I was able to help Mrs Flyer Jon achieve "gold" status for 2007. I just called Le Merigot in Santa Monica to see if there was an upgrade possibility for her first "Gold" stay tonight. Front desk said no upgrades available -- fair enough, say I. However, thought I would check online res -- deluxe and premier rooms available. Called "Gold" desk -- deluxe and premier rooms available.

The terms of the upgrade program seem to say that if an upgrade is available at time of check in, it will be allocated:

Room Upgrade: Suites not included; upgraded accommodations at no additional charge. Based on room availability at check-in and limited to a member's personal guestroom. Not available at Marriott Vacation Club International or Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club.

I am very confused -- on one hand, the hotel say there are no upgrades, on the other, on-line res and "Gold" res say upgrade rooms are available.
Can anyone, please, clarify:

1. How the upgrade program works.
2. Can Marriott properties hold back upgradeable rooms, hoping that they can be sold at a higher rate?
3. Does Marriott not pre-allocate Gold and Platinum guests on day of arrival?

Any insight would be very much appreciated.

As noted in bold "at time of checkin" an upgrade will be performed

I've never experienced not getting bumped up to a superior room on the Concierge Level on any of the Marriott's I've been at. If there's no concierge lounge, they usually upgrade you with a room on the top floor (which is usually a bit larger).

Well, frequently the upgrade is locked in the day before or the day of arrival, before the check-in. This upgrade will appear if you sign-in to Marriott Rewards and click on the reservation. The OP posted that he checked for his wife's stay tonight, and so in many cases, but not all, the upgrade would already show on the reservation if there was going to be one. From some postings here by Marriott managers, it would appear that at some, if not most, fs properties, the room coordinators, or some such title, go over the reservations the day before arrival and prioritize for upgrades. However, in my experience, at some properties the check for upgrades is only done at check-in. Some properties are generous and some are not. Some properties consistently offer upgrades. Some almost never do. At some properties whether you are offered upgrades (or breakfast coupons) depends on which front desk person checks you in.

At Le Merigot, there is no concierge lounge and no special concierge floor. There are rooms and suites which are more deluxe than others in respect to size, location, view, and balcony. Coupons are provided for comped breakfast because of the lack of concierge lounge.

You may or may not have spoken to the right person when you called the property. Depending on whether you spoke to the right person, you may or may not have been give accurate information. Your wife should again ask at check-in about upgrades. The more familiar you/she is with the various types of rooms at a particular property and, thus, can ask for an upgrade to a specific type of room, the more likely it is that such a request will be granted. But all the variabilities between properties as to upgrades in the program make it difficult to judge in advance when, whether, and where such upgrades will be granted, and what type of upgrade will be provided.

How does the upgrade show? As a lowly gold, I have not experienced this- or at least don't know how to see it?
Thanks for your help.

Usually a day or two before your stay, when you log into your online reservation, your regular room will change to the upgraded room type, i.e. "concierge floor," "junior suite," etc. At that point, I would just print that updated reservation and show it if necessary upon checkin.

Great. Thank you for the advice.

Correct, the rooms controller does work a few days out but just because you see an upgrade before you arrival doesn't mean things can't change (I can think of a few very unlikely situations where it might cause you to loose an upgrade after you were given one)....so the right answer is the one listed in bold but yes in reality you are typically correct

you will see a different type of room then the one which you had reserved, ie you typically would reserve a "deluxe room" but one the upgrade is complete you should see "concierge room" (or at renaissance it would say club)

And just because an upgraded room is available, it does not mean the hotel will upgrade you. There have been many posts on this board about upgrades not happening even though concierge level rooms, corner rooms, rooms with a view are available when you check in. It depends a lot on the person checking you in, the rate you are paying, the frequency you stay at the property, the time you check in, and what has happened before you arrived.

I arrived at the Marriott Biscayne Bay in Miami and received the key jacket with my concierge level bay view upgraded room crossed out and replaced with a standard (small no view) room on the 15th floor. When I checked with the Platinum Concierge and online there were concierge level rooms available, but when I returned to the front desk, I was basically given a song and dance. I was then put on the 30th floor in a room right next to the work at room. At 4:30am I was awoken by some idiot on the treadmill who worked out for the next hour. When I threatened to end my five day stay four days early by checking out the next morning, an upgraded room became available.

RIP...

I would have asked for an explanation before I left the front desk. Maybe there was a good one, or maybe the problem was, as it sometimes is, the person who checked you in. In instances such as yours, when your upgrade was crossed out and you learned that concierge level rooms were indeed available, I would have asked for the front desk manager. I wouldn't yell or scream, but I would ask for a definitive explanation.

I did ask the "Front Desk Supervisor" when I complained about the room they put me in. She stated that they were 100% full, and that was why she couldn't offer me a room on the concierge level. She claimed she didn't know exactly what happened but my room was probably provided to someone who paid (or paid more than our $157 corporate rate) for a room on the concierge floor (I checked in around 9:00pm). She offered me room 3010 which had a bay view but I didn't realized until too late was right next to the work out room. When I complained the next morning, the Front Desk Manager stated, "I am sorry that happened, we try to never put Platinums in those rooms unless we are sold out, and we were really fully last night." They did move me to a junior suite for the rest of my stay which was nice, but still I haven't been back since and probably won't go back unless absolutely necessary as there are other properties I prefer in Miami.

RIP...