Marriott Bonvoy is testing a feature its elite members have asked for for years: a screen in the app that shows where you stand in line for a complimentary room upgrade. For now it is a beta at a small number of hotels. The next step reported is the US and Canada. Nothing reported so far puts a date on the UAE.
Marriott announced it after its Members Day event in Bethesda, The Points Guy reported on 12 October. We could not find a Marriott press release on the upgrade list; its news centre gave our reader no article text. Everything below comes from three reports, credited as we go.
What the screen shows
The screen is called “Your Complimentary Upgrade Status” and appears on the reservation shortly before arrival, per Live From A Lounge and Milesopedia. It gives two numbers:
- Estimated upgrades available for your stay, counting only rooms that match your dates and booked bed type.
- Your current position in line among eligible members.
The app says it will tell you one day before arrival if an upgrade is confirmed. Both reports stress that your position can change and the count is an estimate, not a promise. In the screenshot Milesopedia describes, the hotel showed 0 upgrades available and the member was second in line.
Nightly Upgrade Awards go first. Rooms set aside for members using these certificates are not counted in the estimate. Milesopedia says a member applying one moves ahead of everyone on the complimentary list.
The Points Guy says the feature is for members with Gold status and above.
Where and when
- Now: a beta at a small number of hotels. Milesopedia says members first spotted it on 11 October.
- By November: Marriott says it will expand to more than 250 hotels in the US and Canada, according to The Points Guy. Live From A Lounge puts it at “early November 2026”.
- Everywhere else: Live From A Lounge says Marriott has not announced a wider international rollout.
The reports do not fully agree on how official this is. The Points Guy describes it as a Marriott announcement; Milesopedia says Marriott has made no official announcement.
For UAE members
On current reporting, a stay at a Marriott hotel in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is unlikely to show the new screen: no UAE hotel is named in the beta or the November expansion. Where it is useful is a trip to North America: if you hold Gold status or higher and have a stay at a US or Canadian hotel from November, look for the screen on the reservation in the app a few days before you arrive.
The same Members Day brought a second announcement that also skips this region. Marriott will launch a Marriott Bonvoy Lounge at 100 premium-level hotels in Asia-Pacific from February 2027, with 220 more in Greater China in early 2027, per The Points Guy. No Middle East hotels are named.
If an upgrade on a particular stay really matters, a Nightly Upgrade Award remains the more reliable route. Our Marriott Bonvoy hub covers how elite benefits work.
Verified on 19 October 2026 against The Points Guy, Live From A Lounge and Milesopedia. No Marriott release on the upgrade list was found.
Sources
- The Points Guy, Marriott Bonvoy will now let you see where you stand in line for a hotel upgrade, 12 October 2026, read 19 October 2026.
- Live From A Lounge, Marriott Bonvoy to Roll Out An Upgrade List on Its App, 15 October 2026, read 19 October 2026.
- Milesopedia, Marriott Bonvoy Upgrade Waitlist: What the Beta Shows, read 19 October 2026.
