The_Daddy

Yes you are right. Not always I like to make a case in hotels (usually I have very short stay as this time) but in this specific case I did, I call and asked to speak with someone to have better understanding of their policy as I explained; they made me speak with the same person that had checked in me. And she told me clearly what the policies are as I pointed out. But I found those confusing....that's why I'm asking opinion on the subject.

I'm (I think I am ) a frequent traveller but only recently Starwood Plat...my experience so far has not been rewarding...so I'm trying to understand more about it and how to set my expectation.

MSPeconomist

You are entitled as a Plat on an eligible booking to get a standard suite if available at check in (or preassigned to you). This means that the hotel doesn't have to give you a better suite, even if some of these are given as upgrades to other guest. However, the hotel cannot hold back available standard suites because it hopes that they might be sold later that day.

3544quebec

But you keep saying the programme and suggesting that the hotel is not following the SPG program for Platinum Upgrades.

Everything that you stated as your experience at this hotel in your original post suggests that the hotel is 100% following the SPG program.

What you are complaining about is that the hotel also has its own internal program quite apart from the SPG program whereby it also upgrades Platinum members who book higher category rooms to suite categories higher in level than that dictated by the SPG Platinum Upgrade policy.

The hotel has very clearly demonstrated/told you what you should expect when you book a standard room and it is exactly what SPG policy mandates - an upgrade to a standard suite. Over and beyond that they have told you that if you were to book a higher category room the hotel itself goes beyond the requirements of the SPG program and upgrades to even better suites.

Saying I'm not for surprise. I would like to know what I should expect is really asking the hotels to only provide the bare minimum upgrade required by the SPG program because anything over and above an upgrade to the best available room or select standard suite is not something that you can expect or that you are entitled to.

Once a hotel has provided the upgrade to level that is required by the SPG program any further benefit is totally up to them. The hotel is perfectly entitled to decide how to allocate its rooms. It might allocate Deluxe Suites to Platinum members who book Club level rooms or it might allocate them to Platinum members who are very frequent guests at that particular hotel or it might even allocate them to non-Platinum members who provide a lot of revenue to that individual hotel. They could provide those super upgrades based on hair colour if they wanted to although I would hope and expect that they would use one of the other rationales listed above.

Expecting and demanding what you are not entitled to is the quickest way IMHO to discourage the hotels from ever providing more than the bare minimum that is stipulated by the SPG program. There are enough hotels that don't even provide what is stipulated in the program in terms of upgrades to a standard suite - those are the hotels we need to be fighting with/complaining to SPG about, not the ones like the one you are describing that are providing your Platinum entitlement

TerryK

We really need to know which property this is in reference to so that we can know if Junior Suite is the best select standard suite or not.

Flying Lawyer

Not every suite is part of the programme and not every Platinum member is treated the same. And certainly the booked category plays a roll. Assuming they have 5 available select standard suites and 3 available better suites and 20Platinum members to come. Who, do you believe, will get these?

The better suites and the standard suites are certainly primiarily for (i) regulars, (ii) members having already booked a higher category and (iii) Platinum + members, in particular those with an Ambassador taking care of this. The other Platinum members are further down the foodchain and from a commercial point of view this is the way I would do it, too. You know what you can expect: A chance for an upgrade everywhere, better upgrades with the hotels you visit frequently and better opportunities for those with several stays. A Platinum member can be am member with 25 one night stays and it can be a member with more than 100 nights. This certainly makes a difference. From what I read from your original post you are not the highest in the foodchain....

The_Daddy

Basically, I think you could easily be 100% right but, I believe, you forget to add in that the hotels has not been following the programme 100% and they have not, as you assume, threated me with white gloves because :
1) In my first experience I was not upgraded as a platinum, rooms were available.
2) In my second experience I was not upgraded. I reminded them of my status and my previous experience, asked for explanation...had to wait to get, as you said, and only after request, the minimum. I don't know to you, but to me this is already very annoiyng and It's not my fault if really something does not work in their system.
3) When I phoned from the room to just ask what the upgrade policy was I was told that no better rooms were available. I had to give factual evidence that indeed there were available several rooms of different kind.
4) I was then told that those rooms were hold in case of reservation. I had to remind them that first of all it was 08. pm and I was living at 08. am next morning and that the best room in the pool was supposed to be given to me.
Now, if you follow what above
a) I saw them giving much better room to platinum when available;
b) they indirectly confirmed those room were part of the pool because insisted in telling me that there were just no better room available and after they wanted to hold for incoming reservation.
It was a logical consequence for me to believe that those room were part ot the upgrade pool. Please remind that when I call them my question was "would you be so kind to tell me for my future reference what is the best room you upgrade platinum when available?" as easy as that.
5) When they were forced to admit that better room were available (I did not demanded it, I only asked for the above reported information), and that they had to give it to me if part of the pool, they stated those rooms are in no way to be considered for platinum. It was here that I gave again factual evidence of what I had saw with my eyes some weeks earlier. Yes, those rooms were given to Platinum, easily.
Only after one hour of jumping around (and several intentional or less intentional lies) I was told that the category booked influenced the room level you could be upgraded to.


I don't know why you are putting it in a way that I was demanding and/or expecting something I was not entitled to. This is uncorrect. I was very happy with the room and just wanted to now better they policy because i was confused and I wanted a clear information to set my expectation accordingly. This was not provided. They jumped on evident lies that I had to confront with factual evidence. And you know that can be often challenging for a guest as far as only the hotel knows what lies behind the desk.

Finally, I have nothing against this property and maybe hotels can have an internal policy (can they? how confusing can this become?); but you should agree with me that those policy should be made clear and understable for guests and not hided with lies of circumstance.

How all of this is becoming me to force the hotel to provide the bare minum I have not understood as well as I have not understood why you think the hotel has acted so brillantly in providing my platinum entitlment if it tooks me to fight and to go trough several unintentional mistakes (let's give them the benefit) to get the....bare minimum (and only at my second stay).

The_Daddy

I know, you are right....I might not be that high in the food chain as you said, but I think I'm a very valuable customer. I have started focusing on the SPG programme since few months. I already topped 50 nights and will easily get to 75 by the end of the year....and i started around april/may.
Most of my stays are at top properties in leading town and I have booked and payed several times for one or two bedroom or specialty suite at W, St. Regis, Westin....I'm trying to be their customer...but trust me they are not doing their part enough to keep me loyal

3544quebec

I would expect (intuitively, not from any written policy) that the basic category of suite (in this case the junior suite) is the standard suite just as for award redemption a standard room is the lowest category of room and not classic rooms + deluxe rooms.

If a hotel has a hierarchy of suites that goes: Junior suite, Deluxe Suite, Diplomatic Suite, Presidential Suite , then it seems to me reasonable to assume that the Junior Suite category is the select standard suite and not any of the other categories up the hierarchy.

I understand that some hotels have no suites that are considered select standard suites for Platinum upgrade purposes but I think it unlikely that for those hotels that do have suites so classified that these suites would be anything other than the lowest category of suite

The_Daddy

I'm a little bit hesitating to name the property. The reason is that, while I did not had a great experience recently, I like the property somehow and I want to consider mine an unfortunate circumstance.
I have seen them threating really well other platinum as i said...

The_Daddy

Sorry to quote you again....I wanted to give more information about the suite package that this hotel offers and just went to their webpage and....ops...I found out that the room I was supposed to have a Junior Suite, was supposed to face the main square and to have a large comfortable siting area.
My room did not feature the view and the confortable siting area fantastically designed on the web site...there was not!
I hope it's not my fault if there was a building outside the window of my room obstructing the view (and the square is not behind it) and if the sofa was missing

BTW they have listed:
Junior
Executive
De Luxe
Diplomatic
Presidential

as far as the best standard select suite I can confirm the front desk person told me it is the junior suite....if you have booked a classic room

TerryK

Without knowing the property, it could well be that Junior Suite is the select standard suite for Platinum. In that case, there is no complaint as they have followed the T&C of the SPG. There is nothing to prevent the property from going above and beyond the T&C of the program to upgrade those who booked higher rates or are known guests to suites outside of the program.

Select Standard Suites are clearly defined in SPG system by a room category code under suite award rate plan. It doesn't depend on what you booked. My bet is that DeLuxe/Diplomatic/Presidential are not standard suites, not sure about Executive. This really depends on the property.

There is a SPG property which often upgrades me to suite weeks in advance. That's definitely outside of the SPG T&C but I have been staying at that property monthly, or more, for over 10 years. Most front desk personnel and in-house reservation know me by name.

3544quebec

Nowhere did I say that the hotel acted so brilliantly in providing your Platinum entitlement. They have acted as they should and despite that you want to criticise them and try to put forward the view that they are not following the SPG program for Platinum Upgrades when they are fully complying. These posts are not about whether it would be nice/appropriate for you to get a higher level upgrade than to a standard suite, they are about your insistence that (despite thorough explanation demonstrating the contrary) you are entitled to more and that the hotel has acted badly - I do not see it.

FD1971

Repeating this statement over and over again does not change the fact that hotels pre-block suites the day/night before arrival.

Those pre-blocked suites are available for booking, however are not in the upgrade pool for somebody who checks in earlier and was assigned a deluxe room instead of a suite.

As pointed out by Flying Lawyer with further evidence provided by more members from other forums, the actual category you booked is important as well, so a standard room booked by a Plat +++ might be topped by a Plat + who booked a premium room.

99% of the hotels are not in the business of fooling loyal customers, but do differentiate between loyal Platinum guests and even more loyal Plat ++ guests.

One should never underestimate the amount of people carrying a Plat card as well, which is in most cases higher than the number of suites available....

The_Daddy

I'm sorry, you pretend to know better then me what i think and what are the reason behind what i wrote. Unfortunately you do not.
Those post about get an higher level of upgrade? Completely wrong.
My insistence then I am entitled to more. You are wrong again.

Talk about the fact and not about whatyou assume I want as you seems to know and understand very little about it.

Thanks
daddy

Flying Lawyer

Rest assured, you will make your way up the foodchain. I spend 80 percent of my Platinum life with three hotels and I can taken as guaranteed that I will always get huge suites up to the presidential suite with these. It is as simple as this. But it took time....