FDGUY, thank you for taking the time to provide perspective and responses. Much appreciated and most informative.

Like KEYSER, I could care the least about a suite when I am traveling on my own. What I do care about is not having a connecting room, not being directly across from an elevator, or next to the housekeeping supply room. And yet I seem to end up there more frequently than one would think.

I am always surprised at this - and as you indicate rooms are blocked for Plats, even more so. Is the person doing the room assignments that unfamiliar with the lay-out of the rooms and floors?

I will hit my 1000th night with Marriott this year and I don't care about a room upgrade when on the road except when going on vacation with the wife.

Disclaimer--I rarely spend more than 2 nights in any given city and just don't care about being in a suite or on the concierge level (which I get most of the time anyway).

Give me an accessible room and I will be back at the front desk in a split second for a new room though.

Can you expand on this? I just had this issue and was told a whole bunch of things that are different than what's been discussed here on FT by the front desk person:

1. that it was $50.
2. that while points were assigned, even if I wasn't asked...too bad.
3. at this particular property, that screwed up repeatedly over a week's time, that I had already gotten other compensations, so....again, too bad.

When should we inform of not being offered our platinum arrival gift? Next day? End of stay? After check-in process?

depends on the type of property

ask them for the card that you are supposed to fill out. When they can't produce it, continue to push

keep pushing. If manager on duty refuses, call MR

I wait at least an hour, usually until the next morning.

Legal Requirements for Stay-Over Guests
 

FDGUY, please comment on your experience and the legal framework of guests staying over after their reservation has expired by its own term.

When I was traveling on business, every week, mostly staying in the same few hotels, some would always extend us when we underestimated the work and could not leave town on time (and had not checked out yet). We were repeatedly told that in most states you cannot legally push a guest presently in the hotel out the door if they wanted to extend, even if that put the hotel in a rooms-available bind.

(But, I'm also guessing from time to time letting us stay over in our upgraded rooms led to some interesting speeches about status, unavailable upgrades, and being related to somebody named Bill. Or, perhaps even full-hotel unpleasant walk situations for very late arrivals.).

In a few alternative outcomes, I've had professional associates arrive back at their hotel to find their bags packed for them and told there was no space and they would be leaving. (In one case, the thrown-out overstay guest was a VP with Six Continents kryptonite status who had six weeks of upcoming reservations in the hotel deporting him--which got promptly cancelled).

The hotel can't legally evict unless there is a situation regarding payment. If a hotel sees luggage in the room at 7 pm and you are due to check out that day, the hotel may see that and decide to extend your stay whether you like it or not. However, if the guest comes to the desk and asks to extend and the hotel has no availability whatsoever, then the hotel may inform the guest that there is no availability tonight and will need to seek accommodations elsewhere.

This is one of the must frustrating things for a hotel to deal with. If a guest way due to check out on Friday, but their bags were still in the room all day, then we would usually extend the guest an extra night. Most hotels are happy to just extend you if they have the availability, but I have heard of some hotels doing what you said - bags packed and removed from the room. This was a huge no no at our property. If we had to extend a guest that then put us into a oversold position, it would be at a huge rate increase to make up for the fact we are going to have to walk someone.

Every time we would call the number attached to the reservation, but it was usually an outdated number, a travel agency, or an office number who would not give out a cell number.

:D:D^

this is not how it should be and is not how it is in the majority of hotels...the OP is speaking from his/her experience at one specific hotel

It actually varies by state - only a handful of states do not allow hoteliers to evict guests (the NE states quickly come to mind).....however if you are an "unexpected stayover" there is nothing (no law) that requires the hotel to charge you the rate you paid the night before....ie a hotel is able to increase your rate for the additional nights to their rack rate if they so choose

i get that part but it makes you wonder how many properties would be adopting this practice....

regardless of "how it should be", this very well could be in accordance with state/local law........ (and not just limited to being compliant with hotel policy as reported by FDGUY)

What would you prefer? If you've got 40 plats checking in that day, and only 25 upgraded rooms available, would you rather they just assign them by lottery before anybody arrives? I think it's better to give them to those who care (i.e., those who ask) on a first-come, first-served basis. It would be a waste for an upgraded room to be held for a plat who doesn't show up.

From my experience only on the side of someone staying at a hotel (rather than on the other side of the check-in desk), what I would prefer to see is something closer to what Starwood hotels tend to do.

Starwood sends each hotel a "suggested" upgrade list (for the elites staying there that night.) That list is based on a number of variables (to which we can only guess, but probably includes number of nights stayed at Starwood hotels over the last year, average rates paid, average spending for those stays, etc.) The hotel can use that list to pre-upgrade their Plats. If a Plat lower on that list, who didn't get pre-upgraded, checks in earlier and actually asks for an upgrade, then the hotel will take one away from the pre-upgraded group (but haven't checked-in yet).

I would prefer to be assigned ahead of time by the status and within the status by number of nights within last 12 months. (Not sure if hotels see that info, but this is very similar to what airlines do.)

And again, what if that person doesn't show up? This isn't a problem with airlines, since the plane takes off at a given time, and it's easy enough to move a passenger from coach to first if somebody doesn't show up in time. On the other hand, nobody wants to move hotel rooms after having checked in; but otherwise the nicer room will go to waste. No matter how you slice it, I see some sort of "first to check in has dibs" policy as being the best.

It certainly would be very nice if Marriott initiated a Hyatt-esque limited number of "confirmed upgrades" for Plats, which would spread things around a bit, but outside of that, I don't see a fairer/more-efficient way than first-come, first-served.

I usually come late as I try to maximize my time with the family. So it is not unusual for me to check-in at 11pm the night before I have to work.

For west to east bound business travel arriving late isn't really optional unless you leave at the crakc of dawn.

I can assure you there are no laws preventing the upgrading of guests to other room types anywhere in the United States....localities just want to be sure 1) there is an occupancy permit that is complied with and 2) were taxes owed/paid/remitted

there are other factors which are taken into account - Loyalty to the specific hotel by the individual guest, loyalty to the individual hotel by the organization/group etc, length of stay by the guest etc...there is a laundry list that should be followed when blocking rooms

Myself I can't imagine not having the house preblocked as much as possible - having the house preblocked makes the checkin process extremely quick for the guests and prevents a ton of issues from occuring at the front desk...not having the house blocked negatively impacts guests scores and makes for stressful days by the front desk team (which further reduces the guest scores)

Marriott uses a very similar process

Let's say you're a regular guest who spends 50 weeks a year at a hotel but a guest who's never stayed before arrives at 9am while you arrive at midnight and you didn't recieve an upgrade because the 9am guest received it...would you consider that fair?

Presumably you're referring to a guest who has never stayed at that location before (who has Gold or Platinum stats), correct?. Yes, I think first-come, first-served is fair. If Mr./Mrs. 50+ Weeks has established a "must have upgrade" relationship with that particular hotel, then I would expect them to be accommodated. But in most cases, Mr./Mrs. 50+ Weeks is a road warrior who travels alone, is gone most of the day to a client's work site and just wants to be assured of a clean, quiet place to sleep without any hassles. Let the upgrade go to those who have status who really want the upgrade and ask for it.

If they're a Platinum, yes. They were there to enjoy the nice room for 15 hours more than I would be able to. The benefit is based on availability. If I'm coming in at midnight, I shouldn't expect any availability. If I really wanted a suite, I should have paid for one. Or maybe (like others have suggested in other threads in this form, IIRC) e-mailed the manager the week before my arrival to request an upgrade.

And in the scenario you mentioned, if I'm staying 50+ weeks a year in the same hotel (BTW I actually have been in the same TPS for the past 80+ days) then I've got some sort of arrangement with my client/employer where I'm never checking out because I don't want to move all my stuff in and out. Which is, again, indeed the case.

Anyway, I don't see the point in arguing further in fdguy's nice thread. I'm certainly in no position to dictate what Marriott should or shouldn't do, and I don't know why I'm defending it. I think I understand their policies, and they make sense to me. If they change the policies, I will go along with them, because I will have no other option. All of this discussion should be in another thread, and I apologize for derailing this thread.

Yes. If the later arriving (regular at that hotel) guest is Gold or Plat, and a Gold or Plat (never stayed at that hotel before) arrives earlier, the earlier arriving guest should get the upgrade. This isn't even a close call for me. It's spelled out in the T and Cs.

I usually stay at different properties most of the time. Until later last year when I stayed weeks and weeks at the same property in ATL. My "home away from home". I can tell you that getting the same room every week was AWESOME! It made me feel welcome and more importantly like home.

Ooh, I stayed there. Marriott Potemkin, right? ;)

Mike

what you describe above is not first come first served and is exactly what MI does - folks with a relationship such as a regular at a specific hotel or their company is a regular at a specific hotel etc are given a higher priority than a guest without a relationship at a specific hotel....or another way to put it is MI believes the burden shouldn't be on the guest as much as it should be on the hotel

most guests agree with you

I was a room service waiter at the Marco Island Hilton one summer during college. We never had announced inspections like this, rather something everyone called the "Richey Report" in which some mystery guest would come and rate every aspect of the hotel. We had specifications we had to follow just in case we got that mystery guest -- like 2 knocks on the door, not 3, not 1 -- that would be an automatic deduction. They were always alerting us, "hey, we think this guy is from Richey" but they were usually wrong. The tip-off I guess is when they'd ask about all the services the hotel offered when checking in -- they'd immediately upgrade a guest like this.

One day, as was my custom, when exiting the guest's room I asked, "is there anything I can do to make more stay with us more pleasant?" Guy says, "yeah, the maid closest next door is very loud in the morning." They stuck the Richey guy next to the damn maid closet!!! I apologized and reported it to housekeeping (the maids were all very loud every morning which used to drive me nuts). I didn't find out the guy was from Richey until about a week later when I came in to work. My manager's manager pulls me aside and says, "hell of a job". I was the only one in the hotel who got 100%.

As long a the PP's are pre-blocked who cares what they do with the rest. :)

The first come first served method breaks down when the hotel UG's early arriving Golds and then Plats and PP's are left with what's left.

And if this is the case, what is the point of the virtual concierge where you can 'ask' for the UG as well?

Based on the UG benefit as defined, I don't think it says 'UG to best available room if you ask for it'.

Not sure why anyone would feel this way as complimentary upgrades are a benefit for Golds as well as Plats. As a matter of fact, on Marriott's website, the complimentary upgrade is defined in a single section listed as "Additional Gold and Platinum Benefits". It says nothing about Platinum members having a higher priority for those upgrades.

Don't get me wrong - it probably should. But it doesn't as far as I can tell. So, if a Plat and Gold are checking in at the same time with only one upgrade room available, the Plat should get it. But - by Marriott rules - if there's only one room available and the Gold member walks up a minute before the Plat, the Gold should get it.

Also, I don't think anyone should need to beg for an upgrade. It should be automatic.

MI uses the same company to perform their Quality Assurance inspects as Hilton (process if very similar)

Plats do have a higher upgrade status but again there are other factors that enter the equation too (and most hotels do preblock the house to be sure of a smooth operation)

Well this cuts to the crux of the issue. Should a PP that checks in at 8pm be locked out of an UG because a bunch of Golds checked in at 4pm? And what does best available room mean? If PP's and Plats are pre-blocked into rooms are there 'available' rooms for Golds to UG to?

It would seem bizarre to say we'll give our lower tier elites equal footing for UG's with the upper level elites.

It would be similar if the airlines said, on the day of flight if a Gold member gets to the gate first they get the UG instead of the Plat member. Both are entitled to an UG based on the defined benefits, but the airlines just clearly document who has first priority.

If Marriott wanted to only UG people who wanted it, then they should put the option to request and UG on the res, similar to what the airlines do. Then people that don't care won't be UG and those that do would have a better opportunity.

I think that makes sense.^ However, I do believe Marriott should be up front about it. Otherwise it's nothing less than bait and switch.:td:

I mystery shop a few mid to high end restaurants. I am always amused at how the servers *think* they know who the shoppers are. One time I overheard them discussing the diners right next to my husband and I. Somehow they had been alerted to the date that month (not supposed to happen, but sometimes it does) and were convinced this couple were the ones based on few very erroneous assumptions! The entire night they hovered over the other couple practically ignoring us. I'm sure management was not thrilled with my report!

(PS please don't bombard me with questions about how to get this job, I know you would all love a couple of free $150-200 dinners every month, suffice it to say I paid my dues over the years at some not so high end places and am now reaping the rewards!)

"Locked out"?:confused: Yes, a Gold member checking in at 4pm should receive an upgraded room if it available at check in even if a PP has a room reserved but has yet to show up. Why? What if he/she(PP) never shows or cancels? Screw the 4 pm Gold member and give it to the next guest?

Is it realistic to say that a Gold checking in at 4pm EVER has a chance at an upgrade if they are being held for higher tier guests? There are ALWAYS going to be higher tier guests coming in. Take ANY hotel in any major city - a Gold checks in at 4pm - what are the odds of NO Plats or PP still arriving later? Zero.

While I would have no issues with your premise that Plats and PPs should have a higher ranking in regards to upgrades, IMHO Marriott needs to put that in writing. They haven't and I think we all know why.

I agree, it's bizarre. But it's also true.
https://www.marriott.com/rewards/terms/elite.mi

At the Denver Marriott West a few months ago, I was pre-blocked into a Concierge Level room, only to be downgraded when I arrived at the hotel at around 6pm Tuesday night. The FDC stated that they couldn't upgrade me as the available rooms had been allocated to Elites who checked in before I did and there were no longer any rooms available on the concierge level. Did give me free breakfast in the restaurant on Saturday morning to make up for it.

Regards,

RIP...