Marriott Bonvoy Confirmed Suite Upgrade Downgrade

Really unacceptable behavior by this hotel, confirming a suite was available for all four nights in order to sucker you into staying there and then taking it away for the first two nights when you are staying on points. Others both here and on Flyertalk experienced similar deceptive tactics by the Aegon management. The hotels false claims to have beachfront rooms as well as infrastructure on the beach that it does not have amply demonstrate this is intentional conduct by management and not an accident. Frankly, all of this smacks of a hotel desperate to get tourist dollars in, no matter what it takes.

Who wants to deal with this kind of upsetting non-sense on holiday? That one of the owners thought it appropriate to confront Ben and accuse him of illegal activity for posting the Marriott website photo next to his own on this website indicates this bad attitude towards their guests comes from the top. Postings and photos on Flyertalk about this hotel indicate that the owner's dogs are free to roam through the dining room, begging for food from diners or sitting on the banquette at an adjoining table, and that business meetings with the owners are held in the area where breakfast is served while guests are there. These activities, condoned by the owners, is not consistent with the kind of environment expected by guests to a "five star" resort charging 1000 Euros per night.

Best to avoid this place until they bring in new management and/or new owners take over.

I understand that that upgrade is subject to availability upon check in . I still feel even if they have “confirmed” you the upgrade it seems they also have sent another mail on a timely that the upgrade request has been declined . If this is the case I feel that they would have their right doing so since they had a system error which can happen . I understand that this is not an explanation one would like to hear but unfortunately it does happen . This also can happen to airlines and if there is no vacancy they obviously can’t give you another room. I am almost certain that Marriott also didn’t use your points to redeem those two nights .

We are dealing with this same issue right now, at the AC Venezia for 4 nights. We are Titanium and this vacation puts us at Lifetime Platinum. Our situation is slightly different. We booked 2 twin beds in January. We were offered one option for an upgrade if available, a junior suite which we checked. Now 5 days inside the reservation, a junior suite room was available for all 4 nights and we were not upgraded. We have spent the last 4 days trying to find out why. At the last minute 5 days out. I booked the suite myself using my Marriot Credit card to show the suite was available. I was told we didn't get traded in because we booked a twin bedded room. We were told if we booked a queen bedroom, we would be upgraded. Imagine our surprise when it didn't happen. I thought the front desk managed was full of you know what. The only thing that happened was our 5 suite nights vanished. Thinking back I think that was their plan all along. We are have spend the better art of the last few days trying to get this fixed to no avail so far.

Marriott on the whole is vastly disappointing their obscenely over priced awards are way higher than SPG was for one
It’s way more expensive to redeem typically then to use revenue
Do they lower the price of awards of course not!
hotels use Marriott as their cash flow revenue pig and many screw the customer because they can.Sure they have some cherry properties that meet or exceed expectations but many are simply blood suckers
Post pandemic there is even less brand assurance than before as many in and out of corporate have been let go
At your own risk
They can’t be avoided if one is a program junkie
I avoid them staying with the jewel properties that are proven

I work front office for Marriott, and when this happens, it could be 2 or more separate suites available, (if a guest confirmed a connecting room, certain floor, etc.) causing a one night availability in that room number (not suite category). When SNAs are approved, it’s done automatically, and it only looks at the room category…not the room number. So in the eyes of Marriott, yes, the suite is available, but not the same room. It might be room 100 for 1 night and 450 the next night. It has nothing to do with inventory control, it’s the system only looking at the room category, not the room numbers.

When this does happen, it is difficult to explain to many guests, as it understandably gets confusing. We do refund the SNA, but it needs approval from Marriott Bonvoy, the property has zero control on that.

The hotel is usually on the side of the guest, as it makes their life easier, the guest’s life easier and makes more sense financially.

I hope this gives some insight.

Recently I finished my vacation trip to FL last month to make an unforgettable trip with my family. My son has been finishing his medical degree and starting residency from Jun. He thought in future he might not have enough time to spend with us on vacation. I inquired about the hotels in Miami and was told being a Titanium member woul get the room upgraded if available. I booked the most expensive hotel in Miami and surprised when the hotel rep told me on my check-in, the Marriott membership status is not honoured by this hotel. If you need upgrade pay for it. Another surprise I got when found no coffee maker in the room. I hate the business when they commit differently at the time of booking not promising the benefits they outlined in the status. Even though I called the Marriott Bonvoy about the Titanium benefits violation. The rep could not provide me the right answer other than offering 2000 points to compensate the inconveniences. This is an embrassment of my feelings and time. My purpose to call them was to be true with customers and value their purpose and time, and be true to the commitment.

In future, might not be continuing business with Marriott to main the status.

It sounds to me like the hotel probably had a request for the suite after the award had been confirmed and the hotel decided that they could not pass on the opportunity for the additional revenue. It is certainly strange since the suite should have shown as unavailable after the redemption. Maybe a regular guest or some VIP made the request directly with the hotel. I would expect something like this to happen very rarely.

I don't think there is much benefit in arguing with the hotel. It's unlikely that they would ever abandon their glitch theory if they did indeed bend the rules. Might be better to write to Bonvoy with the evidence of what happened and see how they sort it out. At least they should put the 4 suite upgrades back into your account.

By the way, I never claimed the welcome amenity penalty either since I also feel that the process is weird and I am worried about getting some hotel employee into trouble over this. I discussed this with Bonvoy at one point, but they seem to like their system as it is. Maybe they are aware of the fact that they created a rule that looks quite generous in print, but is actually so awkward in reality that hardly anyone ever makes a claim.

In a sense, I do believe that the hotel should act on this error. Compensation in one way or another should be provided. And knowing hospitality at this level, they generally don’t disappoint. Following up after the fact with a friendly but firm reminder should do the trick.

However, the colourful response by Mr. Brant is only partly true in my view. Not addressing the issue might lead to negligence, yes. However, entitlement to anything on behalf of status is nothing more than a hobby - it’s not a right. It’s a privilege and remains at the discretion of the hotel. If you want to be treated a king, pay as one (and don’t trust on status through your employer or client). My experience as an ambassador is that you get more if you are friendly but firm: it’s all about asking, not demanding. I’ve seen plenty of screaming members that were not helped, whilst I got that upgrade straight after them by just smiling to the receptionist. Acts of kindness are rewarded.

Bottom line, you can kindly ask for some compensation and underline your loyalty. But if you don’t, that’s at your discretion. Loyalty programs are certainly not that important to become un-gentlemanly.

I just stayed at a Marriott in San Jose and was happy to finally be able to use my suite night awards (it is Mission Impossible in my experience). An hour after the confirmation email from Marriott the hotel sent another email saying they couldn't honor the upgrade.

That was better than a past stay in Bogota where they used my suite night upgrades to put me in a smaller room with an upper floor view to a low floor smaller room facing the parking lot. Thanks for the upgrade!!

Marriott has never recovered from the incompetent roll out of Bonvoy unfortunately. I'm lifetime Titanium and Marriott is relegated to third choice for my trips now.

To Brant...rude! I guess for some, it truly is a challenge to be nice to others. What would you do Brant, not how would you criticize the author of this article!

In communicating with corporate in regards to your experience, you need to have your voice heard. If you planned a family trip around certain accommodations, then those should be honored and upheld with a guarantee. That's part of the service you're paying for... the entire package.

Status with an airline or hotel for example, come from loyalty to that particular product or service. I'm not saying they need a complete compensation of sorts, but some type of reimbursement for the inconveniences.

I recently made a road trip to Nashville, Florida and back via Hilton Head. I have 10 suite night awards. While booking many stays for this trip at many hotels including JW and Ritz, I was able to use confirm 8 suite nights. However everyone of these was ultimately changed to not available during mobile check in. These awards are fairly useless. In the past three years I have never been able to actually secure one. Marriott is very good at offering what looks like a great perk, but the rug gets pulled last minute. I find the Suite night award program some what insulting but consistent with the level of service by this organization. I have submitted three actual complaints over the past few years and I never received any response. They need to kick it up a notch.

This is ridiculous. The Bonvoy program has stated rules. Rules that assumably both we and Marriott properties have to abide by. For as much as most of us stay at these hotels, they should be bending over backwards to make good on the program they put out there.

I agree with one of the other commentors - as a well known and followed travel blogger, if you don't stand up to this kind of bait and switch then what hope do the rest of us have when we run into this ourselves. And for what it's worth, I like many others continue to run into challenges regarding the rules of this program. There continue to be many instances when Marriott properties push the boundaries of "forgetting" or *overselling " or whatever they claim to not honor what they have promoted. And the "we don't have any more upgrade availability" or "it's a system glitch" schemes are the most typical ones out there.

LOL, at first I thought we all have been Bonvoyed with a massive devaluation on suite upgrade benefit. Or has it?

In your case (and hopefully an isolated one), I see this is between the property and Bonvoy not you. One of these party needs to compensate you for the confirmed downgrade.

Maybe solicit help from other blogs who specialize on demanding (and surprisingly often get more than fair) compensation.

I know your ethical standards on receiving special treatments and trying to avoid such situation, and I respect that very much.
But I think this is crossing the line. You are not demanding compensation for petty stuff such a broken light bulb, or missing soap, or the front desk line was long, or kids making loud noise. (on every visit)

Please escalate this and share us the outcome of it.
Personally, I feel this is 10x worse than being lied to at check-in that no suite upgrades are available at 11pm when the property is selling 3+ of such rooms.

As a current Accounting Manager for a Marriott branded property, I would definitely speak with either Accounting or the hotel manager. Once a SNA has been confirmed there should never be a change after unless and unforseen issue (like the previous guest flooded the room) yes that serious. You should definitely be compensated if you have the proof. I have been a manager for just about every hotel department and the manager in mean says to make this right! Be polite about it to whom you speak with but stress the essence of how upsetting it was and the inconveniences caused by it.

Hey Ben, I’ve had issues and successes with the Suite Upgrade awards and recently had a hotel confirm with me that it’s actually Bonvoy who confirms the suites, not the hotel. I would recommend reaching out to Bonvoy first and explaining the situation, forward your confirmations and ask for a solution. It always makes a difference when Bonvoy goes through their channels to rectify something vs an individual. Just my thoughts.

I agree on the $100 compensation benefit, it’s awkward. I’d email the front desk manager, explain the situation and ask what steps to take. If they offer the $100 great, if they push back then contact Bonvoy.

It’s never a good feeling to have to fight for a benefit or Bonvoy guarantee, but if they won’t honour it then why have us work hard to gain status?

My guess is that they were able to sell the room, and then justify it as a system glitch. Usually, platinum and titanium concierge is the best route to go to resolve this. I would either take the junior suite for four nights and get my voucher back (as it was not the requested upgrade) or if I didn't mind moving rooms I would ask them for the status based upgrade for the first two nights, and have those two vouchers returned. When Marriott gets involved on your behalf, the hotel tends to hold themselves more accountable, and whatever solution is agreed upon typically happens with documentation to back you up if it doesn't and need to call in again.
With almost all properties offering limited housekeeping during your stay, changing rooms is like instant service, so there is that benefit. No waiting for someone to come clean the room, or having to leave for that to happen. I hope it all worked out for you.