Omni Hotels operates 39 upscale and luxury hotels and resorts in North America.  Hotels offer wifi and high speed internet access (complimentary for Select Guest members).  Omni Select Guest Gold Level membership normally takes 6 stays in a 24 month period.  Omni Hotels has a special offer in conjunction with Emirates Airlines.

Emirates Airlines Skywards Double Miles promotion with Omni Select Guest hotel stays from August 15 through November 30, 2008.

Emirates Skywards members will be upgraded to Omni Select Guest Gold status with a stay at any of the five participating properties and receive double miles for a stay at:

·         Omni Berkshire Place – New York, NY

·         Omni Houston Hotel

·         Omni Houston Hotel at Westside

·         Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza

·         Omni San Francisco Hotel

Benefits of Omni Hotels Select Guest Gold Level membership:

·         More rates qualify for 500 frequent flyer miles.

·         Late check-out up to 5 pm.

·         Occasional certificates for room upgrades and room rate discounts.

Loyalty Traveler note: Customer service told me the international airline partners are relatively new to the program and the website updates have not yet been programmed to allow registration of these airline partners online in your profile.  You will need to call customer service to have your Emirates frequent flyer number placed in your guest profile. 

Normal frequent flyer miles earning for Omni Select Guests is 500 miles per stay.  This Emirates offer will award 1,000 miles per stay and your first stay at one of the five participating hotels listed above will trigger the Gold Level upgrade.

For the past several weeks I have been thinking about writing a piece on hotel brands and hotel market segments.  The release yesterday of the JD Power 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study brought the idea back to the forefront.  Overall customer satisfaction with hotels is on the decline.  The luxury and extended stay hotel markets were the only market segments not showing a decline in customer satisfaction from 2007.

My friends on July 4^th were quite impressed with my corner room suite at the Le Meridien San Francisco, a Starwood brand hotel.   Two of my friends have Starwood employee connections and could get a hotel room at the Le Meridien at quite a discount, but they did not know the hotel was a Starwood brand.

I typically find the most confusing aspect for travelers learning about hotel loyalty programs is the lack of familiarity with the variety of hotel brands in the major hotel chains.  Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, and InterContinental are multi-brand hotel corporations and their hotel loyalty programs represent over 30 hotel brands.

J.D. Power and Associates performs an annual Hotel Guest Satisfaction study that segments the hotel market into six categories.  I have added loyalty program information next to the hotel brand and I have added additional brands from the major programs.

1. Luxury Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Fairmont Hotels (Fairmont President’s Club)

            b. Four Seasons (no traditional loyalty program)

            c. InterContinental Hotels (IHG Priority Club and Ambassador Club)

            d. JW Marriott (Marriott Rewards)

            e. Loews Hotels (Loews You First)

            f. Millennium Hotels, (hotels are primarily outside North America; no traditional loyalty program)

            g. Sofitel Hotels (Accor Hotels, redesigned loyalty program to launch Sep 2008)

            h. Ritz-Carlton (Marriott Rewards redemption only),

            i. W Hotel (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

          Luxury Hotel Brands Missing from JD Power survey:

            Waldorf=Astoria (Hilton HHonors)

            Conrad Hotels (Hilton HHonors)

            St. Regis Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            The Luxury Collection (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            Le Meridien Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            Park Hyatt (Hyatt Gold Passport)

Upscale Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Crowne Plaza (IHG Priority Club)

            b. Delta (Delta Privilege), Canadian hotel chain

            c. Doubletree (Hilton HHonors)

            d. Embassy Suites (Hilton HHonors)

            e. Hyatt Hotels (Hyatt Gold Passport)

            f. Marriott Hotels (Marriott Rewards)

            g. Omni Hotels (Omni Select Guest),

            h. Radisson (Carlson Gold Points Plus)

            i. Renaissance (Marriott Rewards)

            j. Sheraton (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            k. Westin (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            l. Wyndham Hotels (Wyndham Rewards)

          Missing Brands:  Cambria Suites (Choice Privileges)

Mid-Scale Full Service Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Best Western (Best Western Gold Crown Club)

            b. Clarion (Choice Privileges)

            c. Courtyard (Marriott Rewards)

            d. Four Points by Sheraton (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            e. Hilton Garden Inn (Hilton HHonors)

            f. Holiday Inn (IHG Priority Club)

            g. Howard Johnson Hotels (Wyndham Rewards)

            h. Hyatt Place (Hyatt Gold Passport)

            i. Quality Inn (Choice Privileges)

            j. Ramada Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

Mid-Scale Limited Service Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. AmericInn  (AmericInn Rewards)

            b. AmeriSuites (Wyndham Rewards)

            Note: most hotels in the AmeriSuites brand were converted to Hyatt Place Hotels or sold in 2008.

            c. Baymont Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            d. Comfort Inn (Choice Privileges)

            e. Comfort Suites (Choice Privileges)

            f. Country Inns and Suites (Carlson Gold Points Plus)

            g. Drury Inn and Suites (Drury Gold Key Club)

            h. Fairfield Inn (Marriott Rewards)

            i. Hampton Inn (Hilton HHonors)

            j. Holiday Inn Express (IHG Priority Club)

            k. La Quinta Inn (La Quinta Returns)

            l. Ramada Limited (Wyndham Rewards)

            m. Sleep Inn (Choice Privileges)

            n. Springhill Suites (Marriott Rewards)

            o. Wingate by Wyndham (Wyndham Rewards)

Economy/Budget Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. America’s Best Value Inn (ValueClub)

            b. Days Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            c. Econolodge (Choice Privileges)

            d. Howard Johnson Express (Wyndham Rewards)

            e. Knights Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            f. Microtel Inns (MicroPass, but Wyndham recently bought Microtel and perhaps this program will become part of Wyndham Rewards)

            g. Motel 6 (Accor, but no participation in Accor hotel loyalty program)

            h. Red Roof Inn (Redicard)

            i. Rodeway Inn (Choice Privileges)

            j. Super 8 Motel (Wyndham Rewards)

            k. Travelodge (Wyndham Rewards)

Extended Stay Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. Candlewood Suites (IHG Priority Club)

            b. Extended Stay America (Extended Stay Hotels, no loyalty program)

            c. Hawthorn Suites (Wyndham Rewards)

            d. Homestead Studio Suites (Extended Stay Hotels, no loyalty program but register for Suite Offers online and receive $10 off next stay)         

            e. Homewood Suites (Hilton HHonors)

            f. Residence Inn (Marriott Rewards)

            g. Staybridge Suites (IHG Priority Club)

            h. TownePlace Suites (Marriott Rewards)

Other Extended Stay Hotel Brands:

            Element (Starwood Preferred Guest)  new extended stay brand

Starwood Hotels 7 Day Summer Value Sale (up to 50% off rack rate)

Starwood Hotels has launched a 7 day sale on hotel rates in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean.  Save up to 50% off rack rate for stays in August and September.  Reservations must be booked by 11:59pm EDT, August 5 and rates are non-refundable.  A hotel search by location will show the hotel lowest prices available for these special rates.  Some hotels may impose a minimum stay requirement for this special rate and some hotels have blackout dates.

My initial ten searches only located one hotel available for the lowest rate shown with this summer special at $87/night for the W Hotel Silicon Valley in Newark, California.  This hotel has had a regular rate of $109 for most weekend nights of the past two years and this $87 special rate is the lowest I have seen in quite some time.

San Francisco Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf is shown at $149 per night. August/September are the hotel high rate months for San Francisco.  I was unable to find a rate anywhere near $149 for dates I checked.  But there are thousands of combinations of hotels and dates and I did find an example of good savings using this special offer (20% off the normal low rate for W Silicon Valley).  

Check out Starwood Hotels sale rates and possibly save some summer cash with your Starwood Hotel travel for reservations made this week.

Starwood Hotels Summer Value Sale Terms and Conditions

July 31 Update to this post:

I have seen the summer sale rates more prevalent since yesterday.  I am now finding the low advertised rates more frequently than when I wrote this post two days ago at a number of California hotels.  The rates are coming up in regular Starwood website hotel searches even without searching through the special summer link

I came across two data sources over the past couple of days that show interesting trends across the USA for airport flight reductions and average hotel rates for dozens of major cities around the USA.

This past month I have been seeing articles about the impact of airport flight cutbacks on the hotel industry.  An article I read estimated every 10% reduction in flights creates a 3.9% reduction in hotel demand for the area.  I imagined I could look at the data I saw on flight cutbacks and hotel occupancy and have some revelation, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Last Friday, USA Today produced a graphic showing the reduction in percentage of passenger seats for flights at 300 airports in the USA based on November 2008 schedules compared to November 2007.  My initial shock was to see my local airport in Monterey (MRY) is listed with 24.5% fewer seats.  And yet, I just searched for tickets from Monterey to Las Vegas and the fare is $100 all-in roundtrip, the lowest fare I’ve ever seen to Las Vegas from Monterey with our new airline service on Allegiant Airlines.

Smith Travel Research tracks US lodging industry revenue and publishes weekly reports.  The data for June indicates a significant slowdown in hotel occupancy along with a continued increase in average room rates.  The summer months of 2008 are seeing drops from summer 2007.  June 2008 hotel occupancy dropped 4.5% compared to June 2007 while the average room rate climbed 3.2% over the past year.

The good news for consumers is the average room rate increases are slowing in most markets as we progress through 2008.  My observation for the San Francisco Bay area is some of the lowest rates I have seen in a couple of years occasionally pop up over the past few months at several upper upscale hotels I track.  This is even as San Francisco has one of the strongest hotel markets in the USA due to high occupancy, high rate increases, and increased international tourism.  The Le Meridien Hotel was $139/night over the July 4^th when usual rates are $200+ for this hotel and I have seen the rates surpass $500 during some weeks. 

Impact of Several Years of High Hotel Room Rate Increases 

The budget traveler has seen average USA hotel rates rise 25%, and in some hotel markets like Hawaii even up 50% over the past 4 years.  Has your salary increased 50% in that time frame?  If not, then you are feeling the economic pressures on your travel lifestyle.

Assume Hilton, Starwood or Hyatt top elite status is achieved on hotel stays for a frequent guest with 30 to 40 nights per year in hotels.

2004 Full service hotels in USA $117 ADR (+12.5% tax) = $131.63

2005 +5.5% = $138.87

2006 +7.4% = $149.15

2007 +5.9% = $157.95

2008 +4.4% = $164.90

The average daily rate for a full-scale hotel in 2008 is $33.27 more than 2004 (a 25% increase in 4 years.) 

30 nights for top elite status will cost $1,000 more in 2008 than 2004 if you are in the average rate market.  New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Phoenix will cost you even more.

2004 the cost of 30 hotel nights at full service hotels averaged about $4,000 after taxes ($3,949).

2008 the cost has increased to $5,000 for 30 nights or your $4,000 budget that bought 30 nights 4 years ago now only buys 24 hotel nights.  Think one less week vacation and not enough nights for top elite frequent guest status.

Top 10 Hot Hotel Markets in USA

Source: TWR Hotel Outlook Summer 2008, Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration

Average Daily Rate (ADR) annual increase over 7% from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008

1.      Charlotte, NC  9.6%

2.      Houston 9.1%

3.      San Francisco, 8.8%

4.      New York City 8.7%

5.      Fort Worth, TX 8.3%

6.      Columbia, SC 7.9%

7.      Richmond, VA 7.6%

8.      Cincinnati, OH 7.1%

9.      Portland, OR 7.1%

10. Philadelphia 7.0%

11 Cool Full-Service Hotel Markets

ADR annual increase less than 2% from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008

1.      Trenton, NJ -3.1%

2.      Fort Lauderdale, FL -1.5%

3.      Tucson, AZ -1.3%

4.      New Orleans, LA -0.8%

5.      Cleveland, OH 0.4%

6.      San Diego, CA 0.4%

7.      Miami, FL 1.0%  (already overpriced at #1 upscale ADR in USA in 2007)

8.      Columbus, OH 1.1%

9.      Long Island, NY 1.2%

10. Baltimore, MD 1.3%

11. Atlanta, GA 1.6%

10 Expensive Cities for Full Service Hotels

(Room Rate Percentage increase from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008)

1.      West Palm Beach, FL $265.18  (4.9%)

2.      New York City $254.71 (8.7%)

3.      Miami, FL $249.53  (1.0%)

4.      Phoenix, AZ $203.10  (4.8%)

5.      Fort Lauderdale, FL $195.38  (-1.5%)

6.      Honolulu, HI $186.86  (6.0%)

7.      Washington, DC $175.33  (2.2%)

8.      San Francisco, CA $174.65  (8.8%)

9.      San Diego, CA $171.67  (0.4%)

10. Los Angeles, CA $161.91 (5.1%)

10 Low-Cost Cities for Full Service Hotels

(Room Rate Percentage increase from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008)

1.      Dayton, OH $83.87 (2.1%)

2.      Albuquerque, NM  $96.38  (5.6%)

3.      St. Louis, MO  $101.45  (2.2%)

4.      Columbia, SC $101.63  (7.9%)

5.      Omaha, NE  $102.94 (5.6%)

6.      Cleveland, OH $104.43  (0.4%)

7.      Richmond, VA $107.02  (7.6%)

8.      Cincinnati, OH $107.41 (7.1%)

9.      Kansas City, MO $108.34  (4.9%)

10. Albany, NY $110.10  (2.6%)

Hotel Points to Airline Miles is generally not a good value, IMHO

PointsWizard posted a 30% bonus offer for Priority Club points to Delta Airline miles on his blog yesterday.  I thought I would run through the numbers and show why I think hotel points to airline miles are generally a poor value. 

Priority Club points can be exchanged into airline miles at the rate of 10,000 points equals 2,000 frequent flier miles.  The 30% bonus promotion only applies to Priority Club points to Delta Airlines Skymiles and 10,000 Priority Club points will exchange into 2,600 Skymiles.

How does one compare the value of hotel points to airline miles?

Actual value is what the hotel points or frequent flier miles currency is worth at the time of redemption for some tangible reward.  Potential value is what you reasonably expect from the points or miles in a future redemption transaction for a travel reward.  In my experience I have watched frequent flier accounts with 100,000 miles decline from having the potential value of a first class ticket to nearly anywhere in the world to having the potential for a business class ticket to a few destinations in the world.  A common feature of loyalty program economics is the likelihood your points and miles will have less value over time. 

Potential Value of 10,000 Priority Club points

10,000 Priority Club points can be redeemed for 2 hotel nights on a PointBreaks award next week at the Holiday Inn, Auburn, California or exchanged for 2,600 Delta miles with the Skymiles 30% bonus offer. 

Potential value of 2 hotel nights in Auburn, California at the Holiday Inn for August 7-9 is $129.99/night or $260 value.

Delta miles can be purchased in increments of 2,000 miles for $59.13.  The value of 2,600 Skymiles is about $80 when valued at the cost to purchase miles.  Potential value of two hotel nights is $260 if 10,000 Priority Club points are used for PointBreak Reward nights and this option provides a much higher return on the value of your points.

Assume someone is transferring 40,000 Priority Club points for 10,400 Delta Skymiles.  The SkyMiles would have a cash cost of $300 to purchase 10,000 miles.  40,000 points is the reward cost for the upper tier InterContinental Hotel properties around the globe.  In many cases the room rate for an InterContinental Hotel will run much higher than $300/night.

If you need quick miles for an award, then hotel points to miles exchange can be high value.  I once moved 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 British Airways miles to top off my account and I redeemed the miles for a First Class ticket to Europe within two weeks.   

Priority Club happens to be the one hotel program where a relative small number of points can go a long way with PointBreaks reward nights.  The PointBreaks hotel offers are slim right now in mid-July, but the current list has been weeded down since the list came out six weeks ago.  There were 65 USA hotels offered as PointBreaks on June 13 and there are currently 10 hotels remaining.  The traveler needs to book quickly after a new list appears to get the best hotel reward currently being offered. 

Loyalty Traveler will post when the new PointBreaks list is released – probably in about a month.

And if the PointBreaks list has options beyond your accumulated points, remember you can buy up to 40,000 Priority Club points per year.

Hotels.com, an Expedia company, has launched a new loyalty program called WelcomeRewards.

My survey of the WelcomeRewards program leaves Loyalty Traveler with quite a favorable impression of the earning power and usefulness of this frequent guest program. 

The WelcomeRewards program is quite simple.  Earn a free night after you stay 10 nights at any Hotels.com partner property with a base rate of $40 or more and also showing the Price Match Guarantee sticker below the rate.  Your free night can be for a hotel of up to $400 base rate.  Qualifying hotel night credits expire after 18 months of inactivity.

Theoretically, it is possible to get $400 free hotel night after $400 in spending, although finding a $40 hotel room will be a challenge in most locations.  One advantage of WelcomeRewards by hotels.com over a traditional hotel corporate program is the ability to earn free nights with stays at properties like B&Bs, inns, and independent hotels.

My home base on the Monterey Peninsula is a holiday location with about 160 lodging accommodations within a 6 mile radius consisting of mostly independent small inns, B&Bs, and motels, but also with several independent upscale properties.  This is a location where the Hyatt Monterey and Hilton Garden Inn Monterey may have room rates over $250 per night for a basic room while a nicer room with a unique character is available for $170 per night in Carmel. 

Paying less for a nicer room while earning loyalty credit towards a free night is what Loyalty Traveler is all about.  WelcomeRewards by hotels.com is one of the most interesting hotel loyalty programs to emerge in the past couple of years.

Quite realistically, a traveler can book 10 nights at $60/night and earn a $400 room credit.  This is a 67% value-added hotel strategy.  That is competitive with just about any major hotel loyalty program.  Even if you are spending $120 night or $1,200 to earn a free night, the potential for a $400 rebate is a 30% return on your hotel spending.  As long as the Hotels.com rates are competitive with other websites, then you will come out with a good return on your hotel spending investment.

A recent Compete.com report showed Expedia gets 48% of TripAdvisor hotel review referral bookings among online travel agencies and Hotels.com receives 11%.

Expedia.com has its own loyalty program with ThankYou points earned at the rate of 1 point per $1.  A hotel traveler will need to spend $5,000 on Expedia.com just to get a $50 hotel certificate.  Hotels.com WelcomeRewards program has much higher value earning per $1 spending as a loyalty program for the hotel traveler.

A Cornell Hospitality Report from 2006, An Examination of Internet Intermediaries and Hotel Loyalty Programs: How Will Guests Get their Points? by: Bill Carroll Ph.D. and Judy Siguaw Ph.D.  discussed the idea of online travel agencies setting up their own loyalty programs and predicted this business strategy would not play out. 

WelcomeRewards is the first loyalty program I have seen to emerge from the online travel agencies that holds significant value comparable to the corporate chain frequent guest programs like Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, and Starwood Preferred Guest.  I look forward to seeing how the hotels.com program evolves.

The primary drawback to WelcomeRewards is the hotel traveler will not earn hotel frequent guest credit with hotel loyalty programs like Starwood, Marriott, or Hilton when staying at their hotel brands.  If attaining elite status and room upgrades is important, then you know to book through the corporate-branded hotel websites.  I value room upgrades and better room locations when I visit hotels.  But at times, I just want a room or I want a better deal than I see in the major corporate brands for my hotel stay dates and this is where I see value with WelcomeRewards by hotels.com.

The WelcomeRewards by hotels.com loyalty program will benefit guests with no preferred hotel chain or for travel in places where your preferred hotel chain is not available or too expensive.  The flexibility of choosing any hotel without regard to a specific hotel chain’s brands is preferential for some travelers. 

Case Study of hotels.com rates compared to other online travel agencies:

Hotel rates from online searches conducted July 25, 2008

The Monterey Peninsula is a perfect example where a major corporate hotel frequent guest with a program like Marriott or Starwood may find value in WelcomeRewards by hotels.com.

Come to Monterey as a Starwood Preferred Guest and you will find the 70 mile drive to the San Jose Sheraton a bit out of town as the nearest Starwood property to Monterey/Carmel.  And the major chain hotels located here on the Monterey Peninsula tend to be high priced and near the top end of the room rate range for this location with over 160 lodging options in hotels, B&Bs, and resorts.

By the Numbers:

Room Rates for a Monterey, California Hotel Search on Hotels.com for Tuesday, August 5 to Thursday, August 7, 2008.  Room rates for other leading online websites were checked.

InterContinental – The Clement, Monterey  

Hotels.com $239/night  (Best rate found) 

This upscale oceanfront property is just recently opened near the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row and rates are still low and expected to climb about $100/night over the next year.         

Other searches for this hotel:

            Kayak.com= $299 (Orbitz); $324 (IHG)

            Expedia.com $239 (nonrefundable);

            Travelocity.com $324;

            IHG website (AAA rate) $299

            While Expedia has a rate $85 lower than the IHG hotel websites for the same room category, this is not an eligible price rate guarantee claim because the Expedia and hotels.com rates are nonrefundable, and the IHG rate can be cancelled up to 48 hours before arrival.

A Priority Club member should be able to earn 2,000 points for a hotel stay at an InterContinental brand and 2,000 to 8,000 bonus points from current promotions or buying an additional 4,000 points for a $20 higher rate.   Walking away with 10,000 Priority Club points may well be worth the extra $100 rate for some members.  But, hotels.com is a winner here for travelers not invested in Priority Club and seeking a new hotel in a great location at the best available rate.

Marriott Monterey

hotels.com $339/night

Kayak: $339 (Marriott, Orbitz); Expedia $339; Travelocity $339 

(Senior rate $288 on Marriott if you qualify, otherwise I found no other discount rates).  A look at Marriott offers on PointMaven shows I can receive a $25 gift card if I pay with American Express.

Hyatt Highlands Inn, a dreamy location on the cliffs of Carmel Highlands, but at this price???  Rates in the November to April season can drop to near $200/night.

Hotels.com $575/night; Kayak $575 (Hyatt); Expedia $575; Travelocity $575;

Hyatt.com AAA rate $535.50 (lowest rate found)

Clarion Carmel (There are much better options in Carmel for less money) 

            Hotels.com $200;  Kayak $171 (Clarion); Expedia $200; Travelocity $200

Hofsas House Hotel, Carmel (Great location, outdoor pool, several communal decks, rooms are basic.) 

Hotels.com $99  Kayak: $99 (hotelbook); Expedia $99; Travelocity $120

The budget traveler can stay in the Hofsas House with an outdoor pool and large decks with ocean views (beach is about 10 minute walk).  The hotel itself is nothing special, but the location is great and a pool is not that common for this area.  Earn much higher value loyalty credit with hotels.com WelcomeRewards for a stay at this hotel while paying the same price as other booking sites.

Tradewinds Carmel (upscale and independent hotel in great Carmel location)

            Hotels.com $325;  Kayak: (Orbitz) $325; Expedia $325; Travelocity $325;

            Tradewinds hotel website $325

The Tradewinds Carmel is an upscale independent hotel.  This hotel has Asian-design theme rooms, all mod cons and some rooms have one of the finer ocean views available in Carmel from a hotel.  And the price is less than the Marriott in downtown Monterey.

Properties like Hofsas House for the budget minded or the Tradewinds Carmel for the loyalty traveler seeking independence from another big hotel Marriott or ultra-expensive Hyatt is where the WelcomeRewards by hotels.com program shines for the frequent guest. 

WelcomeRewards provides the earning power towards another free hotel night you sometimes need when your primary hotel loyalty program is just not the best choice.  These properties in Carmel are well-situated for budgets of various sizes and the frequent guest will accumulate credit towards the 10 nights for a free night. 

And chances are you can find a free night at the Hyatt Highlands Inn just as the rate hovers around the $399/night mark and get great value out of your hotels.com WelcomeRewards frequent guest program.

The roll-out of the WelcomeRewards by hotels.com is a loyalty program that will very likely cause me to make my first ever booking with this online travel agency.

Bill Marriott (of Marriott Hotels) wrote a blog post last week, “Weathering Turbulent Times” in which he states “business outside of North America is terrific – and that’s where over 60% of our new full-service hotels will be built.”  I frequently see articles about large international contracts for new hotels in India, China, and Russia.  Several reports have come out about hotels relying on their international sectors to maintain profitability.  Hotel rates rising 20-40% year-to-year in India and the Middle East over the past few years has made these locations some of the most expensive in the world for lodging.

I wanted a chart to track the proportion of international properties in each hotel chain.  My experience has been the most consistent upgrades occur when staying at international hotels as a high elite member of a hotel loyalty program.  The best value for free room stays using points also tends to be for international properties. And now it looks like the growth of the major hotel loyalty program member hotels will be outside the USA for the next few years.

So how are different hotel companies positioned in their international portfolio? 

This is really an important consideration in choosing your hotel loyalty program if you want to travel the world and take advantage of your frequent guest opportunities for free stays in expensive places.

USA Hotels and International Hotels (percentage of total hotels) in major hotel corporations:      

Best Western 2,400 hotels in USA, 1,800 international (43% international)

Starwood Hotels 520 hotels in USA; 340 international (40% international)

Carlson Hotels 700 hotels in USA; 250 international (36% international)

Hyatt Hotels 320 hotels in USA; 120 international (27% international)

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,100 hotels in USA, 900 international (23%)

Choice Hotels 4,770 hotels in USA, 830 international (15% international)

Hilton Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Marriott Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Wyndham Hotels  6,130 hotels in USA,  370 international (6% international) 

(While Wyndham Hotels has the lowest percentage of hotels in international locations, the company also operates the profitable time share RCI and a rental system in Europe which generates most company revenue and has strong international component.  These vacation rentals are not included in hotel properties.)

Hilton and Marriott have big plans for abroad.  Hyatt and Starwood look well-positioned for expansion.  Best Western is a program that will benefit you in a multitude of places with 1,800 hotels outside the USA.

 Source data for hotel numbers, geographic locations, and hotel brands:

Best Western: 4,200 hotels  (1,805 hotels outside North America or 43% international)

            2,395 North America

            1,312 Europe

            75 Asia/Middle East

            265 Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific

            43 South/Central America

            6 Africa

Choice Hotels: 5,600 + hotels  (830 outside North America)  14.8%

Choice Hotels International Properties: (Source from December 2007, page 30)

            Canada 273 Hotels

            Mexico 17

            Central America 13

            Brazil 48

            Europe 441

            India 25

            Australia/New Zealand 261

            China 2

            Japan 42

            832 hotels outside North America

          1,100+ international hotels 

Choice Hotels by Brand  

          549 Comfort Inn/Comfort Suites

            378 Quality Inns

            118 Clarion

            16 Sleep Inn

Hilton Hotels Corporation: 3,000 hotels  (about 400 international properties)

13.3% international

Hilton Hotels By Brand

            Hilton 505 hotels

            Conrad 15

            Doubletree 189

            Embassy Suites 190

            Hampton Inn 1,511 (99% of Hampton Inns are in USA)

            Hilton Garden Inn 362

            Homewood Suites 223

            Waldorf=Astoria 5

Hyatt Hotels  435 hotels, 117 international hotels)  27% international

USA 318 hotels

Canada 4 hotels

Mexico 6 hotels

Asia   52 hotels

Europe 28 hotels

South America 4 hotels

Caribbbean 3 hotels

Australia/New Zealand 9 hotels

Africa/Middle East 11 hotels 

Summerfield Suites, 30 hotels in USA

Hyatt Place, 111 hotels in USA)

InterContinental Hotels Group – 4,000+ hotels  (About 900 international hotels)

22.5% international

InterContinental Hotels 153 properties (USA 21, Canada 3, Mexico 10)

            Americas 52 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 64 hotels

            Asia Pacific 37 hotels

Crowne Plaza 308 hotels

            Americas 176 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 76 hotels

            Asia Pacific 56 hotels

Holiday Inn 1,369 hotels

          Americas 946 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 328 hotels

            Asia Pacific 95 hotels

Hotel Indigo 14 hotels

            Americas 14 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 1 hotel (opening London Summer 2008)

Holiday Inn Express 1,819 hotels

            Americas 1,619 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 188 hotels

            Asia Pacific 12 hotels

Staybridge Suites  130 hotels

            Americas 130 hotels

Candlewood Suites 169 hotels

            Americas 169 hotels

Marriott Hotels Corporation 

3,000 Hotels  (400 international hotels) (13.3%)

Marriott Hotels ,  521 hotels = 343 USA, 178 International

JW Marriott, 39 hotels = 16 USA, 23 International

Renaissance Hotels, 143 hotels = 75 USA, 68 international

Courtyard by Marriott, 770 hotels = 697 USA, 73 international

Residence Inn by Marriott,  547 hotels = 529 USA, 18 international

Fairfield Inn, 535 hotels = 527 USA, 8 international

TownePlace Suites, 145 hotels in USA

SpringHill Suites, 187 hotels = 186 USA, 1 international

Ritz-Carlton Hotels  68 hotels = 36 USA, 32 international

Starwood Hotels, 860 Hotels 

600 North America, 260 international hotels (30%)

USA 517

Canada 51 hotels

Mexico 23 hotels

Caribbean 9 hotels

South America  36 hotels

Europe  74 hotels

Africa 40 hotels

Middle East 58 hotels

Asia Pacific 151 open (36 hotels scheduled to open in next 18 months)

Wyndham Hotels, Howard Johnson and Ramada are primary international chains.

6,550 franchised hotels  (About 370 international hotels, 6% of total hotels)

Europe 212 hotels

Middle East 13 hotels

Africa 10 hotels

Asia Pacific 133 hotels

Wyndham Rewards Double Airline Miles or Rail Points for Summer 2008 Stays

With over 6,000 properties in Wyndham Rewards this is an inexpensive way to earn some airline miles with your hotel stays.

Terms and conditions:

-         No registration is required. 

-         Set your earning preference to airline miles in your guest profile. 

-         Participating countries are USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany or China. 

-         Hotel stays must be booked by September 4 and stays completed by October 4, 2008.

-         Limit of 4 Stays will earn Double Miles or Points per member

Wyndham Rewards has benefits like free internet just for joining.  Hotel points or airline miles can be earned for stays at 10 hotel brands, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate, Baymont Inns and Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, and AmeriHost Inn.  And just 3 stays in a calendar year brings some additional Wyndham ByRequest elite benefits such as preferred location in a hotel.

Regular Earning System for Wyndham Rewards                                                                                      (Double Miles or Rail Points promotion will double the earning shown below for miles).

Wyndham Rewards allows members the choice of hotel stay earning preference:

10 Wyndham Rewards points per $1 hotel rate paid

or

2 airline miles per $1, except Wyndham Hotels earn a set 500 miles per stay.

            Earning rules vary among airline partners:

            2 airline miles per $1

                        American Airlines AAdvantage,

                        Continental Airlines OnePass

                        Delta Skymiles

                        Midwest Airlines Midwest Miles

                        Northwest Airlines WorldPerks

                        Spirit Airlines

                        United Mileage Plus

                        US Airways Dividend Miles

            Air Canada Aeroplan

                    Greater of 2 airline miles per $1  or  250 miles per stay

            SunCountry Airline UFly points

                        2 UFly points per Wyndham Hotel stay or

                        1 UFly point per stay at other Wyndham brands

            Air Berlin

                        500 miles per stay

            Air China Phoenix Miles

                        800 kilometers per stay at Ramada, Howard Johnson, or Days Hotels in China         

                        400 kilometers per stay at Days Inn or Super 8 in China

                        3 kilometers per $1 for stays at Wyndham Rewards hotel brands outside China

            Lufthansa Miles & More

                    500 miles per stay at participating Wyndham Hotels and Ramada Inn

            Amtrak Points (available for stays at USA and Canada hotels only)

                        2 points per $1 at all Wyndham brands, except 500 points per stay at Wyndham                                          Hotels

That $50 Travelodge hotel night can be worth 200 American Airlines miles with the Double Miles promotion.

Double Starpoints for 1^st Anniversary Promotion at 28 Starwood Hotels

There are 28 hotels in North America celebrating their 1^st anniversary as Starwood Hotel members and Starwood Preferred Guest is giving double Starpoints to celebrate.

Registration is required for this Double Starpoints 1^st Anniversary promotion.

Valid for stays booked and completed between July 10 and October 31, 2008.

Only base points are doubled and not bonus or elite points. 

By the numbers:  Regular earning for Starwood Preferred Guest members is 2 Starpoints per $1 in hotel spending. 

Assume $100 room rate for one-night stay

Preferred Guest = 400 Starpoints earned

Gold Preferred = 500 Starpoints earned

Platinum Preferred = 1,000 Starpoints earned (assumes 500 points platinum amenity)

$100 room rate earns 200 base Starpoints.  Double Starpoints will be 4 Starpoints per $1 or 400 Starpoints on a $100 room rate. 

For elites: Gold member would earn a 50% bonus on 200 Starpoints for base spending = 300 Starpoints + 200 Starpoints (double promo) = 500 Starpoints on a $100 room rate.

Platinum member selecting 500 Starpoints amenity can earn 1,000 Starpoints on a $100 room rate.]

Fairmont President’s Club

An article I read last week stated people travel to destinations, not hotels.  That travel writer probably is not a member of the Fairmont President’s Club.  Fairmont Hotels calls itself the largest luxury hotel company in North America. 

Fairmont Hotel Locations: The Fairmont hotel locator shows 15 Fairmont hotels and resorts and 2 residences in the USA and 21 hotels in Canada.

19 International locations from Bermuda to Singapore and includes The Savoy in London.

The original Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco on Nob Hill stands on one of the best locations in the city for a panoramic view.  The Fairmont Hotel chain has gone through a couple of corporate purchases in the past decade and now includes many of the historic Canadian Pacific Railroad resort hotels from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  A couple of years ago the Fairmont Hotels were purchased by a corporation owning the Raffles and Swissotel chains.  Currently the Fairmont President’s Club member receives reciprocal benefits with Raffles Hotels, but Swissotel maintains its own loyalty program called Club Swiss Gold.  Raffles Hotels are expanding rapidly in select international locations and provide additional value to Fairmont Hotels President’s Club members.

Fairmont President’s Club has three membership levels :

Club Membership – Complimentary enrollment and benefits start with first stay, including:

            Free high-speed internet access [a benefit that is rarely free in most luxury hotels]

            Complimentary local and 1-800 calls

            Complimentary health club access

            500 airline miles per stay with any of 8 airline partners:

                        American Airlines AAdvantage,

                        Air Canada Aeroplan,

                        Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan,

                        United Airlines Mileage Plus,

                        Lufthansa Miles & More,

                        Cathay Pacific Asia Miles,

                        Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer,

                        Emirates Skywards.

Premier Membership – Attained after 5 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year, January 1- December 31. 

Member earns 750 miles per stay.

1 room upgrade and 1 suite upgrade certificate awarded with new Premier membership

Status is in effect for remainder of qualifying calendar year and through February of following year.

Member is awarded a $50 Fairmont dining certificate for lunch or dinner.

Certificate for complimentary 3^rd night on a 3 night stay.

Platinum membership – Attained after 10 stays or 30 nights in a calendar year, January 1-December 31.

1,000 airline miles per stay.

2 room upgrade and 2 suite upgrade certificates awarded with new Platinum membership.

1 complimentary night certificate

Member is awarded a $100 Fairmont dining certificate for lunch or dinner.

There is an incentive of bonus airline miles for stays at different properties.

Stays at 3 different Fairmont locations in a calendar year earns 1,000 bonus airline miles.

Stays at 4 different Fairmont locations in a calendar year earns 2,000 bonus airline miles.

Stays at 5 different Fairmont locations in a calendar year earns 3,000 bonus airline miles.

Bonus miles are posted in the first quarter of the year following the year of qualifying activity.  This means you may have to wait a year for your bonus miles if you do the great Canadian vacation in January.

To recap:  A new member of Fairmont President’s Club staying at 5 different locations in 2008 will earn 500 miles per stay, plus 6,000 bonus miles in early 2009 for a total 8,500 airline miles.  In addition, the member would rise to Premier level after 5 stays and miles earned increase to 750 miles per hotel stay.  Premier status earned in 2008 will remain valid through February 2010, unless increased to Platinum status after 5 more stays in calendar year 2008 or 10 stays in 2009. 

Terms and Conditions of Fairmont President’s Club program

Elite status qualification in a hotel loyalty program is the avenue to getting consistent higher-value out of your hotel expenditures.  My rule of thumb with the major frequent guest programs like Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, and Starwood is high elite status will typically add $100 of value for each hotel night.  Bonus points, complimentary upgrades, special redemption offers, and complimentary hotel amenities all contribute to the value-added benefits of being a top elite member with your hotel program.  Complimentary upgrades to hotel rooms priced $200+ more per night than the rate you book at an upscale category hotel is a common benefit of top-elite membership in a frequent guest hotel loyalty program.

The benefits are doled out to lower level elite members on a sporadic basis.  I have had some fantastic upgrades as a Hilton HHonors Gold member and Marriott Silver member, but these are not the norm.  Regular room upgrades are the primary benefit of being a top-tier elite member and in my opinion the primary value for maintaining loyalty with a hotel chain year-to-year. 

Your personal travel pattern will determine your elite membership target.  If you travel just 20 nights per year, then Marriott is probably not a great program for your hotel lifestyle.  If your travel is not concentrated in major cities, then you will probably not benefit greatly from Hyatt or Fairmont as your primary hotel loyalty program.  If your budget is not elastic, then Loews may not be the program for you.

Not surprisingly, the hotel loyalty programs with the fewest hotel members such as Loews Hotels, Fairmont, and Kimpton tend to be the programs with the easiest high-elite qualification standards.  Hyatt and Starwood both have run promotions in the past year for counting stays double towards elite qualification, thereby making top elite status possible with as few as 13 nights.  Wyndham ByRequest does not provide a room upgrade as a defined benefit.

Here is the run-down of qualifying stays and nights for top elite status with major hotel loyalty programs.  All programs are based on the number of hotel stays or nights earned in a calendar year, except Hilton HHonors which uses any 12 month period of activity. 

Qualification Standard for Frequent Guest Top-Tier Elite Membership

Wyndham Rewards = ByRequest elite = 3 nights (room upgrades are not a defined benefit)

Fairmont President’s Club = Platinum elite = 10 stays or 30 nights in calendar year

Loew’s You First = Platinum elite = 10 stays

Kimpton InTouch = Inner Circle elite = 15 stays or 45 nights

Radisson Gold Points Plus = Gold Elite = 20 stays or 35 nights

Hyatt Gold Passport = Diamond elite = 25 stays or 50 nights

Starwood Preferred Guest = Platinum elite = 25 stays or 50 nights

Hilton HHonors = Diamond elite = 28 stays or 60 nights

Best Western Gold Crown Club = Diamond elite = 30 nights

Choice Privileges = Diamond elite = 40 nights

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club = Platinum elite = 50 nights or earn 60,000 points (potential to earn platinum status based on points earned throughout year can make attaining platinum status qualification much easier than staying 50 nights in a calendar year.

Marriott Rewards =Platinum Elite = 75 nights

A hotel stay is defined as consecutive nights in one hotel property.  One-night stays allow a member to qualify for elite membership with a number of nights below the  qualification standard for nights.  For example, guest member #1 of Hilton HHonors could have 20 one-night stays and 8 two-night stays and qualify for HHonors diamond status with 28 stays and 36 nights.  Another HHonors member could have 15 three-night stays and would not qualify for HHonors diamond status with 45 nights and 15 stays.  Even though member # 2 has stayed more nights than guest # 1 at Hilton Hotel properties, the diamond qualification level has not been met.