dolceguess4

Reaching out to the experienced SPG platinum members. Do you know if there is a better chance of getting upgraded if I am a platinum 50 nights rather than a platinum 25 stays? Can the hotel see that level of detail when checking my profile?

supergabe

In my experience yes, the hotel can definitely see whether you are a gold/plat and you'll get priority as such. Being Plat75/SPG100 doesn't seem to make much of a difference however.

margarita girl

OP is not asking about Gold vs Plat. He/she is asking about Plat from 25 stays vs Plat from 50 nights. IMO, there is zero difference. There is no such thing as Plat Minus that some posters have coined. Plat is Plat.

KosherKimchee

A lot based on timing and "best available at time of checkin." Recent stay at a LC property. I'm Plat 100 and wasn't upgraded. Friend who is a Plat 50 showed up later and got a monster suite. Same rate. YMMV.

ATLawyer

When I care about upgrades, I always tell the front desk that I am willing to wait to get into a room if a suite will become available later.

As for OPs question, I've never noticed a difference, having qualified both ways.

chipmaster

My only comment is at the two hotels that I stay almost on a weekly basis. They know I'm Plat and they make every effort to give me what I request, but they know me by face and know I'm coming back in a week. I've also been denied twice due to full occupancy, my guess even higher or more premium guest that I was denied upgrade.

Walking in to a local hotel recently for last minute, I've seen they check the computer, call the manager about approval and got one of four suites, YMMV.

As to 50, 100 or 190 nights that I have now, doubt they can see that and it comes down to the person and their and the hotel service approach to us ....?

UKTraveller4Fun

I think the answer to this is no, wont make a difference and the hotel probably cannot even tell.

What makes the biggest difference in my experience is if you stay at the same hotel a few times then you are on their own radar and this helps with upgrades.

SPG75 is unlikely to make any difference whereas SPG100 might make a difference depending on your Ambassador and also the hotel. It certainly used to make a difference but over the years that has become less and less.

myko85

I've seen a hotel VIP arrival list at a SPG property.
The list shows the person's current status, lifetime gold or plat, Xth visit, and room preference.
It doesn't differentiate between Plat 25/50/75, but does care about Plat100

airoli

Further to the list myko85 mentions, it is my understanding that members within one tier are ranked for upgrade priority based on customer value - a score derived from revenue generated.

It would be too easy to say that 50 nights automatically generates a higher customer value score than 25 stays (for instance, if you stay 25x1 night at a St. Regis you may well be worth more than someone doing 5x10 nights at a Four Points).

But there is a "ranking" that looks at more than just whether you're Plat or not.

Finally, an individual property can always give priority to members of high value to that particular property vs. the entire chain (say, somebody spending 25 nights at the same hotel > somebody spending 1 of 30 nights at that hotel).

3Cforme

Lurker addressed the multiplicity of factors at play ~ten years ago.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...e-upgrade.html

slidergirl

From what I remember, the only thing mentioned is "Ambassador" in addition to Plat. Otherwise, you are just Plat.
The Arrivals List, aka the "VIP" list: it does rank the arrivals in terms of "importance", #stays at hotel, #stays at brand. There is also a mention of spend.
My corporate SPG Champion (she was based in Cork, Ireland), kept reminding me (I was the hotel SPG Champion) that upgrades should first be considered using that Arrivals List.

There ARE ranks above the Plat and Plat Ambassador. They aren't based on loyalty, but on qualifications that are up to each hotel. A high-spending Sheik in from Saudi Arabia for cancer treatment at a local hotel may be placed on the top of the list. An "A-list" celebrity in town (incognito) to visit her parents may be placed at the top of the list. The GM's mistress coming in for a visit may be placed at the top of the list. A US Senator in for a fundraiser with his cronies may be placed at the top of the list. So, just because you are Ms. "Plat Ambassador", that does not mean you are the highest on the list.

writerguyfl

The most important best client to a hotel isn't usually a guest. At most, a guest can provide 365 rooms each year.

The most important client is the person who handles the contract for the company that provides the most room nights. In one hotel I used to work, our biggest corporate account provided tens of thousands of room nights each year. Any guest who was booked directly from that client's office would be at the top of the VIP list.

Xiaotung

A slightly different but revelant question. Does it make a difference if you apply your SNA in which case the hotel will definitely know you are Plat 50? Does your advance upgrade confirmation disadvantage your chance of even a better upgrade at check-in, as some of the posters said timing is a factor?

margarita girl

Friend and I stayed at Sheraton Macao. I used SNA, he didn't. We checked in at same time. I got my SNA suite, he got one that was 2-3X as big as mine.

tillephone

We‘re getting off topic here, but:
SNA upgrades are handled centrally and automatically by Starwood. In my experience these are really handled in a completely different way than the upgrades on arrival. Some hotels even have a completely separate pool of rooms for SNA upgrades. So in my experience it can indeed happen that you end up with an inferior Suite than the one you would receive at check in because you are in fact already upgraded to a suite (= no longer eligible for an upgrade to a suite that might be even better). I think hotels get paid a small amount by Starwood for upgrades through SNAs.
In my personal experience the best approach to get the best suite at many hotels is to reach out to them in advance. I also feel that getting an SNA upgrade confirmed first might help a little.

In total I have probably had a 100 or so suite upgrades over the years. The SNAs are nice to have confirmation in advance that you would definitely get a suite (you can even gamble making reservations at more than one property in a given city). But in my experience there‘s a chance they will rather get you the inferior suites.