Marriott Suite Night Awards: How TPG employees used them this year and how they can be improved
When you stay 50 and 75 nights in a calendar year at Marriott properties, Marriott Bonvoy members can choose Choice benefits. For a lot of tourists, Suite Night Award (SNA) has been a popular Choice Benefit option.
Marriott Space Upgrades are offered free of charge to Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite members at most brands. However, if you want to confirm the upgrade in advance – maybe for a special occasion – you can apply the SNA to your booking.
I have used my Suite Night Rewards to stay in special suites that may not be extended to me with a standard free space upgrade (No Suite Night Awards apply). However, just because you apply an upgrade does not mean you are guaranteed to actually receive the upgrade.
After you request an SNA, the hotel will search for available upgrade inventory, starting five days prior to arrival. Rewards will be transferred to your account if the upgrade cannot be confirmed for your desired room(s).
Unfortunately, TPG staff didn’t have the easiest time clearing SNAs at some properties. Here is the employee data:
| Hotel | Brand | Location | Land | Number of nights | SNA confirmed? | How many days out? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben. | Signature collection. | West Palm Beach, Florida. | WE | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Ambassador Hotel. | Signature collection. | Kansas City, Missouri. | WE | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Grand Bohemian Hotel. | Signature collection. | Orlando. | WE | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Domes of Elounda. | Signature Collection | Crete, Greece. | Europe. | Five. | Not enough condition. | Not available. |
| Mayflower Hotel. | Signature collection. | Washington DC | WE | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Palacio Santa Clara. | Signature collection. | Valencia, Spain. | Europe. | Two. | Right. | Two. |
| Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. | Signature Collection | Waimea, Hawaii. | WE | Two. | No. | Not available. |
| Hutchinson Oceanside Island Courtyard / Jensen Beach. | Yard. | Jensen Beach, Florida. | WE | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Toronto Plains. | Hotel in Delta. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Right. | Four. |
| Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square. | Four points. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | One. | Right. | Five. |
| JW Marriott Frankfurt. | JW Marriott. | Frankfurt. | Europe. | Two. | Right. | Two. |
| JW Marriott Mauritius. | JW Marriott. | Mauritius. | Middle East & Africa | Three. | Right. | Five. |
| Le Meridien Mauritius. | Le meridien. | Mauritius. | Middle East & Africa. | Five. | No. | Five. |
| Chatwal. | Luxury collection. | New York City. | WE | One. | No. | Not available. |
| Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. | Marriott Hotel. | Aruba. | Caribbean. | Five. | No. | Not available. |
| Jaipur Marriott Hotel. | Marriott Hotel. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | Two. | Right. | Four. |
| Jaipur Marriott Hotel. | Marriott Hotel. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | Three. | Right. | Five. |
| Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. | Marriott Hotel. | Waikoloa Beach, Hawaii. | WE | Two. | No. | Not available. |
| Hotel Downtown Toronto. | Marriott Hotel. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Right. | Four. |
| Renaissance Washington Hotel, DC Downtown. | Renaissance. | Washington DC | WE | Two. | No. | Not available. |
| The Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Toronto International Airport. | Sheraton. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Right. | Five. |
| Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. | Sheraton. | San Juan, Puerto Rico. | Caribbean. | Two. | Right. | Five. |
| Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort. | Sheraton. | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. | South America. | Seven. | Right. | Five. |
| Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa. | Sheraton. | Anchorage, Alaska. | WE | Two. | Right. | Five. |
| Princess Sheraton Kaiulani. | Sheraton. | Honolulu. | WE | Three. | No. | Not available. |
| SpringHill Suites Amelia Island. | Spring Hill Suites. | Amelia Island, Florida. | WE | Two. | No. | Not available. |
| SpringHill Suites Fishkill. | Spring Hill Suites. | Fishkill, New York. | WE | Two. | Not enough condition. | Two. |
| Church of St. Regis Langkawi. | St. Regis. | Langkawi, Malaysia. | Asia. | Three. | Right. | Five. |
| W Philadelphia. | W Hotel. | Philadelphia. | WE | One. | No. | Not available. |
| Cape Westin City. | Westin. | Cape Town City. | Middle East & Africa. | Four. | Right. | Five. |
| Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta. | Westin. | Malta. | Europe. | Four. | Right. | Five. |
| Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square. | Westin. | San Francisco. | WE | Two. | Right. | Five. |
| The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket. | Westin. | Phuket, Thailand. | Asia. | Two. | Right. | Five. |
Of our 33 SNA requests, 22 were approved. That leaves 11 requests where the SNA was rejected – a rejection rate of 1/3.
Related: How much is Marriott Bonvoy’s elite status worth in 2022?
When are Suite Night rewards not removed?
In my experience, it is difficult to clear the SNA because tourism starts to recover after the altitude of Pandemic caused by covid-19.
While guests may be paying for suites in full at the moment, Marriott properties may decide to withhold inventory if they believe a suite can go to a paying customer, for nothing obliges hotels to release unsold suites for the Suite Night Awards.
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That could be the root cause of the problem – even when suites are available online for booking, SNA is sometimes rejected. Maybe it’s time for Marriott to talk to franchise partners to renegotiate franchise rates when a property deletes an SNA. Despite that, if properties were more incentivized for SNA deletion, then it is likely that the success rate would be higher.
So where are you likely to delete the SNA?
Our data shows that we have a good chance of removing an upgrade when redeeming an SNA, but most of it is when traveling outside of off-peak hours or to destinations that don’t make sense.
Many SNA rejections come from claims in Hawaii and beach destinations in Europe and the Caribbean, which is where the value of these certifications can really shine with ocean views, bungalows or other upgraded rooms. Not to mention that upgraded rooms at these properties can cost significantly more per night than standard rooms.
Meanwhile, many of the approvals are in city hotels and less visited cities and regions during off-peak travel days. This is a great strategy for some travelers, but it makes it difficult for the average traveler to redeem. After all, most of us don’t travel to Jaipur, India or Malta in the winter, when most of the island resorts are empty.
However, if you’re willing to travel off-peak, read on Katie Genter’s Guide to How She Changed 23 SNAs This Year.
Related: 6 ways Marriott can improve Ambassador Elite status
How can Marriott improve the Suite Night Awards?
With SNA’s sky-high success rates at many properties, now is the opportunity for Marriott to revisit the Suite Night Awards.
On the customer side, Marriott should remove the SNA at the time of booking. This is what Hyatt did with set upgrade award. You can lock in a suite with a Hyatt suite upgrade award if a standard suite is available when booking a qualifying rate. Such a simple change would make SNA a real boon and could increase the value of Marriott’s elite status.
Also, if a Marriott Suite Night Award is declined for a particular stay, it would be great if Marriott extended the deadline and offered a nominal bonus to the customer as an apology – for example like 2,000 points for a future stay. This can work like Marriott Reservation Guarantee pay members when a hotel is oversold.
Whatever needs to be changed. Some of our employees and readers are using SNAs that are set to expire later this year, despite many attempts to use them. Not everyone can travel off-peak or visit destinations that don’t make sense, so Marriott needed a way to make SNA more valuable.
Related: Ouch: Not only you, Marriott stay now costs more points
Key point
The Marriott Suite Night Awards are not as reliable as they used to be. When you sign up for a prize for your stay, ticking off the different room types you’re willing to accept in exchange for your reward can increase your odds of getting a suite.
However, it’s time for Marriott to overhaul these awards to make them more valuable to customers. After all, people with SNA are some of the top elite Marriott members.
