tripmaster

Im plotting Japan 2023 travel but only way we can get there is a combo of JL and ANA award travel - which means I land later than my wife and son. I think on Bonvoy if she checks in first, no Titanium benefits accrue. Is that true for Globalists?

myperks

just make a Guest of Honor reservation and there should be no problem. (Unless you want stay credit). And with Japan, I would think they are more sticklers for the rules…

antonius66

Have you concierge add her as the second guest to the reservation. No issues. She'll check in and you will arrive later that day. You'll get everything. This is a very very common occurrence with hotel stays. I regularly stay with colleagues or friends and they often arrive before me when we meet at a city. It's not strange at all. You're there, you will get all benefits.

MSPeconomist

You'll have to prove to the hotel that you're actually staying, typically by showing photo ID to the front desk. Some hotels may withhold elite benefits until this is done, so getting an upgrade could require a wait in the lobby.

If wife's name isn't on the reservation, she won't be allowed to check in without you.

js1993

What do you mean by later? Same day or a different day?

js1993

In Asia?

invalyd

This is bad advice for Japan. In fact I would not 2nd guest anywhere in Asia.

Best to book GoH to avoid any issues.

antonius66

Let me be clear. I'm not advocating any of the shenanigans you all apparently think I am. I am literally taking the OP at their word... they claim to arrive the same day but hours after the wife and are worried that if they are not the first to check in, they will not receive benefits even if they arrive later that day, as per their Marriott experience. Assuming the facts stated by the OP, making a GOH reservation is idiotic. The OP is staying at a hotel but should book a reservation for someone else using points? No. If the facts are as stated, they should do what I said and they won't have any issues. Clearly multiple people here are reading into this as if the OP is trying to get credit for a stay without staying but that is not at all what they wrote.

myperks

The OP should go in with the mentality that benefits may not apply until the OP arrives… (whether it’s a Hyatt or Marriott or others). Also for Japan, make sure one makes the reservation for the correct occupancy (esp. if the son is older than 12).

tripmaster

same day. Flight lands HND 8pm, they get to NRT 4pm. Hard even to get 1 seat on ANA award travel through virgin. Never seen more than two. So splitting up travel across JAL ANA.

tripmaster

correct! I’m landing 5 hours after her but HND which saves me probably 1-2 hrs of transport time :-)

js1993

I haven't seen any posts suggesting either of the bolded parts. The point is that hotels in Asia tend to be sticklers for the rules, so if a non-status spouse listed #2 on a reservation shows up first, there's an excellent chance no room upgrade will be given, lounge access denied, etc., at least until the person with status arrives. And even after the person with status arrives, an upgrade might be unlikely, since a room had already been assigned and it would be a hassle for all involved.

If you're really hoping for a complimentary upgrade, I'd just have them wait for you. You could also try contacting the hotel in advance to explain, perhaps with copies of your separate itineraries attached as proof.

GUWonder

Yes, in Asia too.

Not necessarily, even when photo ID is looked at and even scanned/copied. It’s not unheard of for some to have the reservations’ check-in noted as to be done by someone else on behalf of the yet to arrive elite status member+relatives/associates — even on the day before the status member is arriving — and yet have the upgrade assigned/stick and the status benefits provided anyway.

Sticklers can be encountered. But to me it seems more the exception than the norm, in having been involved in such stays pretty often.

The more frequent situation I encounter is Hyatt hotels refusing to acknowledge the staying D/E/G’s elite status when the reservation’s non-status primary guest didn’t show up but the D/E/G arrives to check-in as the noted secondary guest to check-in.

js1993

Are they supposed to? I don't understand why such bookings would ever happen, let alone happen frequently.

GUWonder

Whether it’s supposed to or not, it happens.

Such bookings happen for different reasons. One such reason is a reservation being made with someone else to check-in too or check-in first, where the person checking in first or staying has a reservation made by someone who doesn’t have Hyatt elite status themselves but is having their non-status account used to book awards for a staying/checking-in/checking-in-first guest who has D/E/G status.