Marriott Bonvoy Tests Free Room Upgrade Waitlist

Marriott is trialling an interesting new feature in the Marriott Bonvoy app that shows elite members where they sit in the queue for a complimentary room upgrade, along with an estimate of how many free upgrades the hotel has to give out. Complimentary room upgrades are one of the most valuable perks of Marriott Bonvoy elite status, and until now members have had little idea of their chances before reaching the front desk.

The feature is called Complimentary Upgrade List, and is currently being beta tested at a handful of hotels in North America.

How Marriott's Upgrade List Works

Members often feel overlooked when complimentary room upgrades are unavailable. Yet as more guests attain elite status, providing upgrades becomes increasingly difficult for hotels.

As such, Marriott is rolling out a new feature in their app, which shows Gold Elite and above members their position in the free upgrade queue before check-in. Think of it as Marriott’s way of saying ‘we love you, but not as much as the 47 people ahead of you’.

Close to your arrival date, you might find a new screen in the Marriott Bonvoy app titled "Your Complimentary Upgrade Status". It shows two numbers: the estimated upgrades available at the hotel for your stay, and your current position in line for one of them.

Marriott trials Complimentary Upgrade List

The feature is currently being beta tested at a small number of properties, and will expand to more than 250 hotels across the US and Canada by early November 2026. Marriott hasn't yet mentioned when the Complimentary Upgrade List feature will go live at Australian hotels.

The first sighting came from a member of a Marriott Facebook group. The member, who holds Titanium Elite status, spotted the list two days before a stay at a SpringHill Suites property. They also had a booking at a second Marriott hotel, but the list did not appear for that one.

Only Free Upgrades Are On The List

The Complimentary Upgrade List only applies to room upgrades earned through elite status. Nightly Upgrade Awards, the upgrade certificates Marriott offers members at higher tiers, are processed separately and still take priority.

The list also doesn't tell you what you're queuing for. Hotels decide which room types go into their upgrade pool, so an upgrade could be a suite, or it could be the same room type on a higher floor.

What's interesting is that none of this is a new ranking system. Marriott already uses an automated upgrade process which scores arriving elite guests and assigns upgrades before check-in. The difference now is that members get a clearer picture.

Marriott tests upgrade list that ranks Bonvoy members

Why Is Marriott Doing This?

Whenever a loyalty program the size of Marriott Bonvoy promises to 'improve the guest experience', seasoned travellers tend to raise an eyebrow. Here, the obvious motive is managing expectations. Marriott has far more elite members than it used to, and a busy hotel can have dozens of them arriving on the same night.

If you're a Gold member and the app shows you're 47th in line, behind many Platinum and Titanium members, a standard room becomes much easier to accept. It also gives you a very clear reason to chase the next tier, which suits Marriott just fine.

Summing Up

While the upgrade list won’t create more upgrades, it does make the guessing game a little easier. It’s a welcome bit of transparency, though I’d be surprised if Marriott didn’t have a commercial reason up its sleeve as well.

For Australian members, Marriott's Complimentary Upgrade List is one to watch rather than one to use for now.