Landing Gear

This question has come up in another thread concerning the Four Seasons in Scottsdale but I think it's worth discussing separately.

Are there any agents (e.g. AMEX, Virtuoso, etc.) who can get you upgraded from a room to a suite at a luxury hotel?

If so, is this an "instant upgrade" like the American Airlines YUP or KUP fares in which you pay for a coach ticket but get booked into the first class cabin or is it on the basis of "if available at the time of check-in?"

Kagehitokiri

IC RA and RC owners can receive 2+ category upgrades, all others are 1 category. confirmed means done at time of booking not checkin.

confirmed upgrades >
-some virtuoso http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11784185-post66.html
-some centurion FHR
-some Quintessentially
-IC RA (1 or 2 category)
-kempinski private concierge (i think)
-first hotels (boutique chain) (top elite level)
confirmed upgrade (from lowest rate to base suite) >
-RC owners (definitely residential, not sure about fractional)

i think thats about it..

* edit - apparently i have IC RA described incorrectly

Kagehitokiri

you can check FHR rates online and get an idea.

occasionally FHR rates do not include an upgrade.

if you read this forum, FHR thread in amex forum, and RA thread in IC forum, youll find examples of upgrades and confirmed upgrades. also the "best suite" thread in this forum has a number of upgrade stories.

that last thread at the bottom is this thread, i just added it to the sticky.

also >
if you want to look at some more details on centurion confirmed upgrades.

luxury

I have been upgraded from a Deluxe room to a Standard Suite at the Four Seasons Singapore. I have also been upgraded from a Premier room to a Duplex Suite at the Four Seasons George V. Both upgrades were "surprises" at check-in. I did book via a Virtuoso and Preferred Partner Travel agency but perhaps equally as important is that I have a relationship with the said hotel as well as being a Profile Guest with Four Seasons.

As a Royal Ambassador I have been upgraded from a Premier room to the Presidential Suite at the Inter-Continental Singapore but I believe this had more to do with the hotel being fully committed. I was actually looking forward to the Shophouse Suite I would have received normally.

I recall seeing a Leader's Club promotion at Hayman where a room booking did get you a guaranteed time of booking upgrade to a suite.

On the whole, suite upgrades from a standard room are simply sweet upgrades and do not, in my experience, happen often without many other factors involved. I have been fortunate to have experienced some very nice suite upgrades -- some on comped return stays (service recovery), some from a Jr. Suite/Exec Suite to a (sometimes a much) larger suite, and on the odd occasion from a standard room to a nice suite. YMMV

Kettering Northants QC

Travel Agents such as Kuoni periodically offer upgrades to suites at specific hotels at various times of year providing you meet certain criteria.

One v good example I recall is an upgrade to a superiour suite (main wing) at the Peninsula in Hong Kong if you stay 3 nights in, i think, June-August. About £200 a night

Others I recall, not luxury, but a good 4 star - Dusit Chiang Rai, through several agents offers upgrades to Landmark Suites with one night free in three, April- October, works out about £40 a night

Kagehitokiri

there are a number of properties that will offer an upgrade on every room/suite category. offhand, here are some examples of suite upgrades at starwood properties:

virtuoso >
st regis NYC - confirmed upgrade from grand luxe room to astor suite

FHR (at checkin) >
grand bretagne - x > 1BR suite > 2BR suite
westin st john - x > 1BR villa > 2BR villa > 3BR villa
bristol - x > top suite
imperial - x > top suite

ABG

I think the entire topic is summed up when Luxury writes YMMV (your mileage may vary). However, as a general rule of thumb, short 1 or 2 night stays can be upgraded much easier than something that is an extended stay at a city hotel. Resorts upgrades are dictated by seasons (high, shoulder, low).

Additional upgrade consideration comes from your TA, their network affiliation (be it FHR, Virtuoso or Ensemble), your relationship or status with a brand (SPG Plat for example).

An upgrade is not a god given right, but pleasant when it does happen.

Kagehitokiri

good point re length of stay.

but if you are looking at properties that upgrade at time of booking, and no upgrades are available, you can consider other options..

robyng

I can count the upgrades we've received over the years on one hand. And the few times we've received upgrades - it was because the lower end rooms in the hotel were 100% booked with people who were part of some group - and it was better to upgrade a couple who wasn't part of the group for a night or two than upgrading someone who was in the group (no hard feelings that way). Note that most of our stays are fairly long by most standards (5 days+) - and that since we're leisure travelers - we rarely stay at the same place more than once or twice. Those are a couple of reasons we probably don't get upgrades more than once in a blue room. At this point - I simply book the room I am happy to stay in - as opposed to booking a room I don't want and crossing my fingers and hoping for an upgrade.

I do recommend paying attention to the range of rooms available in particular hotels - and what different rooms cost. For example - at the FS Marunouchi - about $100-150 above the base rate gets you a room that is much bigger and nicer than the basic room. At the FS in Scottsdale - that same $100-150 in season will get you a slightly better view of some not very exciting hills (and the same size room). And I would pay extra attention when the property is older - especially in Europe - where all the rooms are different sizes - and the basic rooms can be very very small. If a hotel doesn't have room size information on its web site - it is usually easy to get the information from reservations by phone or email.

Also - if you use a travel agent - compare the quote from the travel agent with what's available on line. I have been able to find stay 2 - get 1 night free kinds of offers on line (just did that last month at the FS Miami). I am not sure that all travel agents will explore all these packages and offer them to you if they're available.

FWIW - one of my pet peeves about even luxury hotels is that many have large rooms - but only one bathroom (we had a higher end room at the Peninsula in Chicago that was like that). I'd give up a lot of square feet to have at least 1 1/2 baths in a junior suite or higher room. Then again - I always travel with my husband - and we're used to having more than one bathroom at home. Robyn

alpharosean

I've also been upgraded at the George V when I was 16 or 17 years old, staying one night alone. It was supposed to be the cheapest room, but upon arrival, I was told that I got upgraded to a Jr. Suite. Great surprise!! I don't remember how the room was booked. I think the hotel was fully booked up that night.

Last month, we were upgraded from a Suite without view to with a fantastic view at the Luna Baglioni in Venice, and from Jr Suire to Elegant Suite at the Principe Di Savoia in Milan. Both booked via LHW.