Tag Archives for suite night awards.
The value is sometimes obscured by Hyatt’s website which doesn’t show the best deal, or makes the deal look initially more expensive than it actually is on first display. You shouldn’t necessarily sleep on Hyatt’s premium suite upgrade awards.
Marriott promises that if an upgraded room is available for the length of your stay when you check in, then it is yours free if you’re a Platinum member or above. But that’s not actually how Marriott upgrades work.
Marriott reset member expectations a year ago about how upgrades work, changing the name so that an upgrade isn’t necessarily to a suite and giving out upgrades only closer to check-in. Well, they’re changing upgrades again!
Marriott’s transition to reset member expectations away from upgrades to suites, and to shorten the time period for upgrades, is now rolling out.
Marriott is set to implement changes to their suite upgrade award process in 2024, transitioning from “Suite Night Awards” to “Nightly Upgrade Awards” and expanding the program to include more participating brands and room types. However, the new system will process upgrades only 3 days before arrival, and while there’s an increase in room inventory for upgrades, the focus will shift from guaranteed suite upgrades to a broader range of room types.
When Marriott Bonvoy members stay 50 nights or more in a year, they can select a benefit of their choice, and then again when they reach 75 nights. The most popular choice, by far, is “suite night awards.” 75% of Marriott’s most frequent guests select the ability to request priority for upgrades to suites. They can choose the nights where they want their upgrades to be ahead of other guests checking in. Beginning 5 days prior to arrival, Marriott will search available room inventory to process their upgrades. However actually using these ‘Suite Night Awards’ is a huge pain point for frequent guests. If members spread out their upgrade requests evenly across the year and across all hotels, they would probably all be confirmed! But very few people want to upgrade at a Sheraton in…
One 75 night Titanium elite member tells the story about confirming a suite at the J.W. Marriott in Grand Rapids Michigan. They were staying for their 35th wedding anniversary. When they arrived to check in, they were assigned a regular room – the hotel gave their suite to someone else instead.
Just because a room is available for sale doesn’t mean a member requesting a Suite Night Award will be upgraded to it if Marriott forecasts that the room will be sold.
A room can be available 24 hours prior to check-in, but Marriott’s systems will still hold back the inventory to possibly sell to someone rather than upgrade the member into that room.
I’ve heard from a number of Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Ambassador members who have shared that they aren’t getting upgraded like they’re used to. That seems surprising at first. With the hotel industry in an unprecedented crisis of low occupancy, an upgrade should be easier than ever to come by!
I asked Marriott about this, and a spokesperson confirmed that members aren’t being upgraded more frequently this year – but they’re also not having their requests denied more often either. Here’s what’s happening.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
