What happens if the OP tries to book four or more days starting with the day he/she really wants to arrive?

That doesn't work. It is weird.

You don't need to meet minimum stay requirements to invoke Plat override per info from Socrates posted in a previous thread:

I'm curious - is this an extended stay hotel? (please don't read anything into my question - the system does work differently for different brands, I have a thought on what's going on but would like additional info before commenting further)

only the hotel can "override" something "manually"....the system will automatically override for plats (unless an exception has been granted) - this isn't a manual override

so an exception has been granted if the system does not see it.

Yes, RI.
Playing around on M.com.
If I go two days ahead I can book.
If I go for my check in date and book for a week, I can book.

But call to PP desk and I am told hotel is sold out and no override.


Interesting thing is that the Fairfield next to it that also gave same story before suddenly showed up today for same dates and I could book as a reward stay???

Cheap enough I book as regular room. But now my question is -
Does my profile of 2 beds override the room reservation?
Can I call MR desk and use Plat override to get 2 beds vs one?

Yes - and I can confirm the hotel in question has been granted a waiver

Platinum Override would (should) work for standard room types

So it is possible that the Platinum 48 guaranteed availablity doesn't work?

I spoke to a rep this morning on the platinum line who at first didn't see the overide for a Sat. night stay at a Courtyard because I wasn't 48 hours out (and it is Monday). I said that didn't make sense since I was OVER the 48 hours but she kept insisting that I had to make the reservation WITHIN 48 hours.

I told her to speak to her supervisor to try to override it but she put me on hold, came back and said the hotel was full and and override won't work.

So it is true, they can just say no?

No, they can't. As stated numerous times in previous posts:Without more information like hotel name and dates, that is about all the information we can provide.

The problem is that 99% of the time, when PO is working, it just works. A plat logs in, books the room, and goes on their merry way, never knowing they got a perk. Then they find a blocked date, call to get the override and it is denied and they post "The ONE time I REALLY needed an override and it wasn't available!!!"

If you have to call- it is because PO is blocked for that hotel/date and chances are it will be denied.

While I agree with the way the website works in this scenario (a Plat can just book online in most cases where a property reports sold out otherwise), it does have a text in red that indicates something -- let me just try it..

This rate offered only to Elite members like you.

I guess it could be more descriptive to showcase the benefit, but I am glad I don't have to do this by phone and that the benefit is available. By the way, you can only hold one night for a situation like this unless the reservation changes in some fashion. Also, watch the cancellation policies, they are not same day typically, but day before (because of the capacity situation) even when it really is 'Regular Rate'.

Rasheed

I've had problems with this three times in the past three months. In each case, I called reservations and was told the hotel was 100% booked. Then, the day of the "event" I called and they magically had a room. So they couldn't have been 100% occupancy at the time I wanted a reservation. So I called and quizzed a supervisor and found out that hotels can now self-enter an event that excludes the Platinum guaranteed reservation. There is no one supervising this, so the hotel can do it at will. Without any occupancy verification. In all three cases I was checking on, it looks like the attempt was to book at the highest rate possible the most rooms possible and use the Marriott system against itself. I'm really upset about this because it defeats the purpose of the Platinum guarantee. Totally.

This would seem to benefit the hotel only if they have never accepted reservations on that date at a lower rate. The idea behind the guaranteed room (or a guaranteed seat on a full plane) is that it can pay the hotel--monetarily and in terms of goodwill from the high tier elite--to find someone without status who has a reservation at a low price. The other person is denied boarding or walked, with minor compensation, so that the space can be given to the elite who pays full price. For a hotel, selling a room at the guarantee (rack) rate is better than not doing so unless all of the hotel's other guests are paying an even higher rate (approximately, need to adjust for the cost of walking the unlucky person).