Just when vacation plans are already locked in and I’ve made quite a few reservations for the coming days, there is a flurry of sales that have hit my inbox today. I figure some of you may be interested in taking another vacation slightly cheaper.

SPG has announced a resort sale in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean which offers up to 40% off for bookings made till July 6 and stays can be made till September 30, 2012. About 70 resorts are taking part in this promotion.

Obviously, if you click the link all of them look good, the pictures make them look good! The Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa, Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel and quite some others catch my eye. Have a look!

IHG, on the other hand has an exclusive ‘members only’ sale going from today upto 2nd July for hotels in Australasia, India, Middle East and Africa, and the South East Asia (stay till September 30 2012). In case you’re looking to travel this part of the world, do consider this sale if you’re a IHG PriorityClub Member, since it gives you upto 40% off room rates, complimentary breakfast for 2, free internet and late check out at participating InterContinental, Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn properties.

Here are some T&C you should note, however, before you book. Trust me, I’ve cut out what is not needed to know:

• Australasia: Australasia offer includes up to 30% discount and full buffet breakfast for 2 in the hotel restaurant per night booked. Rates offered have the additional 10% offered to Priority Club Rewards and invited partner members already included. The 10% discount is a fixed discount amount and is made off the rates offered to the public in the ongoing AMEA sale launching on 31 May 2012. Complimentary in-room internet and late checkout up until 2pm is available at InterContinental hotels only and is subject to availability. A minimum of 2 nights stay, excepting InterContinental Fiji and Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu which requires a minimum of 5 nights stay.
• India, Middle East and Africa: Offer for AMEA Includes up to 40% discount and full buffet breakfast for 2 in the hotel restaurant per night booked. Rates offered have the additional 10% offered to Priority Club Rewards and invited partner members already included. The 10% discount is a fixed discount amount and is made off the rates offered to the public in the AMEA sale launching 31 May 2012.Rates are per room per night inclusive of buffet breakfast for 2 adults, subject to availability. Tax and service charge apply. Complimentary internet access is applicable to all hotels in the region. Late check-out until 4pm subject to availability. One night non-refundable, non transferable deposit is required at the time of booking. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon & UAE – 4 nights, Kenya, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa & Zambia – 3 nights, and India – 2 night’s minimum length of stay required.
• South East Asia: Rates are per room, per night and are subject to availability.Rates offered have the additional 10% offered to Priority Club Rewards and invited partner members already included. The 10% discount is a fixed discount amount and is made off the rates offered to the public in the AMEA sale launching on 31 May 2012.Full prepayment is required at time of booking and is non-refundable upon cancellation. Complimentary internet access and breakfast for 2 persons are applicable in all hotels in the region.

If you’ve done with these two, we are also going through the Hilton Great Getaway up to 40% off sale which is ongoing for booking through July, 2012 and stay till September 30, 2012. I’m making use of this stay one in combination with my Hilton Diamond status this coming week to hopefully have a good family vacation!

This sale only has blackout restrictions in the UK during the period of the Olympics. You need to book 7 days in advance, except for the month of August when you can book 3 days ahead. As per the Terms & Conditions, here are the discounts available:

• North & South America: 15-20% discounts on best available rates
• Asia Pacific Region: Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand hotels offering 33% off on Best Available Rate and others offering 25% off
• Middle East Asia & Africa: 25% off on Best Available Rates
• Europe: 15-40% off on Best Available Rates (lots of fine print!)

Happy vacationing!

Related Posts:

• Hilton’s Great Getaway Sale coming back 10th May?

Live From A Lounge is also present on Facebook, Twitter and available via RSS.

It is the job of financial analysts to spark rumors, and after the big bang talks of US Airways/American Airlines being one entity, here is another analyst looking into the crystal ball. According to analysts at Numis, which is an independent investment banking firm, IHG and Marriott could room together at some point of time because their expansion plans look similar. IHG runs over 4,500 hotels globally while Marriott operates 3,700 properties and the analysts estimate that the combination will lead to 9pc of global room supply.

As per a report in the Daily Telegraph yesterday,

Asking whether the two could “room together”, analysts at Numis thought that “hotel industry consolidation is inevitable at some stage” and considered a merger between the British and American pair to be “just one of the potential tie-ups”.

They argued that with InterContinental trading “at an apparently perpetual discount to its US peers”, it looks like a possible target and that a merger with Marriott would “create a dominant player in the global hotel market” with over 9pc of global room supply.

The broker calculated that such a deal could be worth $8.7bn (£5.5bn) in total.

“The strategic rationale for a merger between InterContinental and Marriott is compelling,” said Numis. “First of all the strategic growth plans for the two businesses are remarkably similar. Both, for example, have had a long-standing focus on reducing hotel ownership and pursuing management and franchise contracts.

“Secondly, both companies are pursing global growth opportunities by establishing a strong presence in key gateway cities, continuing to develop in large established markets and looking to expand in emerging markets, notably China.”

Do you think this is good news? For the frequent traveller, the benefits at both the hotel chains are anyways minimal, if you count out the Ambassador benefits of the InterContinental branded properties. This is one more of those newsbites to keep a watch on going forward…

Live From A Lounge is also present on Facebook, Twitter and available via RSS.

I recently wrote about the changes which are in place now with the Priority Club Reward nights, and also about the grace period available till 18th March 2012 to make a booking at the old point redemption rate. Reader David stopped by and asked a question which I thought I should answer here since others may also have similar doubts.

do you know if there is a fixed number of times that you can make a booking(s) under the old rate?

It would appear that this is a one-off thing (in terms of reservations) and I couldn’t make additional bookings after utilizing my points once for an older rate

As per my information and experience, there is no fixed limit on the number of times you can make bookings under the old rate. I’ve personally redeemed about 3-4 times as of now, and only one of the bookings was cancelled (however, the old and new rates were the same there, so no difference).

The preferred flow of events in this case is to make a room reservation on the Priority Club website, and then call the helpline, ask for the Priority Club agent, and tell them about your booking. They will be able to validate your old rates v/s new rates, and credit points back into your account basis the difference that exists between these two numbers.

I hope that works for you. Else, do stop by for more queries. Hurry, you only have 9 more days to make good on the old rates.

Related Posts:

• Devaluation to the Priority Club program
• 2 Months grace period to book using the old Priority Club rates
• Speculation about changes to the Priority Club program

Live From A Lounge is also present on Facebook, Twitter and available via RSS.