Was told again last week at a FS Marriott that "normally we only give upgrades to Platinum members." I politely mentioned that Platinum Premier is actually a higher level. For the third time recently I was told that PP is what they give when status matching other chains. Just smiled and said ok. I have gone 0 for the last 40 check ins without an upgrade. Already Gold on UAL so there is no advantage to PP. I travel solo most of the time so I don't really even care about upgrade but it would be nice occasionally. Just find it funny that it is not known in the field.
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Match your PP status with Starwood, and then stay at Starwood brands other than Aloft and Element. You will get some room/suite upgrades as SPG Plat.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...es-2017-a.html

As for lack of understanding of MR elite levels I really don't know what to say.

Well, I have gone 0 for the last many dozens (not counting) of check ins at FS Marriotts (as well at hundreds of check ins at "lower" Marriott brands) without a visible upgrade, and I'm just normal Plat. Not that I care, but I'm not sure if your statistic is due to PP issues really.

Meanwhile, what did Marriott Customer Service say about your perennial problem with hotels thinking Platinum Premier is below Platinum (rather than above it) when you contacted them? You never know, they might give you some bonus points for pointing out the problem to them.

Evidently I'm the unicorn. I get a lot of upgrades (including suites) at FS Marriotts.
Obviously if a FDC thinks PP is due to status match, that's due to poor training of the FDC. Also, there are plenty of reports of SPG Plats not getting suite upgrades, so it's not like the grass is totally green (although perhaps greener).

Cheers.

I did not call Customer Service. I just find it humorous. Especially when I have heard it more than once.

I've heard that as well, but you should absolutely be calling Marriott Rewards and/or talking to the GM of the property. You're not only helping yourself but also many others coming after you who may run into the same issue unless the FDC gets re-trained on statuses.

I would concur, calling MR and let them know. If you don't speak up, the potential for anything being a PP means nothing then.

Not to rub salt in the wound, but just this morning I receive an email from the RC I'm staying at next week advising an upgrade to The Ritz Carlton suite from a basic club level room. Sometimes reaching out to the properties prior never hurts.

Well do yourself and future guests a favor and speak up, ask for a supervisor to educate & clarify. Marriott can be decent with upgrades but only with advance work and asking at the desk. Its rarely automatic.

PP isn't easy or automatically given away. When I get "I see you are PLT, thank you..." I always politely correct them, "it's PLT Premier".

At Marriott, it's the squeaky wheel despite the marketing promises.

HUH? PP = Platinum Premier, not Platinum Preferred.

Ooops, my bad. Haven't traveled in a while.

It's quite common for FDCs to not know their own programs and I've had the opportunity to "educate" a few. You should escalate these occurrences and let others know too by naming the properties. It does no one any good letting these things slide. You may not be missing anything, but another guest may take exception and pass the property for future stays. Silently taking business elsewhere does not give the property a chance to fix their mistake.

My funniest was an FDC that thought all status was lifetime and congratulated me on not having to spend all those nights in a hotel once I hit Plat. She was truly shocked to hear you had to do the 75 EACH YEAR!!!

+1

I actually don't think things are that dismal on the Marriott side of the house. I have around 70 paid nights so far this year on Marriotts and 11 at SPG. In terms of suite upgrades, I'm around 60-70 percent at Marriott's and 40 percent at SPG.

The difference is that at SPG properties they will always initiate a discussion by telling me that they are sorry that they do not have any suites available where at Marriott's, I often have to initiate a discussion. Where there is an engaged GM, I will be automatically upgraded before I arrive and often receive a note in my room.

The annoying part of course is with "that hotel" where there isn't much choice or an engaged manager. For example, I stay 5-10 times a year at the Stamford Marriott -- 500 rooms but only 6 suites. Not much of a chance of an upgrade but after 50 stays, you'd think I would have had a suite once. Tomorrow at an Autograph property with 247 rooms and 37 suites. An upgrade there should be easy, right? Not the last five times though .... "there are none available." Still, overall, I'm doing OK.

I've been getting thanked for being a "Platinum member" at most of my stays this year, despite being PP. When I hear that, it's pretty much code for, "You're not getting an upgrade, even to the concierge level."

I just smile and say ok at this point. And if it really bothers me, I give low scores on the text survey, or I call and ask to talk to the GM. It's amazing how quickly upgraded rooms and suites become available when you complain. That's how Marriott wants the game to be played, apparently, rather than proactively taking care of their best guests.

I'm staying at a competing chain this week, and they called to proactively upgrade me to a huge suite because they wanted my room. And they profusely apologized for giving me a room that costs $800/night more. Marriott has never proactively contacted me about an upgrade.

It's nice to know that there are still hotel chains that actually want to earn your business. Marriott knows that most of us are addicted to the Marriott points, and we'll tolerate a lot to get them.

There's a lot of Plats out there. Often at the some hotel.

Have you considered that if they proactively gave out upgraded rooms and suites they might run out of them before you checked in, but if they don't give them proactively, they're still available for you if you bother to ask?

Ie, if only a fraction of Plats ask, then maybe it's more likely that those Plats get upgrades?

It's similar at airlines where everyone of a certain status level gets upgraded no matter whether they ask for it or not. Compare to that to a system like AA's where you had to explicitly request upgrades (below the top level) and you can see how upgrades can sometimes be worse when they're automatic than when they're only available when requested.

Uh, not to point out the obvious but the competing chain contacted you because they needed you to pro-actively give up your room, not because they cared two patooties about you. They told you about the $800 more because they needed whatever room you booked & hoped the upgrade would pacify you.

I've gotten lots of upgrades, including suites, w/ Marriott. They never pro-actively called me to let me know of the upgrades, but then they probably assumed I'd be happy w/ them & they weren't trying to kick me out of the room I reserved.

I stayed at a competing chain one time where I had booked a suite (at full price) & the property needed that suite for a VIP guest. They pro-actively offered me the Presidential Suite, not because they cared about me, but because they didn't want to piss off whomever they had promised my suite to. I took the Prez suite vs. the one I deliberately booked, but only because it was 1-night stay & I knew I'd get to the room late/didn't matter that much. Plus I got to say to the VIP at a reception that I gave up my suite for him

* FWIW - it would be interesting if a property tried to pro-actively have a guest give up a room because they needed it for someone more important & the person who booked the room said No, I want to keep it.

Cheers.