It doesn't surprise me that the Marriott social media team would delete any posts which prove that they have indeed changed their upgrade benefit language. It's a pretty shady practice and leaves me questioning their true intentions regarding this and EEO/BOGOs.

Their intentions? Maximizing revenue and profitability.
The current target of cost cutting is elite benefits. Just look at how many Plats had a hard time changing their Megabonus this time around.

To me, it appears that Arne Sorenson is targeting elite benefits as an excessively expensive cost center and is reducing elite benefits a little bit at a time in order to cut costs. That works until you lose a large chunk of your elite customers.

This one category upgrade is just another datapoint that MI is going for short term revenue without regard to elite customer retention.

There are a few Marriott properties that I love and will book in the future - JW Lima, Sonoma Ren, Eden Roc - but I will increasingly start looking at alternative hotel chains. Hyatt and Starwood fully cover my elite desires and I can maintain top status with each of those with 25 stays/yr. Since most of my stays are one night, I only need to do 50 nights to keep top tier with them vice 75 for Marriott.

Marriott in general was always pretty stingy about upgrades. Now they are killing elite benefits with a death of 1000 small cuts. I've been unhappy with reductions in benefits in the past and stuck with Marriott. But it's now at the point where other hotel programs are handily beating Marriott on elite treatment. Marriott's elite program is quickly morphing into another Priority Club, where elite benefits are poorly defined and murky at best.

My concern is that the trend of benefit reductions will not stop until there is significant negative impact on Marriott's bottom line.

But without PB and really good Plat upgrades in Asia - I got suite upgrades in a CP, and free breakfast at HI (plus a corner room).

Not really sure what Marriott is up to - I guess they might want to cut back something and then give them back as if they 'upgrade' their elite perks - like SAS cut on board Y service a while ago and now people are liking them like crazy because they start to serve free tea and coffee on board.

Ah - I have not seen either and since they've not made a comment here....

likely rewritten by their legal department = double talk

Has anyone asked them publicly on FB why they took the posts down? And actually put the links back up again? ;)

Cheers.

I suspect that if one doesn't trust Marriott's intentions now, whatever answer they might give, you would probably question that as well. So I wouldn't expect them to really answer that question. :eek:

I'm not a FB person so I can't post. But I think it's a valid question that should be posted - why did they delete the links? People need to know that they did actually delete the links. That's the more important part. People can decide for themselves what it means, but the fact Marriott did it does lead one to a certain conclusion. BTW - Marriott could spin it as they have been to date.

And there's nothing that says a person can't repost the links if they have them, especially since the corp folk won't be on until Monday ;)

Cheers.

Well, hey, Marriott has conditioned me to have low enough expectations that I now consider getting a guaranteed King Bed an upgrade. :)

Excluding hotels I deal with directly because of long term stays, I'm 2 of 6 for king beds and 0 for 6 on platinum welcome gift over the last 6 stays. :)

So how much $$ have you collected?

I think in 20 stays this year both with and without family my plat husband has gotten bed requests and arrival gift on all. I'd like to collect hte $$ myself!

Gold member concerned about change to upgrade policy after a recent stay
 

I stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott North last week as a Marriott Gold member.

I had booked a "standard" room with a request for a room on "high floor with view". The hotel has 3 concierge floor levels on floors 15 through 17.

When I checked in I was given a room on the 6th floor. I asked the front desk agent if I was assigned an "upgraded room" and he said yes. I then thought maybe I had a corner suite or something, since it was not on a high floor as requested. I then asked if I had access to the "concierge lounge" and he checked his computer and said yes, just use your room key to access the lounge on the 15th floor.

The room on the 6th floor did have a balcony and I have seen these rooms with balconies considered "deluxe rooms" at the www.marriott.com web site. It was not much larger than the standard rooms from what I could tell, the only difference seemed to be the balcony. I was only there for 2 nights, so I accepted the room, even though I would have preferred a higher floor. I wondered why when I requested a "high floor with view", I was assigned the 6th floor out of 17 floors. I wondered why I did not get a room on the concierge floor and figured all those rooms must have been taken and that is why I only got upgraded to a balcony room on the 6th floor.

Now I wonder if I got "upgraded" to a room in the next category and as far as the hotel was concerned, I was not "entitled" to being upgraded to a "concierge level" room as I have been in the past at other full service Marriott hotels.

If this is the case, this is a devalution of the previous "upgrade to the best available room" benefit for Gold members as far as I see it. Many hotel have rooms that they consider "deluxe", that are not on the concierge level floors and it may be that those are the only rooms that Gold members may be able to be upgraded to. If the upgrades are now only to the next "category", I can see how this is not a good thing for Gold members.

soccer

Is the deluxe room bigger than a standard room on the CL level? If so the hotel may have thought they were doing you a favor by giving you a bigger room.

I have stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale North FS a few times and have been both on the CL level and in a non-CL room with the balcony: as a plat; long before the past few weeks.

Although.... I actually prefer the CY at N Federal Hwy and Commercial Blvd, which is very close by and usually cheaper. No CL and it's more renovated sixties hotel than typical CY. Most people find it a little downtrodden, but I've always had a good stay there. If I'm with others, its the FS. If I'm on my own, it's the CY.

Getting back to Vicki's question - were the room sizes different or something special about the CL room vs the non-CL room?

Cheers.

As hard as I'm trying to remember, I cannot picture the rooms. I do remember the CL was open on weekends, there was a very nice male attendant who was probably in his late-twenties to mid-thirties, the manager on duty welcomed me when I checked in, the lights are dim in the lobby, and I was once in a room very close to the CL and I once had a balcony but remember thinking it didn't have a good view, so why bother having balconies. All that, but I cannot remember the rooms!

My last stay there was probably 18 months ago, and my other stay was shortly before that. The CL stay was on a weekend, and the balcony stay was during the week. The stay with the balcony was just after Christmas, for a funeral. I was surprised that I could get a good rate at the last minute.

Both were two night stays.

quote
Getting back to Vicki's question - were the room sizes different or something special about the CL room vs the non-CL room?

Cheers.
__________________
Sharon


The room was what I would say was a standard room with a balcony with the same interior square footage. There was nothing special about the room, just that it had a balcony, without any furniture on it.

On the www.marriott.com web site the rooms are shown as:

Standard $119.00
Balcony $129.00
Concierge Level $169.00
One Bedroom Suite $269.00

Please note that the rooms at this hotel start on the 3rd floor, so the 6th floor is not very high up at all, keeping in mind that I requested a room on a "high floor with view".

I don't think that the 6th floor Balcony room would be considered a "nicer" room by most guests than a concierge level room on the 15th, 16th or 17th floor when when I requested a room on a "high floor with view".

The hotel may not have had a higher floor balcony or concierge level room available when I stayed there. Or possibly, my upgrade from a standard room to a balcony room was considered by the hotel as the only upgrade that I was entitled to since the balcony room was in the next category of rooms.

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I will bet that they do consider the balcony room a "nicer" room than concierge level if you also have acces to the concierge lounge with the balcony room. Here's the thinking:

Standard $119.00
Balcony $129.00 - this room is worth 10 dollars more than a standard room
Concierge Level $169.00 - sounds like this room is identical to a standard room with the extra 50 dollars being the charge for accessing the lounge

So balcony room + concierge level access is a 119 + 10 + 50 = 179 dollar value.

If that room doesn't have any value to you you need to let the front desk know. Many times peopel check off high level and don't really value it that* much if they can get an upgraded rooom on a lower floor.

The upcharge for concierge level isn't an upcharge for a "category" of room, it's and upcharge for concierge level access.

The sign near the concierge level lounge stated that it was closed on the weekends. I believe that it what states at the www.marriott.com web site as well. I stayed at the hotel Monday to Wednesday, so the Concierge Lounge was open when I was there. I did not think it was that great of a Concierge Lounge, it was crowded each time I was there and the food was not good for breakfast or in the evening. The one employee handling everything on the lounge, especially at breakfast could not keep things well stocked at all, i.e. no coffee, no silverware, ran out of eggs, etc.

You are right about the view from the balcony, it was in a corner, so you really did not have a good view on the one side at all, it looked into a hallway.

soccer

But MY request was for a room on a high floor with view, not a room with a balcony on a low floor.

soccer

Then you need to speak up.

I requested a room on a "high floor with view" at the time of reservation.

I requested a room on a "high floor with view" at check-in.

When I was assigned a room on the 6th floor, I asked if it was an "upgraded" room. and was told yes.

I then asked if I had access to the Concierge Lounge and the agent checked and said "yes".

I guess when I got to the room, I could have gone down to the front desk and insisted on a higher floor room on the concierge level. Is that what you suggest?

By the way, I had the bellman help me with my baggage and tipped him. I was not all that excited about lugging my luggage back down to the front desk at that point and accepted the room I was given.

The point of my original post was to advise other Gold members that a new policy may have already gone into effect, based on what was changed in the terms of the Marriott Rewards documentation provided to me as a Gold member. My post was based on my experience only at this specific hotel and stay.

If anyone can state that they know for a fact, Gold members are still entitled to the "best available room" at the hotel including Concierge Level rooms at Full Service Marriott Hotels, I would welcome that.

soccer

You asked if you got an upgrade. - yes you did.
You asked if you had access to the CL lounge- yes you did

Did you ever ask if you received a high floor room with a view? It does not appear that you did.

Best available room does NOT mean specific room type you requested in the note son your reservation. I think the new wording is very confusing, but I don't think your particular checkin on this date had ANYTHING to do with this. If you had recieved a high floor room with a view that did not have a balcony and was not on the CL level the hotel would not have been able to answer "Did I get an upgrade" with yes. They would have to say no. Because at this hotel, a high floor standard room with a view is not any more $$ than a lower floor room unless it includes concierge access, and for Gold's and Plat's ALL rooms allow concierge access.

As Vicki says, you should have spoken up. There is the chance that the hotel thinks of the sixth floor as being a "higher floor" in terms of customer preferences. Personally, I won't stay on a first floor, don't like the second floor, but am fine with anything above that. IMO, there are noise issues on the second floor, and the first floor creeps me out, because I keep thinking people can see in the room and climb through the window. Being away from the ice machine is usually a bigger deal to me than third versus tenth or so floor, but alas, there is no box to check for being away from the ice machine.

I'm sorry to find out that the CL is no longer open on weekends. It is a very narrow CL, I do remember that.

just finished a weekend stay at the Hua Hin Marriott before it deflags next month......... although I had a pre-arrival upgrade to a beachfront room, upon checkin the FOM informed me they had upgraded me further to the Presidential Suite, with its own jacuzzi, as a beach party might disturb me........... both the pre-arrival and upon arrival upgrades provided WITHOUT asking....... so notwithstanding the stated policy there are a few properties that still know how to take care of its regulars

I just finished a 10 day stay on points at a J. W. in Asia and after the first three days was upgraded to a very nice suite on the CL floor for the rest of my stay. (I'm Plat.)

Thanks for posting your experience.

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Thanks for posting your experience.

soccer

Just curious, how did you know you had a pre-arrival upgrade?

Well we'll see if the U.S. properties upgrade like the Asia properties. Given how quickly most embraced Marriott's closing the lounges on the weekend w/ no coupons, it wouldn't surprise me if they embraced the new upgrade terminology re: upgrades with equal enthusiasm ;).

FWIW - I do think there will be some properties who will still go above & beyond, but I also think a lot will just follow the corporate jargon.

Cheers.

You can check your reservation the day before on the website & it will show you the type of room you've got. If you've been upgraded in advance, it will show the upgraded room (ie, superior room, junior suite, etc). If you haven't been upgraded in advance, it will show what you booked.

Cheers.

the Ritz-Carlton rewards.
 

No, it is going in the direction of the Ritz-Carlton rewards:).

Costly life time members
 

Don't get into MR trap, they just want to get rid of costly LIFE TIME members :). Stay w/ MR and take advantage of your life time status.

Pre-arrival upgrade.
 

[QUOTE=Jonas36;18571256]Just curious, how did you know you had a pre-arrival upgrade?[/QUOTE
Check your detail reservation online.

Posting this from my free wifi in a CY suite. Upgraded and am on an ultra low corporate rate.

Marriott.com showed that my Hua Hin res had been upgraded to a beachfront about 3-days before arrival (and upon arrival was further upgraded to the Pres Suite as FOM thought the beach party that night might disturb me)

My (future) Nov res in Phuket was upgraded to a pool villa the day after I made it.............guess the FOM knows my name by now as we are frequent returnees, but this routinely happens in Khao Lak & Pattaya as well........... (and, last month in Seoul, likewise pre-arrival upgraded to a suite...........all w/o ever asking)

Policies Change - It's the Implementation that Counts
 

I'm sure that the legal department worked overtime to add sufficient weasel words to their policies to protect them in any instance, but it's how the properties interpret and implement the policies that counts, so I wouldn't think it will change things much.

I'm approaching lifetime Platinum with Marriott (1,000 nights) and have had good experiences and bad experiences, but many more good than bad. My standard approach is to either call the hotel in advance to let them know I would like a suite/upgrade if at all possible or just ask them when I check in "did you put me in a nice suite?". Some properties take the initiative without asking and already have me upgraded, but almost all will at least check their inventory and try to get me an upgrade if I ask for it. Some times they are already sold out of suites or have already upgraded them to others by the time I get there, so if I'm arriving late, I usually call in advance to place my request. Marriott does, at least in my experience, try to go the extra mile for elite members, but sometimes they need to be reminded of what you want.

Disappointing. I am definitely in "wait-and-see" mode with Marriott. For the most part, over the years, Marriott has done right by me. Recent trends relative to the competition have me entertaining ideas of splitting business further (which I have already started).

Too many hotels follow the letter of the law and do the bare minimum. I don't expect much, but I do expect some basic consideration of my status when assigning rooms. Not sticking an elite member with a room facing a wall, next to the ice machine on the ground floor should just be a given. But it happens, and now (in many hotels) simply putting me in a room that doesn't have an obstructed view could very well be an "upgrade" and not simply "common sense"....

As with anything, time will tell.....

I want other options available. I'm currently a LT Starwood Gold; would like to be LT Starwood Plat. That will allow me to pick and choose the best between Marriott and Starwood. I'd like to also have LT Hyatt Diamond but I don't see that as a realistic goal.

For instance, I stayed at the JW San Fran and the Marriott Fishermans Wharf. Disappointed with both locations; nothing at all special. Now with status with Starwood, I can also look at their properties in a location where Marriott falls short.

There are Marriotts that I will always consider booking such as the JW Lima (Peru), Ren Lodge at Sonoma (CA), Eden Roc Ren Miami Beach, JW Las Vegas (off strip but always given a large beautiful 2 room suite). I won't rule Marriotts out but I no longer give them my business just to get another night credit.

I no longer have to stay at a Fairfield Inn just to get my night credit for Plat status. I can have just a few annual stays at aspirational Marriotts while maintaining Plat status/treatment and use Starwood or Hyatt for the 'grind'/night credit when I just need a place to stay. And if there are properties who are skimpy on the Plat upgrades, they simply won't get my business.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the upgrade language has been changed again. Suites are no longer specifically excluded. Language as to upgrades only to next room category level is gone. This follows extensive complaining here, on Facebook, and Marriott Rewards Insiders. New language:"For Platinum Elite members the best way is up! So every time you check in, we'll do our best to upgrade you to a premium room - at no additional charge – for your entire stay. Upgrades may include rooms with desirable views, rooms on high floors, corner rooms, rooms with special amenities, rooms on Executive Floors, or suites, subject to availability identified by each hotel. See terms and conditions for details." Of course, there are still plenty of weasel words there.

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/mem...ts/platinum.mi

Basically, I'm reading it as saying that just about any room type is possible for an upgrade, but an upgrade to any specific room type is not guaranteed. IOW, they promise the world, but guarantee nothing. ;)