to see them devalue the program and decided to move on.

Right now, I'm leaning towards moving on. As a gold at SPG, I get upgrades frequently, with Marriott I haven't had one yet this year with 25 nights.

What does plat really give me other than a few extra bonus points? Am I missing out on something and not maximizing the status?

I'm Platinum Premier and facing the same decision. Up until a few years ago - or even last year - I thought the Marriott program and Platinum Premier were the best option out there. Now it seems Marriott just isn't willing to reach out to super-frequent (300+night/yr) guests. Bending rules, helping out, and going the extra mile for "valued" guests was always an attraction to the Marriott program, but now it seems as if Marriott can't be troubled with even being nice/welcoming.

I've stayed just over 100 nights so far this year (with some double dipping from leaving long term rooms checked in whilst I make 1 or 2 night trips elsewhere so I don't have to pack up and deal with all my belongings) and have thus far only had 2 non-Marriott nights since January 1. I have, however, moved quite a few of my crews to Hilton properties and even have a 2 week stay (at $309/night) booked for an SPG property later this month.

That said, I still think Marriott has the best earn and burn point program but the more subjective parts of the program, specifically how they relate to super loyal customers, has gone down the toilet quicker than a cigarette butt after a high school teacher walks in the boy's room.

Incredibly revolting :rolleyes:

Wine & cheese. To me, that's the main difference between Gold and Plat. (I'm not belittling that...I do enjoy the wine & cheese...)

I have attempted to call for the Platinum Override twice. Both times it was rejected...apparently properties can game the system on this somewhat easily. So unlike with rental cars, where I've found their top-tier overrides quite valuable, it hasn't helped me with Marriott.

??? Hotel's have no control over this...if they turn their inventory over to a group (such as the NFL for super bowl or a large citywide convention) they can request platinum overrides be granted, upon reviewing the documentation only MI HQ can actually grant it - there's really no room to "game" the system here, and the reason they are granted is the hotel has no control over their inventory - they've contracted it out

My failures with the Plat override did not involve any kind of major worldwide event or other situation (e.g., natural disaster or whatnot) where the hotel was likely to have lost control of its inventory.

I know there are others here who have had successes with it and may assign value to it. For me, it doesn't really have any value...that's why, to me, the difference between Gold and Plat is basically the wine and 2 points per dollar spent.

Hmm. Sounds like a great idea to me.

I'll tell you why you can't - because credit card merchant rules don't allow it. Hotels must allow cancellation up to 1600 the day of checkin. Granted - some properties try to get away with not following the rules, but they only get away with it if you let them....

+3. Shameful. I will get to PLT soon, but I am not overly excited about PLT taking over GLD. Marriott LAX isn't giving me too much of the goodies. The last time I got a little better upgrade was a larger guest room at the club level. I used EEO for weekend stays, and guess what, they never seemed to realize that because every time I received the bill, I had to get down to the front desk and ask them to take away the 2nd night charge. However, the surprising benefit is that I would often be credited as 3 EQN. I guess the fact that they try to charge me two nights in the system cannot be overridden.

Sounds like old information. Many hotels, including numerous RC and Ren properties, and other brands, require 24 hour advance cancellation. Pay in advance rules provide for no cancellation. Please cite some link to support what you state as fact; that is that credit card rules require allowing cancellation up to 4:00 pm day of arrival. Here is a sample of rules from Moneris: http://www.moneris.com/en/Support/Do...lPrograms.ashx

Ugh. I hope this isn't the case as it is THE reason to be plat IMO. Ive not used it in a while but normally do so every couple months. I've never had an issue....

it helps if you say it in your head with the jon lovitz voice... :p

Stay at the LAX Ren. Nicer hotel, you usually get an upgrade to jr. suite, and they know how to process the EEO.

Cheers.

One of the things I love about Marriott overall is the consistency of their chains. For the most part, all hotels in a chain are within one or two standard deviations of each other with a few outliers. Meaning, some totally fantastic FS Marriott hotels, some not so good FS Marriott hotels and the rest are, IMHO, above average but not stellar.

One of the things I do NOT love about Marriott overall is their inconsistent and seemingly arbitrary recognition of Plat and, now that I am Plat Premier, that also.

I do not understand why one of, if not THE, most difficult (in terms of stays) program to earn top tier in does not go out of its way to make us feel a bit more loyal to their program. No, I'm not expecting parades and trombones and rose petals, but their is enough discussion above to understand that many of us are feeling a bit down about the program.

Especially now that I am Plat Premier. I have had 17 different hotel visits with about 50 night stays so far as Plat Premier and have yet to see any difference between when I was Plat. How about something as simple as that you can have the points AND the amenity. No suites, nothing.

Oh, well. I still like the lifetime Gold which I should get by next year so we'll see.

I was extremely displeased with my second plat override attempt.
I tried to book the Philadelphia downtown Marriott for a random weekend, and was told there is a special event. I did not know of anything significant going on so I asked what it was. He called the hotel and told me they have a wedding and a business convention.
Give me a break, a wedding is considered a special event!!!
This is gaming the system as far as I am concerned.
I understand opting out for a city wide special event but this is laughable.
Rep then offered to book me at the Airport Marriott.

I ended up booking at the West Philadelphia Marriott which is 11 miles away.
Needless to say I believe platinum is only good for the amenity points and 50% bonus. I have no intentions of hitting it again unless it just works out that way.

I really do like the EEO and the megabonus promos but the difference between gold and plat are negligible.

How special an event is has nothing to do with the Platinum Override. The Super Bowl or Olympics could be in town and if a group hasn't bought the entire room block, override should work. On the other hand some convention you've never heard of on some random day could have bought it out and the PO would not work.

Actually, I do notice that because the complimentary continental breakfast comes with smoke Salmon in LAX Ren. However, I noticed that their lacking effort to make the bill right actually gives me the best chance to finish 20 nights for Megabonus and the race to PLT. Sitting at 55 EQN, I would be spending most of the EEO weekends in Marriott LAX until I reach 100 and June 5. Then, I would get back to LAX Ren. Another nice thing about the LAX Ren is it's so close to Burger King so my friends all just have to park there instead of doing valet parking. W 98th can do the trick for Marriott LAX but it's quite a walk.

Thanks for the heads-up though.

IME, people who try to game the system to gain something for themselves for which they would otherwise not be entitled, generally wind up having the effect of screwing things up for others....Who are likely more deserving, and certainly more ethical.

+1

It does not need to be a worldwide event...it could have been the Association of Neighborhood Corner Streetsweeps and Light Bulb Changers annual convention where they only needed the rooms from 1 hotel (if they contract the entire hotel the hotel has lost control of their inventory, MI doesn't take the hotel's word that the group booked the entire hotel either, documentation must be provided and signed off at various levels)

There is no such rule in any merchant agreement mandating what a hotel's cancellation policy must be....there is a rule that it be implimented uniformly and cancallation numbers be provided but nothing mandating it to be 6pm DOA

Ren LAX is a great property with a great staff, but the upgrading policy comes down to the whims and discretion of the front desk staff. I am usually upgraded to the jr suite there or at least get the larger -28 room at the end of the hall. On the last visit there, I had just returned to the property after a trip to India and Thailand. I asked the female clerk for a junior suite. She said they were all occupied. Within one minute, a non-elite standing next to me was offered the junior suite PLUS lounge access for $20! He turned it down. Then a gold elite was offered the upgrade for free. Steam was coming out of my ears being a Platinum Elite who was denied the junior suite. I asked my check-in person why the junior suite was readily available for a non-elite and a gold elite, and she was caught off -guard. She said there was no junior suite on the club level so that is why it was not offered to me!!!!!!!! Then she proceeded to tell me that she wanted me to have 2000 points for my trouble. She said all of the junior suites were now gone and I asked for a room ending in 28. She said they were gone and proceeded to give me the one small room in the column of hotel rooms! I called the MOD from my small room and he proceeded to offer me one of two remaining junior suites. The room size would not have been a problem, but there were a couple of us with a lot of luggage and we couldn't comfortably get all of the luggage into the room.

If I were the desk clerk, I'd charge you for the suite you "just booked" if it was past the cancellation window.

This sounds like a horrible case of DYKWIA.:td:

Funny, I don't have much to complain about. I've been Platinum for all of two days, and I've already received a nice upgrade to a suite with jacuzzi at a Courtyard, and a confirmed Club & prime view room upgrade at a JW next week (suite pending on availability as they only have a few).

So far, I"m very impressed.

LB Ren
 

Once again, another trip to these hotels, as they are handy to where I need to be. Club closed at the Ren over the weekend. Next trip I stayed down the street at Hotel H, and I received a personal note thanking me for returning. Now, that is classy service, plus the club was open over the weekend.

Gonna try again next week, I will report back.

Gold

@:-) How sweet would that have been.