Choice Benefits is available to Marriott Bonvoy members when they stay 50 and 75 nights in a year. Suite Night Awards has been a popular choice for Choice Benefit.
Marriott space- available suite upgrades are free to Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador Elite members. You can apply SNAs to your reservation if you want to confirm an upgrade in advance.
I have used my Suite Night Awards to stay in specialty suites that wouldn't have been extended to me with a standard space- available upgrade. You're not guaranteed to get an upgrade just because you apply.
The hotel will look for upgrade inventory five days before you arrive. If the upgrade can't be confirmed for your room, the award will be returned to you.
At some properties, the staff hasn't been able to get the SNAs to clear quickly. There is a look at the data.
| Hotel | Brand | Location | Region | No. of nights | SNA confirmed? | How many days out? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ben. | Autograph Collection. | West Palm Beach, Florida. | U.S. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Ambassador Hotel. | Autograph Collection. | Kansas City, Missouri. | U.S. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Grand Bohemian Hotel. | Autograph Collection. | Orlando. | U.S. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Domes of Elounda. | Autograph Collection | Crete, Greece. | Europe. | Five. | Not eligible. | N/A. |
| The Mayflower Hotel. | Autograph Collection. | Washington, D.C. | U.S. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Palacio Santa Clara. | Autograph Collection. | Valencia, Spain. | Europe. | Two. | Yes. | Two. |
| Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. | Autograph Collection | Waimea, Hawaii. | U.S. | Two. | No. | N/A. |
| Courtyard Hutchinson Island Oceanside/Jensen Beach. | Courtyard. | Jensen Beach, Florida. | U.S. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Delta Toronto. | Delta Hotels. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Yes. | Four. |
| Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square. | Four Points. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| JW Marriott Frankfurt. | JW Marriott. | Frankfurt. | Europe. | Two. | Yes. | Two. |
| JW Marriott Mauritius. | JW Marriott. | Mauritius. | Middle East/Africa | Three. | Yes. | Five. |
| Le Meridien Mauritius. | Le Meridien. | Mauritius. | Middle East/Africa. | Five. | No. | Five. |
| The Chatwal. | Luxury Collection. | New York City. | U.S. | One. | No. | N/A. |
| Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. | Marriott. | Aruba. | Caribbean. | Five. | No. | N/A. |
| Jaipur Marriott Hotel. | Marriott. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | Two. | Yes. | Four. |
| Jaipur Marriott Hotel. | Marriott. | Jaipur, India. | Asia. | Three. | Yes. | Five. |
| Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. | Marriott. | Waikoloa Beach, Hawaii. | U.S. | Two. | No. | N/A. |
| Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel. | Marriott. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Yes. | Four. |
| Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. | Renaissance. | Washington, D.C. | U.S. | Two. | No. | N/A. |
| Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport. | Sheraton. | Toronto. | Canada. | One. | Yes. | Five. |
| Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. | Sheraton. | San Juan, Puerto Rico. | Caribbean. | Two. | Yes. | Five. |
| Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort. | Sheraton. | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. | South America. | Seven. | Yes. | Five. |
| Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa. | Sheraton. | Anchorage, Alaska. | U.S. | Two. | Yes. | Five. |
| Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. | Sheraton. | Honolulu. | U.S. | Three. | No. | N/A. |
| SpringHill Suites Amelia Island. | SpringHill Suites. | Amelia Island, Florida. | U.S. | Two. | No. | N/A. |
| SpringHill Suites Fishkill. | SpringHill Suites. | Fishkill, New York. | U.S. | Two. | Not eligible. | Two. |
| The St. Regis Langkawi. | St. Regis. | Langkawi, Malaysia. | Asia. | Three. | Yes. | Five. |
| W Philadelphia. | W Hotels. | Philadelphia. | U.S. | One. | No. | N/A. |
| The Westin Cape Town. | Westin. | Cape Town. | Middle East/Africa. | Four. | Yes. | Five. |
| The Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta. | Westin. | Malta. | Europe. | Four. | Yes. | Five. |
| The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square. | Westin. | San Francisco. | U.S. | Two. | Yes. | Five. |
| The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket. | Westin. | Phuket, Thailand. | Asia. | Two. | Yes. | Five. |
There were 22 approved SNA requests. There were 11 requests where SNAs were rejected.
Marriott Bonvoy elite status is worth in 2022.
It has been more difficult to clear SNAs since travel began to recover after the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Marriott properties can decide to hold back suite inventory if they think that a suite could go to a paying customer, as there's nothing to obligate hotels to release unsold suites for Suite Night Awards.
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Even when suites are available online for booking, they are sometimes rejected. Maybe Marriott should talk to its franchise partners about revising franchise pay rates when a property clears an SNA. It's likely that the success rate would go up if properties were more incentivized.
Where do you think you will clear an SNA?
Our data shows that we have a good chance of clearing an upgrade when we travel off the beaten path.
In Hawaii and beach destinations in Europe and the Caribbean, the value of these certificates can be seen with ocean views, bungalows or other upgraded rooms. The rooms at these properties are more expensive than a standard room.
During off-peak travel dates, a lot of approvals were in city hotels. It's hard for the average traveler to redeem this strategy. Most of us aren't going to Jaipur, India, or to Malta in the winter when most resorts are empty.
If you want to travel off-peak, you should read the guide to how she redeemed 23 SNAs.
Ambassador Elite status can be improved by Marriott.
There is an opportunity for Marriott to revisit Suite Night Awards.
Marriott needs to clear SNAs at the time of booking. Hyatt already does this with its awards. If a standard suite is available, you can get a Hyatt suite upgrade award. The value of Marriott's elite status could be greatly increased if a simple change was made.
If a Marriott Suite Night Award is rejected for a particular stay, it would be great if Marriott extended the expiration and offered a small bonus for the customer as an apology. Marriott pays members when a hotel is oversold.
Something needs to be changed. Some of our staff and readers are sitting on SNAs that are set to expire by the end of the year. Not everyone can travel off-peak or visit off-the-beaten-path destinations so Marriott needs to make SNAs more valuable.
Marriott stays are now costing more points.
Marriott Suite Night Awards used to be reliable, but not anymore. If you're willing to accept certain room types in exchange for your award, you're more likely to get a suite.
Marriott needs to make these awards more valuable for their customers. Those with SNAs are some of Marriott's elite members.
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