Is there something like SPG Ambassador? (How do i get special requests?)
 

New to this whole Marriott thing. Have an SPG Ambassador. Going to try a Marriott in Paris for wife's birthday, but is there any one point of contact if I want something special or nice? Or do i just call the hotel and talk to someone who may or may not care?

Since you've already decided that without the Ambassador gimmick you are likely to wind up with someone "who may or may not care" here's a suggestion: Don't stay at a Marriott. Yes, Marriott does have a program akin to Ambassador. It's not published and if you have to ask, you're not important enough. I'm not, but I do know an SPG member who stays almost 200 nights/year who was contacted prior to a stay, so Marriott is on the lookout for these guests. Given Ambassador only requires 100 nights and the lowly Marriott PP usually requires more, as Marriott qualification was always more stringent than SPG's. Certainly the personalized premium level above PP will require much more than just a measly 100 nights.

BTW, even without the Ambassador gimmick, I emailed a hotel asking for something to honor my friends' wedding when they stayed in Venice on my points during their honeymoon. Champaign and fruit were waiting, with a note. I've checked into hotels on my birthday only to find personalized cakes and wine and other gifts, without having to mention the celebration. Friends went to Paris for their anniversary. His father wanted to send them on a nice dinner. I reached out to the hotel and they got difficult reservations and arranged the payment by email to the concierge. My sister and BIL had an anniversary cake waiting for them at my request. I offered to pay when I asked the hotel to do this, but was never charged. I've made a couple other requests just by calling, but these people might not care?

I would call the hotel and get the email of the concierge and make contact that way. Has worked great for me in the past on special trips, the only push back I got was at a RC and even then he did everything but consider an upgrade.

"Virtual Concierge" used to work very well for contacting but that was pulled a few years back.

You might want to check the Paris property thread in this forum to see if an email contact is listed, or the Paris family thread. But since you don't have Marriott's version of an ambassador, reaching out to the property directly via email, fax or telephone would be your best option.

Which Paris property?

Cheers.

[QUOTE=CJKatl;28870899]Since you've already decided that without the Ambassador gimmick you are likely to wind up with someone "who may or may not care" here's a suggestion: Don't stay at a Marriott.

I'm so happy for you and glad you could share that with everyone. Thats a long winded response to make you feel better about yourself...now for helpful responses...

Looking at Paris Marriott properties and actually nothing much aspirational in Paris...Suppose, if I stick with Marriott I will just go the traditional concierge route. Thanks for those helpful comments.

Not easy merging these programs in my mind.

Leading back to my original response: Don't stay at a Marriott. It won't meet your Ambassador-worthy standards.

Which IMO was an unnecessary, bit over the top response to a simple question - and one that surprised me. Usually you're helpful & not snarky out of the box.

As I noted, the OP can read the various Paris properties to determine if there's one that meets his needs for the special event & see if there's a contact listed in the thread, & if so, contact them. Alternatively he can fax or call the property to make arrangements. If he doesn't find any Paris Marriott properties that meet his needs, then yes he can look at SPG properties.

Cheers.

Just curious - did you inquire with your SPG ambassador to see if they have a channel to explore? I fully realize the programs aren't yet merged, but I'd be pretty interested to know what kind of a response would be forthcoming (here again I fully acknowledge that YMMV is the rule of the day w/ ambassadors).

I'd suggest the hotel concierge or manager. Start with emial or phone number on their website.

I've asked my ambassador about Marriott properties in the past - I might as well have been asking about Motel 6.


I'm unclear on how wanting a gift for a spouse's birthday at a hotel is an "Ambassador-worthy standard".:confused: Especially when said opinee did exactly the same.

It isn't, IMO. The OP started by assuming the properties were staffed by incompetent people who don't care, and in another post clarified Marriott properties were not, in his opinion, aspirational. While I couldn't care less about a property being aspirational, his questions could have been asked without the unnecessary condescension towards Marriott employees and hotels. Maybe we are spoiled in that we don't have to have a middleperson handle simple requests.

Can't we all just get along? ;)

I concur with others who suggested the OP work this through their SPG ambassador. Maybe there is a Starwood property that would work, or (I would hope) the ambassador could still work some magic even with a Marriott stay.

If it has to be a Marriott stay and the ambassador is no help, then others also have the right idea. Take the time to search for the property that seems to offer the best mix of benefits and cost, then reach out to them directly to politely inquire about possible special treatment. If it was me, I would highlight my wife's birthday and leave any mention of ambassadors, being new to Marriott, etc. out of it.

And, to answer your question, there is a Marriott Ambassador program and some of us have them (I have a nice metal charter member card too :)). Unlike the SPG program, its not clear what the criteria is to have an Ambassador. We know its not assigned to the needy who look for help a lot (see another thread). I am a multi-year Plat Premier, LT Plat, and would certainly meet the SPG Ambassador requirement. On the other hand, I believe some here were appointed Ambassador's at a lower level.

All that being said, I'm not sure whether our Ambassador's work a lot of magic but maybe I'm not asking for the right thing. I presume the hotel concierge/GM would certainly want to help. That being said, when I looked at options for Marriott hotels in Paris for a possible quick trip, I didn't get any strong recommendations from my fellow Marriotters that there was a "great" place to stay on the Marriott side. I'd look for that thread if you're trying to pick a place.

Wow - you read way-y-y more into his short OP than most of us did...

Here's his original post:

* New to this Marriott thing (that's fair; many on MAR side are new to SPG)

* Have an SPG Ambassador (ok & subject line asks if MAR has something similar for special requests; note, doesn't say he's demanding one)

* Going to Paris for wife's birthday (that's nice); looking at MAR (nothing wrong w/ that)

* Wants to know if there's a special point of contact (which could be an Ambassador, which could be a concierge at the hotel)

* Or if he should contact hotel directly & chat w/ someone who may or may not care (yes re: contacting hotel directly, & his thought that a hotel contact may or may not care isn't necessarily wrong - some care & step up to the plate/do really nice things & others don't - heck, we've heard plenty of reports on FT where MAR elites have contacted the hotel directly, notified them of special event, such as anniversary - and ended up w/ twin beds)

I don't see anything in the above that matches your projections of what you think he was saying (aka, "started by assuming the properties were staffed by incompetent people... the unnecessary condescension")

His later comments (after your initial flame/snarky) were that he didn't find the Paris MAR properties to be aspirational. That could be valid if one is thinking along the lines of a true luxury property, in which case he should go back to SPG & see if they have any aspirational properties in Paris, or it could be a reaction to your being snarky.

Anyway, he's got options on both the SPG & MAR side for his upcoming stay. If he stays w/ SPG he can work with his Ambassador. If he goes w/ MAR he can ask his Ambassador if s/he can check (but they might not be able to) or he can just work through the property's concierge.

To the OP - enjoy your stay if you do end up at a MAR property & please do a trip report in the property thread, & happy birthday to your wife. :)

Cheers.

Just a point of order from someone who used to work in hotels: Birthday's aren't unique. About 20 million people share your birthday. Additionally, taking a trip to celebrate a birthday isn't unusual. As such, there will probably be multiple rooms with a birthday guest on a given weekend.

As for-profit businesses, most hotels avoid giving away free stuff to anyone celebrating a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or other event. In the hotels in which I worked, we only did it for frequent guests of our hotel.

Please note that I'm not saying this to be mean. Rather, I'm simply trying to moderate expectations about receiving a free gift from a hotel you've never visited.

Yes Marriott has an Ambassador status (I found this out when they sent me a little black box). I would try to inquire through SPG.

Here is my hunch, SPG and Marriott might keep the requirements to Ambassador separate. I know they gave out automatic status up to Platinum, but might be holding the highest level to those who 'earned' it. Conversely, I didnt automatically get Ambassador status at SPG and dont know if it could be had with a phone call.