Another datapoint from this month for a Gold companion put up in another hotel at the same time but just wanting to see how treatment would be at a different hotel.
Hotell: Hotel C (Stockholm)
Nätter: 1
Bokat: Compact Room (no windows)
Fick: (Silently) Refused to provide upgrade and made to wait while they waited for the booked room type to become available.
Status: Gold
When asking for an upgrade as the hotel was selling all category of rooms still, was far from fully booked and housekeeping overwhelmingly finished, check-in agent spent a lot of time looking for a room and only reluctantly “upgraded” to a compact double or maybe moderate double with window, but picked one of the two or three closest rooms to Arlanda Express and right above the main entrance way so even whatever hits the awning can keep the guest entertained. (Room 107). Based on the app, the room assignment at initial check-in went from 332 to 209 to 107 before a key was issued for 107. Dealt with a different check-in agent and told them that the hotel seem opposed to upgrading and the hotel didn’t seem amenable to be asked for an available upgrade for a Gold, and it was quite clear that the agent deliberately picked a room to send an unwelcome message on top of making the guest wait so long while just about everyone who came in the hours between were allowed to check-in. For what it’s worth, as a Platinum I have had better treatment at the hotel but only on higher rates for rooms booked with windows.
Very bad look, Strawberry. Especially when having also allowed early check-in to lots of customers with lower or no Strawberry elite status just so the hotel can be more of a practitioner of “you are your rate this time” regardless of your elite status level. The guest who spends 800 SEK one night is the same guest who spends 3 times that for another night in the same neighborhood and 100 times that a year for hotel rooms in the city. Not business worth alienating, if you ask me. If the hotel wants to have a Comfort XPress or Sommerro approach to upgrades and be excluded, then they should have rebranded or otherwise got it in the terms and conditions for the membership; otherwise, do your duty and deliver as stipulated in the membership program.
It’s situations like this that make me hope even more that Strawberry put back the availability to see on the app what category room was actually assigned. I am curious if Strawberry even cares to keep track of this stuff with upgrade compliance for Platinums and Golds.