CIT85

The only SPG hotels that I have been upgraded to a suite on 100% of stays are Le Royal Meridien Shanghai and Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (with and without SNA). I almost never get upgraded at US Sheratons.

If you want guaranteed suite upgrade when booking, be a Hyatt Globalist and use TSU at Hyatt hotels.

Vulcan

I was upgraded to a suite at the New Orleans Sheraton on Sunday. In fact, on my last 3 stays there, I was upgraded to a suite. Two days before at the Marriott on Canal, all I received was a standard room.

NYCtraveler

To answer questions, I could have booked several junior suites before I arrived, or even Corner rooms.....but alas, They were already allocated when I arrived. Regarding the Hyatt, its a typo from typing from a telephone too quickly, my total SPG nights since inception is approaching 2200. I am still deciding on Amsterdam......I miss the Pulitzer!

Anyway, I look forward to seeing how things shake up in August. And the "Super-Plat" designation is not mine, it was a very nice check in girl who called me that when she saw my stay #'s etc....Very funny.

Cheers All! Thanks,

SkiAdcock

I would think that free suite upgrades in popular cities during summer months are more difficult to come by because that's when elites are traveling with their families. In many cases there aren't as many suites available as there are elites. I know one property that has a LOT of Plats staying there during the summer. So while you're a super duper Plat, the property might also have a # of other super duper Plats also staying there who might get the suite(s) before you.

And as noted, the longer the stay the less the odds are of a free suite upgrade because it means a property can't sell it if it's tied up as a free upgrade. I certainly wouldn't expect a free suite upgrade for a 15-night stay, for example.

Also, during popular times (ie, summer holidays) there are non-elites as well as elites who are willing to pay for suites, so they're not available for free upgrades. I know one property that has 10 suites & during the summer weekends, the suites are 100% booked by those willing to pay for them & thus are not available for elites who want the free upgrade.

Cheers.

bhrubin

The propensity for false equivalency in these thread is mind-boggling.

(1) Our OP's "Super Plat" designation is probably a moniker for him being Plat100 Ambassador status. Comparing SPG Plat100 Ambassador status with regular Marriott Plat (or even Plat Premier) status is a false equivalency0--akin to comparing diamonds with gold. The SPG Plat100 experience SHOULD have more suite upgrades relative to the regular Marriott Plat.

(2) Some of our Marriott contributors are being disingenuous at best. One is known to have the comparable Marriott "Ambassador" status now, so he should expect to get suite upgrades and better treatment than the average Marriott Plat. But his status in the SPG portfolio now translates merely to regular SPG Plat. So he should have better upgrade and treatment in Marriott hotels because his status is remarkably superior in the Marriott portfolio than it is in the SPG portfolio. Only in August when the programs merge can anyone make more direct comparisons.

(3) The number of people who mention their upgrade percentages without detailing the brands or locations (let alone the actual identities) of the hotels they frequent is laughably ridiculous. If your Marriott visits are to big city hotels in the Marriott, Renaissance, Autograph brands and you're getting a great upgrade percentage, that would be impressive--but we can be sure that most Marriott upgrades are in suburbs and/or at lower midscale brands more often than not. The same can be said of SPG visits, though SPG has far more of its hotels concentrated in the big cities and major metropolitan areas compared to Marriott, which has those AND far more hotels in rural and small town locations where SPG doesn't even exist! The brands make a difference to this equation--because more upscale brands typically have more suites than less upscale brands. The locations make a difference, too--for the same reason. More urban locations typically have more suites than similarly branded properties in more remote/rural locales.

(4) The number of people who avoid mentioning their actual hotels is mind-boggling. That makes me think they are creating numbers out of thin air to impress us about things that aren't nearly so impressive.

pinniped

That original post is freaking hard to read.

Starwood was always a more upgrade-centric program. In my 3-4 full years as SPG Plat, I probably received more true suites than in my entire lifetime of Marriott stays (15-20 years as Gold/Plat). I liked this about Starwood. This and the more eclectic mix of interesting hotels.

If suites are your thing, there's a good chance you're going to be disappointed with the merged program. Starwood culture may persist in some places, so maybe if you're a "regular" somewhere you'll still get a good hit rate on suites. But for some of you, Hyatt may end up being a better refuge than Marriott. (I can tell you as a HH Diamond that Hilton is *not* it.)

I'm looking forward to the merger because I didn't have a good path back to SPG Plat. With Marriott LTPP, I'm looking forward to going back to the more interesting/upscale Starwoods for business and leisure trips alike.

damon88

I know that this is a consensus belief, but in 16 years with Starwood my experience has been the opposite!! My 2 very best SPG upgrades were on long stays - a 7 night point stay at the Hotel Danieli for our anniversary in 2007- where they upgraded us to the (then) over 6000 euro a night Royal Suite and an 8 night point stay at the Suiran in Kyoto where they upgraded us to the over $3500 night Presidential Suite (and Suiran specifically told us that our long stay was a positive factor in their decision to upgrade) But those are just 2 examples. I have 20 or 30 others-- 5+ night stays where we were upgraded. (StR NY 5, Park Tower Knightsbridge 7, StR Florence 5, StR Aspen 5, Le Meridien Vienna 7, W Austin 7- just in the last few years)

Edited to add-- And Yes- the much missed Pulitzer- 10 years ago or so. Again- a Royal Suite upgrade on a 5 night Points stay.

Think about it. If the hotel upgrades a Plat to an unsold Suite they leave rooms available that may be much easier to sell.
And a definite factor in our success rate may be that we only travel off season- we really try to avoid crowds.

Back to topic. I have only limited experience with Marriott. So far it does not compare to Starwood but I am willing to give Marriott a chance. I am hoping that one of the reasons they acquired Starwood is to emulate some of the magic that has inspired such passionate loyalty among devoted Starwood fans. The fact that they hired David Flueck as head of Global Loyalty speaks volumes, as does the careful way they are combining the programs.

RogerD408

Being able to book a JR Suite does not mean they were available. Many properties have data telling them X number of guests will not show up or cancel at the last minute, yes, even for suites. So the property will offer more rooms for sell hoping these numbers are right and they will get closer to full occupancy and maximizing their revenue. Even if more people show up, the revenue should more than cover the cost of walking a guest. However, if they are oversold, upgrades will be very rare. That being said, I also take exception to having the rooms "allocated". The T&Cs call for upgrades based upon availability upon arrival. So technically, if they have upgraded someone prior to their arrival and you get there before them, their room should be available. No, I wouldn't want to lose out on an upgrade this way, but if you read the rules...

MR and SPG are very different when it comes to upgrades, and I agree SPG is much better in my experience. I'm guessing the first few months it will be business as usual while MPG works to standardize the business models the properties use.

MSPeconomist

MSPeconomist

SHLTP

I have been pleasantly surprised w my upgrade to suites rate at Marriott this year as I test Marriott. My experiences mirror by region my SPG upgrades..
I usually get in Asia, almost never in North America and often get on longer stays .w starwood I seem to get better upgrades at more luxurious hotels and when staying longer .

1) JW Marriott HK 3 Nights: upgrade suite
2) JW Marriott Phu Quoc 10 Nights: upgrade awesome suite
3) JW Marriott Grosvenor House London 5 Nights: upgrade suite
4) JW Marriott HK 3 Nights: no suite
5) Marriott Boston Long Wharf 1 Nights: no suite
6) Marriott Georgetown 1 night: no suite

C17PSGR

I've yet to have anyone on this or the SPG forum confirm that a SPG FD agent can tell the difference between levels of SPG Plat or whether the FD agent can see if the guest has an ambassador.

In the Marriott world -- and how we will all live post August -- the FD agent can see an X4 is different than a P6. The problem is that I've only found one FD agent in the past couple of hundred stays who caught the M0 which is at the end of a string of preferences, I get that the X4 designation is for the small percentage of us who routinely stay 100 actual nights per year. In that regard, the historic X4 designation probably results in better treatment in the MR world than a SPG 100 in the SPG world. While I don't particularly like RC's because I think they are pretentious and dated, I have been upgraded to suites in both of my 2018 stays. I like mostly like Edition and am 1/2 for suites.

That being said, there are definitely W's and Westins who have designated a couple of suites as "standard suites' and only upgrade to those couple of rooms even when what any of us would describe as ordinary suites are vacant. For example, by my count, in a recent stay, the Westin Alexandria had at least five or six suites vacant that I didn't get upgraded to, and they were certainly suites that any of us would consider ordinary ... 500 square feet, corner rooms, etc ... and not the Presidential Suite.

So post August, my concerns are that there will be many more X4/Plat Premiers --- and not those with a track record of 100+ night years, and that FD's at legacy SPG or MR properties will not notice the M0 designator at the end of the line since they don't do so now. I'm assuming that post August, my 50 percent upgrade rate to suites will drop. On the other hand, I would never expect (although the Marriott Waikiki is exceptional on this!) that I will get suite upgrades for stays more than a couple of days.

UA-NYC

I'm sure there are just oodles and oodles of these (extremely hypothetical) people. They all probably stay at the one $69/night FP in the country too. Because logic.

UA-NYC

The Westin Alexandria has a 563 sq ft "Studio Suite" (which would be the entry level Standard Suite SPG Plats would book in to, 7 in total). Picking a random August date, that suite goes for a whopping $65 over the lowest available room currently. Was probably sold out or in use by other Plats already.

It also has a 758 sq ft "Executive Suite" (4 in total, but note, not the Presidential Suite), which would be a further upgrade, which you (nor other Plats) would not be entitled to. That's probably what was available.

Do you have any proof that there were 1) Studio Suites for sale and that they 2) were available for checking into?

yeunganson

I tend to think the when the SPG ambassadors (supposively chosen from the best of the Customer Service Reps from the Platinum Service Desk when the program started) calls the hotel and urge the hotel staff to upgrade a certain guest- it carries a certain weight. So it's not unheard of that hotels go beyond the rules to treat these guests with ambassador better.

Starwood also have a VIP program that is outside of SPG program Department but manage directly by Starwood HQ (it's like an unpublished thing). If a franchise hotel gets a call to remind them of a VIP coming in, it's a guarantee suite upgrade at the minimum. It's not the SPG department that handles who gets VIP status but the Starwood Corporate HQ.

My point is franchise hotel staff sometimes may miss or not understand the computer codes of what status, but a call from Ambassador to the manager can reminds them of certain important guests (as long as those guests are relatively uncommon) so the staff put extra attention when they arrive. If they get a call from say Corporate HQ Compliance alerting of an upcoming VIP visit, this is serious. When situation is serious, people take their jobs more seriously.