Discussion: 10 Suite Night Awards (SNAs) for Plats with 50 nights in calendar year
#646
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: ua 1k, hh diamond, spg PLT, marriott PLT
Posts: 617
What I liked about the new SNA benefit was that it appeared to create some transparency and accountability in the suite upgrade process... at least for 10 nights/year that were important to the guest.
Our SNA requests would be processed in an orderly manner using a centralized methodology, and we would not be subject to the whims of the front desk staff at individual properties. We would be aware of which room types qualify and which don't, and the system would be the final word.
So when I hear William say... well... "Luxury Suites" were listed as available for SNA, but they aren't REALLY standard suites (based on some information the guest doesn't have access to)... and Starwood corporate couldn't make the right thing happen because the property just didn't want to... that doesn't give me a lot of confidence. I know we're still working the kinks out of this SNA process, but at 7 months in, I would expect the process to be smoother. I also think it's reasonable to expect an answer within 48 hours of a customer service research question, without prodding or follow up emails.
Rather than dwell on this past event, I will make a suggestion for the future: Publish on the web the list of select standard suites at each property, and the count of these rooms relative to the total. Publish the upgrade priority like the airlines do. Why not? Make us better informed customers, and hold the properties accountable to the letter of the SPG program.
Our SNA requests would be processed in an orderly manner using a centralized methodology, and we would not be subject to the whims of the front desk staff at individual properties. We would be aware of which room types qualify and which don't, and the system would be the final word.
So when I hear William say... well... "Luxury Suites" were listed as available for SNA, but they aren't REALLY standard suites (based on some information the guest doesn't have access to)... and Starwood corporate couldn't make the right thing happen because the property just didn't want to... that doesn't give me a lot of confidence. I know we're still working the kinks out of this SNA process, but at 7 months in, I would expect the process to be smoother. I also think it's reasonable to expect an answer within 48 hours of a customer service research question, without prodding or follow up emails.
Rather than dwell on this past event, I will make a suggestion for the future: Publish on the web the list of select standard suites at each property, and the count of these rooms relative to the total. Publish the upgrade priority like the airlines do. Why not? Make us better informed customers, and hold the properties accountable to the letter of the SPG program.
#647
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP (3MM), DL PM, BONVOY TITANIUM, HYATT GLOBALIST, HILTON DIAMOND, IHG DIAMOND AMB, et al
Posts: 5,906
Suite Nights with Cash & Points Award?
Is there any restriction using suite night upgrades in conjunction with a Cash & Points award?
As best I can tell, they can be used on any "eligible stay" and Starwood since SPG now considers Cash & Points as an "eligible stay" there shouldn't be a problem, correct?
-FlyerBeek
As best I can tell, they can be used on any "eligible stay" and Starwood since SPG now considers Cash & Points as an "eligible stay" there shouldn't be a problem, correct?
-FlyerBeek
#648
#649
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Is there any restriction using suite night upgrades in conjunction with a Cash & Points award?
As best I can tell, they can be used on any "eligible stay" and Starwood since SPG now considers Cash & Points as an "eligible stay" there shouldn't be a problem, correct?
-FlyerBeek
As best I can tell, they can be used on any "eligible stay" and Starwood since SPG now considers Cash & Points as an "eligible stay" there shouldn't be a problem, correct?
-FlyerBeek
3.What types of reservations are eligible?
Members can request a Suite Night Award upgrade when they are staying on any SPG Eligible Rate or utilizing an SPG Free Night Award (including Cash & Points). Reservations booked through third parties (Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) or at Starpoints-ineligible rates are not eligible for Suite Night Award upgrades.
Members can request a Suite Night Award upgrade when they are staying on any SPG Eligible Rate or utilizing an SPG Free Night Award (including Cash & Points). Reservations booked through third parties (Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) or at Starpoints-ineligible rates are not eligible for Suite Night Award upgrades.
#650
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,327
I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way because the tech team was on the case from beginning to end. Sometimes these are easier to find and address the root cause, but it simply was not to be in this case.
As far as the suite I was able to get you pre-blocked into, I personally think that this hotel has its Luxury Suites attached to SNA's by mistake. The Luxury Suites are attached to their SPG5SU2 rate plan, which is not a standard suite at this property. Those would be the Executive Suite that I was able to get them to pre-block for you. SNA's are based on standard suites only and that is as far as I was able to go. While it is true that if the tech issue had not occurred, you probably would have ended up with a Luxury Suite, the property would not go any further to pre-block one as a gesture of goodwill.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
As far as the suite I was able to get you pre-blocked into, I personally think that this hotel has its Luxury Suites attached to SNA's by mistake. The Luxury Suites are attached to their SPG5SU2 rate plan, which is not a standard suite at this property. Those would be the Executive Suite that I was able to get them to pre-block for you. SNA's are based on standard suites only and that is as far as I was able to go. While it is true that if the tech issue had not occurred, you probably would have ended up with a Luxury Suite, the property would not go any further to pre-block one as a gesture of goodwill.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
#651
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,990
Is it true that Suite Night Awards are based on standard suites only? More precisely, if a hotel is offering its only type of suite for a Suite Night Award, does this then mean that that suite type is a standard suite (and thus should be given as a Plat upgrade if available at check in)? I'm thinking of a suite that is just labeled as "Suite" with a specification of bedding in the room categories, definitely not a specialty suite of any sort. Can such an ordinary "Suite" be offered for SNAs but excluded from Plat upgrades, which would imply that the hotel does not upgrade Plats to any type of suite (not even junior suites) without the use of SNAs?
Cheers,
#652
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Yes, as I recall from reading previous posts, the properties choose which rooms they wish to offer for the SNA program and they do not need to be the same set available for upgrade at check in. So just because your SNA request gets rejected does not mean you won't get an upgrade at check in. And there's nothing to prevent things from changing one day to the next. Something as simple as a no-show/cancellation the night before you arrive can change everything. Any wonder people get confused/frustrated?
#653
Company Representative - Starwood
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Singapore
Programs: SPG
Posts: 4,002
Is it true that Suite Night Awards are based on standard suites only? More precisely, if a hotel is offering its only type of suite for a Suite Night Award, does this then mean that that suite type is a standard suite (and thus should be given as a Plat upgrade if available at check in)? I'm thinking of a suite that is just labeled as "Suite" with a specification of bedding in the room categories, definitely not a specialty suite of any sort. Can such an ordinary "Suite" be offered for SNAs but excluded from Plat upgrades, which would imply that the hotel does not upgrade Plats to any type of suite (not even junior suites) without the use of SNAs?
Yes. "Suite Night Awards" may be redeemed for advance confirmable upgrades for select, premium rooms or standard suites on a per room, per night basis, subject to availability.
All I can say is Platinum members may be upgraded up to best available room, which includes Standard suites. If a hotel rejects a Platinum guest's request for an upgrade upon check in by claiming that their standard suites have been fully reserved for suite night awards, feel free to provide more details to us.
Else, I doubt I am allowed to share anything more than I could. In fact, you won't see myself or William disclosing information that aren't available for public viewing besides what you already knew.
[email protected]
Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
#654
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,327
If I understand your inquiry correctly, you would like to know how hotels decide which room to be classified as a Standard suite? I am pretty sure this question has been asked before.
Yes. "Suite Night Awards" may be redeemed for advance confirmable upgrades for select, premium rooms or standard suites on a per room, per night basis, subject to availability.
All I can say is Platinum members may be upgraded up to best available room, which includes Standard suites. If a hotel rejects a Platinum guest's request for an upgrade upon check in by claiming that their standard suites have been fully reserved for suite night awards, feel free to provide more details to us.
Else, I doubt I am allowed to share anything more than I could. In fact, you won't see myself or William disclosing information that aren't available for public viewing besides what you already knew.
[email protected]
Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
Yes. "Suite Night Awards" may be redeemed for advance confirmable upgrades for select, premium rooms or standard suites on a per room, per night basis, subject to availability.
All I can say is Platinum members may be upgraded up to best available room, which includes Standard suites. If a hotel rejects a Platinum guest's request for an upgrade upon check in by claiming that their standard suites have been fully reserved for suite night awards, feel free to provide more details to us.
Else, I doubt I am allowed to share anything more than I could. In fact, you won't see myself or William disclosing information that aren't available for public viewing besides what you already knew.
[email protected]
Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
I arrived at hotel with a reservation made on spg.com. Front desk admitted that a standard suite was available (and not preassigned to anyone), clean, in service, etc. They tried to tell me that Starwood has changed the program and that their suites are only for people using upgrade certs and are not to be given as regular SPG Platinum upgrades any more. So the question is whether the hotel can do this--that is, have a single suite category and make it available for SNAs but refuse to give it as an upgrade to Plats not using SNAs. In the past, I have gotten these suites as a Plat upgrade without any problem, IIRC less than a year ago, and the suites have not been changed in any way since them.
#655
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC USA
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott Lifetime / Annual Titanium; Massively Missing Starwood
Posts: 5,331
No, that's not my question.
I arrived at hotel with a reservation made on spg.com. Front desk admitted that a standard suite was available (and not preassigned to anyone), clean, in service, etc. They tried to tell me that Starwood has changed the program and that their suites are only for people using upgrade certs and are not to be given as regular SPG Platinum upgrades any more. So the question is whether the hotel can do this--that is, have a single suite category and make it available for SNAs but refuse to give it as an upgrade to Plats not using SNAs. In the past, I have gotten these suites as a Plat upgrade without any problem, IIRC less than a year ago, and the suites have not been changed in any way since them.
I arrived at hotel with a reservation made on spg.com. Front desk admitted that a standard suite was available (and not preassigned to anyone), clean, in service, etc. They tried to tell me that Starwood has changed the program and that their suites are only for people using upgrade certs and are not to be given as regular SPG Platinum upgrades any more. So the question is whether the hotel can do this--that is, have a single suite category and make it available for SNAs but refuse to give it as an upgrade to Plats not using SNAs. In the past, I have gotten these suites as a Plat upgrade without any problem, IIRC less than a year ago, and the suites have not been changed in any way since them.
A second question I would have on this specifically is: what should be done by the guest if this is encountered? Deal with it after the stay? At the front desk?
#656
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,327
What I did do was to tell them very firmly that Starwood has not changed the program in this way and that Plats are still entitled to be upgraded to standard suites that are available upon check in. I showed them the page with Plat benefits on the purple SPG brochure from their own lobby. The asked me to take a seat while they called Starwood. I said I was then going to call Starwood too and I called Plat Concierge. I also went to the lobby business center, did a dummy reservation, and printed the pages showing that a suite or suites (the one type at the property) were showing as available for my two-night stay.
#657
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ*G, Mar LTT, Hyatt Glb, AA LTG, LY, HH, IC, BA, DL, UA SLV
Posts: 12,012
And then what happened?
#658
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
#659
Join Date: May 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat, IHG Plat, ex-NW PE
Posts: 49
Suite Night Upgrade - then Downgrade
I have an upcoming stay this Friday for 3 nights. Yesterday I was sent a confirmation from the hotel that my room was upgraded to a Deluxe Suite per my SNA certs. This morning, I received an e-mail from the hotel reservation agent stating that the confirmation was sent in error and that the room was unavailable for Friday night and offering me the option of a standard room Friday and moving to the upgraded to the Deluxe Suite Saturday and Sunday, or a lower level accommodation for 3 nights with a refund of my SNAs. The downgrade is significant (room half the size and in the center of the hotel as opposed to a corner with prime ocean view), but given I'm at the end of a long 5 stop business trip, I don't feel like moving rooms either.
My question is, has anyone else experienced this? SPG told me that there has to be availability in the res system or there's no way the upgrade can be confirmed. Also, if I help them out, should I expect some sort of compensation, or is this just the way the cookie crumbles?
My question is, has anyone else experienced this? SPG told me that there has to be availability in the res system or there's no way the upgrade can be confirmed. Also, if I help them out, should I expect some sort of compensation, or is this just the way the cookie crumbles?
#660
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
I have an upcoming stay this Friday for 3 nights. Yesterday I was sent a confirmation from the hotel that my room was upgraded to a Deluxe Suite per my SNA certs. This morning, I received an e-mail from the hotel reservation agent stating that the confirmation was sent in error and that the room was unavailable for Friday night and offering me the option of a standard room Friday and moving to the upgraded to the Deluxe Suite Saturday and Sunday, or a lower level accommodation for 3 nights with a refund of my SNAs. The downgrade is significant (room half the size and in the center of the hotel as opposed to a corner with prime ocean view), but given I'm at the end of a long 5 stop business trip, I don't feel like moving rooms either.
My question is, has anyone else experienced this? SPG told me that there has to be availability in the res system or there's no way the upgrade can be confirmed. Also, if I help them out, should I expect some sort of compensation, or is this just the way the cookie crumbles?
My question is, has anyone else experienced this? SPG told me that there has to be availability in the res system or there's no way the upgrade can be confirmed. Also, if I help them out, should I expect some sort of compensation, or is this just the way the cookie crumbles?
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]