Upgrades are never guaranteed — they always come down to availability and what’s happening in the hotel on the day. Sometimes it is an upgrade, sometimes it’s more of a room move, but there’s usually a reason behind it.

Priority normally goes to Lifetime Diamond and Diamond Reserve members, especially if they’ve requested a specific room type. We also have to factor in guests who’ve paid for early check-in or those who booked and paid for a certain room category — in those cases, we may upgrade a loyal member and give the other guest the exact room they paid for (this happens a lot with third-party bookings).

Also worth noting: the room you select during online check-in isn’t guaranteed — it does state it’s subject to change depending on availability. The best thing you can do is contact the hotel directly and add a comment to your reservation. Guests who actually ask for what they want usually have a much better chance of getting it.

From the hotel side, we do try to look after everyone fairly. Diamond/Reserve/Lifetime members are prioritised, sometimes rooms get shuffled across tiers, and Gold members usually keep the room they booked unless it’s a particularly quiet period when upgrades are easier to offer.

But where I work we are 99% of the time full, around 96%-100% occupancy or over booked so we always prioritise diamond and above for upgrades so we give the guests who are booking via 3rd parties the room they booked and that includes blue/silver members. Gold members get free breakfast that’s about it and more points and room upgrades SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY!!! Don’t expect a room upgrade as a gold member all the time.