As was promised in late 2022, personalized Marriott Ambassador service will be restored shortly. This is great news for Marriott’s top tier elite members.
In this post:
What is Marriott Ambassador status?
First for some context, Ambassador is Marriott Bonvoy’s highest elite status tier. Ordinarily Ambassador status requires earning 100 elite nights plus spending $23,000 “qualifying” dollars with the company in a given year (this amount was raised by 15% as of 2023, as the spending requirement was previously $20,000).
Historically there have been two primary incremental perks for Ambassador Elite over Titanium Elite (the latter requires 75 elite nights with no spending requirement):
- You get Ambassador service, where you have a single point of contact at Marriott who helps you with anything you need, and looks after your stays
- You get Your24, giving you flexible check-in and check-out times; subject to availability you can check in anytime and stay for 24 hours
The catch is that Marriott Ambassador members haven’t been receiving personalized service since 2021, and instead have had access to a shared email address and phone number. Fortunately that will be changing soon.
Marriott restoring personalized Ambassador service
In late 2022, Marriott announced it would restore personalized Ambassador service as of mid-2023. Fortunately that’s now close to becoming a reality. Bonvoy Ambassador members should be receiving an email shortly, informing them of this. Here’s what that email says:
We have big news — your personal Ambassador will be reaching out to you next month. We hope you’re as excited as we are! Our team has been working behind the scenes to make sure that everything is ready for this new, customized service.
Starting in June, your Ambassador will reach out to get to know you and unlock exceptional travel experiences with personal touches.
As we prepare for this next milestone, we encourage you to take a moment to personalize your profile with your travel preferences. This first step is essential for getting the most out of your travels and experiences.
We’re thrilled to offer you this exclusive relationship in addition to continued access to our Anytime Ambassador team members, who can assist you with urgent or time-sensitive requests. We look forward to sharing the adventures ahead!
I’m happy to see Marriott restoring Ambassador service with the promised timeline, and arguably even faster than promised.
Is the return of personalized Ambassador service a big deal?
It’s nice to see that personalized Ambassador service hasn’t been permanently cut from the program, and is making a comeback. This is definitely a step in the right direction, though it’s hard to say exactly how valuable it is:
- The quality of personalized Ambassador service is highly dependent on the person you’re assigned, with some being fantastic, and some being not-so-great (at least pre-pandemic)
- It’s anyone’s guess what staffing will be like for this service once it’s relaunched; in other words, how many Ambassador members is each person being assigned, as that will dictate how personalized the service is
- Keep in mind that World of Hyatt Globalist members with 60 elite nights through Milestone Rewards get a personalized concierge as well, which is much more attainable; however, I’ve heard widespread reports from readers that the general quality of this has decreased over time
While I’m a Titanium nowadays, I was Ambassador back in the day. Personally I don’t think the incremental value proposition is there, unless you’d otherwise automatically qualify for the status, or have an amazing representative. I think it’s hard to beat going for Platinum or Titanium status with Marriott Bonvoy by earning 40 elite nights per year through co-branded Marriott credit cards.
Bottom line
Marriott will be restoring personalized service for Ambassador members as of June 2023, after suspending this service well over two years ago. It’s good to see Marriott resume this, though it’s anyone’s guess what the quality will be like.
Given the huge incremental requirements for earning Ambassador status over Titanium and Platinum status, I just don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze, unless you’d naturally stay at Marriotts that much.
I’m curious to hear some firsthand reports of this service in the coming weeks.
What do you make of Marriott restoring personalized Ambassador service?
$23,000 doesn’t go as far as it used to these days
With all the complaints here and threats to move, how come every time I check there are 30+ Titaniums or Ambassadors every time I stay.
You know that that the vocal commenters are like 2% of the people that read this blog (or blogs for that matter) and then 0.02% of the Bonvoy membership (mostly the higher ranks). Alot of travelers just end up getting status because of work/etc and don't pay attention to this stuff. I was Titanium and PP with AA for 3+ years before I ever read a travel blog.
So far Ambassador Service is really a joke.
I have not had really any extra help from this service …. Not really worth it. I recently asked for an adjoining room for My Mother in Law to stay close to my husband and I ( she recently lost her husband of 60 years and it was her bday) and I and when I got there, she was a long way away. I was told...
So far Ambassador Service is really a joke.
I have not had really any extra help from this service …. Not really worth it. I recently asked for an adjoining room for My Mother in Law to stay close to my husband and I ( she recently lost her husband of 60 years and it was her bday) and I and when I got there, she was a long way away. I was told we had adjoining by the Ambassador.
I have had 1 out of probably 10 experiences that was really helpful to me. So not sure what this service is actually really good for. In defense of the actual Ambassadors, I don’t think they have any power to do anything!
I stopped staying long term at Marriott, there lack of any real perk with Ambassador service changed my view on them. Nit sure if I want to try it again
I was not able to use any of the Ambassador perks so switched hotels
Useless benefit (we can’t actually call it a benefit). Been Ambassador for the past few years, pré-Covid I had an Ambassador who never tried to impress, as a matter of fact having an ambassador was consuming my time without leading to any additional tangible benefits. I’ll give Marriott one last chance for the reminder of the year since I have the status but my strategy moving forward is no airline or hotel loyalty. I’ll fly...
Useless benefit (we can’t actually call it a benefit). Been Ambassador for the past few years, pré-Covid I had an Ambassador who never tried to impress, as a matter of fact having an ambassador was consuming my time without leading to any additional tangible benefits. I’ll give Marriott one last chance for the reminder of the year since I have the status but my strategy moving forward is no airline or hotel loyalty. I’ll fly whatever and stay wherever since true benefits depend on the $ you spend and not being loyal. Heading to few countries in Asia and for the first time in a long time, I booked mostly non-Marriott (proud of myself)!
The only loyalty property owners care about is the loyalty to their specific properties. Not to the network. For a while now, my wife and I have stayed at hotels not belonging to loyalty programs. We are frequent regulars at three. They know us and we know them. They heap perks upon us. Upgrades. Pool cabana. When fully booked, tables at their restaurants open up. And, we liberally express our appreciation.
I was Ambassador in 2016 and again 2019-2022. I felt no increased benefit by having a personal Ambassador. The only thing helpful about Ambassador status in general is the My24 check in, but even that was hit and miss. Many hotels didn't honor it or didn't have rooms available when needed. I also had 25 suite nights expire because my requests to use them were always denied. I'd say beyond platinum, the other status ranks are pretty useless.
When ambassadors were still personal ambassadors, service was hit or miss depending on the specific ambassador you had. Some loved their ambassadors. Mine was MIA. Mine might respond to a message months later, if at all. Having previously been an Ambassador for a few years, I experienced no meaningful benefit from that tier status.
First year Ambassador level, and extremely underwhelmed. I've called twice and have been told they can't help me unless I provide my Bonvoy number (no way to look it up by my name, credit card, email?). The Platinum line is actually more responsive/helpful. So, not sure I'm motivated to maintain considering I'm lifetime Platinum.
I have been a Titanium Elite for more than 5 years and the quality of service from Marriott properties keep on deteriorating since the pandemic. I see no value currently in trying to maintain my current level let alone going for Ambassador. Marriott should really up their game otherwise they will lose their most loyal customers to other brands
That's not just Marriott. Many hotels have really waned since Covid. Even predicable economy lodgings are worse. I stayed in a Homewood Suites that looked like the Upside Down and smelled worse.
I would say I'm a close mirror of your experience Alpha, Titanium since the Starwood merger as well (6 years) and it's hit and miss all the time. But I also would strongly agree with Andrew's comments as well, the hotel industry is really just eating up profit at the moment and will only treat loyalty members good again when things slow down (economy in the toilet).
Unless these ambassadors can do something for members beyond "personalization" by automatically inserting your name at the start of an e-mail, or this whole thing is just pointless. Might as well just outsource it to ChatGPT.
Careful what you wish for.
When it comes to "personalization"
Competent agent > DIY > incompetent agent > ChatGPT. (I give benefit of doubt the position of latter 2)
I doubt you can appeal ChatGPT's decision to upgrade you 2 rooms down the hall.