Property: Autograph Collection Metropolitan at 9
Dates: July 2016
Award stay: NO
Room type booked: King Room
Room type received: King Room, but asked for upgrade at check-in and was offered Queen Suite
Elite Level: Platinum
Plat Arrival Gift: Not Given

Comments: Had to ask for upgrade. Got 2 queen beds but bigger room with sofabed. Room was very long but no divider. Bathroom had separate commode and a soaking tub. Service was not great overall and was not given PAG and when I asked for the guarantee compensation, I was denied. Was also informed that they only give one 10 dollar off breakfast voucher no matter how many people are in room, or 750 points even though Marriott says "enjoy continental breakfast for 2." 10 dollars did not cover much in the restaurant.

Get back to MR about no response from the property. They may have some action they can take to get the GM to pay attention when they forward a complaint. I had a manager that practiced the three-call rule where he would not return a call until the third message. He said that told him it was a valid concern and not just a random rant. He didn't seem to appreciate it if we did the same to his calls. :)

One last followup.

MR (via Twitter) contacted the hotel multiple times and it was not until the night manager came in last night that they actually contacted me.

The night manager last night was very nice and offered her sincerest apologies. She made it sound as if she had been on vacation and that she was not pleased with the way things were handled by the managers who were there in her absence.

Interestingly she cited my tweet to MR multiple times (so in the future anyone else who is having difficulty I recommend using twitter to get to MR). She offered to remove the 50 pound charge and noted that since the suite was available it should have been given to me complimentary from the start (as I thought). She also gave me the card of the front office manager to contact for any stays at London Marriott properties in the future.

The resolution was satisfactory though nothing special. I thought removing the charge for the suite was a nice first step though an offer of some sort of additional compensation would have been appropriate since this issue was not resolved until literally 9 hours before we left the hotel.

I will likely follow up with Marriott as well to close the loop and also reinforce to them that this situation should never have occurred in the first place and that the property needs to be reminded of the core MR program rules (in particular treating someone staying on points as a 2nd class citizen during high season is unacceptable - I earned those points the hard way with over 150 nights at Marriott properties the last 12 months)

Well played on your part.

Based on my experiences, this was an outlier. I've always felt one of the strengths of MR was that properties have made me feel especially welcome on a points stay, rather than treating me like a second class citizen. I still well recall many years ago getting a nice upgrade on a points stay at Renaissance Amsterdam when I was just starting to travel frequently. These things do matter.

I have a 4 night stay booked for August (alas, I just cannot make the extra night...).

In light of your experience, I'm seriously considering switching hotels.

Many thanks for your feedback & persistence in raising this issue.

This thread makes me think of our recent use of points for a 5-night stay a the Renaissance Vendome in Paris. We checked in super early (on the redeye to Europe) and were offered an upgrade for additional cash per night. Regardless of whether that should been complimentary or not (I didn't really push the issue as I wanted a room to shower and rest before we set out for the day), I ultimately found out (after calling/emailing MR) that because it was a reservation via points, I would not receive points for the upgrade cash I paid. Mildly peeved, but I looked at the MR T&Cs and couldnt find anything to contradict it. Anyone else know anything to the contrary? Just a reminder that, if you're staying on points, may not want to spend anything at the hotel! Kind of a stupid policy if what I was told is true.

Ugh. I am staying at both of these properties for my honeymoon. Makes me want to switch both hotels to something more consistent.

The paid upgrade option is for those who want to guarantee an upgrade in advance on their award reservation. If you did not choose the advance upgrade option, and an upgrade was available and offered to you at checkin, it should have been gratis.

IMO, the problem now is to find a competent MR csa to comprehend the situation and provide a proper remedy to you. Obviously easier if you had declined the cash upgrade at the front desk, and politely pointed out that as a platinum you are supposed to be entitled to a status upgrade. But who wants to get into a battle with the front desk when you checkin for a stay in Paris?

Another issue to consider is what type of room you were upgraded to. The basic award rooms at the Vendome are fit for one very small human. One level upgrade and maybe you can fit a second small human in or one large human. Two levels and you are at the size of a smaller room in a typical USA Marriott. Three levels and, at last, you are in a room that a couple could occupy for 5-7 days; not a large room, but sufficient. Each category of paid upgrade requires an additional fee. Perhaps the hotel upgraded you 2-3 levels? If so, maybe the hotel incorrectly thought it was justified in imposing a fee. Too bad because, IMO, the Vendome is a fine boutique property with a perfect Paris location. But, as noted, the rooms are pretty small unless you upgrade about three levels.

EDITED TO ADD: Obviously read your post too quickly and thought you were complaining about not receiving a refund for a paid upgrade that you should have been comped to at the front desk. Now that I think about it, I would be trying to get the upgrade fee refunded rather than get points for the fee.

Any incidental spend on awards stays earn points (unless it's 3rd party stuff like out-sourced parking). I've earned points for paid upgrade (back when I was Silver), and many times for room service, drinks at bar, meals at restaurant, internet (before free i-net) on awards over the years. Usually the various charges appear on the folio/points credit from that.

Cheers.

Just to clarify...

The majority of Marriott's brands provide points on the room rate only. That means no points on incidentals, regardless of payment by cash or points.

However, 6 of Marriott's 19 brands provide points for "all qualifying charges" (room rate PLUS many, but not all, incidentals).

JW Marriott
Autograph Collection
Renaissance
Marriott Hotels
Delta Hotels
Marriott Vacation Club

For the six brands above, a qualified charge billed to the room, such as a cash upgrade or a meal in the hotel restaurant, should post points whether the stay is cash or on points.

Same experience: no points on paid upgrade
 

I had the same issue with a paid upgrade on a reward stay. JW Marriott hotel, MR points for the base room plus a cash upgrade per night (in this case, the Grosvenor House in London, and a 6-night stay, so the amount was not insignificant). All I received was my Plat arrival gift points.

Called MR upon the return. Phone rep told me that incidentals don't earn points. I told her I knew that at many of the brands, but this was a JW, the charges were billed to the folio, and there was nothing I could see in the T&C that would put me on notice that it wouldn't earn points.

She then changed and said that there had been "a discussion" at corporate about this a year or so ago and "corporate" decided that no points for cash upgrades would be awarded on a stay booked with points at any hotel in any brand. I asked her where in the T&C it would say that and she couldn't point me to anything, just kept saying that "corporate" had decided a long time ago.

She ultimately pushed through a goodwill adjustment for the base points I would have received for the cash upgrade, but denied me my 50% Platinum bonus.

Would be nice to have someone actually clarify the rules but, based on recent experiences, it seems that MR does indeed not award points for the cash portion of room spend when on an award.

Thanks for the clarification Horace. You're correct in that incidental spend counts (whether award or paid) for those brands that provide points on all qualifying charges vs. those that are room rates only. I was responding to the person who was given wrong info by Marriott for the Renaissance Vendome; he should have received points for the paid upgrade.

Cheers

Well that doesn't sound like a good change. Also, if it's indeed the case, it should be in the T&Cs. Did you have any other incidental spend at Grosvenor House & did those points post?

Cheers.

No other incidental spend, but just today I received this written response from Marriott, which is inconsistent with the T&Cs, but is apparently their position:

Edited to add: based on the top bolded language, it looks like they think they can also deny points on cash & points bookings, since that is a "portion" of a stay booked on points. Not sure how this plays out in practice, however.

Points stay *upgrade award*
 

I was lurking on Marriott FAQ's, and found this:

The “Redeem for 4 Nights Get the 5th Night Free” award only applies to standard rooms. If you want to redeem points for an upgraded room type, you will need an upgrade award for each night of the stay, including the 5th night.

Is it possible to book an upgraded room with points? When I'm booking with points, I only see 2 options (king or double).