Marriott Rewards Analysis of January 15, 2009 Program Changes

The news of the 2009 Marriott Rewards changes yesterday has been dissected and lamented over a 130-post thread on FlyerTalk in the past 36 hours as I write this piece.  Interestingly, the discussion on something that will impact millions of Marriott visitors over the next few years gets far less comment than a LHW $19.28 room that 6,000 people might luxuriate in over the next few weeks.

Loyalty Traveler has read over FlyerTalk posters’ issues and the responses by the Marriott Hotels corporate representative who posts on FlyerTalk as “Marriott Concierge”.

I will attempt a concise guide to Marriott Rewards changes for 2009 since many of the questions addressed in the FlyerTalk thread are repeated by members who have not followed all the entries on the thread.

To recap 2009 Changes as posted on Marriott’s website:

“Starting January 15, 2009, Marriott Rewards will introduce four changes to the program.   No Blackout Dates Blackout Dates have been eliminated at nearly 2,900 Marriott hotels worldwide.   Redeem for 4 Nights and Get the 5th Night Free Rewards Use Marriott Rewards points to stay at Marriott hotels for 4 nights and get the 5th redemption night free.   50% Platinum Elite Bonus Platinum Elite members who choose to earn points will now earn a 50% bonus on base points earned during stays at Marriott hotels, versus the 30% bonus Platinum members earn today.   New Award Schedule The new award schedule has been restructured to let you stay when and where you want to stay regardless of the time of year.”

Loyalty Traveler analysis of No Blackout Dates:

                Marriott states “starting on January 15, 2009 hotels will have standard rooms available for redemption every day.”  Another sentence states, “ Hotels may limit the number of standard rooms available for redemption on a limited number of days.”

                8 Hotel Properties are not participating No Blackouts:

·         Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora, Rome, Italy

·         Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Waikoloa, Hawaii, Hawaii

·         Wailea Beach Resort  and Spa, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

·         Camelback Inn, JW Marriott Resort and Spa, Scottsdale, Arizona

·         JW Marriott Capri Tiberio Palace Resort & Spa, Capri, Italy

·         Aspen Wye River Conference Center, Queenstown, Maryland

·         NCED Marriott Conference Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

·         Jesse H. Jones Rotary House Conference Center, Houston, Texas

                Marriott Concierge stated on FlyerTalk that hotels will need to request and receive corporate approval for limiting standard room availability.  While there may be a range of days among the 2,900 Marriott-family hotels, the number will be roughly 11 days per year.

                I would assume nights like New Year’s Eve in urban center hotels, Caribbean resorts during Easter week, and Monterey during the Monterey Jazz Festival are the kinds of extraordinary demand days that will tend to limit standard room availability.  A place like Monterey, California has high attendance festivals and races throughout the year and I imagine the Monterey Marriott will be one of those hotels that exceeds the 11 night estimate for corporate approval to limit standard room availability for reward nights using hotel points.

                The good news with the no blackout policy is the elimination of Stay Anytime awards which currently require double the points per night.  The no blackout dates will save some travelers points who will not need to pay double the points when a Stay Anytime award was the only option.

                Another concern is the inability to know how many standard rooms a particular hotel has available for a room using points.  Why not just use a counter to indicate the number of standard rooms available for a given night when someone tries to book the hotel using points? 

When I look at airline ticket booking and see “1 Seat Remaining at this Price”, I feel incentive to book.  Wouldn’t that be a great tool when planning your hotel stay points redemption?

 

5^th Night Free Reward and New Award Schedule

                All one-night stays for any category 1 to 7 hotel will remain unchanged.

1.       Points needed for a multi-night stay are based on the points required for 1 night at the Marriott Rewards hotel category level.  The only points reduction is for stays of 5 nights or longer.  Every 5^th night will be free.

2.       Stay Anytime Rewards are eliminated.

3.       PointSaver Awards are still scheduled for participating hotels based on the new award chart points levels.

4.       A new Category 8 hotel reward level will be introduced in 2009 changes.

The current Marriott Rewards standard redemption chart is a 7×7 table for Category 1 to 7 hotels for stays of 1 to 7 nights.  There are 49 point redemption options depending on hotel category and length of stay.

                The new 2009 Marriott Hotel Rewards table results in 3 of the 49 options decreasing in points cost, and all due to the 5^th night free reward:

·         Category 2 hotel for 5 nights will decrease in 2009 from 43,000 to 40,000 points.

·         Category 3 hotel for 5 nights will decrease in 2009 from 63,000 to 60,000 points.

·         Category 4 hotel for 5 nights will decrease in 2009 from 85,000 to 80,000 points.

 

The current Hotel Rewards sliding scale where multi-night stays cost fewer points per night is eliminated and in its place is the 5^th Night Free Reward.  The result is an increase in the number of points required for 75% of current hotel redemption options with redemptions from 4 nights to 7 nights at hotels in category 4 or higher increasing, on average, 25% to 60% in 2009.

 

New 2009 Rewards Redemption Comparison Chart to 2008 Rewards Redemption Level

Category	NIGHTS
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	7,500 7,500	14,000 15,000	20,000 22,500	25,000 30,000	30,000 30,000	35,000 37,500	40,000 45,000
2	10,000 10,000	19,000 20,000	27,000 30,000	35,000 40,000	43,000 40,000	50,000 50,000	55,000 60,000
3	15,000 15,000	28,000 30,000	41,000 45,000	52,000 60,000	63,000 60,000	73,000 75,000	82,000 90,000
4	20,000 20,000	38,000 40,000	55,000 60,000	70,000 80,000	85,000 80,000	95,000 100,000	105,000 120,000
5	25,000 25,000	46,000 50,000	65,000 75,000	80,000 100,000	95,000 100,000	105,000 125,000	115,000 150,000
6	30,000 30,000	55,000 60,000	78,000 90,000	95,000 120,000	110,000 120,000	120,000 150,000	130,000 180,000
7	35,000 35,000	65,000 70,000	90,000 105,000	110,000 140,000	130,000 140,000	140,000 175,000	150,000 210,000
8	na 40,000	na 80,000	na 120,000	na 160,000	na 160,000	na 200,000	na 240,000

Numbers in this color are 2008 redemption level. 

Dark Numbers are the new 2009 redemption levels.  

 

2009 Hotel Rewards Changes Shown in Percentages

Category	NIGHTS
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	0%	7.1%	12.5%	20.0%	0%	7.1%	12.5%
2	0%	5.3%	11.1%	14.3%	- 7.0% lower	0%	9.1%
3	0%	7.1%	9.8%	15.4%	- 4.8% lower	2.7%	9.8%
4	0%	5.3%	9.1%	14.3%	- 5.9% lower	5.3%	14.3%
5	0%	8.7%	15.4%	25.0%	5.3%	19.0%	30.4%
6	0%	9.1%	15.4%	26.3%	9.1%	25.0%	38.5%
7	0%	7.7%	16.7%	27.3%	7.7%	25.0%	40.0%
8	14.3%	23.1%	33.3%	45.5%	23.1%	42.9%	60.0%

 

The addition of a Category 8 level will see the highest increase in points for awards. 

The following hotels will move from Category 7 to the new Category 8 on January 15, 2009:

• Paris Marriott Hotel Champs Elysees
• Renaissance Paris Vendome
• JW Marriott Capri Tiberio Palace Resort & Spa
• Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora
• London Marriott Hotel County Hall
• London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
• London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
• London Marriott Hotel Park Lane
• Le Merigot, A JW Marriott Beach Hotel & Spa, Santa Monica
• Renaissance Chancery Court London
• New York Marriott East Side
• New York Marriott Marquis
• Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
• South Beach Marriott Hotel

 

 Platinum Elite Bonus increased to 50%

                Marriott has been behind the other hotel loyalty programs in rewarding its top elite members with elite bonus points despite having the highest elite qualification standard of 75 hotel nights for Marriott Rewards Platinum membership.

Hilton HHonors Diamond,

28 stays or 60 nights,

50% bonus

 

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond,

25 stays or 50 nights,

30% bonus

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club

Platinum elite at 50 nights or 60,000 points,

50% bonus

 

Marriott Rewards Platinum at 75 nights

30% bonus increasing to 50% in 2009

 

Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum

25 stays or 50 nights

50% bonus (even for Gold members at 10 stays or 16 nights)

 

Marriott Rewards is rewarding its elite members with an increase of elite bonus points from 30% to 50%.  The high threshold of 75 nights per calendar year makes me assume Platinum members will be the group most affected by the changes in hotel rewards redemption increases since these are the Marriott Rewards members most likely to have 200,000 points for spending on a multi-night stay at a high-category hotel. 

Assume $200 per night spent for 80 hotel nights by a Marriott Rewards Platinum elite member in 2009.  $16,000 in hotel spending will earn 240,000 points in 2009 with the 50% platinum bonus, in addition to hotel promotion bonuses and other point earning opportunities.  For this argument I will only look at base points and a comparison of the 2008 30% elite bonus to the 2009 50% elite bonus.

2008 = 80 hotel nights @ $200 per night. 

Base points = $16,000 x 10 points/$1 = 160,000 points.

2008 platinum elite 30% bonus = 160,000 x .30 = 48,000 points.

Total 2008 points = 208,000 points for $16,000 in hotel spending.

 

 2009 = 80 hotel nights @ $200 per night. 

Base points = $16,000 x 10 points/$1 = 160,000 points.

2009 platinum elite 50% bonus = 160,000 x .50 = 80,000 points.

Total 2009 points = 240,000 points for $16,000 in hotel spending.

The Platinum member receives an additional 32,000 points after $16,000 of hotel spending in 2009.

A 7-night stay at a Category 5 hotel will cost 35,000 more points in 2009.

A 7-night stay at a Category 6 hotel will cost 50,000 more points in 2009.

A 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel will cost 60,000 more points in 2009.

A 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel than has moved to the Category 8 level will cost 90,000 more points in 2009.

Inflation makes what we worked for today worth less tomorrow.

 

Related link:  Just 3 weeks ago I wrote a post about how Marriott Rewards Hotel Redemption Chart was its competitive advantage over the other hotel programs.  I guess Marriott Rewards did not see this beneficial consumer attribute to the Marriott Rewards program worthy of maintaining for its members.

Marriott Rewards Changes for 2009 “Let Inflation Begin”

The Marriott Rewards changes for January 15, 2009 are detailed on this Marriott webpage.

Now it is official.  And guess what?  The Marriott Rewards changes are almost the same as I posted in August, however, the concerns I expressed in my earlier post also turned out to be true.

Loyalty Traveler wrote this post on August 26 regarding the published changes to Marriott Rewards to take effect on January 15, 2009.  Within a couple of hours of writing my blog post the word had come down from Marriott that the Marriott Rewards webpage was inadvertently published and the information was gone from view. 

Today the 2009 changes to Marriott Rewards were officially announced.

 

Marriott Singapore

The Marriott Rewards 2009 “Enhancements”

·         Platinum elites will receive 50% elite member bonus points, up from the current 30%.

·         Hotel stay redemptions will offer the 5^th night free.

·         Hotel blackout dates will be eliminated.

·         New Award Schedule (Loyalty Traveler note: this is definitely not an enhancement!)

[In August the change was posted as 4^th night free.  That would have been a much better deal in my opinion as there are no other programs offering the 4^th night free, whereas Starwood Preferred Guest already has a 5^th night free award option.]

The Bad News for Hotel Redemptions:

One of the best competitive advantages for Marriott Rewards is the redemption table for free nights with a lower nightly points requirement for longer stays. 

The following example illustrates the advantage of the current chart and the 2009 changes: 

The current table allows a redemption for a Marriott Category 7 Hotel at 35,000 points for 1 night, however, for a 7 night stay at 150,000 points the per night cost is only 21,429 points per night—a 39% per night redemption discount for the longer stay.

The 2009 Marriott Rewards Redemption chart for a Category 7 hotel remains at 35,000 points for one night.

A 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel in 2009 will cost 210,000 points – a 40% increase in points for 2009.  Now that is what I call INFLATION.

Redemption points calculated as Nights 1-4 = 35,000 points x 4 nights = 140,000 points + 5^th night free; Nights 6 and 7 are 70,000 points.  Total cost for 7-night, Category 7 hotel = 210,000 points.

(The redemption cost per night for a Category 7 hotel is the same in 2009 at 35,000 points, but a new Category 8 has been added to the chart at 40,000 points per night and 14 hotels are moving from Category 7 to Category 8 on January 15, 2009.)

Granted I have taken the extreme redemption case with a Category 7 hotel for 7 nights, but the best value awards have been eliminated.  I don’t want to go to Amsterdam and stay at the Marriott Courtyard. 

The increase in points for multi-night redemptions varies across the chart, but there are only 3 instances where the cost in 2009 will be lower than the current cost for free hotel nights.  (See link at end of post to CPRich chart of redemption chart percentage changes.)

2 nights at a Category 4 hotel is currently 38,000 points.  In 2009 the two-night stay at a Category 4 hotel will cost 40,000 points and only be 5% point inflation.  The only lower redemption rates are with the 5^th night free option.

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Is 5^th Night Free an Enhancement?

Category 6 hotel for five nights in 2008 is currently 110,000 points.  The new award will cost 120,000 points or 9% more points.  This is not an enhancement in my opinion.

5^th Night Free – Enhancement or Inflation?

	2008 5-night Redemption	2009 5th Night Free
Category 1	30,000	30,000  (same)
Category 2	43,000	40,000  ( 7% lower)
Category 3	63,000	60,000  (5% lower)
Category 4	85,000	80,000  (6% lower)
Category 5	95,000	100,000 (5% higher)
Category 6	110,000	120,000 (9% higher)
Category 7	130,000	140,000 (8% higher)
Category 8	na	160,000 (23% higher)

 

The table shows there are actually enhancements to require fewer points for a 5-night hotel stay on the lower category hotels (Category 2-4), but the higher category hotels (Category 5-8) will see increases that outpace the decreases in magnitude.

The other factor still to be seen is the category shift for hotel members in 2009.  All hotel programs have been moving hotel properties out of the lower categories over the past few years.  Hilton and Starwood have few hotel properties left in their Category 1 and 2 redemption options. 

It looks like a 5-night stay in a Marriott Rewards Category 4 hotel will be the best value in the new redemption chart.

New Category 8 Hotels for 2009

• Paris Marriott Hotel Champs Elysees
• Renaissance Paris Vendome
• JW Marriott Capri Tiberio Palace Resort & Spa
• Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora
• London Marriott Hotel County Hall
• London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
• London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
• London Marriott Hotel Park Lane
• Le Merigot, A JW Marriott Beach Hotel & Spa, Santa Monica
• Renaissance Chancery Court London
• New York Marriott East Side
• New York Marriott Marquis
• Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
• South Beach Marriott Hotel

There is a lot to digest with these Marriott Rewards changes.  Loyalty Traveler will have more to say after taking a more thorough look.  Tough times ahead in 2009 as economy disrupts travel plans and Marriott Rewards is making it tougher on the loyal member trying to get good value from hotel loyalty points. 

No blackout dates is great, but you have to have the points to travel.  These changes mostly mean your points won’t get you as many free hotel nights in 2009.

Redeem your points now, if you can.  Changes do not take effect until January 15, 2009.

Related Links:

FlyerTalk thread with the initial announcment of 2009 changes by the Marriott Concierge.

Another Math table by FlyerTalk member CPRich showing percentage changes for awards

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stanford University Day Tripping – So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA October 16, 2008

Rushing out of Monterey I had no idea what the temperature was in Silicon Valley, California.  The 70° Monterey air soon went to 90° on Highway 101 right where Monterey County changes to San Benito County.  Somehow the County line seems to be situated right at the point of the freeway where the Pacific Ocean air conditioning ends.

The beautiful hotel exterior of the Four Seasons caught my attention numerous times as I passed by on Highway 101 through Palo Alto. 

Four Seasons Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, California

A room with a view of IKEA and the freeway always seemed like an odd location for a luxury hotel.  The dichotomy of social existence in California is reflected perfectly in a luxury hotel next to a freeway separating the predominantly lower socioeconomic households of East Palo Alto from the Stanford University dominated Palo Alto to the west.

Four Seasons Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, California

I decided to check out the freeway-side hotel as I exited University Avenue in East Palo Alto on the way to Stanford University.  Ambient music played in the lobby.  The bright sun on this 90°F October day kept the west facing window seating “awash in clear sunlight by day”.  That descriptive phrase lifted from the Four Seasons website perfectly captures the light I experienced as I walked through the hotel.  Most of the people present were in the Quattro café/bar area.  http://www.fourseasons.com/siliconvalley/photo_gallery/

 

Four Seasons Silicon Valley lobby, East Palo Alto, California

I wasn’t dressed for public relations or The Bar.   The rooftop pool view will have to wait for another day.

Four Seasons Silicon Valley Quattro Restaurant

A quick lobby walk-through and photo snaps with a stop in the toilet comprised my visit.  Five star luxury bathrooms use hand towels, not paper towels in the public area restrooms.

Four Seasons, Silicon Valley has a $245 Bed and Breakfast rate which must make this hotel one of the lowest priced Four Seasons in the United States. 

·          

The train tracks separate the few blocks of upscale shops, restaurants, and bars on University Avenue east of the tracks, from the Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin and Stanford University on the west side of the tracks.  I parked in the business district and joined the multilingual crowd on the sunny sidewalks. 

Electric Car, Palo Alto, California

Several people walking in front of me all turned right into a store.  Several people walking towards me all turned left into the same store.  I glanced in as I passed by the door and saw it was an Apple computer store.  Dozens of shops on the street and it seemed just about everyone on the sidewalk had walked into the Apple store.  There must have been fifteen people go inside in a 30-second period.

I turned around and went in the Apple store.  I have never been in an Apple store before.  Long white countertops had Apple products evenly spaced for consumer-user friendliness.  One counter had about six or eight computers.  There were several rows of these counters.  Another area had i-phones, and another area i-pods.  Headphones were dangling from overhead fixtures.  Dozens of people were standing in front of computers surfing the internet.   My little city of Monterey has nothing like this. 

 

The Palo Alto Sheraton and Palo Alto Westin are adjacent to each other and across the street from Stanford University.  I have stayed at both of these hotels.  The Westin is elegant and has nicer rooms.  The Sheraton has the better pool and is the place to be if you want to party.  The Westin exudes professorial sophistication and the Sheraton says California sunshine and tan maintenance.  Both hotels are outrageously high on most weekdays with $200+ rates.  Over the past year the Sheraton Palo Alto drops to $99 to $119 for some weekends, while the Westin tends to bottom out in the $129-$149 range.

The Sheraton concierge kindly provided me with a map of Stanford University and even a 10% discount card for dinner at Gordon Biersch Brewery near where I had parked my car. 

Palm Avenue, Stanford University

Along Palm Avenue, across the street from the Sheraton Hotel, it is a 15 to 20 minute walk to the University buildings.  In the hot sun, my ears burning, the distance to the Rodin Sculpture Garden was a bit farther than I had remembered and I wished I had brought a bottle of water from my car.  The temperature controlled environment of the museum was a respite from the early fall heat of California.

Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford university, Palo Alto, California

My Rodin knowledge is primarily from the 1989 Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu movie, “Camille Claudel”.   

The Thinker, Rodin sculpture, Cantor Museum, Stanford University

A museum that permits photography is a pleasant surprise.

I love this painting of Napoleon. 

 Napoleon (1798), Artist: Andrea Appiani (1754-1817)

I was disappointed to take two fuzzy photographs of a painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).  I purchased a print of Bouguereau’s “The Young Seamstress” in Ireland back in 1997 and it hangs in our bedroom.

There was a party scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 with a free band and $5 microbrew beers and wines ($8) in the Rodin Sculpture Garden.  I wandered on to look for food.

 

“Social Butterfly” 1990, Roger Brown, 1941-1997

·          

Naomi Klein (right) and Terry Karl, Stanford University, 10-16-08

Naomi Klein, author of “No Logo” and “The Shock Doctrine”, speaking at Stanford University was the purpose of this trip. 

What does a liberal journalist have to do with hotel travel? 

Well, the main thesis of Naomi Klein’s latest book, “The Shock Doctrine“ is the pattern of corporatism winning out over public good through privatization and appropriation of resources, money, and law in a catalytic way of change after a major disaster.  Her thesis is supported by four main examples: Chile and the corporate overthrow of democratic socialism in the 70s, Bush’s war privatization in Iraq, hotel development on appropriated beaches after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and school privatization in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Naomi Klein spoke primarily about the current economic crisis and expressed her activism in urging everyone to hound their legislators for securing a better bailout economic package to the one Hank Paulson negotiated with the banks.

Her main social point was to stay on your legislators to enable Barack Obama to address a grassroots call for change and generate reforms for infrastructure and social policy development in a climate that is unfortunately ripe for a continuation of disaster capitalism a la Bush Administration through corporate bailouts rather than changes more directly related to the working people of the USA.

·          

W Hotel Silicon Valley, Newark, California

The W Hotel Silicon Valley is an easy 20 minute drive from Palo Alto.  Crossing the Dumbarton Bridge over southern San Francisco Bay reminded me of the leftover fresh crab I cracked and ate for lunch before leaving my home in Monterey.  The scent from the sea at low tide pervaded my car.

W Silicon Valley is located near the East Bay shoreline in the estuary of Newark, California.   Estuaries are a great place for bird watching.  The darkness at 10pm kept my eyes from seeing the mudflats my nose detected.

The Check-in receptionist told me I was being given an upgrade.  The room was on the 4^th floor facing east.  The preferred view in this hotel is the west facing room or pool rooms.  I have stayed here probably a dozen or more times in the past six years and I have only had an interior facing room once and I couldn’t see the pool from that room, just the roof of the café area. The room looked like every room I’ve had at this hotel.  One time, years ago, I actually did receive a corner room upgrade. 

Room 410, W Hotel Silicon Valley, Newark, CA

At $89 on a Starpicks rate for a Thursday night I am not complaining.  This hotel is normally twice the price on Thursdays.

Lobby was dead at 10:00pm.  One man working on a computer at a café table.

Only one bar of soap in the bathroom.  That was inconvenient to have to move the soap from the sink to the bath and back to the sink.  Ecologically, I can’t bear the thought of throwing away bars of soap after one day so one bar is a “green” move.  Personally,  I always take the soap home with me and my home supply is a little low lately.   

 

Room 410, W Silicon Valley bathroom

Friday morning working on my computer and  I realize there is no coffee maker in the room.  I had to put on my glasses to read the W Hotel card on the sink counter.

“WHO DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE AROUND HERE?”

The sentence on the card was written in all caps like that.  The card then said “Join us for coffee or tea, at the W Café in the Living Room this morning. Along with coffee or tea, you will find fresh-baked pastries and other tempting treats to whet your appetite.”

The card does not say if coffee is complimentary.

I had to place the card under the lamp to decipher the line at the bottom of the card, set in a smaller size font: “Can’t live without your fix?  Call Whatever/Whenever to have a coffee maker delivered to your room.”

This is a change for the W Silicon Valley.  There was always a coffee maker in the room for my hotel stays over the past six years.

I tossed on some gym shorts and headed to the lobby for coffee.  Felt a little underdressed in the elevator with a perfumed, business attire woman.  Then again, I looked like I might be headed to the workout room or perhaps I was on my way to “Wet” (the W synonym for swimming pool).

Coffee fixed I proceeded to work on my computer.

W Hotels have interesting accessories for your stay.  On the desk was a silver tube sitting in a tray labeled “WISH” and the tube was in fact a kaleidoscope.  The hotel has complimentary DVD movies for check-out and a DVD player beneath the TV.  The room has a sink, microwave, and refrigerator and two sets of plates and utensils.  Magazines are everywhere from the selection of three in the room to three more titles in the elevator vestibule.  I grabbed a copy of “Wired” to take home.

The café was busy in the morning.  I have never seen it so crowded in my previous stays as I am usually here on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  They appeared to be business guests who probably have meetings in one of the tech buildings in the business park surrounding the W Hotel.  After all, it is called Silicon Valley for a reason.

 

 

 

 

 

Update Wednesday 10-22-08.     

On Monday, October 20, I contacted Fairmont Hotels marketing department asking for clarification of the 7-Day Winter Sale promotion and Free Night offer.  I questioned the telephone customer service reply I had received regarding the free night being credited back to the guest’s account at checkout since this detail was not mentioned anywhere in the promotion terms and conditions.

This morning I received an email from David Doucette, Executive Director of Internet Marketing for Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.  The website promotion pages have been updated to include the sentences:

“Advertised rates do not include price adjustment for the free night. Free night credit is applied at check-out.”

Loyalty Traveler gives this deal a big thumbs up in light of the explicit free night clarification now shown for this promotion. 

There are still 5 1/2 days to take advantage of the great rates being offered for this 7-Day Winter sale promotion. 

The offer was a good deal and now I consider it a great deal.  So keep in mind as you read through this post that my analysis of the promotion was not based on being refunded one night’s stay.  And that free night on top of the 10% to 20% nightly rate discount makes this sale up to a 40% discount on Fairmont Hotel rooms.  This is exactly the kind of hotel deal travelers need in this economy.

 

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Fairmont’s Free Night Winter Sale Offer Looks Good, But Looks May Be Deceiving

Fairmont Hotels 7-day Winter Sale One Free Night and 20% Off

Fairmont Hotels has a Winter Sale starting today and ending at 11:59pm EST, October 27.  So, if you count today, the Fairmont Winter Sale is actually an 8-day sale.

The Fairmont Winter Sale offers Discount Rates AND one free night for stays between November 3, 2008 and April 15, 2009.

While the prices may be good rates for Fairmont Hotels there is a highly restrictive condition for this sale:

Hotel booking is entirely prepaid and nonrefundable.  No cancellations.

Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale Terms and Conditions

Nonrefundable reservations make me cringe; especially when the rate is for a luxury hotel booking –possibly for several thousand dollars.

I’ve wanted to write about nonrefundable reservations for the past week since before reading Joe Sharkey’s New York Times article and the Fairmont special offer opens the way.  The topic of nonrefundable hotel rooms has many facets from nonrefundable, nonchangeable prepaid hotel rates to using hotel loyalty points for a free room, but with a credit card room deposit than can turn into a very expensive no-show or last minute cancellation. 

The Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale provides me with the opportunity to discuss the booking option of Nonrefundable, PrePaid Hotel Stays compared to other more flexible hotel booking options.

Is the Savings Benefit of a Nonrefundable Hotel Reservation Really Worth the Risk?

My bias is for maintaining the most flexibility I can arrange and afford when making hotel reservations.  I have to know there is almost no chance of me missing the stay before I go nonrefundable.

·          

A Free Night Looks Good, But Looks May Be Deceiving

The Fairmont Hotels homepage ads look great – “Spectacular Winter Sale”

Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale advertisement

“Save up to 20% and Receive a Free Night”

The advertisements caught my attention and my Loyalty Traveler eye for a good value hotel deal. I decided to analyze the claim a little more closely.

Running the numbers through sample bookings reveals a very different result than I expected when booking the 7-Day Winter Sale rate.  The savings are not even close to being a free night in cost savings. The nonrefundable nature of this deal makes me wary. 

You will save money with the special rate, however, for properties I checked the overall savings with Winter Sale rates was at most 20% less than a non-promotional, regular booking search with consumer-friendly no-penalty cancellation policies of arrival day to 7 nights before hotel arrival, depending on the specific hotel. 

So much for the free night claim!  A free night leads this frequent guest to expect at least a 25% discount on the normal hotel rate for a 4-night stay (most hotels in the Winter Sale offer a 4^th night free).  Imagine a $100 per night regular hotel rate:

·         Night 1 = $100

·         Night 2 = $100

·         Night 3 = $100

·         Night 4 = free

To me, 4^th night free means I pay $300 when the regular room rate would have been $400 for a four night stay.  Saving $100 on a $400 hotel stay is a 25% savings.

In addition to the free night, if I am saving 20% on the regular hotel rate, to me, this means I get the $100 hotel rate at $80 per night. 

On a four night stay for a hotel normally $100 per night, a 20% savings on the normal rate and a free night makes me think I will get 4 nights for the price of 3 nights at $80 each.  Paying $240 for 4 nights on a regularly $100/night room  would be an overall 40% savings. 

Now, that would be a “Spectacular Winter Sale”.

Unfortunately, for the potential Fairmont guest, my three sample searches showed only a 20% overall savings at best on a 4-night stay using the Winter Sale rate compared to the regular Best Available rate.  I guess Fairmont has a different concept of 4^th night free than Loyalty Traveler.

·          

Loyalty Traveler searches for Fairmont Hotels 7-day Winter Sale

Rate searches conducted on 10-20-08 for a 4-night hotel stay January 16-20, 2009 at three Fairmont Hotels:

1.      San Jose Fairmont, San Jose California

2.      Scottsdale Fairmont, Scottsdale, Arizona

3.      Chateau Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Hotel rate search results show the Winter Sale overall hotel rate advertised as up to 20% off AND a free night is not based on the simple comparison of what any hotel guest booking the same dates through the default Best Available Rate on the Fairmont Hotels homepage would find. 

Fairmont San Jose, San Jose, California

Hotel Stay: Jan 16-20, 2009

lowest priced room, Fairmont King, Main Building, 450sq.ft.

 

$119.20 per night Winter Sale Rate – nonrefundable, no cancellations allowed; $536.48 for 4-night stay

$149 per night regular Best Available Rate (BAR) – reservation may be canceled up to 6pm hotel time, January 16, 2009.

The hotel special offer saves approximately $33 per night after taxes.  A guest booking a five-night stay at the Fairmont San Jose using the Winter Sale rate will pay the same as four nights booked through regular reservations.  I call this a 5^th night free offer.

Fairmont Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona 

Hotel Stay: Jan 16-20, 2009

Upper Mid-range room, Casita Suite, Premium King, 850sq.ft.

 

 Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale, Arizona

 

Fairmont Scottsdale

$688.50 per night Winter Sale Rate – nonrefundable, no cancellations allowed.

4-night total rate with taxes = $2,754 + tax = $3,082.28 prepaid nonrefundable deposit

$765 per night or $3,060 for 4-night stay, booking regular website Best Available Rate reservation

Fairmont’s Winter Sale saves $306 on a $3,060 regular rate for the four night hotel stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale.  The real value of the Winter Sale in this hotel sample is just a 10% savings on a four night luxury hotel stay and comes up far short of the value expected in the advertisement for a discount AND a free night offer in the Fairmont Winter Sale.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, main pool

Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (ski resort)

Mid-Range room, Deluxe Valley View King

$479 per night regular reservations, $2,203.40CAD payment due 3 days to arrival Jan 13, 2009

$383.20 per night Winter Sale, $1,762.72CAD nonrefundable prepaid October 20, 2008

Winter Sale special rate saves $440.68 on a 4-night stay.

440.68/2203.40 = 20% total savings on 4-night stay.  The Winter Sale basically gives a 5^th night free meaning 5 nights at the Winter Sale rate = 4 nights at Best Available non-promotional rate.

·          

This 7-Day Winter Sale offers a Fairmont Hotel discount for the next six months of travel.

The risk of losing a couple of thousand dollars if you need to cancel your trip to save 10 to 20% on hotel rates combined with the fact that Loyalty Traveler finds the actual savings is of significantly lower value than I would have expected with the advertised offer of a free night AND up to 20% savings makes me wary to suggest this offer to travelers. 

You should think twice before making the Winter Sale hotel commitment for any trip with much possibility of being cancelled.  Remember winter’s wicked weather.  Hotel flexible plans are often worth the extra cost.

Update to this post before actually posting on Loyalty Traveler blog 10-20-08.

Just off the phone with Fairmont Hotels to ask why they advertise up to 20% off AND a free night when my searches show only 20% off as the best offer I find. 

Where is the free night deal of the Winter Sale?

Fairmont Hotels telephone agent comes back after having me on hold for several minutes to tell me the hotel rate for the 4^th night on the four night stay is refunded at check-out.

That is a great deal if true!  Why is it not written in the promotion terms?

As a consumer the refund detail is probably the most important detail I need to know next to the rate being prepaid and nonrefundable.

I would want the refund term in writing before committing to this deal.  Fairmont Hotels needs to update the 7-Day Winter Sale Terms and Conditions if this is truly how the promotion is scheduled to operate. 

Why keep the consumer in the dark about how the free night component of this hotel offer is implemented?

If the prepaid free night is refunded on check-out, then the Fairmont Winter Sale is a great deal.  Too bad the Winter Sale promotion details are not clear on this aspect of how the Free Night offer works. 

 

 

LHW 1928 Luxury Hotel $19.28 Rooms Sale 10am Eastern Time Thursday, October 23

Primary Details for Leading Hotels of the World $19.28 sale:

1.      The promotion will be held on Thursday, October 23 at 10 am Eastern time, 7 am Pacific time in the USA.

2.      The promotion will last for 80 minutes as originally planned through this website: http://www.lhw.com/1928status.

3.      The new promotional sale is open to everyone.  Earlier updates from LHW stated the promotion would only be available to persons who had initially registered for the October 1, 2008 sale.

4.      LHW will require submission of a reservation request form listing the properties you are interested in booking and dates.

5.      Promotional rate is still limited to one hotel stay with a maximum of two nights at the $19.28 rate.

6.      The promotional rate is only for 6,000 rooms, first-come, first-serve, and limited to one hotel stay per household.

Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) had a corporate promotion melt-down when trying to sell 6,000 rooms at the ultra-low price of $19.28 per night earlier this month.  The original promotion scheduled on October 1, 2008 for 80 minutes only was a total fiasco.  The terms of the promotion required registration and apparently 150,000 or so people trying to log into the LHW reservations simultaneously crashed the hardware capabilities of their system.

In our 21^st century environment of social media communication the realization that nobody was able to book rooms at the $19.28 price became apparent when hundreds of would-be poverty jet setters failed to even access the website during the 80 minutes promotion timeframe.

And social media with websites like FlyerTalk were used by LHW management to disseminate the message around the world that the promotion which had been widely publicized in the news and on the internet had been a technical failure in the implementation of distributing the $19.28 per night luxury hotel rooms. 

The email communications from LHW reached me concerning all the updates to the promotional sale through the email address I used for the initial promotion registration.  Apparently, according to reports on FlyerTalk, some of the other initial registrants have not been as fortunate to receive updates for the LHW promotion.

Please read through my first post regarding the LHW 1928 promotion for more details on the value of this opportunity.

At least this Thursday I won’t have to be setting my alarm clock so early as the October 1 sale which started at 5am in California.  7am is the normal start of my work-day.  I hope it is a lucky day.  And best of luck to everyone who wants a little bit of luxuriating on the cheap.  Loyalty Traveler makes a business on that sentiment.

Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley, California – Leading Hotels of the World member

Related Links:

Loyalty Traveler post Sep 28: Leading Hotels of the World $19.28 Promotion for 80 Minutes on Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Loyalty Traveler post Oct 1: LHW 1928 Sale – Computer Says No

Loyalty Traveler post Oct 2: LHW 1928 Promotion Saga – LHW Emails Respond to Promotion Disaster

Loyalty Traveler post Oct 12: Leading Hotels of the World – LHW1928 Update

Alex Bainbridge blog – Would your CEO apologise for a marketing mistake? [LHW 1928]:

Friday, October 3rd, 2008  

This is an interesting blog post with suggestions for how LHW should have improved communication with their post-promotion disaster customer relations.

 

Text of the latest email from LHW CEO and President Ted Teng:

“WELCOME TO THE 80th ANNIVERSARY USD 19.28 SALE STATUS PAGE

 

Thank you for your continued interest in The Leading Hotels of the World’s USD 19.28 Sale. We have created this dedicated site to keep you informed of all the latest developments relating to this 80th anniversary offer.

We are pleased to confirm that the USD 19.28 promotion will take place on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at www.lhw.com/1928. The sale will begin at 2:00 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. in New York, 7:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, 3:00 p.m. in London, and 11:00 p.m. in Tokyo) and will last for a total of 80 minutes. The above URL will become active 24 hours prior to the launch. Should you try to visit the URL before then, you will be redirected to this status page.

In order to help you prepare for the event, we would like to give you some helpful information on the format of the sale:

1. When you arrive at the dedicated site, you will not be asked to register or log-in. For legal reasons and in adherence to the original Terms & Conditions, we are unable to restrict any individuals from participating in this global offer.
2. Participants will be required to complete a travel request form, available exclusively at the dedicated site. Submission of this online form within the 80-minute promotion interval is the only way to potentially secure one of the 6,000 room nights that are available at the USD 19.28 rate.
3. Forms will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Your requests will be fulfilled based on availability. Please remember that rooms and available dates vary among participating hotels.
4. We will only accept and process one travel request form per household (rooms are based on double-occupancy); duplicate forms will be disqualified and discarded.
5. Within seven days, you will be notified via email whether or not your reservation request was fulfilled. If your reservation has been secured, you will receive an automatically-generated confirmation from The Leading Hotels of the World. Please print a copy of this confirmation as you will need to present it to reception upon your arrival at the hotel along with proof of identity.

Things To Know In Advance Of The Sale About The Travel Request Form:

• You will be asked for your contact information including name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. At no point will you be asked to provide credit card information.
• You will have a chance to submit your top three hotel choices with two possible arrival dates for each. In order to familiarize yourself with the participating hotels, please peruse the list below.
• You will be required to review and accept the sale’s Terms & Conditions, highlighted prominently on the travel request form, prior to submitting your travel request.”

 

---

Business Traveller 2008 Hotel Awards – SPG Best Hotel Loyalty Program

Starwood Preferred Guest came out on top as best hotel loyalty program in the Business Traveller 2008 reader’s survey released last month.  Starwood Hotels Sheraton brand was awarded top hotel brand worldwide.  I just saw a post on Starwood’s The Lobby website about the survey. 

Marriott took top honors for Best Business Hotel Chain in North America. 

All the top honors for Best Business Hotel in North America went to NYC properties with Hilton’s Waldorf-Astoria and Starwood’s St. Regis taking spots behind the Four Seasons New York.   Just remember that hotel loyalty points won’t get you a free night at the Four Seasons.

Hilton ranked as top business chain for Europe.  Starwood Hotels ranked high in the Conde Nast 2008 awards for Europe.  For leisure it seems Starwood’s elegance wins out in Europe and for business Hilton’s a winner. 

Hyatt Hotels only appearance as a chain is for Asia-Pacific region.  Hyatt also scored well in the Conde Nast Traveler 2008 awards earlier this year for Asia-Pacific. 

Business Traveller 2008 Awards Hotel Survey Results 

(Business Traveller link to view extensive airline rankings on BT website)

 

HOTELS

 

Best Hotel Loyalty Scheme

1 Starwood Preferred Guest

2 Hilton HHonors

3 InterContinental Priority Club

4 Marriott Rewards

 

Best Business Hotel Chain Worldwide

1 Sheraton

2 Hilton

3 Four Seasons

4 Marriott

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in the UK

1 Hilton

2 Malmaison

3 Marriott

4 Holiday Inn

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in Continental Europe

1 Hilton

2 Sofitel

3 Sheraton

4 InterContinental

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in North America

1 Marriott

2 Four Seasons

3 Hilton

4 Westin

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in the Middle East

1 Jumeirah

2 Hilton

3 InterContinental

4 Sheraton

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in Asia-Pacific

1 Shangri-La

2 Mandarin Oriental

3 Hyatt

4 InterContinental

 

Best Business Hotel Chain in India

1 Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces

2 Oberoi Hotels & Resorts

3 Hilton/Trident Hilton

4 The Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts

 

Best Budget Hotel Chain

1 Premier Inn

2 Express by Holiday Inn

3 Ibis

4 Travelodge

 

Best Luxury Hotel Chain

1 Four Seasons

2 Shangri-La

3 Ritz-Carlton

4 Mandarin Oriental

 

 

Best Smaller Hotel Chain

1 Hotel du Vin

2 Malmaison

3 City Inn

4 Jumeirah

 

Best Business Hotel Worldwide

1 Shangri-La Singapore

2 The Peninsula Hong Kong

3 InterContinental Hong Kong

4 Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai

 

Best New Business Hotel

1 Grosvenor House Dubai

2 St Regis Singapore

3 Four Seasons Hong Kong

4 Hilton London Canary Wharf

 

Best Business Hotel in Western Europe

1 Four Seasons George V Paris

2 London Hilton on Park Lane Hotel

3 InterContinental London Park Lane

4 Hotel Kamp Helsinki

 

Best Business Hotel in Eastern Europe

1 Four Seasons Gresham Palace Budapest

2 Warsaw Marriott

3 Hilton Prague

4 Hilton Warsaw/

4 Hyatt Warsaw (joint)

 

Best Business Hotel in North America

1 Four Seasons Hotel New York

2 The Waldorf Astoria New York

3 St Regis New York

4 Mandarin Oriental New York

 

Best Business Hotel in the Middle East

1 Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai

2 Burj Al Arab Dubai

3 Grosvenor House Dubai

4 Shangri-La Dubai

 

Best Business Hotel in Asia-Pacific

1 Shangri-La Singapore

2 The Peninsula Hong Kong

3 InterContinental Hong Kong

4 The Peninsula Bangkok

 

The Peninsula Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Best Resort Hotel

1 Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai

2 Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Muscat

3 Madinat Jumeirah Dubai

4 Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Penang

 

Best Airport Hotel

1 Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong

2 Hilton London Heathrow Airport

3 Sofitel London Gatwick

4 Hilton Copenhagen Airport

 

Best Business Hotel in the UK

1 London Hilton on Park Lane Hotel

2 InterContinental London Park Lane

3 Hilton London Canary Wharf

4 Four Seasons Canary Wharf

 

Business Traveller 2008 Awards Hotel Survey Results 

 

 

 

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/2008-business-traveller-awards

 

Related link:  Loyalty Traveler post on Conde Nast 2008 Hotel Gold List

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/02/13/major-hotel-loyalty-program-brands-on-conde-nast-traveler-2008-hotel-gold-list/

 

 

Kayak.com is not your best friend for hotel rates.

I haven’t gone through my OTA rant in a few months now.  OTA is Online Travel Agency. 

Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz are the dominant players in travel searches for hotels.  The value of an OTA is the ability to get a quick snapshot of prices in a city and then quickly book your hotel stay.  Recently all the OTAs have had sales claiming 20%, 40%, even 50% off room rates. 

Kayak.com is on a lot of travelers “Favorite” list for hotel rate searches.  I use Kayak to get an idea of the prevailing hotel rates for an area when I start planning travel.  Kayak.com is a meta-search engine and not an OTA. 

Kayak.com does not actually sell hotel rooms.  A meta-search engine quickly goes through the hotel rates or airfares for a variety of OTAs and pulls up the prices.  Kayak.com takes you to an OTA like Expedia or Orbitz for booking your hotel room or flight once you make a specific selection among the hotel or airline search returns.

Kayak.com is very useful for finding low airfares, but much less useful for hotel rates.

The problem with Kayak.com and OTAs in general is the inability to locate special offer rates or group rates commonly available like AAA and senior group discounts.

Renaissance Eden Roc, Miami Beach – A Tale of Two Travelers

Ellen is a busy executive, but a do it yourself travel planner.  She gets a thrill from looking at websites and picturing herself in the perfect bathing suit, on the perfect beach, in perfect weather, at a great hotel, at the best price.

Ellen goes to Kayak.com and finds the Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach listed at $330. 

Kayak.com shows Eden Roc Renaissance, Miami Beach for $330

 

 

A pop-up window search for Travelocity.com shows $369 for this Miami Beach, Florida hotel. 

Travelocity hotel rate for Eden Roc, Miami Beach $369

Based on Renaissance Eden Roc’s TripAdvisor ranking of #23 of 207 Miami area hotels and its 4-star rating, Ellen believes the $369 rate pulled up on Travelocity is a fair market rate for this hotel and compared to other hotel rates on Miami Beach like the Fontainebleau.

TripAdvisor Rating for Eden Roc, Miami Beach, #23 of 206 Hotels

Kayak.com search shows $330 per night through gtahotels.com website.  This may be a good way to save $78 and tax for the two night stay. 

GTAHotels rate is $330 for Eden Roc, Miami Beach (Kayak search lead)

Ellen is a savvy traveler and she knows Marriott.com should have the same $330 rate. She will earn Marriott Rewards points by booking through the Marriott website. 

She heads over to Marriott.com and rechecks the rate for Eden Roc, Miami Beach, January 11-13 for two nights.  The rate shows as $369 on Marriott.com for a 14-day advance reservation rate that allows a no penalty cancellation up to 3 days before arrival.  A reservation canceled within three days forfeits one night’s room charges of $416.97.  She doesn’t see a $330 rate on Marriott.com.  Perhaps this is a potential “Best Rate Guarantee” claim with Marriott.

Marriott.com rate for Renaissance Eden Roc, Miami Beach is $369

Always Check Hotel Rate Rules for the fine print on cancellation. 

From the Marriott Website for this $369 rate:

Rate Rules

Holding Your Reservation

·         We will need a credit card number to reserve your room.

Canceling Your Reservation

·         You may cancel your reservation for no charge until January 8, 2009 (3 day[s] before arrival).

·         Please note that we will assess a fee of 416.97 USD if you must cancel after this deadline.

If you have made a prepayment, we will retain all or part of your prepayment. If not, we will charge your credit card.

This fee equals 1 night of your room charge plus tax (for the first night of your reservation).

Modifying Your Reservation

·         Please note that a change in the length or dates of your reservation may result in a rate change.

·         Your current rate may be available if your modified reservation still includes:

·         A reservation made 14 day(s) before your expected arrival.

 

Ellen knows AAA usually brings the rate down even more and repeats the rate search on Marriott.com with the AAA box checked.

Marriott.com AAA rate for Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel, Miami is $386

Oddly enough, the AAA rate is actually more than the 14-day advance reservation rate.  Reading the rate rules, Ellen sees there is no advantage or benefit to the more expensive AAA rate.  The AAA rate also allows a cancellation up to 3 days before arrival date.

Ellen books the two night stay at the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort for $833.94 through the Marriott website because the points and stay credit make the higher price a better value for her hotel lifestyle than the $39 + tax per night she would have saved through her Kayak.com search using gtahotels.com for her booking.  Ellen will earn at least 7,380 Marriott Rewards points for her two night stay at $369/night.

Marriott.com Total rate for Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida

January 11-13, 2009  $833.94

Hotel Special Offers are Where the Best Deals are Found

Loyalty Traveler booked the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort for the same room type, on the same dates, on the same Marriott.com website and paid $291.54 for his two night stay.  And Loyalty Traveler will earn a $100 hotel credit for his next stay at the Eden Roc Resort.

Marriott.com $129 Special Offer Rate for Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, FL 

Why is there a $542.40 difference in the Marriott.com room rates?

The Loyalty Traveler took the time to look through 12 pages of Marriott Rewards special offers found here.   An offer on page 9 for the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel showed a $129 special rate valid through January 31, 2009 for Marriott Rewards members:

Marriott Rewards Members’ Sneak Peek of the Bold New Eden Roc

Resort and Spa!!

Includes a great introductory rate, welcome amenity, and a $100

Resort Credit to be used on a return stay in 2009.

Resort Credit cannot be used on current stay*

Resort Credit cannot be applied to room and tax*

Based on Availability*

Restrictions may apply*

Valid 10/24/08-1/31/09*

Marriott.com Special Offer Rate of $129 for Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel, Miami Beach

Special Offer Rate of $129 even includes a $100 credit towards a future Eden Roc stay.

And remember to check the fare rules:

Canceling Your Reservation

·         You may cancel your reservation for no charge until January 8, 2009 (3 day[s] before arrival).

·         Please note that we will assess a fee of 145.77 USD if you must cancel after this deadline.

If you have made a prepayment, we will retain all or part of your prepayment. If not, we will charge your credit card.

This fee equals 1 night of your room charge plus tax (for the first night of your reservation).

 

The fare rules for the special offer rate of $129 are the same cancellation rules as the higher $369 rate.

Hotel Corporations are in the business of making money.

Great deals are available on the hotel’s websites, however, a standard search on the corporate-branded websites does not automatically return the lowest available rates for your stay.  You must specifically search special rates like AAA, Senior, and Promotional rates. 

The code is M11 for the $129 special offer for the Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach.  Marriott.com automatically uses the M11 code if you click through the rate search using the special offers page link.

Keep in mind when planning your hotel travel that Kayak.com and OTAs are useful tools, but the best discounts for your hotel stay are often hotel special rates and offers unlikely to be found by these sites.  Even using the hotel-branded websites like Marriott.com will often keep these low rates hidden when searching hotel rates.

There are great hotel deals all the time.  Knowing where and how to find them is the challenge.

 

If You’re Going to San Francisco,

Be Sure to Where Some Flowers in Your Hair,

And also check for the $134 special offer rate for the Renaissance Stanford Court on Nob Hill:

 

http://www.marriott.com/specials/mesOffer.mi?marrOfferId=358706&displayLink=true

 

Choice Privileges Armed Services Offer – Complimentary Gold Elite Status

You deserve a break today.  And if you are active military, retired military, U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, or a spouse or dependent with a military ID card, then Choice Privileges is giving away Gold.

Gold Elite status normally requires 10 hotel nights within the Choice Hotels brands, which include 10 hotel brands:

·         Comfort Inn

·         Comfort Suites

·         Quality Inn

·         Sleep Inn

·         Clarion

·         Cambria Suites

·         MainStay Suites

·         Suburban

·         EconoLodge

·         Rodeway Inn 

Choice Privileges is the hotel loyalty program for these ten hotel brands.  While being oriented primarily to the budget traveler market segment with EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, and Suburban motels, there are also many fine properties in the Comfort Inn, Quality, and Clarion hotel brands.  Cambria Suites is the newest brand and is Choice Privileges entry into an upper midscale market.

Gold elite membership rewards the frequent guest with an additional 10% bonus on points earned for hotel stays, dedicated reservations line, and special offers.  Choice Privileges has over 5,000 hotel members and makes this hotel loyalty program an ideal choice for military families repositioning around the USA.

My father, a retired Army enlisted man, had to move our family, on average, every 13 months for the first 15 years of my life as we moved from Army base to Army base around the USA and Germany.  Actually, I think my mother probably did most of the family moving which is why military spouses deserve this Armed Services opportunity too.

To learn more about this Choice Privileges Armed Services program check out the link:

http://www.choiceprivileges.com/armedservices

Loyalty Traveler wrote about Choice Privileges in this tutorial post from June 3, 2008:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/06/03/choice-privileges-summer-tutorial/

Here is a post about Choice Privileges current triple points promotion:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/09/10/choice-privileges-%e2%80%9ctriple-points%e2%80%9d/

 

 

 

 

Priority Club Rewards Buy Points 10% bonus

Buying points is a good way to top off the points in your hotel loyalty account for that free hotel stay award.  Until November 6, 2008 Priority Club will add a 10% points bonus to all purchases.  Priority Club raised the price of points this past year to $11.50 per 1,000 points on purchases of 20,000 to 40,000 points. 

Priority Club points purchase link and rules:

Points must be purchased in 1,000 point increments

·         Only 40,000 points may be purchased in a rolling 12-month period (this favors buying points sooner rather than later if you plan to buy 40,000 points so you can repeat purchase in another 12 months).

 

·         Price:    

o   $13.50 per 1,000 points for 1,000 to 9,000 points

o   $12.50 per 1,000 points for 10,000 to 19,000 points

o   $11.50 per 1,000 points for 20,000 to 40,000 points

 

·         Points will appear in account within 48 hours.

 

The current promotional bonus deal allows the Priority Club member to purchase 44,000 points for $460.  And if you think buying 44,000 points seems like a waste of money, keep reading.

 

 

Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

Buying points can be a great hotel cost savings

No other program offers the opportunity to get a high value room for so few points as InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Priority Club Rewards with their PointBreaks for 5,000 points award nights.  The challenge with PointBreaks is getting your reservation in as soon as new hotels are listed.  The list changes every couple of months and as hotel reservations are booked the PointBreaks hotel list dwindles in size.

Current offers for PointBreaks are valid for hotel stays through November 30, 2008. 

Consider the Hotel Indigo Columbus Architectural Center in Columbus, Indiana, one of the new boutique brand hotels of IHG.  (I realized there is a Columbus, Indiana after several minutes searching for this hotel in Ohio.) 

A four night stay at the Hotel Indigo Architectural Center from Monday, November 3 to Friday, November 7, 2008 will cost 20,000 points using the PointBreaks special offer.  A Priority Club member can buy 22,000 points with the current bonus points promotion and book this four night stay for $230.

This same hotel stay will run $153 per night + 12% tax for a nonrefundable room rate of $171 per night.  A four night fully paid stay will cost $684. 

Just buying Priority Club Rewards points and booking a PointBreaks stay will reduce the four night hotel stay at the Hotel Indigo, Columbus, Indiana by $450.

 Now that is a discount!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starwood has a 25% discount promotional rate called “Better Tomorrows” for stays of at least 2 nights.  The promotion is actually Pay 1 night, Get 2nd at 50% off.  Best savings are for stays of even-number nights 2, 4, 6, 8…. 

Starwood normally has a 20% discount on 2-night stays using links given below in this post for multi-night discounts.  These links also provide for a 33% discount on a 3-night stay if the hotel is participating.  Better Tomorrows is less than 17% discount if rate used for a 3-night stay.

Is the name “Better Tomorrows” a stock market response or what?

Starwood Hotel rates (rate check 10-13-08)

Weekday rates are generally higher in urban city business districts

San Francisco, California Tuesday, November 18, 2008	Portland, Oregon Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008	Vancouver, British Columbia Tuesday, November 18, 2008
$479 St. Regis San Francisco $329 W San Francisco $299 Westin San Francisco Market $299 Palace Hotel $299 Le Meridien $269 Westin St. Francis $199 Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf $121 Four Points San Rafael	$159 Westin Portland $159 Sheraton Portland Airport $139 aloft, Portland Airport $120 Four Points Portland East	$209CAD Westin Grand $199CAD Westin Bayshore $179CAD Sheraton Vancouver  Wall Centre  $145CAD Four Points Airport $125 CAD Sheraton Vancouver Guildford
Better Tomorrows Special Rate – Stay two nights – Pay one night and second night 50% off 2 nights, Fri-Sun, November 21-23
$403.50 W San Francisco 2 nights	$268.50 Westin Portland 2 nights	$253.50 CAD Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre

 

Starwood has a newly launched promotion, Better Tomorrows, for stays of two nights or more. This special offer gives a 25% discount overall for stays of 2, 4, or 6 days.  Be aware the promotion is actually Pay 1 night, get 2nd night for 50%.  This means hotel stays with an odd-number of nights will have less than 25% overall discount.

 

3 night stay on $150 per night rate:  Night 1 = $150, Night 2 = $75, Night 3 = $150 or in other words $375 is a total savings of $75 on the regular $450 3-night rate.  This is only a 17% savings.  Many Starwood hotels have a 3rd night free offer that will be a better savings (33%) than the Better Tomorrows rate.

 

 

Better Tomorrows Discount Rate Terms:

1.       Promotional rate code = ZBT

2.       Minimum 2-night stay with arrival Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

3.       Reservation is prepaid, non-changeable and non-refundable.  (Watch out!  Be Certain!)

4.       Reservations must be made by March 31, 2009 for stays completed by March 31, 2009

 

Special rate should be eligible rate for “You Choose” Hotel Stays and Nights eligibility.  Check with SPG.

 

Longer stays of 3 to 6 nights may be available using a different offer, the on-going Starwood Hotels special room rate links for discounts up to 33% off regular rates at participating hotels around the globe.

 

Starwood Hotels Multi-night Discounts for City Hotels (2 to 6 night hotel stays): http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H

 

Starwood Hotels Multi-night Discounts for Resort Hotels (2 to 6 night hotel stays):

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_R

 

 

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I wonder sometimes how I plan out my hotel travels and here is an opportunity to share how I go about using a loyalty promotion.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is now into the second week of the fourth quarter SPG promotion called “You Choose”.   The promotion allows the SPG member to choose the promotion type.  The offer is an assortment of bonus points based on the number of hotel nights stayed or hotel stays and also includes an option for earning free nights during the final three months of 2008.  Another good value choice for some members is “Double Stays” or “Double Nights”. 

The difference between stays and nights is based in the rule that consecutive nights at the same hotel count as one hotel stay. 

 

Road travel pattern of hotel stays

A person who spends one night at four different hotels is credited with 4 hotel nights and 4 hotel stays.  

A person who spends 7 nights at a beach resort hotel is credited with 7 hotel nights and 1 hotel stay.  Many hotel loyalty promotions have a lower requirement for the number of hotel stays required compared to the number of hotel nights to benefit travelers who stay frequently, but have short stays.

 

 

Typical vacation leisure pattern

Your travel pattern determines the best promotion choice. Frequent one or two night stays can be the cheapest way to fulfill a hotel promotion using hotel stays because the number of nights required is usually more than the number of hotel stays.  Many leisure travelers do not want frequent one-night stays and the multi-night leisure traveler may favor a promotion choice for nights.

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SPG “You Choose” 4th Quarter Promotion

2 Stays = 2,000 bonus points

4 Nights = 2,000 bonus points

 

6 Stays = 9,000 bonus points

12 Nights = 9,000 bonus points

 

10 Stays = 25,000 bonus points

20 Nights = 25,000 bonus points

 

Remember this promotion only lasts until December 31, 2008 so be sure you have a complete plan for sufficient hotel stays or nights before picking a higher threshold bonus.  You must register and select your offer choice by November 15, 2008.

 

4 stays = 1 free night (up to Category 5 hotel);  maximum of 2 free nights

8 nights = 1 free night (up to Category 5 hotel);  maximum of 2 free nights

 

The remaining choice of any value is Double Stays.

 

Loyalty Traveler loves this elite fast-track choice.  Going for SPG Platinum Elite status will pay for itself as long as you plan to travel sufficiently with Starwood Hotels in 2009 to the tune of 10 to 15 nights or more.   You will actually maintain your Platinum status through February 2010 for at least 14 months of complimentary upgrade opportunities, bonus points, and additional hotel stay amenities.  SPG has run a double stays promotion once or twice a year for the past few years so regaining Platinum elite in 2009 may require as few as 13 stays (25 stays is normal qualifying requirement).

 

During the first quarter this year I made Hyatt Diamond status on a “Stays Count Double” promotion and this quarter I will take the SPG Double Stays promotion to retain Platinum elite membership with SPG.

 

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As I looked over rates in California and I checked Oregon and Washington, I saw Portland, OR has the overall lowest rates in a west coast location with multiple Starwood hotels.  Anaheim area around Disneyland midweek looked good too.  But these rates are around $100 to $120 per night for mediocre hotels.  San Francisco and Seattle rates are sky high in the $200+ range for most hotels on most nights.

 

And this brings me around to Canada.  I happened to search Vancouver and was surprised to see rates for hotels like the Sheraton Wall Centre at $159CAD and then I was shocked to see the US Dollar is now worth $1.17 CAD.  (well, the USD has dropped 2% during the time I have been writing this piece today and the exchange rate is now $1.15 after Monday, Oct. 13 trades.)

 

Just three months ago, in July 2008, the exchange rate was an even 1.00 to 1.00 between the Canadian and US Dollar.  Canada’s currency has dropped 15%-18% in just three months since July 2008.  (Mexico has dropped over 20% and makes Mexico a huge bargain for Americans right now.)

 

At the current exchange rates I don’t think the prices of Starwood hotels in Vancouver have changed much since I first visited Vancouver’s Starwood hotels in 1999 to fulfill an SPG promotion bonus and they haven’t changed much from 2003 when I snapped these photos.

 

Vancouver Skyline from Sheraton Wall Centre

 

After looking over rates for Starwood Hotels in California, I branched outwards from the state.

Rather than stay at the usual suspects for cheap rates like the Sheraton San Jose ($84) and Sheraton Sunnyvale ($99) or East Bay locations like the W Newark ($99) or Sheraton Pleasanton ($71), this Loyalty Traveler has decided to head to the great north country of Vancouver, British Columbia for some Starwood Double Stays.

 

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Alaska Airlines – Say goodbye to 20,000 mile domestic tickets

Alaska Airlines is raising their domestic economy frequent flyer tickets to 25,000 miles as of November 1, 2008.

I am cleaning out my Alaska Airlines account and a flight to Vancouver, Canada is still only 20,000 miles and $40 in award taxes for the frequent flyer ticket.

 Alaska Airlines-Horizon Airlines propeller plane

 

One of the great benefits of having a coordinated plan for frequent flyer programs and frequent guest programs is the ability to use points and miles when needed to reduce the cost of travel needed to fulfill other promotions.

 

My Alaska Airline miles are primarily leftover miles from 2003 when I fulfilled an Alaska Airlines promotion for 100,000 bonus miles.  I earned 150,000+ Alaska miles in 2003.  I cashed in 100,000 miles for a British Airways First Class ticket to Europe a few years back.  I transferred 1,000 Diners Club points to Alaska miles earlier in 2008 to raise the account to a domestic award ticket level from 19,000 to 20,000 miles.  I can now cash in the miles, get a ticket to Canada for $40, and vacation while earning Double Stays with Starwood Preferred Guest at the relatively cheap Vancouver urban hotels.

 

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Vancouver’s Stanley Park in 2003

I love Canada.

Every time I have gone to Canada by plane I swear I will never go back.  The world over, I have experienced nothing even close to the amount of questioning I receive by Canadian airport immigration.  This is how I recall our typical conversation.  The conversation seems similar if I am going to Canada for 2 nights, 7 nights, or two weeks.

Airport Mountie: “Why did you come to Canada?”

LT: “Hotel stay.”

Airport Mountie: “You are only here for one night?  Why would you come to Canada for one night?” 

LT: “A hotel stay and weekend vacation.”

Airport Mountie: “Who spends money to travel all the way from California to Canada for just a weekend?  Now tell me, why have you come to Canada?”

LT: “I like Canada? And it is only two hours away by plane.”

Airport Mountie: “Where are you staying while you are here in Canada?”

LT: (I usually rattle off a Starwood Hotel name).

And after one to two minutes more of inane back and forth Q and A they eventually let me in. 

 

View from Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, British Columbia