I’ve gotta say, earning Marriott’s top tier elite status wasn’t on my loyalty program bingo card for this year, but I just qualified. Let me provide some background, and then I’ll share how I earned it, and why I (sort of) went out of my way to do so.
In this post:
My history with Marriott Bonvoy elite status
Marriott Bonvoy has five published elite tiers (in addition to invitation only Cobalt status), with the following qualification requirements:
- Silver status requires 10 elite nights per year
- Gold status requires 25 elite nights per year
- Platinum status requires 50 elite nights per year
- Titanium status requires 75 elite nights per year
- Ambassador status requires 100 elite nights and $23,000 of qualifying spending per year
I’ve had Marriott Bonvoy lifetime Platinum status for several years now. On top of that, I’ve qualified for Titanium status most years. The truth is that it’s not that hard to earn, even as someone who doesn’t spend anywhere close to 75 nights per year at Marriott properties.
That’s because Marriott elite nights can be earned with credit cards — just for having the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review) and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review), I receive 40 elite nights per year, which gets me a huge head start to Titanium status, plus Choice Benefits.
Up until 2020, I had Ambassador status for many years, and that even goes back all the way to the Starwood Preferred Guest days. However, for the past (nearly) five years, I haven’t had Ambassador status, simply because I split my hotel stays across too many hotel groups, and don’t stay in hotels nearly as much as I used to.
How I earned Marriott Ambassador status
At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t even expecting to earn Titanium status with Marriott, let alone Ambassador status. As you can see, the biggest hurdle with Ambassador status is the (significant) spending requirement.
What’s funny is the situation I found myself in this year — I was significantly over the spending requirement for Ambassador status, but didn’t have many elite nights. As I wrote about earlier this year, I rented a villa through Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, and that counts toward elite status. Not only do you earn points and elite nights for those stays, but the spending also counts toward Ambassador status.
I had more nights with Marriott this year than usual, but still only found myself ending the year with just under 90 elite nights. Perhaps I’m a victim of sunk cost fallacy, but I figured that since I had already spent so much with Marriott, I might as well spend a bit more in order to earn Ambassador status.
I completed a mattress run at a cheap airport hotel, which ended up costing me around $1,000 out of pocket, and put me over the threshold of 100 elite nights. So that was my incremental investment in earning Ambassador status.
What I’m hoping for with Marriott’s top status
As any OMAAT reader can attest to, I have my fair share of criticism of the Marriott Bonvoy program, and how it often over promises and under delivers. So what’s wrong with me, that I’d suddenly throw more money and effort into earning status with the program?
On paper, the incremental perks of Ambassador status over Titanium status are limited. You get a personalized Ambassador, who can help you with your reservations (some people value this immensely, while others not at all). On top of that, you get access to Your24, whereby you can confirm early check-in days before arrival, at the hotel’s discretion.
The biggest consistent benefit, ultimately, is that you’re a little higher up the totem pole for upgrades. The reality is that there has been an absolutely massive amount of elite inflation at Marriott properties (due to how easy status is to earn), and there are times where a property may have 100-200 (or more) Platinum members and above. Platinum and Titanium status are both very common, while elite ranks definitely thin out with Ambassador.
Yes, on paper the elite tiers have very similar upgrade benefits, but as you’d expect, hotels will typically try to be more proactive with upgrades for higher tier elites.
Admittedly your experience will vary massively based on where you’re staying. The average mega-hotel in the United States doesn’t really care about guest experience or elite status, so I wouldn’t expect much. Furthermore, if you’re traveling over major holidays, you’re unlikely to get a whole lot.
But I don’t stay at a lot of hotels in the United States, and a vast majority of my stays are international, and not during peak season. So I figured it’s worth giving Ambassador status another try, to see how it’s holding up:
- I’m curious if I actually do notice a material difference in terms of elite recognition and upgrades, compared to Titanium status
- I’m going to go out of my way to make it “the year of Marriott,” and stay as at many luxury international Marriott properties as possible
There are a lot of Marriott properties on my radar, from the St. Regis Astana, to the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne, to the Reykjavik EDITION, to the Koenigshof Munich, so I look forward to hopefully checking those (and many others) out.
The way I view it, if I get great upgrades on a few stays that I wouldn’t have gotten as a Titanium member, then I’ll recoup my investment. But either way, I think it makes for interesting blog content, both in terms of reviewing more Marriott properties, and also providing my updated, post-pandemic take on the value of Ambassador status.
I’m excited about the Ambassador I was assigned!
One of the main benefits of Marriott Ambassador status is that you get a personalized Ambassador, who looks after you. Honestly, my favorite thing about this status back in the day is that my Ambassador, Mike, was simply incredible. He was knowledgable, friendly, and proactive, always going above and beyond.
When I set my sights on Ambassador status, I really hoped that I’d get Mike as an Ambassador again, given what a superstar he is. I’ve seen very mixed reports about service from Ambassadors, and Mike sets a very high bar.
So this morning when my status officially posted, I shot off an email to him (it was our first contact in five years), just telling him I earned Ambassador status, and asking if there’s any way I could request to have him as my Ambassador.
Ambassadors are assigned centrally, but he was kind enough to put in the request, and it seems that it got approved. So I’m delighted that I’ll get to work with him again, as he was such a phenomenal representative for the company. As far as I’m concerned, he should be running the entire Ambassador program.
Bottom line
Somehow Marriott Bonvoy got me back on the elite status hamster wheel. Maybe I’m just a total chump for assuming there will be any difference compared to Titanium status. But given that I had knocked out the spending requirement for Ambassador status, that also seemed like the right time to make the extra push for the 100 elite nights.
If you look at online forums or Facebook groups about Ambassador status, it’s incredibly polarizing. Some people act as if they’re treated like the most important person in the world, while others claim they’ve never received an upgrade. I’m looking forward to sharing my honest impressions…
Am I nuts for putting in the extra effort to earn Marriott Ambassador status? Which Marriott properties would y’all like to see reviews of?
The St. Regis Astana was so very new when I tried staying there that as soon as I checked in, I had to check out because it was not ready and we were the only booking those first nights. They had not even doled out the TV remotes. Rooms were stunning and the entire property had an equestrian theme decor. I'll always have this cool tale to tell my family, we ultimately ended up at the Ritz Carlton so you'll have to tell me how your experience was.
I obtained Ambassador status at the time when ambassadors were not assigned a couple years ago… I worked very hard to obtain the status and felt very disappointed that I didn’t have someone looking after me like you have with, Mike.
I’ve chosen to stay with titanium Malik and spread my points out with Hilton properties.
I’m happy with titanium elite status and felt the extra money and loyalty that I received when I earned...
I obtained Ambassador status at the time when ambassadors were not assigned a couple years ago… I worked very hard to obtain the status and felt very disappointed that I didn’t have someone looking after me like you have with, Mike.
I’ve chosen to stay with titanium Malik and spread my points out with Hilton properties.
I’m happy with titanium elite status and felt the extra money and loyalty that I received when I earned Ambassador status a couple of years ago was not worth it for me.
Maybe things have gotten better
If you mostly travel at random low peak times, which if that’s actually true - sorry, and if you’re staying at lower tier hotels - doesn’t sound like you are, then best of luck getting an upgrade to an actual room with lets say - a great view. I have NEVER gotten an upgrade and they don’t care what level you are - again at least not at the higher tier hotels. These dedicated ambassadors...
If you mostly travel at random low peak times, which if that’s actually true - sorry, and if you’re staying at lower tier hotels - doesn’t sound like you are, then best of luck getting an upgrade to an actual room with lets say - a great view. I have NEVER gotten an upgrade and they don’t care what level you are - again at least not at the higher tier hotels. These dedicated ambassadors each have more than 200 individual elite guests they look after and keep in mind that they also take vacation(s) and have days off - like the rest of us. I have had at length conversations with my ambassador - and others - and the best path to make your stay perfect is to book the category / room you are hoping to stay in otherwise you might be disappointed. Your24 has to be confirmed (hardly if ever in Europe and not likely at peak times in other locales) and is not always available so that being the most unique perk to an ambassador and not being able to use it (because you can never forget the fine print of “at the hotels discretion”, btw they use that discretion a lot!) it leaves me with a question mark on what the real perks are. Sooo what do I like about being an ambassador - one is problems during a stay, the ambassador team will speak to the hotel mgmt and usually get some resolution but not always - ok check. Second is small gifts waiting in your room - my ambassador knows that I’m a water connoisseur (jk but not really) so from time to time I’ll have some Fiji or Evian (or Acqua Panna) waiting for me, other times it’s been a snack basket etc - it’s cute and while it might have a note from the hotel GM - my ambassador likely did some of that leg work. And that’s where the benefits end. Everything else is the same that you get with Titanium. Same number of points, lounge access - if available - and let’s just say lounges are thinning out at the top tier hotels if they ever had them to begin with. The dedicated 24/7 ambassador line is sometimes helpful if the person staffing it knows what they are doing - sadly I’d say most are not well versed in “ambassador elite” but they try to some extent. Sorry for the TLDR - hope your experience is 1000x better and that mine is somehow better than the past too. I’m strongly considering diversifying with Hyatt in 2025 and limiting my Bonvoy to Titanium for 2026 - although I will automatically get that as they only drop you one tier if you don’t re-qualify for 2026. Also am I talking 2026 - two days into 2025!? Best of luck!
Did you also spent more than 23000 USD to qualify this? I stopped at 95 nights because there were no way for me to hit the 23000.00
Ben,
I would have to agree with your previous commenter about not getting any upgrades at Marriott Hotels. I have been a Lifetime Titanium Elite Bonvoy member for many years. Each year after Marriott purchased Starwood Hotels in 2016, my supposed “benefits” started to erode quickly. I have had the same issue Fred talked about where the hotel would give a free upgrade even though I could look online and see where several suites...
Ben,
I would have to agree with your previous commenter about not getting any upgrades at Marriott Hotels. I have been a Lifetime Titanium Elite Bonvoy member for many years. Each year after Marriott purchased Starwood Hotels in 2016, my supposed “benefits” started to erode quickly. I have had the same issue Fred talked about where the hotel would give a free upgrade even though I could look online and see where several suites were still listed as available online. I used to always stay at a Marriott property if one was available, but now I will be looking for the best deal (Marriott or not). What used to be the BEST rewards program in the business is quickly moving towards the bottom of the list. Especially when the top tiers don’t get what they are promised (and I used to get on my trips). Marriott is still a top brand, but really needs to rethink the top end of their rewards program. Little things (rewards) go a long way with the customer - right Fred?!?!
Also, in noting your status as an Ambassador level again (nice job!), and you were able to get Mike again is great! However since you also write about miles and points in your posts for OMAAT I wouldn’t be surprised if you received at least better than normal service / rewards. I am also assuming Mike (your returning Ambassador) was around before the merger with Starwood or before rewards / upgrades started going downhill.
I hope you get what is deserved for the Ambassador level!
I've earned ambassador status for a year and honestly have seen zero value add whatsoever. The ambassador Concierge I was assigned I called to introduce myself-- got VM and never got a call back. Never. Had to deal with late nite after hours pool concierges instead when booking a subsequent reservation. And to boot on that rez I got a standard room at the Dulles Westin, not a suite or jr. Suite. I did get...
I've earned ambassador status for a year and honestly have seen zero value add whatsoever. The ambassador Concierge I was assigned I called to introduce myself-- got VM and never got a call back. Never. Had to deal with late nite after hours pool concierges instead when booking a subsequent reservation. And to boot on that rez I got a standard room at the Dulles Westin, not a suite or jr. Suite. I did get free breakfast so at least I'm not total chopped liver. So I have to ask, Ambassador status what have you done for me lately? Not much.
I've been with Marriott for 12+ years and ambassador for the last 5. In the states I'm underwhelmed with the perks but in Canada I've have some absolutely amazing rooms. I've been tempted to go try another hotel chain as I average 150 + nights a year but like having status.
It's probably a difference between staying at franchise or licensed properties and staying at Marriott-managed properties.
I've been an ambassador since 2018. The status is as useful as my many ambassadors, not very useful. In the past year, it's rearly acknowledged at checkin. Upgrades occurs about 30% of the time. I now have my lifetime platinum status...and that's good enough for me. 2025 I'll drop out of the ambassador club, with zero regrets.
Also, it totally depends on the brands. If you're staying mostly at Courtyards, Fairfields, and Four Points by Sheraton -- the kind of properties, especially in the case of Courtyards and Fairfields -- that make up a HUGE chunk of Marriott's domestic USA portfolio, what do you honestly expect as an ambassador in terms of recognition or benefits?
At Courtyard, nobody gets free breakfast. Sure, some Courtyards have a real restaurant (above and beyond...
Also, it totally depends on the brands. If you're staying mostly at Courtyards, Fairfields, and Four Points by Sheraton -- the kind of properties, especially in the case of Courtyards and Fairfields -- that make up a HUGE chunk of Marriott's domestic USA portfolio, what do you honestly expect as an ambassador in terms of recognition or benefits?
At Courtyard, nobody gets free breakfast. Sure, some Courtyards have a real restaurant (above and beyond the brand standard bistro) or have suites, but the suite is just a bigger room and doesn't come with extra or better amenities.
At Fairfield, everyone gets breakfast. Again, some properties have suites. In Asia and the Pacific, the new Fairfields have a full-service restaurant but no elites get breakfast because it's a loophole in the rules.
Like what should a roadside hotel or a small-town hotel provide an ambassador guest besides a clean room? Of course, many can't even since the pandemic provide a clean room.
I'm shocked that "Mike" is still there because many of the ambassadors were fired during covid.
At Marriott franchised properties, I find ambassador status to be worthless except for upgrades.
At Marriott-managed properties, they tend to provide an in-room amenity that sometimes is in keeping with the specific preferences Marriott asked me to profile on my profile. For example, the Marriott at Paris CDG (not just managed by Marriott, but leased by Marriott) gave me...
I'm shocked that "Mike" is still there because many of the ambassadors were fired during covid.
At Marriott franchised properties, I find ambassador status to be worthless except for upgrades.
At Marriott-managed properties, they tend to provide an in-room amenity that sometimes is in keeping with the specific preferences Marriott asked me to profile on my profile. For example, the Marriott at Paris CDG (not just managed by Marriott, but leased by Marriott) gave me a 50 euro bottle of champagne as a welcome amenity.
Internationally, all the major hotel chains are generally better. That's a combination of two factors:
One, better staff. Internationally, working at a hotel is a career and not a job so a higher percentage of the staff went to school for hotels or hospitality than in the USA. Think about it. If you're working the front desk and hoping to eventually becoming a general manager and you speak two or three languages you're going to be much better-educated than the front desk clerks back in the USA. And again, you want to do it as a career.
Two, chains like Marriott manage more of their properties as a percentage of the portfolio internationally than they do domestically. Now, that's starting to change with the rollout of franchised lower-end brands but on the whole there's a better chance that a Marriott, Renaissance, Hyatt Regency, J.W. Marriott, Westin, or Sheraton in Europe, the Middle East and Asia is corporate managed. So, in theory, better compliance with brand standard and loyalty program benefits.
But back to ambassador status. The biggest perk is having someone to contact. I would estimate that about half my stays never post correctly. So, I need to get point adjustments because Marriott's system is especially bad at crediting incidental spending.
Ultimately, you can have the best ambassador in the system but if the property sucks, the property sucks. Most of these properties -- especially the franchised and licensed properties, which make up about 70% of Marriott's entire properties -- have general managers/resident managers/front office managers who either don't care or don't pay attention to the details. And in the case of the worst offending properties, they know Marriott won't pull their flag over not complying with the breakfast benefit or whatever.
One of the better and more realistic takes i have seen. You know more about Marriott than most.
A general question about hotel stays: when booking through Hotels.com one gets 10% back via their free night perk. Isn’t this more valuable than all the hotel loyalty programs? I’m not even mentioning the fact that this allows one to stay at any hotel and not be chained to one hotel group
For the purely price conscious yes. Many high tier folks are traveling on someone else's money for business or the company already has arrangements with the brand or property.
Yes the sunk-cost fallacy, I can't stop spending just now cos I'm losing too much. But what about the "stupid-price fallacy" which often crops up here - promoting the benefits of some card or status by mentioning the stupid price advertised for a suite by some greedy hotel-keeper?
The value of a suite upgrade is no more than the amount your reader might actually have been prepared to pay for a better room.
I have been at the Ambassador level for years however I am still trying to figure out its advantages: the 24 hour selection tends not to be available at all high end properties. As many know, breakfast and upgrades are not honored at many properties. I have qualified as Titanium for life so, at the beginning of every year, my goal is to achieve Hyatt Globalist and only then I start thinking of Marriott. Starwood had a much better program!
This is the smart plan. Staying at an Edition right now post-Globalist requal for the year, and the lack of Marriott benefits (and clawing back of an upgraded room) remind me so much why Hyatt is such a better choice for loyalty.
Not worth it. I have been Ambassador multiple years and most places I stay (mostly for business) have little recognition for status other than thanking me for my loyalty upon check in. Rarely get upgraded and even more rarely even get so much as a bottle of water.
Best to only target Platinum status. Anything higher is not worth the effort or cost.
Wish you wouldn't have spent $1000 for a status that's less valuable than Hyatt Globalist.
I didn't read many luxury Bonvoy hotel reviews, did you not write some of your stays up this year as I presume you get 40 nights from credit cards, that would make your average Bonvoy hotel cost at about $500 a night some more some less I guess or do you have some secret way to generate Bonvoy spend??
when possible try to stay at Marriott Group hotel. found the service and quality most of the times very good. (not always) Did not reach the needed amount (no credit card short cuts on this side of the ocean) Matrass run was too expensive and no really cheap hotels in the neighborhood. Trying to reach it in 2025. Looking forward to read your experiences with the reinstated ambassador level !
Looking forward to the reviews. I assume Mike knows who you are and how you make a living. Don't you think he will make the hotels you are going to stay at aware too?
Great for you of course but maybe a risk that you will get significantly better treatment compared to a "normal" Ambassador.
A friend of mine is the travel editor at a major magazine and what do you suppose?
I was Ambassador for 2-3 years until last year where I made Titanium. Didn’t notice any difference and I agree Platinum and above are pretty much the same! Some hotels don’t even recognize what the Ambassador level is. The Ambassador I had in the past was useless, like was never able to help me with ANYTHING from receipts to room upgrades…
This year, while diversifying with other hotels I ended up getting over the...
I was Ambassador for 2-3 years until last year where I made Titanium. Didn’t notice any difference and I agree Platinum and above are pretty much the same! Some hotels don’t even recognize what the Ambassador level is. The Ambassador I had in the past was useless, like was never able to help me with ANYTHING from receipts to room upgrades…
This year, while diversifying with other hotels I ended up getting over the spend limit with Bonvoy (after an expensive vacation). Early Dec I was at 95 nights and didn’t want to do a mattress run, so ended up traveling to Turkey and I’m at 99 nights now - have couple more nights booked and that will get me over the threshold.
Am I excited to make ambassador? Not really - I figured since I was too close to give them one last shot this year. If they don’t really deliver an exceptional / real differentiator I’m out. I’m already Diamond with Hhonors and Gold w/ Hotels dot.
You got sucked in. $1000 for Ambassador status. Doubt it’ll be worth it. Mike or no Mike.
This year I have ended with 138 nights and 21k usd of spending (way too many nights at cheap Sheratons in Latam). I had one more stay for holidays in Costa Rica, really thought about paying cash to reach ambassador, but finally decided to go for points (it was 3k or 300k points, so really good redemption) due to lack of real benefits and everything that I read on Flyertalk…
I was at 141 nights this year and $21.6K spend. Decided to stay 2 nights at $700 per night. I knew my stay wouldn't be worth it, but it's been almost 2 years since I lost ambassador status and I wanted to see if it's gotten better.
I've been assigned a few different ambassadors through the year. Hoping the one one will be as good or better than my first.
So glad you got Mike back! Can't wait to read the reviews about how your Ambassador status goes this year!
It looks like a complete waste of money, but you may be able to generate some content... which however will only be relevant to those holding, or aspiring to hold, the same elite level, which cannot be a massive amount of people.
If you’re short on nights rather than spending, mattress run for Ambassador seems to be no brainer.
But normal people shouldn’t go out of there way to reach Ambassador, as shitty as Platinums/Titaniums are treated, imo.
Can’t wait for the review of that Moxy hotel! I recognise my Stockholm Syndrome chain anywhere LOL
Can’t wait to see the horrible ROI reports. There are a few lemmings on FT who spend over 1K a night with Marriott and I just laugh at them. A certain DJ qualifies.
Happily Bonvoy-free since 2023!
Signed,
An embittered former Starwood Lifetime Platinum who learned about Marriott the hard way
Perplexed why the Konigshof in MUC is on your radar? It's basically a German version of Edition Hotels that is in a sort of off neighborhood. I was not impressed at all. The restaurant is good and buzzy...if you want Latin food in Munich. But, honestly, I will not stay there again. The Charles to me at a similar price is a far better overall experience.
I will give it one point though for being close to the Hauptbahnhof should you be arriving by train.
Oh you are Lucky Ben, really. If you have Mike from Canada, he is really great.
We had him before all the Marriott crap began.
As for Ambassador, Marriott certainly took the goodness out of it.
Have been an Ambassador for 6 straight years. Have had the same personal Ambassador for the same time and she is terrific. I’m really not motivated to hit Ambassador again unless they add more incentives. Pretty much the same as Titanium
How could you have a personal ambassador for six years? Personal ambassadors were discontinued at the onset of COVID and only restarted earlier this year.
I did. She was proactive and remained my personal Ambassador. That’s why I have loyalty to her and the program. In fact, during the pandemic, we traveled to both Italy and Greece, staying at several St. Regis’ in Italy and Luxury Collections in Greece. Had some of the finest suites ever, I’m sure due to most not traveling during that time
Count yourself lucky. Your experience is the exception. I would be interested to hear your assessment in three years, after a period of "normal" travel loads. If your experience is sustained, count yourself blessed. If not . . . well . . . in either case, best of luck and safe travels.
Should track your stays next year and see if you can calculate an ROI on the $1000 investment
Having been Ambassador for years, I'm done. Everyone has a story and I won't bore anyone with mine. I will continue to stay at a few properties I like but otherwise am a free agent. Out of three personal ambassadors over the years, only one was a star.
Same here. Not bothering with Marriott anymore. I'm better off just using amex and csr hotel portals and using their benefits.
Same here....been Ambassador since Starwood had it as invite-only program. Since Marriott took over, I found the status to be a waste and completely useless.
Happy that I made lifetime Titanium but I will not aspire to anything more with Bonvoy ever again. They sucked the life out of the program....
I've heard the Autograph Collection at Osaka Station has a special lounge for Ambassadors with lobster, caviar, and uni. If you get a chance please visit and report back
@ben. So...100 nights with Marriott. Out of curiosity..how many nights did you have with Hyatt, Hilton, etc. That could be an interesting post.
He starts with 40 nights simply by holding credit cards. Add another couple nights for cc spend. Then add double elite nights promotions (there were at least two this year). Actual hotel nights were probably around 30. The real challenge is the $23K marriott spend.
I vaguely recall there was some vacation rental property he did that accounted for a massive amount of spend.
He spends around 600 nights per year in hotels! Figure that one out!
Ben,
International properties do take care of ambassadors. You will normally notice the night before the hotel assigning you a suite or the best room available. They do not wait until your arrival to assign the room. I find this to be consistent in most European/Asian stays. Very rare in the US but sometimes it does happen.
Not in London. Two properties, multiple stays, available suites, management outright refused to upgrade. Other cities were fine.
It’s proportional to the number of guests with status, sadly. Many of the big global cities (London, Paris, Tokyo, Bangkok etc) have almost the same level of too may elites problem as the US, with 20-30%+ of guests sometimes eligible for suite upgrades at the higher end properties these days. The question is how far does Marriott let it go before they devalue benefits or realign status.
Allow me to restate my comment. More than once and more than a single property, on specific stays, the property had multiple upgrade-eligible suites available during my entire stay. Property management expressly stated to me that they were not going to upgrade me. I confirmed my Ambassador status and the fact that eligible suites were available during my entire stay. No dice. And, sadly, my personal ambassador would not step in.
It was not...
Allow me to restate my comment. More than once and more than a single property, on specific stays, the property had multiple upgrade-eligible suites available during my entire stay. Property management expressly stated to me that they were not going to upgrade me. I confirmed my Ambassador status and the fact that eligible suites were available during my entire stay. No dice. And, sadly, my personal ambassador would not step in.
It was not a matter of there being too many elites staying. And, certainly, it was not that there were too many Ambassadors. These suites went unoccupied. There would have been no skin off their noses to have granted the upgrade. Imagine the goodwill that could have been created. Alternatively, the goodwill that was ultimately not created.
PS - It's also worth saying that we were repeat customers at these properties. It's not as if they hadn't seen us before and would never see us again. Imagine having spent over GBP10,000 at a property in a single year. We had been loyal to those specific properties. Bugger 'em.
Just curious. How did you know that some particular rooms were not occupied?
Like with many quickly devaluing programs (as the corporate bosses just seem to view these loyalty programs as a roll-of-the-dice revenue center) I come to only value those things that are absolutely promised. For example the free breakfast, which comes at the tier far below what you're talking about here in this article.
I no longer place any stock in the probability of upgrades which are totally at the discretion of the hotel (and...
Like with many quickly devaluing programs (as the corporate bosses just seem to view these loyalty programs as a roll-of-the-dice revenue center) I come to only value those things that are absolutely promised. For example the free breakfast, which comes at the tier far below what you're talking about here in this article.
I no longer place any stock in the probability of upgrades which are totally at the discretion of the hotel (and rare) as well as the swelling ranks of people being inserted into the line ahead of me. Those have become empty promises in my book and I value them at $0. Even when I can see rooms available at 10pm check in, I still don't get any benefit. (room is not cleaned, they give me the next better room -- why didn't you give that to begin with?)
Paying to play these loyalty games is fast fading from my enthusiasm of years ago.
As an ambassador I’m still treated way better at Hyatt as globalist and lifetime Hilton. Rare true upgrades at Marriott properties - you will be disappointed - there are much better loyalty programs. I fondly remember arriving at 11 PM at a Starwood property on my birthday and they had a decorated cake wine etc setup on a table in the room. I have never experienced a pleasant surprise with Marriott.
I’m based in London and there was a brief amazing period during 2020 and 2021 in COVID when I was traveling around Europe in summer (primarily Spain and Greece) and Ambassador status was spectacular, presumably because there were few other status guests around and even fewer Ambassadors. Was a glimpse of what could have been if Marriott was interested in making Ambassador worthwhile - I had multiple upgrades to speciality suite-level rooms or above at...
I’m based in London and there was a brief amazing period during 2020 and 2021 in COVID when I was traveling around Europe in summer (primarily Spain and Greece) and Ambassador status was spectacular, presumably because there were few other status guests around and even fewer Ambassadors. Was a glimpse of what could have been if Marriott was interested in making Ambassador worthwhile - I had multiple upgrades to speciality suite-level rooms or above at very nice hotels (St. Regis Mallorca, Domes Miramare, Mystique, etc.). Then from 2022 onwards travel came roaring back and Marriott continued with the deliberate inflation of elite ranks and the decline in benefits from pre-COVID resumed.
I earned Ambassador through stays and spend in both 2020 and 2021 but got nothing for it as Marriott just rolled everyone else’s status over anyway. That was the eventual wake up for me that Ambassador was never going to be about providing anything extra in practice any longer and so moved to Hyatt instead as my big chain in 2023.
It feels to me like we’re going to get a “is Ambassador worth it?” piece in six months with the obvious conclusion of no (unless you are unfortunate enough to be staying in Marriott hotels almost full time). Marriott has no interest in providing proper loyalty benefits any longer, it’s too big and just doesn’t need to care about offering them.
Have stayed at Grand Bretagne in Athens 7 times, 6 outside of the pandemic era as an Ambassador and have 100% received a suite upgrade. Same at Vedema Santorini, MonAsty Thessaloniki, and Santa Marina Mykonos
If not usable for content, yes.
Considering it’s your j
Ambassador for 4 years, this year I fell short @ 18k and 111 nights. I diversifed a bit with IHG achveid Diamond pretty fast The 23k of Marriott is a killer. Titanium I gathered wasn't much less. Let's see for 2025.