If you've ever wondered why your Platinum status didn't score you that suite, Marriott may soon give you an answer — sort of. The hotel group is beta-testing a new feature in the Marriott app that shows elite members where they stand for a complimentary upgrade, much like the upgrade lists airlines display at the gate.
The feature, spotted by a member of the Marriott Bonvoy Insiders Facebook group, appears near your arrival date under the label "Your Complimentary Upgrade Status." It shows two things: an estimated number of upgrades available at the property, and your position in the queue. In the screenshot shared by the member, the news wasn't great — zero upgrades available, and they were second in line. Marriott says it will notify members one day before arrival if a complimentary upgrade is confirmed.
There's fine print worth knowing. The estimated upgrade count only reflects rooms matching your booked dates and bed type, and Nightly Upgrade Awards — the points-based confirmable upgrades — get priority and aren't counted in the figures. So the number you see may understate your real chances, or overstate them.
Why is Marriott doing this? The pool of Bonvoy elite members has ballooned over the years, partly because co-branded credit cards hand out status wholesale. When dozens of guests at a property hold Platinum or higher, complimentary upgrades become mathematically impossible for most, and front desks have taken to posting signs listing how many elites are on property just to manage expectations. Marriott even uses an AI tool to prioritise upgrades, and has never been fully transparent about how it all works. A visible queue at least acknowledges the competition exists.
But the feature is thin. It doesn't distinguish between a marginal upgrade — say, a better floor or a slightly better view — and a proper suite. It's unclear which rooms are actually in the upgrade pool. And upgrades are often processed overnight or on the morning of arrival, which sits awkwardly with the promise of confirmation one day out.
The more cynical read, and one worth taking seriously, is that this lays the groundwork for monetisation. Airlines gutted complimentary first-class upgrades by learning to sell those seats instead, often at a discount close to departure. Hotels are already leaning into paid upgrade offers, and a queue screen is the perfect delivery mechanism for one: "You're number two, but pay $X and skip the line." Nothing has been announced — this is still beta — but the airline playbook is an obvious template.
For travellers, the practical takeaway is to keep expectations modest. Even if the feature rolls out widely, seeing "zero upgrades available" doesn't mean much when the counting rules are opaque. If an upgrade genuinely matters for your stay, a Nightly Upgrade Award booked with points in advance remains the only reliable route. Otherwise, polite persistence at check-in still beats staring at an app.
This one is developing — most members won't see the feature yet, and it may change or disappear before a full rollout.
