Could there really be an SPG level higher than Platinum? Yup.

Last week, Barbara De Lollis reported on her Hotel Check-In blog some juicy news on a secret Starwood loyalty program initiative. Apparently, there’s been this top secret pilot program aimed at identifying and retaining the most profitable customer segments within Starwood and attracting those segments with its major competitors.

Whoops, I’m guessing my name is probably on the “never ever invite” list considering I always stay at Starwoods using nicely discounted Friends & Family rates.  This supposed Starwood Ambassador Program is something I probably won’t ever see in my lifetime.

I had always been aware of Starwood SPG levels that held priority status over the Platinum level, but it sounds like Barbara may be referring to something above and beyond even that.  It appears that this pilot program isn’t even being run by the Starwood Preferred Guest department, but rather some other internal group that bypasses SPG. If the top secret program was to remain a secret, its existence is starting to reveal itself.

In e-mail exchanges between Barbara and Mark Vondrasek, SVP Interactive & Brand Marketing, not too many details were shed other than the selection criteria for extending invitations into the program . . .

Vondrasek didn’t disclose many specifics in his email. He wouldn’t even tell me the name of the pilot, which for now has a code name. And, interestingly, he was most secretive about how Starwood was selecting pilot participants, calling the criteria “proprietary.” (Frankly, I’m also curious how they’ve been keeping these people quiet for so long…)

Here’s what Vondrasek did tell me:

Participants: Starwood invited ”several thousand” travelers to test the program. “We looked at factors beyond just frequency, which is the key measure in traditional hotel loyalty programs,” he said. “For instance, we evaluated factors including guest’s profitability, their lifetime growth potential and their ability to influence travel by others. We even targeted some travelers who were loyal not to Starwood, but to our competitors. ” (Emphasis mine.)

Special services. The goal is to “create compelling and individually tailored experiences” for high-value guests, he said. Participants are given a single point of contact called a Starwood Ambassador, whose job it is to make participants’ lives easier. He wouldn’t discuss any other details about perks or services

Hotel Chatter actually got in touch with a Starwood Plat who was invited into this pilot program.  Read the full post but here’s a snippet of this lucky guy’s testimonial:

I am a member of the Starwood Ambassador Program (was contacted a little over a year ago about the program). Basically, my “ambassador” (who I can call directly to make reservations and also acts like a concierge) is able to access my reservation record and calls the hotel manager on the day of my arrival (or the day before) requesting a room upgrade, along with water, soft drinks, beer/wine, fruit, or cheese plate in my room (or whatever else I’ve told him that I enjoy).

Even through I was already a SPG-level Platinum member beforehand, the probability of getting an upgrade (e.g. to suites) has increased tremendously since the Ambassador program started – probably because by calling the hotel manager on your behalf, you’re first in line for any available upgraded rooms.