Marriott Bonvoy has launched a new automatic room upgrade system that should provide a smoother check-in process and take some guesses from elite members of applicable room upgrades.
This is how the new process works and what it means to you.
How to upgrade a Marriott room
Members of Marriott Elite members and above are eligible for free room upgrades upon arrival, for example, they can access rooms on higher floors or better views.
Until recently, elite members often had to wish or even ask for an upgrade upon arrival, and their chances of getting one seemed to depend in part on their persuasion and the staff working at the front desk at the time.
In theory, the new technology will automatically upgrade elite guests before entering the property, thus making some guesswork work.
The system will first approve the Night Upgrade Award, starting five days before signing in to most brands, at the Ritz-Carlton, St Regis and the version three days before. It will then assign free room upgrades to elite members starting at 3pm the day before check-in.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with TPG Daily Newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG experts
The process has not been fully automated yet. Once the system has completed this, the hotel staff will still have to assign available upgrade rooms and confirm each room.
According to a company spokesperson, “The staff and members provided overwhelmingly positive feedback during our initial pilots and we are pleased to launch this technology globally.”
How do I ensure an upgrade?
Unfortunately, the answer is: You still can’t. Elite members are often more rooms available and there is no guarantee that you will catch one of them.
If you don’t want to roll dice on free upgrades, you can try to redeem your nightly upgrade prize. These awards can help you confirm the upgrade earlier, but your upgrade request will not be considered until five days before your check-in – there is no guarantee that it will be approved. Additionally, the nightly upgrade awards are only redeemed in selected brands.
Bottom line
The good news is that Marriott’s new automatic room upgrade system should make the upgrade approval process easier and more fairer for the upgrade approval process for Golden Elite and above, and you should know if you have upgraded before stepping into the hotel. However, if you want to guarantee an upgrade, consider redeeming your Bonvoy points as a premium room or upgrading with a Marriott credit card.
