Upgrade question
 

So for a quick backstory, I am a Gold Elite from my SPG Gold with the Amex platinum card so I don't know a lot about the ins and outs of Marriott Program so I need some help.

Anyway, last month I went with my Dad and Brother to drop him off at college and we needed a hotel in Tri-Cities Washington for one night, so I transferred some SPG points and got a room. Well the day before my mom decided we should all go so I called up the hotel to see if the room was large enough, the agent said it fit 5 (we were 6, two of which are under 10) and she said we could fit but it would be crowded. She then said once I checked in she could get us an upgrade to the Family Suite, which I then informed her that I had already checked in with the mobile app. So she checked and said they had a room available and gave us it. She made it sound guaranteed and it even showed up on the app. But the next day after a long drive we arrived and the front desk said that the upgrade had been given to someone else which really sucked because the room was rather small for us all. He said rooms upgrades can't be guaranteed, so I assume that is the general policy now for all Marriott properties, but what I don't understand is why the Agent hadn't told me that when I had called, because then I would've just asked to pay for the upgrade so it could be guaranteed.

Edit: Btw this was at a springhill suites.

Is this a common occurrence to have upgrades removed? I just think it seems strange to say you are upgraded, and when you arrive and they say you aren't. Or is this somehow because I used points for the room that the upgrade was removed.

Upgrades are never guaranteed, except in very limited circumstances where a property offers paid upgrades on point reservations.

As to the small size of the room, each property has a list of room types with descriptions - ie. SM/SF info - so you could have looked before arrival and known the size of the room reserved.

Upgrades aren't guaranteed (even w/ SPG unless an SNA is applied).

But in your scenario I can see why you were disappointed since you talked to the property directly and she booked you into the family suite after you told her you had done mobile check-in. If you had realized it might have been switched after the phone call, you would have done as you said & paid for an upgrade if possible.

There are a variety of reasons an upgrade might change - someone actually does pay for the room, they need to move rooms around due to oversell or corporate client needing a room, etc.

Lucky for you & family it was only one night. Hope your brother enjoys college!

Cheers.

Thank you, At least now I know for next time. Learn from mistakes :)

Just for perspective, I once had a paid/cash reservation at a CY for a King suite room. The hotel let me check-in early since I had a morning flight, I even checked out the room but didn't move any of my bags into the room from the rental car as I was in a hurry to get to work. I came back later that evening after work and they had given my room away to Plat as an upgrade. I found out it was occupied when I entered the room (my room key worked) and noticed a bunch of bags and clothing in the room. And of course it was the last "unoccupied" suite room they had. :eek:

So sometimes your room might not be "guaranteed" even after check-in. ;)

That's crazy.

I thought so too at the time. :o

True, but it shouldn't happen after you've checked into the room. Or, if for some reason there's a good reason to do so, I would hope Marriott would call and explain the situation, not wait until you come to the front desk.

I think I would have raised a little hell on this one (and I rarely do that, maybe once every few years). In the best case, it's really poor customer service or policy implementation. What if the OP had been settled into his room, unpacked, and Marriott decided to give it away to someone willing to pay? Once you're checked in, expectations have been set.

If nothing else, change the rule to not upgrade until the person physically presents himself at the front desk. Better to upgrade late than to have it taken back.

although you want to hold Marriott responsible for the "false" upgrades complained about here Marriott has nothing to do with it


the rooms manager, OPs manager or guest service agent at the individual hotel is the responsible party, not Marriott

I understand those are the individuals that make the decision. They represent Marriott, they're employees at a Marriott hotel, they should follow Marriott policy, and I used the term broadly.

The scenario, if described 100% accurately by the OP, deserves a complaint to Marriott (the corporate entity) in my opinion. It's their rewards program that allows for the upgrade and I think they'd like to know if an upgrade was awarded and then taken back after check-in.

Note that the OP technically never received an upgrade. Most likely a day before check-in the system showed one as being available and the agent mentioned it. The OP interpreted that as guaranteed. And it is very possible the agent thought it was very likely to still be there when the OP checked in and led the OP to think that as well. Unfortunately unless they actually pre-upgrade you, it isn't guaranteed and in this case someone else got it first.

I did mention a one time situation of losing an upgrade after check-in, but that was a one-time in about 30 years of traveling. It was due to my checking-in very early, a very new and inexperienced front desk agent who didn't check me in correctly. But whatever he did caused my reservation to no longer show as still needing to check-in. So their system showed the room as available, but didn't show my reservation for a suite room. So when a Plat checked-in later in the day and asked about a suite upgrade, they gave it to him.

Also note that I did work out a resolution with them, though I didn't get a suite room that trip.

Per the OP:

"So she checked and said they had a room available and gave us it. She made it sound guaranteed and it even showed up on the app."

Either the OP is not telling the truth, or the room was assigned to him, as it showed on the app. Right? I don't claim to be an app expert, but that's how it's worked for me in the past.

To be clear, I have no problem with the scenario if the room hadn't been assigned (note the OP was checked in as well). I think it's incredibly poor service when an upgrade is given and then taken back. It's kind of like being upgraded on your flight and while you're waiting at the gate you get put back in coach. No one tells you until you try to board the plane, and no compensation or consideration is given.

But as always, I take these stories with a grain of salt. Sometimes people embellish the story to make their point, and other times they just misunderstand the situation. I believe the OP either is correct, or misunderstood the chain of events.

Or maybe there was a misunderstanding between the OP and the phone agent.

Note we don't know who the OP called. Neither the general reservation agents nor the elite line agents (including Plat agents) can "upgrade" a person themselves. Only the local hotel can do that. But a general phone agent can see the availability and make note of it.

It is possible the OP was talking directly with someone at the hotel. Even then, my understanding of the "On-Line Check-in" feature is that you aren't actually checking in a day before you are to arrive. You are setting the time you will be arriving (and thus really checking-in) for your reservation, within a 2-hr window I do believe.

And I have seen hotels "pre-upgrade" persons days before they are scheduled to arrive (which can be seen in their reservation), but when they arrive that upgrade was gone. I think in most of those situations, a hotel had availability to upgrade days before the arrive date and thus was pre-reserving that reservation for the upgrade, but someone may have made a paid reservation for that room before the person could check-in and got the room. This is normal behavior as your upgrade isn't guaranteed until you check-in. And I know from previous threads on this issue that some would just prefer the hotel to not "pre-upgrade" which gets your hopes up. Only to see those hopes dashed when you check-in. I'm not of that opinion as I think the likely outcome would be fewer overall upgrades for elites as hotels would no longer pre-upgrade elites at all thus you have to rely on the check-in agent to upgrade you. And if they are busy, new, distracted, don't like you, etc, etc, etc, you might not get that upgrade or really have to fight for it where you might not have before. :eek:

So no, I don't think the OP was lying and it is very possible the app might have shown the OP in an upgrade room. And in either case, I still think it is very possible the OP could still not receive the upgrade with no rules being broken, no ulterior motives, no broken systems, etc.

In sixteen years, there have been three times I've called ahead of time asking for an UG. One time I was rejected outright. The other two times, the person at the hotel reiterated over and over that they would try but could not guaranty anything. Both of those times I got the UG.

Based on that, my inkling, and of course there's not way to know for sure, is one of two things happened: Either the person at the hotel did not specifically indicate the UG was not guaranteed or the guest heard something different than what was actually stated. If the OP really thinks it is the first, the OP should reach out to the hotel. The staff person needs to know to make disclaimers on UG requests. The issue isn't getting an UG, it's relying on promises made by hotel employees.


End of my $0.02.

When I called the night before she specifically said that the room was upgraded. She never said that it may change, or that I would need to wait till when I arrived. After the phone call, I even checked online and it even showed the room as the Suite instead of the 2 Queen studio room as it had before I called. The app also showed the room as the Suite. When we arrived the next day the Front Desk said they can't guarantee room upgrades unlike what the person I had called the day before sure made it sound like.