ANZEIGE
Aus einer Facebook Gruppe kopiert: Aus meiner Sicht die beste Zusammenfassung zum Thema SNA, die ich je gelesen habe:
For Bonvoy Insiders: I was asked to share this so more members can better understand how Suite Night Awards (SNAs) work — and so members can better understand their chances for better SNA success.
Many ask about how SNAs work and how we can increase our SNA chances.
SNAs work via the automated central Marriott reservations system determining whether we get the upgrades or not. SNAs are only increased chances for upgrades; they are not guaranteed upgrades.
SNAs are fully automated by the central Marriott reservations system — based on a proprietary algorithm which allegedly tries to predict whether or not upgrade inventory rooms and suites will sell or won’t sell anyway before our arrival. If the algorithm calculates that the inventory might sell anyway, it won’t clear that inventory for upgrades; if the algorithm calculates that the inventory isn’t likely to sell, it will clear that inventory for upgrades in whatever priority order it’s programmed to follow.
Hotels don’t have any control over the SNA automated system (beyond originally allocating whatever rooms and suites for their SNA upgrade inventory). Ambassador agents and other customer service agents don’t have any control over SNAs, either. Many elites conflate these automated SNA upgrades with the discretionary complimentary elite status upgrades that hotels can offer at their discretion (and totally under their control) upon our arrival. But for most part, the SNA upgrade inventory and complimentary upgrade inventory are relatively comparable and have considerable if not ubiquitous overlap. (At least for non-Ambassador guests, anyway!)
Not all rooms and suites at any hotel are required to be included in a hotel’s SNA (or discretionary) upgrade inventory. So just because we see online rooms and suites for sale doesn’t mean they are included in the SNA (or discretionary) upgrade inventory. Some hotels with limited suites might not even participate at all with SNAs or offer any suites in their upgrade inventory.
The SNA system doesn’t begin calculating the chances and clearing any upgrades one way or the other until 5 days before arrival (usually around 2 pm PST/5 pm EST). It continues to calculate chances and possibly clear upgrades up to the day before arrival.
If the central automated SNA algorithm knows there is no more upgrade inventory already, it won’t allow us to even apply SNAs (so we get the same notice that the reservation isn’t eligible for SNAs) — which spares us any unrealistic expectation.
If the algorithm determines there will be upgrade inventory that can be cleared for SNA upgrades, it will clear them to those who submitted SNA requests — in the proprietary order of priority that no one knows. Many of us suspect that our elite status is a factor, which accounts for why more of our Ambassador group members have more SNA success than others of lower status might. Many of us also suspect that order to SNA submission, room rate, and room category booked also might also factor into the equation.
Sometimes, the hotel’s local reservations system and the automated central SNA reservations system don’t communicate correctly due to various IT glitches. These glitches most often are due to cheaper/older/outdated local hotel reservations systems IME. These glitches can cause the central SNA system to allow phantom SNA upgrade inventory to clear even as it doesn’t actually exist at the hotel (or the hotel system doesn’t register the upgrade). This is a common reason why some hotels don’t actually have the SNA upgrade confirmed on their end even as we can get an SNA upgrade confirmation from the central automated Marriott system. It isn’t always a conspiracy to steal our upgrades (though I know that some hotels screw up and wrongfully allocate inventory, too).
The only things we can do to increase our SNA chances are:
(1) have as high elite status as possible,
(2) submit the SNA requests as early as possible,
(3) choose hotels that are expected to be lower in occupancy as much as possible,
(4) choose hotels that have more upgrade category rooms and suites in the first place as much as possible
(5) choose SNAs for stays of shorter duration as much as possible
Otherwise, it’s a lot like selective university admission: submit your SNA request, know there are many others making the same request, and let the process unfold as it will. Not getting your SNA to clear to an upgrade doesn’t mean the system didn’t work. It’s a lottery: no one pretends the lottery doesn’t work when they don’t win.
If we don’t like how the SNA lottery works, we shouldn’t choose SNAs as our 50 and 75 night Choice Benefits. It’s really that simple.
P.S. In an ironic twist, the hotels that don’t allow us to use SNAs actually give a counterintuitive advantage to Ambassador guests for discretionary complimentary upgrades before and upon arrival — since Ambassador guests thereby aren’t competing with Platinum and Titanium guests applying SNAs that otherwise might steal some upgrade opportunites. This is a big reason why I believe Ambassador guests do so well with upgrades at Ritz-Carlton and EDITION hotels when all other things are equal. You heard it here first.
For Bonvoy Insiders: I was asked to share this so more members can better understand how Suite Night Awards (SNAs) work — and so members can better understand their chances for better SNA success.
Many ask about how SNAs work and how we can increase our SNA chances.
SNAs work via the automated central Marriott reservations system determining whether we get the upgrades or not. SNAs are only increased chances for upgrades; they are not guaranteed upgrades.
SNAs are fully automated by the central Marriott reservations system — based on a proprietary algorithm which allegedly tries to predict whether or not upgrade inventory rooms and suites will sell or won’t sell anyway before our arrival. If the algorithm calculates that the inventory might sell anyway, it won’t clear that inventory for upgrades; if the algorithm calculates that the inventory isn’t likely to sell, it will clear that inventory for upgrades in whatever priority order it’s programmed to follow.
Hotels don’t have any control over the SNA automated system (beyond originally allocating whatever rooms and suites for their SNA upgrade inventory). Ambassador agents and other customer service agents don’t have any control over SNAs, either. Many elites conflate these automated SNA upgrades with the discretionary complimentary elite status upgrades that hotels can offer at their discretion (and totally under their control) upon our arrival. But for most part, the SNA upgrade inventory and complimentary upgrade inventory are relatively comparable and have considerable if not ubiquitous overlap. (At least for non-Ambassador guests, anyway!)
Not all rooms and suites at any hotel are required to be included in a hotel’s SNA (or discretionary) upgrade inventory. So just because we see online rooms and suites for sale doesn’t mean they are included in the SNA (or discretionary) upgrade inventory. Some hotels with limited suites might not even participate at all with SNAs or offer any suites in their upgrade inventory.
The SNA system doesn’t begin calculating the chances and clearing any upgrades one way or the other until 5 days before arrival (usually around 2 pm PST/5 pm EST). It continues to calculate chances and possibly clear upgrades up to the day before arrival.
If the central automated SNA algorithm knows there is no more upgrade inventory already, it won’t allow us to even apply SNAs (so we get the same notice that the reservation isn’t eligible for SNAs) — which spares us any unrealistic expectation.
If the algorithm determines there will be upgrade inventory that can be cleared for SNA upgrades, it will clear them to those who submitted SNA requests — in the proprietary order of priority that no one knows. Many of us suspect that our elite status is a factor, which accounts for why more of our Ambassador group members have more SNA success than others of lower status might. Many of us also suspect that order to SNA submission, room rate, and room category booked also might also factor into the equation.
Sometimes, the hotel’s local reservations system and the automated central SNA reservations system don’t communicate correctly due to various IT glitches. These glitches most often are due to cheaper/older/outdated local hotel reservations systems IME. These glitches can cause the central SNA system to allow phantom SNA upgrade inventory to clear even as it doesn’t actually exist at the hotel (or the hotel system doesn’t register the upgrade). This is a common reason why some hotels don’t actually have the SNA upgrade confirmed on their end even as we can get an SNA upgrade confirmation from the central automated Marriott system. It isn’t always a conspiracy to steal our upgrades (though I know that some hotels screw up and wrongfully allocate inventory, too).
The only things we can do to increase our SNA chances are:
(1) have as high elite status as possible,
(2) submit the SNA requests as early as possible,
(3) choose hotels that are expected to be lower in occupancy as much as possible,
(4) choose hotels that have more upgrade category rooms and suites in the first place as much as possible
(5) choose SNAs for stays of shorter duration as much as possible
Otherwise, it’s a lot like selective university admission: submit your SNA request, know there are many others making the same request, and let the process unfold as it will. Not getting your SNA to clear to an upgrade doesn’t mean the system didn’t work. It’s a lottery: no one pretends the lottery doesn’t work when they don’t win.
If we don’t like how the SNA lottery works, we shouldn’t choose SNAs as our 50 and 75 night Choice Benefits. It’s really that simple.
P.S. In an ironic twist, the hotels that don’t allow us to use SNAs actually give a counterintuitive advantage to Ambassador guests for discretionary complimentary upgrades before and upon arrival — since Ambassador guests thereby aren’t competing with Platinum and Titanium guests applying SNAs that otherwise might steal some upgrade opportunites. This is a big reason why I believe Ambassador guests do so well with upgrades at Ritz-Carlton and EDITION hotels when all other things are equal. You heard it here first.
