Perhaps you missed the post below (#40) where I shared evidence from the Marriott investor call which substantiated what I've shared. Common sense simply reinforces what already should be obvious.

Feel free to read for yourself:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/26750875-post40.html

I have used my concierge a few times and she has been amazing. Her name is Sheryl. She even did everything she could to resolve a major issue I had with a FS Marriott. Although she was unable to resolve the issue(I have escalated the complaint and am in contact with the franchise owner), she was great during the entire process.

Glad to hear it...though without knowing what the "major issue" might be, it is difficult to compare the experience with a Starwood Ambassador experience.

As an aside, can you or someone please explain why everyone talks about FS Marriotts? I assume FS = full service...but all Marriott hotels are supposed to be full service, so I'm confused. I know FS in the luxury forum means Four Seasons, so this abbreviation is particularly confusing to me! Thanks.

FS in terms of Marriott usually means JW, renaissance, Marriott, Autograph Collection, etc.

As opposed to residence Inn, courtyard, Fairfield, Towneplace, Springhill...

Some hotels are full service, some are select service,some are no service :-P

Not impressed with the service so far. I emailed my elite concierge and it's been 3 days and haven't heard back yet.

I get it...but it still makes little sense to me.

I don't understand why someone would say FS Marriott when they could simply specify Marriott, JW, Ren, Auto...? It feels like people say FS Marriott to avoid precluding mention of the nicer, more upscale/luxury brands. (If you stayed at a JW or Ren or Auto, you'd probably mention it...but people staying at a regular Marriott indicate FS Marriott to suggest the possibility the stay was in a nicer Ren or JW or Auto, even when it was in just a regular Marriott.)

No one in the SPG threads would ever stipulate "FS SPG hotel" in a commensurate fashion. Everyone stipulates Sheraton, Westin, LM, W, LC, StR. No one is confused that those are full service. Everyone knows a FP, Element, and Aloft are not full service.

Lumping brands all together like that is another reason why Marriott is known for great brand consistency but not so great personalized attention in these upper upscale and luxury sectors...which is the whole reason Marriott is trying to emulate Starwood with the elite concierge service in the first place.

The 3 primary FS brands- JW, Ren and Marriot all have the same elite benefits, so it is convenient to lump them together. Autograph does as well but I tend to think of them separately since they do not generally have a concierge lunge.

I understand what you're saying, but in terms of service/quality of experience. I can only say my expectations are higher for a JW than for a Renaissance...which are higher for a Renaissance than for a regular Marriott.

In terms of this elite concierge thread, also, I think people need to adjust their expectations based on the brand at which they are staying.

My Starwood Ambassador is able to do far more for me in terms of personalized service and value-add when I stay at luxury hotels like StR, LuxColl, and W than when I stay at "full service" but "only" upper upscale hotels like Sheraton, Le Meridien, Westin, and Tribute. I actually get upgraded more often and more impressively the more luxe my hotel brand--whether it is a paid or award stay, actually. My Ambassador has done very little for me in the "lower tier" brands like Four Points, Element, and Aloft...but those brands also offer less service in and of themselves. In other words, the Ambassador "luxury" service affords people the most benefit when they stay at the most luxury level hotels...and dwindles as you work your way down. Just like the service level of the brands themselves.

If Marriott replicates that, then the elite concierge service will comparably serve those best who stay at RC, JW, Edition...and maybe Ren and Autograph--though to be honest Ren and Autograph are more comparable to the upper upscale brands like Le Meridien, Westin, and Tribute. Marriott is comparable to Sheraton in both being upper upscale. Only RC, JW, and Edition qualify as luxury brands based on room rate criteria for the industry. Those who stay most often at Courtyard, Marriott, Fairfield, SpringHill, Residence, etc will see little benefit from their concierge in terms of hotel experience--since those brands offer little in personalized service anyway.

Marriott has far fewer properties proportionally in the luxury and upper upscale sector than does Starwood, so it doesn't surprise me that few MR elites will be invited or experience a noticeable difference based on the brands where they tend to stay. Only about 1,000 Marriott properties of its 4,000 total are NOT the lower tier upscale, midscale, and budget categories. Of the 1,000 luxury and upper upscale properties, only about 200 qualify as luxury hotels among the Ritz Carlton, JW, and Edition brands. Another 168 Renaissance hotels could qualify. And perhaps another 118 Autograph properties can qualify. That's less than 500 hotels out of Marriott's entire portfolio of 4,000 hotels.

Many people who have Starwood Ambasaadors complain that they also don't see noticeable differences in personalization or service level. It turns out IME that most of those are people staying in the "full service" or less brands but rarely in the upper upscale and/or luxury brands that are the heart of Starwood. For perspective, there are only 57 StR hotels now (compared to 99 RC), but there are 80 W hotels (compared to 5 Edition) and 113 Luxury Collection hotels (which Marriott has no counterpart for), all of which are in the luxury sector (based on room rates). There also are 267 Westins, 141 Le Meridiens, 9 Tributes, and 76 SPG Design Hotels. In total, that's 743 luxury and upper upscale hotels out of Starwood's portfolio of 1,400 hotels! Please keep in mind that I didn't even count Sheraton or Marriott.

In general I do not think of Ren or Autograph as being more upscale than a Marriott. When a Ren and Marriott are across the street from each other, their price point and service offerings tend to be the same. Autographs are all over the place as independent/historical properties.

Straight up Marriotts are miles above Sheratons in consistency and quality.

I don't disagree. But you're making my case for me with regard to the level of service and personalization that an elite concierge can offer for most Marriott brands.

Look, we understand that Starwood had a higher percentage of luxury and upper upscale hotels than Marriott. That's why Starwood was put up for sale -- the board didn't think the business was viable in the long term without a critical mass of mid-tier hotels and that they were going to be able to build it. The numbers of Marriott properties that are in the luxury and upper upscale are probably more actual properties than SPG. But ... IMHO, SPG has more dream destination properties than Marriott. And as Vicki noted, may of us expect the same consistent treatment across the FS properties -- Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance and (hopefully) Autograph -- upgrades, recognition, lounge access, etc. Having stayed at Westins and W's, I think most well-run Renn's give better treatment and have nicer space.

But ... on the topic of my concierge, I'm still not sure what I should expect. I stay 150 nights a year (or more) and most are not dream destinations :):) ... I want the desk to know I'm a Plat Premier rather than a plat, I like suite upgrades when available, I expect hotels to have a lounge with offerings that meet brand standards, and I like getting cards and messages from the GM's. All those things show me that the GM is engaged and the staff is trained so I can feel at home during the next 10-12 hours. When I get to the Seattle Airport Marriott, the JW Miami, the Chicago Renaissance, the JW Chicago, the Marriott Waikiki, the Waikiki Courtyard, the San Diego Marquis, the Budapest Ritz, the Santiago Marriott, and the Atlanta Renaissance, I know the GM's there are engaged. In contrast, several others -- and particularly CY managers are not.

For people like me in the SPG world, what does the Ambassador do that people want? Seems like most of the issues I care about are really GM issues not something I expect from my concierge. Next week, I'm at two FS's and a CY. What should I ask for?

Ambassador for me ensures that hotels know I'm Ambassador status (100 nights)...

That has meant far more Platinum suite upgrades, sometimes even into the top tier suites. Most recently, despite being sold out in late April, I was upgraded from deluxe overwater villa for my 7 nights at StR Bora Bora on paid 3rd party auction stay to the Royal Overwater Villa (2 bedrooms with pool). I also had my LAX-PPT flight canceled by Air Tahiti Nui at last minute, causing me to arrive a day later. Despite being prepaid, Ambassador managed to get my lost 1 night re-credited as a credit for my stay...saving me $1600 right there! They also upgraded our friends to a higher category villa near ours. Pretty impressive.

I tend to get welcome gifts of more substance, often but not always with welcome card from GM or manager. I tend to get extremely high service levels far beyond the normal customer or even regular SPG Platinum. At the StR Bora Bora again, after a service miscue, the GM met with us and totally took care of us. That doesn't happen for non-Ambassador guests. I reviewed the experience and service recovery to be Aman-like. It was that good. It has been that good at many luxury hotels since attaining Ambasaador service.

I also can contact my Ambassador with any issues that may arise. I find my issues are handled promptly and fairly in a way that doesn't always happen through the regular chain of command...even as good as the Platinum concierge desk might be or as good as the Starwood Lurker team here on FlyerTalk might be.

After we booked the StR Bora Bora, my Ambassador sent us 2 StR BB robes as an early anniversary gift. Very nice touch. I've also received chocolates, toys for our dog when he comes with us, etc. I find Ambasaador service often allows us to bring our 110 lb Ridgeback with us on driving distance stays despite weight limits at 50 lbs or less. To be fair, though, many other hotels sometimes allow that.

The StR San Francisco, my favorite US hotel where I stay several times every year for biz and leisure, has uograded us far more as Ambasaador level. Last year after a mishap about our upgrade, they have given us a FREE 3 night stay in a suite again for this December. Again, Aman-like service recovery.

For me, having the Ambassador and that level of status has made it far easier for us to choose an SPG option over an Aman, FS (Four Seasons), RC, MO, or Peninsula. For our trip in Oct, we are at the Gritti Palace over the Aman for an award stay. We almost certainly will be upgraded and get royal treatment...for a free stay.

Last Thanksgiving, we went on an award stay at the StR Punta Mita...as we had previously stayed at the FS Punta Mita and heard the StR was better. For our 5 night stay we knew the hotel was sold out so expected just a regular entry level room. Nope, my Ambasaador has us upgraded to a deluxe suite. And got our friends upgraded to a better category room near us, too.

I don't care about cards from GMs if the hotels are taking care of me otherwise. But to each, their own. I've stayed obviously at many of the top hotels in the world, so I'm aware more than most of what top drawer service looks like. Ambassador level in SPG can really match that.

SPG hotels don't have lounges as often as Marriotts seem to. Sheratons and Westins mostly have lounges or comparable benefit. Many SPG members will appreciate the Marriott lounges...but I don't care as much. I prefer room service or to eat in a real restaurant. To each, their own, again. I'm sure Marriott will streamline and standardize that element for the brands it decides are necessary.

I get amazing value out of the Ambasaador service as it is now. Not knowing how long that will last with the Marriott takeover, I'm making sure to hit our bucket list SPG properties as much as we can this year and next while we have the Ambassador treatment in its current incarnation. What happens in 2018 with the programs finally merged, no one can say. The creation of the elite concierge service gives us hope...but until Marriott announces the new program parameters, especially how it will handle suite upgrades, Ambasaador/ concierge services, absorption of a Ritz Carlton with StR and Luxury Collection properties having comparable benefits, we are not taking any chances.

I don't want to meet with the GM. I would find that extremely over the top. Just make sure I don't have any issues to begin with and recover quickly if I do. My ideal stay is to get an upgrade commiserate with status and check in with a digital key (heaven, thank you Hilton) and never talk to any staff the entire time I'm there.

I'd rather have a bottle of wine in my room than a note from the GM.

Thankfully ... there are a couple of GM's who send wine with the note :)

As for the cards from the GM, I appreciate the sign of engagement more than the card itself. I assume that means the front desk knows the GM is giving his cell number and email to top desks. In those hotels, I don't hear the script, I here a genuine welcome and never have to ask for an upgrade as its already pre-cleared.

And ... if my main travel pattern was to hit very high end hotels with family or friends every six months or so, I would get the concierge/ambassador issue (although it seems the posters references to the properties were handled at the property level).

Mine, however, is two average FS Marriotts and a CY this week. One of those, where I have never stayed at before, has a good reputation and I just saw that I've already been upgraded. The others are satisfied with average. And ... as Vicki says, I'm not looking for a lot -- an upgrade that is precleared, a concierge lounge that exceeds the basics,. etc.