Reader Question: CONFIRMED Marriott Nightly Upgrade Award Is Based on AVAILABILITY At Check In?

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a Marriott case in which the hotel claims that the CONFIRMED Nightly Upgrade Award is based on availability at check-in.

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You can access Marriott’s page for Nightly Upgrade Awards here and here.

READ MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Reader’s Question:

I stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi for two nights in December 2024.

I used two Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUAs) to secure a suite. However, at check-in, I was downgraded to a standard room. The hotel believes that NUAs are subject to availability, so they simply refunded the NUAs to my account.

Over the past three months, I have followed up with Marriott regarding this incident. Different Marriott representatives have told me that NUAs are subject to availability at the time of check-in. However, they have refused to clarify the difference between an NUA upgrade and an elite member’s complimentary upgrade, both of which are also subject to availability.

The email below contains Marriott’s final decision, in which Bonvoy specialist Matt confirmed that NUAs are subject to availability at check-in.

John, based on your experience, do you agree that NUAs should be subject to availability at check-in?

Very short answer to the reader’s question. NO. The Nightly Upgrade Awards are NOT based on availability.

I went through the Marriott page and FAQs for these Nightly Upgrade Awards again, and they didn’t have a single example of what happens if a property cancels the upgrade after it has been confirmed.

Nightly Upgrade Awards

A Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUA) is a one-night confirmable upgrade to a premium room or suite.

You need to apply the Nightly Upgrade Award to a reservation. The Marriott system will start checking 5 or 3 days before check-in (brand-dependent) if upgrade availability exists and then confirm up to 2 PM the day before check-in.

The request is canceled if the upgrade cannot be applied and the NUA is returned to your account.

The hotel is NOT supposed to downgrade a member whose reservation has been upgraded using an NUA, and these have nothing to do with the availability at the time of checking when that is the case with the usual elite upgrades (there appears to be an intentional misunderstanding on the part of this specific hotel).

Here’s readers email correspondence with Bonvoy customer support:

Marriott Case Resolution Email:

From: CRK CRT – Elaine O’D

Sent Time:2025-03-25- 02:21

To: REMOVED

Subject:Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Hurlingham

Dear Mr. REMOVED,

Thank you for reaching out. We are grateful for your loyalty.

My name is Elaine and I am contacting you from the Marriott Bonvoy® Case Resolution Team. This is in relation to the case you opened regarding your Nightly Upgrade Award request.

I apologise for any inconvenience caused by the hotel not being able to honor your request. In reviewing your account, I see the Nightly Upgrade Award was returned to your account on December 1st prior to your arrival.

The request for $100 and 90,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Points compensation for Elite members is when an Elite member is walked from the hotel and no room is available on the property to accommodate the member.

For the benefit Guaranteed Room Type, at a Four Points by Sheraton hotel the compensation is USD$50. You may view this information via the following link: https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits/guarantee.mi

In this case I see the hotel have offered to credit your account with 30,000  Marriott Bonvoy® Points.

Should you wish to proceed with the Marriott Bonvoy® Points offered, you may respond to this email or directly to the email sent by the hotel.

I remain at your disposal.

Kind regards,

Elaine O’D.

Marriott Bonvoy® Case Resolution Specialist

Reader’s Response:

Thank you for reviewing my case.

Please allow me to provide a brief overview of the entire incident:

1. I booked a stay at Four Points Nairobi Hurlingham and requested an upgrade more than a month prior to my arrival. The hotel confirmed my upgrade the day before my arrival, meaning I held a confirmed suite booking.
2. Upon my arrival on December 2nd, I was provided with a standard room. When I inquired about this, the hotel reception confirmed that I should have been given a suite but could not explain why no suite was available. The receptionist promised that I would be moved to a suite the following day. I accepted his apology and the proposed solution.
3. On the second day, when I requested to move to the suite as promised, the manager firmly informed me that no suite was available. The manager explained that upgrades are subject to availability and that there was no available suite for me. I pointed out that I had used my upgrade voucher and held a confirmed suite booking. The manager responded that they had already informed Marriott to return the voucher.
4. After leaving the hotel, I contacted Marriott’s guest service hotline in China to report the incident. However, I received no response for nearly three months. When I followed up in February, requesting an update and compensation under the Elite Benefit Guarantee, I was told by the duty manager, Miki, that upgrades are subject to availability. I explained to Miki that the hotel had accepted my upgrade voucher and provided a suite confirmation. However, Miki kept insisting that since upgrades are subject to availability, this did not qualify for the benefit guarantee. I then asked Miki to point out where in Marriott’s terms and conditions it states that a confirmed upgrade via NUA (Nightly Upgrade Award) is still subject to availability upon arrival. She could not provide an answer. Therefore, I requested that the case to be escalated to a supervisor.
5. A few days later, I received an email from Marriott Bonvoy customer care representative Kidman. In the email, Kidman again stated that an NUA upgrade is subject to availability upon arrival and asked me to check Marriott’s loyalty terms on their website. After carefully reviewing the terms in the link provided, I informed Kidman that I could not find any clause stating that a confirmed NUA upgrade is still subject to availability upon arrival. I also asked Kidman: If a confirmed NUA upgrade is still subject to availability, what is the difference between an NUA upgrade and a complimentary upgrade for Platinum members upon arrival? Eventually, Kidman replied and agreed that a confirmed NUA upgrade should not be subject to availability.

Elaine, the hotel believed they could simply return my voucher without honoring a confirmed reservation, and Marriott’s customer service team in China believed that a confirmed NUA upgrade was still subject to availability upon arrival. Now, you are presenting a third challenge: stating that only the Guaranteed Room Type policy should apply to my case, which would result in compensation of only USD $50. Additionally, you believe that the hotel’s offer of 30,000 points was already generous.

I understand that Marriott does not have a very clear or detailed definition of “room type.” However, based on the terms and descriptions of the Guaranteed Room Type policy, I understand that it primarily applies to rooms of the same category, such as twin/double rooms, smoking/non-smoking rooms, or standard/accessible rooms. When dealing with different room categories—such as suites versus standard rooms—the fare difference is often significantly greater than $50. May I ask: If an elite member holds a two-night prepaid suite booking but no suite is available at check-in, would you simply refund the fare difference, provide a standard room, and compensate them with only $50?

Honestly, I do not care much about the compensation for not being offered a suite. I did not request any compensation at the time of check-in, and I even accepted the hotel’s offer of just one night in a suite (which was ultimately not provided). What upsets me is that after 10+ years as a Platinum/Titanium member, it seems that nobody at Marriott cares about my experience. The hotel did not care about honoring my reservation. Marriott’s guest service team in China was unfamiliar with Marriott’s own terms (regarding whether an NUA upgrade is confirmed or still subject to availability). And now, in your email, you apologized for the hotel not being able to honor my “request.”

This was not a request—it was a confirmed reservation!

Furthermore, after reviewing my account, you stated that the NUA was returned to my account on December 1st, which is incorrect. The NUA was actually returned on December 2nd, right before my check-in.

As I mentioned to Kidman in my previous emails, I am willing to drop my request for USD $100 compensation, but I would like to receive 90,000 points from Marriott as compensation for this entire experience.

Marriott’s Follow-Up:

From: CaseResolution_EMEA

Sent Time:2025-03-28- 22:06

To: REMOVED

Subject:Re: Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Hurlingham

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Matt and I am writing you from the Marriott Bonvoy® Case Resolution Team.

I am very sorry to hear about the Nightly Upgrade issue at Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Hurlingham, I have completed my investigation and I am ready to share with you our final decision.

In relation to the cancellation of the applied NUA benefit :

Our Nightly Upgrade award benefit is not a guaranteed benefit and unfortunately, even when confirmed, it can be changed by the property due to business needs (before check-in).

It is an extremely rare occurrence but since it is a benefit that entirely depends on availability at the time of check-in, I can confirm that the hotel action didn’t violate our Marriott Bonvoy® policies.

In relation to what is noted in case 6349xxxxx :

The hotel did promise the guest would be moved to a suite the following day but were unable to keep this promise.

Certainly this is not the kind of service we wish to provide and a compensation is absolutely required. Initially, you were offered 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points as compensation, but I understand you requested 90,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points.

Based on your feedback I have increased the compensation to a total of 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points, which We believe is the appropriate offer.

I hope this gesture demonstrates our commitment to providing you with the best possible service.

Mr. REMOVED, kindly allow 24 hours if you don’t see the compensation reflected on your account immediately.

Warm Regards,

Matt B.

Marriott Bonvoy® Case Resolution Specialist

Conclusion

These Nightly Upgrade Awards are CONFIRMED per Marriott’s web page but not GUARANTEED per the response from Bonvoy customer care.

CONFIRMED but not GUARANTEED? (I am shaking my head.)

The main problem here is that the properties believe that they can do whatever they want without any recourse, like here, effectively not honoring the confirmed reservation but rather downgrading the member.

The Bonvoy customer service tries to come up with excuses why the property is acting deceitfully.

It is clear that either the property oversold the suite or the person staying in the suite extended their stay, making it impossible for the reader to check in to their confirmed reservation.

Bonvoy customer service is correct that this is not a walk situation but a guaranteed room type. However, a downgrade from a confirmed suite to a king room certainly warrants a higher compensation than $50.

The property should have dealt better with the situation on the spot and offered adequate compensation and perhaps additional F&B or other credits to make the reader whole.

Based on Marriott’s last email, the reader seems to have received 40,000 points as compensation, which cost the property $220.

What have been yous experiences with Marriott properties playing games with confirmed NUA reservations? Please comment below.

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