One of the big perks of Marriott Bonvoy elite status (particularly Platinum status and above) is complimentary upgrades subject to availability. The issue is, elite ranks have really been swelled over the years, and it sure feels like there’s not much transparency to the whole process.
So Marriott is trialing a new concept, whereby the hotel group shows an upgrade list, similar to what you’ll find at airlines. I first covered this a couple of days ago, but would like to provide an update, as the company has officially announced this, including sharing the planned rollout of this concept.
Is this a step in the right direction when it comes to transparency, or a new way for Marriott to monetize and deny upgrades?
Marriott app shows “Your Complimentary Upgrade Status”
Marriott has developed and is currently beta testing an elite upgrade list, a new Marriott Bonvoy app feature that provides eligible members with the ability to see their position on the upgrade list before arrival. Marriott explains that members have consistently said they want greater visibility into complimentary upgrades, and this is intended to address that.
The feature is currently available for a small subset of hotels, and will expand to 250+ hotels in the United States and Canada by early November 2026.
The idea is that close to the date of arrival, this page of the app shows “Your Complimentary Upgrade Status,” and it displays both the estimated number of upgrades available, as well as your current position in line for an upgrade. For example, in the below screenshot, it shows zero upgrades available, and the member being number two for an upgrade.
The app then indicates that they’ll let the member know one day in advance if their complimentary upgrade is confirmed. Then the small print notes that the estimated upgrades available reflect rooms matching booked stay dates and bed types, and that Nightly Upgrade Awards are prioritized before complimentary upgrades, and are not reflected in the numbers.
It goes without saying that there are still a lot more questions than answers here. For example, some upgrades are only processed overnight the day before arrival, or early on the day of arrival, so how does that fit into the concept of these upgrades confirming one day in advance? Also, exactly which rooms are hotels including in this alleged upgrade pool?
Is this about transparency, or is there an ulterior motive?
There’s no denying that the major hotel groups have seen their pool of elite members inflated massively over the years, especially as the hotels centrally “mint” more elite members with credit card deals.
Understandably, this can make it hard for hotels to manage expectations — elite members think they’re special, but when everyone is special, no one is special. So we’ve seen some hotels start to post signs listing the number of elite members on property, presumably with the intent of helping people manage expectations.
If you’re a Platinum member but you know that over 100 people either have the same status as you, or maybe higher status, then maybe you won’t be as upset if you don’t get a great upgrade.
We also know that Marriott already has a secret way it prioritizes room upgrades, and even has an AI tool that it now uses to prioritize upgrades.
So that brings us to this latest change. On the one hand, I do think the upgrade waitlist concept adds some transparency, and I appreciate that. However, the current amount of information shared through the list is so limited that I think it almost borders on useless. What rooms are actually being considered for this? And also, there’s a difference between an upgrade to a high floor and a suite upgrade, yet the list has no nuance for that.
All that being said, we’re talking about Marriott here, and I can’t help but think that there’s another play to all of this, and that Marriott might be trying to take a page out of the airline playbook in another way. Remember how first class upgrades used to be really common, and aren’t anymore?
Over the years, airlines have gotten much better at monetizing their first class cabins. Part of that includes getting more aggressive about selling upgrades, including at big discounts as the travel day approaches. Hotels are also leaning more into selling upgrades in advance to elite members, and one certainly has to wonder about the next evolution to this concept.
“You’re number two on the upgrade list, and there’s only one upgrade available… but for just $X, you can confirm that room and skip the upgrade list!” Anyway, we’ll mark this as “developing” for now, especially since it’s still just in beta mode.
Bottom line
Marriott is trialing a new upgrade list concept, whereby elite members are being told how many rooms are available for upgrades, and where they rank, with the idea being that upgrades will confirm one day before arrival. This is expected to be rolled out at 250+ hotels in the United States and Canada by early November 2026.
Transparency with hotel upgrades has always been a challenge, especially given the number of people theoretically eligible for upgrades. So on the one hand, this is a step in the right direction when it comes to transparency. On the other hand, I have to imagine there’s another motive here (better monetizing of upgrades?), and also feel like this list is so basic as to almost be useless. Is the room I’m potentially eligible to upgrade to a basic room five floors up, or a suite?
What do you make of Marriott’s upgrade list concept?
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