Sheraton Safari upgrade for a Priceline booking ?

[idno9999]

Just got the Sheraton Safari with a PL bid. I am also a Starwood Gold member . Sheraton website says they will not provide automatic upgrades if rooms are reserved thru' Pre-Paid channels ( PL, Hotwire etc) to Gold and Platinum customers .

Would love to hear from SPG Gold Members who won PL bids AND got an automatic upgrade.

Thanks

 

[Connears]

Just got the Sheraton Safari with a PL bid. I am also a Starwood Gold member . Sheraton website says they will not provide automatic upgrades if rooms are reserved thru' Pre-Paid channels ( PL, Hotwire etc) to Gold and Platinum customers .

Would love to hear from SPG Gold Members who won PL bids AND got an automatic upgrade.

Thanks

I am goldmember also..don't plan on an upgrade with priceline reservation.
Connears

 

[SB in KY]

We have stayed there a couple of times on SPG points and were always upgraded to the suites...but on our last visit there was a man arguing with the clerk about getting his free upgrade because he was SPG Platinum and they refused because it was a Priceline reservation.

Can't say I blame them...no chains that I am aware of will upgrade on Priceline ressies regardless of status. (just like they don't give points for Priceline stays).

 

[Brian Noble]

Your only hope is a poorly-trained clerk at check-in. If you want the upgrade badly enough, ask the clerk who checks you in if it's possible to pay for an upgrade. Decide in advance what it's worth to you.

 

[DianeV]

On the other hand we got the Dolphin which is the same company through Priceline once and we were upgraded because of our membership. We received a resort view with balcony room and I know they probably dont just give those out

 

[disneyagain]

We were upgraded to the SPG suite last December on our priceline bid ($40) at Sheraton Safari. I think the front desk clerk made a mistake. I pulled out my SPG preferred card to make sure that It was listed as a stay and he said they were upgrading us to the Starwood suites. The clerk never looked at the reservation until after he upgraded me, then he had a funny look on his face, so I figure I got a bonus on that one!

 

[Brian Noble]

I pulled out my SPG preferred card to make sure that It was listed as a stay

As I understand it, PL (and similar) stays shouldn't even count as credits, let alone be upgraded. You definitely got lucky. As for the Dolphin experience---Swan/Dolphin haven't shown up on PL in ages, so I'm guessing this is at least a year old? If so, I believe Starwood has more recently started to crack down more.

This seems pretty reasonable to me. The frequent stay programs are intended to reward business travelers (who, coincidentally, pay business rates). It is almost impossible for a leisure traveler to rack up enough stays to gain status. Expecting those perks when you are paying just slightly more than internal cost for the room is looking a gift horse in the mouth.

If I were the OP, I'd present my card at check in to see what happens. If the clerk doesn't offer an upgrade, I'd enquire if it is possible to pay for one, and see what the clerk says. If it were a reasonable cost, I'd probably go for it.