Marriott Bonvoy has made a subtle but significant change to its terms & conditions, as flagged by View from the Wing. I suspect this won’t have many practical implications, but it’s worth covering nonetheless, in terms of managing expectations.
In this post:
Marriott no longer promises suite upgrades if available
Historically, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above have (at least in theory) been entitled to upgrades to the best available rooms at check-in, up to standard suites. That’s no longer officially the case.
Recently, the program’s terms & conditions have been updated. Here’s what the terms stated before the change:
Platinum Elite Members and above receive a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, subject to availability upon arrival, for the entire length of stay. Complimentary upgrade includes suites, rooms with desirable views, rooms on high floors, corner rooms, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors.
Here’s what the terms stated after the change:
Platinum Elite Members and above receive a complimentary upgrade, subject to availability upon arrival, for the entire length of stay. Complimentary upgrade includes suites, rooms with desirable views, rooms on high floors, corner rooms, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors.
Do you notice the difference? Yes, previously the terms stated you received an upgrade to the best available room subject to availability, up to a standard suite. Now the terms state that you receive an upgrade subject to availability, and that could include a standard suite (or another room type).
This is now in line with the vague way that Marriott markets its Platinum upgrade perk, which is that “we’ll do our best to upgrade your room (including Select Suites), subject to availability upon arrival.”
Is this upgrade policy change a big deal?
Technically speaking, Marriott Bonvoy’s upgrade policy is now aligned with that of Hilton Honors, rather than that of World of Hyatt. That’s to say that suite upgrades are both subject to availability and at the discretion of the hotel, rather than being subject to availability and “guaranteed” (as much as anything can be guaranteed in this industry).
Is Marriott changing the verbiage negative? Well, of course, since Marriott is promising less. Do I think this will actually change the way that hotels upgrade people? No, I don’t think so, because I don’t think there’s actually a change here in terms of intent to deliver upgrades.
The challenge with Marriott Bonvoy is the huge amount of elite inflation we’ve seen, which limits the value of benefits that are “subject to availability.” At a vast majority of hotels, there are way more elite members eligible for suite upgrades than actual available suites. That’s why Marriott has a secret way that it prioritizes upgrades.
So Marriott Bonvoy’s updated terms are also just more accurate. The truth is that even under the old policy, elite members didn’t necessarily receive upgrades subject to availability at check-in. This is a technicality, but my point is that upgrades were typically assigned before check-in, based on some hierarchy.
With this change, there’s even less basis for anyone to show up at a Marriott and claim “oh but you’re still selling suites for tonight, so you need to upgrade me to it,” since hotels now officially have no obligation to address that.
I think this might also explain why Marriott recently stopped excluding Platinum members from the Ritz-Carlton suite upgrade benefit. With Marriott no longer promising suite upgrades, there’s no need for Ritz-Carlton to be excluded!
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy has updated its upgrade benefit for Platinum members and above. While members were previously promised the best available room subject to availability, up to a standard suite, that’s no longer the case. Instead, upgrades are now at the discretion of hotels, and those upgrades could include standard suites.
This now means that Marriott Bonvoy’s upgrade benefit is in line with the policy of Hilton Honors, rather than the policy of World of Hyatt.
What do you make of this update to the Marriott Bonvoy terms & conditions?
It’s unfortunate that Marriott is diluting their elite benefits on paper, but agree with most commenters that there are little practical implications.
While the other hotel chains have a lot of elite inflation in the US (and other markets with a lot or American travellers, like Western Europe), Marriott has elite inflation globally. Especially with their aggressive signing up of Chinese and South Asian members in recent years, even in East / SE Asian cities...
It’s unfortunate that Marriott is diluting their elite benefits on paper, but agree with most commenters that there are little practical implications.
While the other hotel chains have a lot of elite inflation in the US (and other markets with a lot or American travellers, like Western Europe), Marriott has elite inflation globally. Especially with their aggressive signing up of Chinese and South Asian members in recent years, even in East / SE Asian cities that historically have good elite recognition, room upgrades and other non-guaranteed benefits just don’t happen anymore. So it feels like only a matter of time that they change their terms to reflect reality.
To be fair, Marriott is notorious for not providing upgrades, even when fully available. I've been a Titanium Elite member for 8 of the past 10 years and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been upgraded without having to use a nightly upgrade award. I especially love when I look at available rooms for the night(s) I'm there when checking and see suites available, at a minimum, but still...
To be fair, Marriott is notorious for not providing upgrades, even when fully available. I've been a Titanium Elite member for 8 of the past 10 years and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been upgraded without having to use a nightly upgrade award. I especially love when I look at available rooms for the night(s) I'm there when checking and see suites available, at a minimum, but still no upgrade is offered or provided.
I learned long ago that Marriotts brand loyalty does not extend both ways and have given up on even getting my hopes up for an upgrade.
So why keep staying?
Just more weaselly changes from hotel programs. I never saw a single real suite upgrade and I'm lifetime Platinum. I've stopped believing their promises and only booking based on concrete value and price now.
After they weaseled out of enforcing breakfast benefits, you know that these hotel brand conglomerates are more interested in revenue expansion than actually running a hospitality business worthy of the name.
With respect, I just don't think it's reasonable for a platinum to expect a suite upgrade ever, unless it's like a Sunday night in Rapid City, South Dakota. The reality is it's like an airline upgrade into first-class.
At full-service brands, with the exception of resorts during that destination's shoulder season or offseason, weekends at business hotels in big cities, and single night stays on Sunday nights, there are always going to be titaniums...
With respect, I just don't think it's reasonable for a platinum to expect a suite upgrade ever, unless it's like a Sunday night in Rapid City, South Dakota. The reality is it's like an airline upgrade into first-class.
At full-service brands, with the exception of resorts during that destination's shoulder season or offseason, weekends at business hotels in big cities, and single night stays on Sunday nights, there are always going to be titaniums and ambassadors. The J.W. Marriott Essex House in New York City averages 75 platinums per night.
Conveniently, they never seem to to have suites available, even for Titanium. Back in the day, as Platinum, I got upgrades regularly. Never see them now.
I work at a corporate owned and managed Marriott property, have for 25 years. If the contents of this article were accurate, all Marriott associates would have been notified of this change. As of now no policy change of this sort has been passed on. At least not to the property I work at. As I said, it is a corporate owned and managed property so you would think something like this would be passed...
I work at a corporate owned and managed Marriott property, have for 25 years. If the contents of this article were accurate, all Marriott associates would have been notified of this change. As of now no policy change of this sort has been passed on. At least not to the property I work at. As I said, it is a corporate owned and managed property so you would think something like this would be passed on to us.
If this is true, it is so new that not all Marriott associates know about it yet. And that would make it odd that someone who isn't a Marriott associate would know about it.
According to Gary Leff at View from the Wing, this change was made in the last few days. The old language in the terms and conditions was still there at the end of April.
LOL. Only time I ever get the best available is when I'm at some cheap place like a Fairfield Inn that only even has 2 room types- and even that doesn't happen half the time.
Same as a Hyatt loyalist, I often tell my better half that we got the "Presidential Suite" at Hyatt Places... It's the corner room on the highest floor that has the most square footage and a natural divider between bed area and living/work space. And that does also happen maybe half the time at best. But it's appreciated.
I just don't get the miles/points world hysteria around hotels and perks, which often have a...
Same as a Hyatt loyalist, I often tell my better half that we got the "Presidential Suite" at Hyatt Places... It's the corner room on the highest floor that has the most square footage and a natural divider between bed area and living/work space. And that does also happen maybe half the time at best. But it's appreciated.
I just don't get the miles/points world hysteria around hotels and perks, which often have a weird obsession with breakfast. I was a road warrior so I get it to a degree. But I can get free breakfast at Hyatt Place Four Points in Austin or I can go across the damn street and eat some cheap breakfast tacos at Rudy's that blow away anything where I live. It's not like I'm going downstairs to get my free breakfast without shaving or showering. Or maybe most people are?
Remember, Hyatt elite suite upgrades don't apply to Hyatt Place. It's a weird exemption.
If breakfast starts at 6 or 6:30 a.m., I'm the first one down. I normally wear track pants or joggers (whatever you call them), sneakers and a shirt, like a golf shirt or a running shirt with a UV hoodie on top. It's definitely before I've showered and gotten ready for the day.
That's all good but with all due respect, that's road warrior mode. The average solo traveler or family won't be up and running for free breakfast on a regular pace. It's a nice to have. Can't wrangle kids before 10 when everyone has been on iPads (adults included) since 8.
I just don't see a historic return on investment from hotel loyalty. DCS was on here for years screaming about his lavish breakfasts fit...
That's all good but with all due respect, that's road warrior mode. The average solo traveler or family won't be up and running for free breakfast on a regular pace. It's a nice to have. Can't wrangle kids before 10 when everyone has been on iPads (adults included) since 8.
I just don't see a historic return on investment from hotel loyalty. DCS was on here for years screaming about his lavish breakfasts fit for a king. Edge case. He never understood that. I think you all do.
The key word was is and always will be "available".
The hotels definition of "available" is completely different than ours.
Nothing has changed.
At the hotel I work at, our definition of "available" is the same definition you'll find in the dictionary. People who don't work at a hotel and don't know what they are talking about will believe the common myth that hotels hold back selling rooms for some reason. Also, if all the rooms of a certain type are not available, we can't magically make more rooms appear out of nowhere!
Definitely not a myth. I've called the hotels bluff more than once by showing them available rooms on their app and website during check in, but I'm still told 'we don't have any rooms available'. Having titanium or platinum as status means nothing anymore other than earning more points during reservations. Available means available, but not to Marriot. Their loyalty does not extend back to their customers.
@Doc totally not a myth. The hotel owners simply refuse to allow their employees to give suite upgrades even when available but it magically appears if you pay for it with cash. So many times the suites are available but they do not upgrade you but when they ‘upgrade’ you to the crummy executive floor they made it sound like they did you a favor or when you have been upgraded to a suite pre-arrival...
@Doc totally not a myth. The hotel owners simply refuse to allow their employees to give suite upgrades even when available but it magically appears if you pay for it with cash. So many times the suites are available but they do not upgrade you but when they ‘upgrade’ you to the crummy executive floor they made it sound like they did you a favor or when you have been upgraded to a suite pre-arrival only to find out at front desk that the room is ‘magically’ unavailable and downgrade you to a room on the executive floor.
The problem is that the hotel in which you work with, unfortunately, is in the minority. We all understand that Hotels cannot provide you with an upgrade when no such room is available.
However, a lot of hotels seem to have a different definition of "subject to availability". They will happily tell you that there is no availability and yet you do a quick search in their website and voilá, rooms are indeed available for...
The problem is that the hotel in which you work with, unfortunately, is in the minority. We all understand that Hotels cannot provide you with an upgrade when no such room is available.
However, a lot of hotels seem to have a different definition of "subject to availability". They will happily tell you that there is no availability and yet you do a quick search in their website and voilá, rooms are indeed available for cash bookings. Some hotels will straight up insult your intelligence by saying "Sorry, no availability for upgrade but if you give us more $$, we're happily move you to the better room". So was the room really not available? You tell me.
In my experience the best room available was rarely a suite. I always felt like in the US they blocked availability to most of the suites. I don't think this change will make much practical difference, but it is disappointing and just another step in the declining value of Bonvoy loyalty.
At this point, why should anyone trust Marriott at this point? Not only are the nightly upgrade award certificates not valid for suites at many properties, but now there's no defined suite upgrade benefit if a suite is available. What next: eliminating the breakfast benefit? Admittedly, that's already impossible to receive at too many properties. Just think how much has been "downgraded" (to quote Ben Schlapping) since Marriott launched Bonvoy on August 18, 2018.
Who trusted Marriott before this? They've completely failed to deliver on the promises of their loyalty program for years.
Hold the suite and just upgrade me to a Concierge level room and I would be happy.
Most of the new or newly renovated properties have moved the club lounges to the lobby level or whatever floor has their restaurants.
Have they? Well that sucks. Rather defeats the purpose of having to schelp all the way down there. Still, I would welcome the schlepping if this is the upgrade in lieu of a suite upgrade. A suite is much more room than I need when travelling alone. Don't see the point to this upgrade for me.
So basically Globalist is the only status left with a real Suite upgrade benefit. Was thinking about getting the brilliant but with titanium not having hope might as well just stick with aspire and be happy with my list of credits.
IHG Diamond, Ambassador and Royal Ambassador too.
Those programs have confirmable suite upgrade certificates that can guarantee a suite at booking?
I can't remember if it's at booking, but it's certainly well in advance and out of the inventory.
Just looked and it looks like IHG you get one at 40 nights and another at 70 only confirmable 14 days out. I think I got 5 upgrade certs total once I made globalist last few years. Not gonna work if you are planning family vacation. Royal Ambassador is not guaranteed suite. Sounds like Marriott before the change in verbiage. I just confirmed Grand Hyatt Tokyo a year out for 4 nights cost was 180k...
Just looked and it looks like IHG you get one at 40 nights and another at 70 only confirmable 14 days out. I think I got 5 upgrade certs total once I made globalist last few years. Not gonna work if you are planning family vacation. Royal Ambassador is not guaranteed suite. Sounds like Marriott before the change in verbiage. I just confirmed Grand Hyatt Tokyo a year out for 4 nights cost was 180k points and suite upgrade certificate. Cash price $13k! Looking to see if I can get to the Park Hyatt Tokyo when it opens up for reservations.
@UnitedEF you also get a confirmable suite upgrade with IHG after staying 20 nights provided that is the one you choose.
With revenues at all-time highs, the loyalty programs have no reason not to continue with point and benefit devaluations. Next on the chopping block will be the elite breakfast benefit. In the end, we'll feel lucky just to have free WiFi and late checkout. Expect nothing more.
Hi Fred,
I do believe loyalty programs have run their course. Hotels should simply sell the rooms and services they offer and dispense with the song and dance of metallically named “elite” tiers.
Objectively, that’s not true. Nightly hotel rates are falling. Business travel still hasn’t come back. The Big Three consulting firms are laying off staff. Airfares are dropping because planes, especially international flights, are increasingly empty or less full than just a few months ago. Government contractors aren’t traveling. We may go into recession.
Until the large travel managers put their foot down nothing will change.
Or enough of us complain to the right people at Marriott. There's a Reddit thread on this with over 30,000 views. What if 30,000 people emailed Marriott's CEO?
Mr. C will not care in the least.
As a titanium, I get upgraded nearly never so it doesn't really matter anyway
Hi og,
If you work the front office of a Marriott hotel in any location popular with business travelers, you’ll notice that each day’s guest list is dozens of Ambassadors, several dozen Titaniums, and even more dozen Platinums and Golds. An entire hotel could be 100% occupied by Gold Elite guests and higher. To wit, tier status means nothing.
Upgrades were a thing before Big Data. Now, airlines and hotels know how to price and...
Hi og,
If you work the front office of a Marriott hotel in any location popular with business travelers, you’ll notice that each day’s guest list is dozens of Ambassadors, several dozen Titaniums, and even more dozen Platinums and Golds. An entire hotel could be 100% occupied by Gold Elite guests and higher. To wit, tier status means nothing.
Upgrades were a thing before Big Data. Now, airlines and hotels know how to price and sell their upmarket offerings. There are SVPs at each airline and hotel chain whose performance and multi-million dollar annual bonuses are contingent on reducing free upgrades in lieu of selling inventory for incremental net revenue.
Not sure much at hotels since most Marriotts are franchised and corporate has nothing to do with revenue management.
This really makes going for ambassador status worthless. What's the point if ambassadors can't even get a defined suite upgrade benefit?
Hi Nick,
“Worth it” implies you have a choice, that you gave up something to get the status. Ambassador status is conferred automatically upon reaching certain thresholds with Marriott. The customer doesn’t need to opt in.
No hotel status with any chain is “worth” going out of one’s way for. If one happens to reach Ambassador status, it’s worth it, irrespective of what it does or doesn’t offer on the benefits front.
Have a blessed day,
Gary Leff’s #1 hater
I think you miss Nick Thomas' point. He does have a choice. He might commit to Marriott or he might commit to another program. If he finds Ambassador's value proposition not worth it, he might redirect nights and dollars originally earmarked for Marriott to another program.
As for Gary Leff, I dislike his messaging and stopped reading his blog years ago. But, I don't hate him. We need less hate. Have a blessed day.
Participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program doesn’t preclude you from also participating in Hilton Honors, IHG Rewards and the like. These programs should never influence your choice of hotel, which ought to be made based on the location and quality and value proposition of specific hotels.
You say you dislike Gary but don’t hate him. I make no distinction between those feelings. I do still read his blog and comment as a countervailing force against...
Participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program doesn’t preclude you from also participating in Hilton Honors, IHG Rewards and the like. These programs should never influence your choice of hotel, which ought to be made based on the location and quality and value proposition of specific hotels.
You say you dislike Gary but don’t hate him. I make no distinction between those feelings. I do still read his blog and comment as a countervailing force against the abject racism that pervades the comment section of many of his posts.
You write: “The challenge with Marriott Bonvoy is the huge amount of elite inflation we’ve seen, which limits the value of benefits that are 'subject to availability.'”
No, the challenge with Marriott Bonvoy is Marriott corporate's refusal to enforce standards and benefits upon its real customer, the hotel owners and operators. Yes, there are probably too many elites but, ultimately, Marriott basically allowers owners or operators to whatever they please.
You have properties like...
You write: “The challenge with Marriott Bonvoy is the huge amount of elite inflation we’ve seen, which limits the value of benefits that are 'subject to availability.'”
No, the challenge with Marriott Bonvoy is Marriott corporate's refusal to enforce standards and benefits upon its real customer, the hotel owners and operators. Yes, there are probably too many elites but, ultimately, Marriott basically allowers owners or operators to whatever they please.
You have properties like the St. Regis in Washington that don't "clean" suites until they're booked so they can avoid giving an upgrade. You have other properties that refuse to provide coffee with the breakfast benefit.
Hi Nick,
I agree with you but I must add, all other hotel chains face the exact same problem. Marriott’s woes are more known because Marriott has a bigger portfolio.
Hotel owners and operators are scum. With the economy on screech for the last decade they’ve become complacent and forgotten what any semblance of hospitality or customer centricity looks like. They could learn from Jeff Bezos but he’s too busy motorboating nowadays.
G’day!
Once again, you're wrong.
"Historically, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above have (at least in theory) been entitled to upgrades to the best available rooms at check-in, up to standard suites."
The previous upgrade benefit was never conditioned in the terms and conditions to "standard suites." That's a Hyatt thing.
Hi Nick,
There’s the added problem that a “standard suite” has no canonical definition. One may be reasonable to start with a suite being defined as a room with separation between the bed and living area, but the hotel industry has long since abandoned that norm.
A suite is anything the hotel feels like labeling a suite.
Remember we are in the age of standard rooms not having work desks anymore.
I think what Ben was saying was "non-signature suite" . . . or "upgrade-eligible" suites. I understood what he meant. Forgive him for his imprecise terminology.