I have been at the Ambassador Elite level for the past 2 years. I have tried numerous times to leverage the ambassador service, but I am disappointed every time. I am close to achieving that status again this year, but as others have noted on this forum, it's not worth even trying.
Examples of my ambassador experiences include:
1. I let me ambassador know that I would be staying for a week at a property in Tampa, and how great it would be to get an upgrade. She said she would reach out to the hotel, then she got back to me and said that they couldn't upgrade me. She suggested I use my "suite nights." I reminded her that my stay was for 6 days, and I only had 5 suite nights. There was no follow-up response.
2. I was evacuated from the Sheraton Agoura Hills in California at 2:00am due to a fire. I took an Uber to another Sheraton a couple of towns away. I told them I was just evacuated by my previous hotel, and the staff said there were no rooms available so that I could get back to sleep. I had to wait until 9:00am for a manager to arrive so they could prioritize getting a room ready for me (which took about 10 minutes). Anyway, I contacted my ambassador via email (that's all I had). My ambassador responded to my email around 3:00pm that day with the fact that she would contact the hotel to get my money back (part of my request in the email). I received a refund for one night only. I could have requested that from the hotel myself just as easily.
3. I asked my ambassador to arrange transportation from the airport to the Sheraton Grand in London. I sent her all my flight details, # of passengers, etc. She said she would be "happy to arrange that." 3 days later, I received a message directly from the hotel asking for all the details I had already sent my ambassador.
The only time I have received a real benefit of the Ambassador program is when I received a bottle of champagne when I first achieved Ambassador status for 2 years ago. I also received a gift basket via the "Surprise & Delight" program a few months ago. However, I'm just not seeing any value from my actual ambassador.
The services provided by the ambassador are ambiguous, and in my experience, worthless. Has anyone else ever had a positive experience or benefit from their ambassador?
@pluto77 - I had a reservation for 6 nights in London and had 5 suite certificates. I contacted the hotel directly and was guaranteed the upgrade for all 6 nights. I was very appreciative.
Outstanding.
Good to know - thanks!
Could you please help me understand what services the ambassador is supposed to provide?
RE:
"He has helped us a lot, gone to bat for us and regularly makes our life easier. We try to keep our requests and expects reasonable, while understanding that we share our entitlement with many other Bonvoy Ambassadors in the same locales that we travel, who also want the same things that we do!"
What are examples of the kinds of requests you've had?
I second libbyrome's question. I recently reached Ambassador status and am not sure how to utilize my Ambassador. I've only asked him one thing (for the email of a hotel concierge) and he was very quick in responding, but if there is more we can use the Ambassador for I would love too do it!
Why dont you reply to your Ambassador and get a quick reply from him as to what services will he provide versus a second hand opinion from someone ? At least it will come from the source and then you can accurately assess the advantage and benefits realization of your status and this service.
pat2927 That is a great idea. Thank you
I have found like many things the Ambassador program is only as good as the Ambassador you are assigned and how they do their job. Like anything there are good ones and bad ones.
I have learned that for most things if I have a hotel GM's contact information I am better off contacting the GM directly than ask my Ambassador for anything. Just personal connections work a lot better in most of these cases.