Loyalty Traveler wants to hear from Priority Club Platinum elites and Ambassadors. Please share your opinion on the value of Priority Club elite membership as evidenced by hotel recognition in terms of upgrades and amenities during your stays.

I have made a general statement over the years with regards to hotel frequent guest and airline frequent flyer loyalty program elite status.

“Top level elite members are generally quite happy with value-added benefits received in recognition of loyalty.”

Elite membership in a travel loyalty program offers value-added benefits like room upgrades, free meals, gifts, complimentary Business Class/First Class flight upgrades, airport lounge access, and change fee waivers. Loads of award travel opportunities have come my way courtesy of Starwood Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and so many other loyalty programs even where I did not have elite status. IHG is the major hotel chain I have not frequented as an elite guest.  I have been planning 2009 to be a Priority Club Rewards / InterContinental Ambassador elite membership year.

Now, in recent weeks, I have been made more aware of Priority Club Platinum elite members claiming they are not feeling the love. A discussion on FlyerTalk, highlighted in the TalkMail email I received yesterday prompted this discussion of whether Priority Club Platinum members are getting adequate loyalty attention from member hotels.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Seattle

 “Show me the upgrade!”

Comments on Loyalty Traveler blog and FlyerTalk lately have me rethinking my analysis of Priority Club. 

I have repeatedly been reading anecdotes from Priority Club Platinum members stating the upgrades are far and few between and aside from the bonus points, there is not much recognition from hotels as a 50 night per year (or 60,000 points) elite program member.

On the other hand, Ambassador members in the InterContinental Hotels paid membership loyalty program seem to be relatively content over the years.  Link to IHG Ambassador program.

Why are these IHG hotel loyalists offering different viewpoints of the merits of loyalty? 

I have two different thoughts on the reasons for different experiences.

1.      The history of the IHG program may play a role.

2.      Hotel Market segment distribution for IHG compared to Starwood Hotels.  (I’d like to expand this to show a comparison to Hilton and Marriott, but time constraints keep me from going into a broader comparison today.)

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is a product of corporate acquisition of hotel chains through the 1990s by British brewing company Bass.  Holiday Inn was purchased in 1990, Crowne Plaza in 1994, and InterContinental in 1998.  The IHG portfolio is the merger of two upper upscale hotel brands with the midscale Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express brands–a much larger proportion of hotels and rooms within IHG.  In all fairness, there are several hundred Holiday Inn hotels which should be in the upscale or upper upscale market segment, but as a whole entity the brand is downgraded to midscale due to the numerous older, standard room hotels. 

Market segmentation is relatively standardized for hotel brand placement in the overall market based on hotel industry research reports from several different sources I have read in the past year. 

St. Regis, Waldorf-Astoria, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton are examples of the luxury segment. 

Westin, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt Regency are examples for the Upper Upscale market segment. 

Four Points by Sheraton, Hilton Garden Inn, and Courtyard by Marriott are brands in the upscale segment.

IHG Hotel Loyalty Programs

The international model of loyalty seems to be more fee-based with loyal travelers buying membership for additional privileges.  Six Continents Club formerly existed for InterContinental Hotel guests and has evolved into the current Ambassador loyalty program.  Priority Club was the existing free loyalty program for Holiday Inn and incorporated Crowne Plaza and other brands into its earning and redemption offers.  There is value in belonging to both if you are a Priority Club member planning stays with IHG brands including InterContinental Hotels. 

2009 could be a year where more effort is made to improve benefits for Platinum elites if IHG wants to be competitive with the other major programs.  The flip side of the argument is IHG may have already chosen its path with adding a benefit to the fee-based membership perks with Ambassador members now eligible to earn 20,000 Priority Club points after 15 nights in a calendar year at InterContinental Hotels. 

Number of hotels and rooms in largest IHG hotel brands

IHG has over 4,100 hotels worldwide.  (IHG Corporate investor reports available on website)

InterContinental is the top tier brand and maintains its own separate InterContinental Ambassador fee-based loyalty program in addition to offering Priority Club Rewards points for InterContinental Hotel stays to Priority Club members.

IHG in the Americas

A 2008 IHG corporate report lists the following breakdown of hotels by brand. 

54 of 157 InterContinental Hotels in Americas (18,105 rooms) = 34% of IC Hotels

180 of 331 Crowne Plaza Hotels in Americas (49,509 rooms) = 54% of Crowne Plaza Hotels

929 of 1,352 Holiday Inns in Americas (171,380 rooms) = 69% of Holiday Inn Hotels

1,684 of 1,889 Holiday Inn Express hotels in Americas (142,158) = 89% of Holiday Inn Express Hotels

Fewer than 18% of rooms in IHG hotel properties in the Americas are positioned in the upper upscale market segment within Crowne Plaza and InterContinental Hotels.  The majority of the upper-upscale hotels in IHG are located outside the USA.  Americas is defined as hotels in USA, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.  A significant number of the 68,000 upper-upscale rooms shown above are not located in the USA.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are defined by the hotel industry as midscale hotels segment. 

Upper-upscale hotels tend to be larger hotels and have a larger variety of rooms.  You can’t be upgraded, except for a better view, if there are no differences in the room types.

************

Starwood Hotels Market Segmentation

Starwood has 9 hotel brands.  Only 145 of 925 hotels are not in the upper upscale market.

St. Regis 13 hotels

Luxury Collection 59 hotels

W Hotels 25

Westin 162 hotels

Sheraton 411 hotels

Le Meridien 110 hotels

Only about 16% of Starwood Hotels are not in the upper upscale or luxury market.  Upgrades are common for SPG Platinum members.  I have had some nice upgrades to suites at certain Four Points by Sheraton hotels in places like Sydney, Australia and San Francisco Airport.  The typical hotel in the Starwood chain has a variety of room types and upgrades are common for SPG Platinum members.

87% of IHG hotels are not in the upscale market. 

Standard Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels may have very few or no differentiated rooms for complimentary upgrades to be offered to Platinum-elites.  Crowne Plaza and nicer Holiday Inns remain the only upscale brands for upgrades since InterContinental operates its own fee-based program for loyalty recognition. 

Priority Club has a generous points earning policy allowing multiple promotions and bonuses to the same hotel stay.  Free rooms are relatively easy to earn, particularly at the high-end redemptions of Crowne Plaza at 25,000 points and InterContinental Hotels at 30,000 or 40,000 points compared to the money spending required to earn high-end rewards with the other major hotel programs.

But complimentary room upgrades as a major loyalty benefit for Priority Club Platinum elites?  Well, that benefit seems to be a matter of opinion and luck.

Ambassador Benefits from Priority Club Terms

The bottom line for the hotel traveler is “How much will my room cost?”

I read a post on *Wood blog about the Mobil Five-Star Award conferred upon the St. Regis San Francisco recently.  I then noticed yesterday the lowest rates I’ve ever seen for the St. Regis San Francisco. 

St. Regis San Francisco, Metropolitan Suite

A spreadsheet I made in August 2007 for hotel rates in San Francisco allowed me to make a comparison to current hotel rates and illustrate the impact of the current economy on the high end hotel market.

San Francisco hotel rates are typically lower during holidays due to the central business district location of most major hotels.  Labor Day weekend rates in 2007 were near the low rates for the entire year from my observations of hotel rates in San Francisco.  There is a certain amount of rate fluctuation due to seasonal rate adjustments with February being near the lowest rate month for San Francisco, however, rate decreases year round are typically tempered by frequent conventions and conferences in the city.

I made a comparison of rates for same hotels for February 13-16, 2009 with the Friday-Monday Labor Day 2007 weekend. Rates for several high-end Starwood hotels were checked on August 22, 2007 for the 3-day Labor Day weekend Friday, August 31-Monday, September 3, 2007.  Several rate types were checked including group rates like AAA and senior rates, hotel special offer rates, and Starwood multi-night discount rates. 

In general, the lowest rates for the Valentine’s weekend 2009 are typically found using Starwood Hotels special rate offer for the Third Night Free on a weekend stay. 

St. Regis did not offer the 3^rd Night free rate for 2007 stay.  Rates shown for 2007 were either nonrefundable internet rates or hotel special offer rates. Rates are generally 30%+ lower in 2009.

Peculiar Starwood clause in the room description for a Fantastic Suite: “700 Square ft, Floors 23-28, unobstructed views, No Parties or Meetings Allowed!”  Rates are about 30% lower in 2009.

Palace Hotel courtyard restaurant, San Francisco

The Palace Hotel has dropped rates near to 2006 levels when the hotel was still going for as low as $99 on slow weekends.  2007 and 2008 rates hovered around $200 for the lowest category rooms.

The $159 rate for a Junior Suite is quite a discount on average rates at the Palace over past two years.  Rates are generally 30% to 50% lower in 2009.

Le Meridien room category types have changed so much in the room descriptions that I can’t easily match room descriptions now with descriptions from 2007.  

Do you live an InterContinental life?

InterContinental Hotels has a weekend Sunday night free offer for select hotels.  Click the link to see participating hotels.  This offer is for Friday only check-in for a 3-night stay (Check-out Monday) through April 30, 2009.  The reservation must be prepaid for two nights at time of booking.

My surprise was finding the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco with a 3-night weekend rate lower than the rate for just two nights.  The February weekend I checked had $199 rates for a Friday-Saturday 2-night stay, however, the 3-night special rate totaled only $378 for Friday check-in and Monday check-out.

InterContinental Mark Hopkins, atop Nob Hill, San Francisco

Now that is a deal when 3 nights cost less than 2 nights.  Unfortunately, I did not find this anomaly in any other InterContinental Hotels when checking rates using the 3 nights for the price of two special offer link.

This offer can also be used to buy up to a suite for 3 nights at a 33% discount at a participating InterContinental Hotel.

Scottsdale More Your Style?  20,000 Points for a 3-night stay

Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale is resort hotel nirvana in the desert. Think JW Marriott and The Phoenician of the Starwood Luxury Collection.  InterContinental Hotels Group has the InterContinental Montelucia, recently remodeled, and at a price much lower than the Marriott or Phoenician.

InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa between December 1, 2008 and June 14, 2009 is offering a 10,000 points bonus for a 2-night stay or 20,000 points for a 3-night stay.

Registration is required.  Stay must be booked by March 31 and completed by June 14, 2009.

Rates start at $190 per night and a $300 resort credit offer is available at little additional cost to the lowest minimum nightly rate ($195/night).  A 20,000 points bonus after a 3-night stay and you are well on your way to a free night.  InterContinental Hotel stays regularly earn 2,000 points per stay through the InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club program. 

This offer awards 22,000+ points for your $600 hotel stay, in addition to your resort vacation.  There is a good chance a 3-night stay will also earn 3,000 points with IHG Priority Club Rewards current promotion for 3,000 points for every 3 nights through April 30, 2009.

Priority Club Gold Gold elite membership is earned after a member earns 20,000 Priority Club points in a calendar year.

Consider purchasing InterContinental Ambassador loyalty program membership for a complimentary upgrade and additional amenities if you plan to participate in this offer.  Your $150 membership will pay for itself with a one category room upgrade on this stay.

Priority Club Rewards is offering 15,000 bonus points for a 3-night or longer stay at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Orange Lake Resort property in Kissimmee, Florida, near Orlando through December 18, 2009.

Registration is required for this offer.  Stay must be booked by 6/1/09.

I see offers all the time for big bonuses of loyalty points on resort destination vacations.  The numbers typically work out to spending $1,500 to $3,000 in Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean and you might earn enough points for a free hotel night.

Here is a promotion with real value.  The hotel can currently be booked for February stays for as low as $84 per night.  A 3-bedroom villa with one King and three Queen beds is only $156 per night.  Take some friends or family and get them to chip into the cost.  Your reward for booking the cool deal is a lot of bonus points.

$468 x 10 points per $1 = 4,680 points + 15,000 Bonus points + 3,000 points for 3 nights = Gold Elite status (earned upon reaching 20,000 points in a calendar year) and nearly enough points for a 25,000 point free night at a Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Portland’s new Starwood luxury hotel has dropped its rates 60% since opening in October 2008.

The Nines from $99 for 99 days through April 18.  Rate Code “99NINES”.

View of The Nines 8th Floor Lobby and Restaurants, Portland, OR

Times are hard for luxury hotels.  I was just reading how two luxury hotels in Dublin have shut down within two years of opening. Last October when I planned my road trip up the west coast, I stayed at The Nines, Portland, Oregon’s new downtown Starwood Luxury Collection premier hotel.  Rates were $249 minimum when I wanted a reservation.  I redeemed 1,000 Starpoints for a Starwood Preferred Guest 50% off rack rate award to bring the nightly rate down to $199.

The room was finely furnished, but this Starwood hotel was the only Starwood property this year where I had a room I would not consider to be in the top 25% for best rooms for the Nines hotel. My room was a standard size with an exterior view, however, a minuscule window in an architecturally old building with some rooms having huge window views to the center city streets of Portland. 

The Club lounge was the highlight of the hotel and a complimentary amenity for me as an SPG Platinum member.

The $249 rates disappeared in November, just a few weeks after the hotel opened and within a couple of weeks of my stay.  Now the hotel can be booked for regular internet rates as low as $159.

Even better, The Nines is running a 99-day promotion for a $99 room rate.

The bath amenities are probably a $20 value.  And if you have Platinum status for complimentary Club lounge access then you may have the additional treat of several services throughout the day, beginning with morning breakfast, mid-day snacks, early evening appetizers and complimentary alcohol, followed by dessert in the evening. 

The Nines, a Starwood luxury Collection Hotel, Portland, OR

The Nines is a luxury getaway at a bargain price with this $99 special rate.

Related links: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/11/12/the-nines-starwood-luxury-collection-portland-oregon/

A Hilton Garden Inn email advertisement caught my attention this morning and almost entirely wasted an hour of my time.

 Hilton Advance Purchase Rates – Key words are “Up To”, not 25% Off

I focused on “25% Off” and started writing about this offer.  The highlighted words of this offer should be “Up To” since I did not find anything close to a discount deal for hotels I checked. 

Although there is little of merit in the Advance Purchase Rates as far as saving you real money at most hotels, I will get a diatribe against nonrefundable rates out of the time I invested looking into this email advertisement from Hilton Garden Inn.

The Terms and Conditions footnote font is so small that I struggle to read it with my glasses on.

*Subject to limited availability at participating hotels. Non-refundable, full advance payment required for Advance Purchase Rate. Other restrictions apply. Best available rate is a specific rate type that varies depending on time of purchase, is unrestricted, non-qualified and excludes discount or negotiated rates not available to the general public, including, but not limited to: membership, corporate, government, promotional, group, packages, unpublished or rates only available on auction websites.

Asterisked Footnote (in a font size I can read.)

*Subject to limited availability at participating hotels. Non-refundable, full advance payment required for Advance Purchase Rate. Other restrictions apply. Best available rate is a specific rate type that varies depending on time of purchase, is unrestricted, non-qualified and excludes discount or negotiated rates not available to the general public, including, but not limited to: membership, corporate, government, promotional, group, packages, unpublished or rates only available on auction websites. 

From the full promotional rate ‘Terms and Conditions’ in the ‘Up To 25% Off’ ad comes this clause:

Reservation cannot be modified: Price quoted applies to exact date(s)/nights/stay booked. Modifications to your reservation (including but not limited to name changes, date changes, etc.) are not permitted.

Loyalty Traveler anecdotal tip: 

Best Available Rate, often printed as BAR in hotel industry articles, is not the same as the lowest rate.  In fact the BAR rate is generally not the lowest available rate on any given day for any given hotel. The BAR room rate generally can be cancelled without penalty.  My anecdotal observation from several years of hotel room rate searches is the Advance Purchase rate is the lowest rate only about 1/3 of the time for upscale hotels. The lowest rate for a hotel room is generally a Group rate (AAA or senior rate), a nonrefundable rate, or a hotel special offer that saves 10% to 25% on the Best Available Rate. 

AAA automobile club membership rates are the lowest hotel rate about a third of the time in my hotel searches for USA major chain hotels like Marriott, Hilton, and Sheraton .  

Advance Purchase, nonrefundable rates are slightly lower than the AAA rate about a third of the time.  Sometimes the nonrefundable rate will be significantly lower than any other rate. Then, you need to take a personal risk assessment of spending your cash on the spot for a future hotel stay reservation that will not be refunded if you must cancel.

AAA discount rates at hotels generally allow the room to be cancelled without penalty using terms close to the BAR cancellation terms.  Most hotels tend to allow cancellation of a reservation without a penalty up to one or two days before arrival, and some hotels even allow cancellation up to 6:00pm hotel time on day of arrival without penalty.  Vacation resort hotels tend to have most restrictive rules for cancellation.

The remaining third of the time the lowest rate is the BAR rate or a special offer rate found through the hotel’s own website rather than the corporate booking site.  For example, check the San Francisco Hilton Hotel website for special offers that are not displayed on the Hilton Hotels corporate website or HHonors reservations.

Hilton Garden Inn Advance Reservation Rate Search Results

The Advance Purchase rate of $188.00 is only a 10% discount on the $209 Best Available Rate (BAR) for the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport. The AAA rate only costs a dime ($0.10) more than the nonrefundable rate and allows cancellation at any time up to day of arrival without a hotel charge. 

Hilton Garden Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport Room Rates - February 6, 2009

Hilton Garden Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport Advance Purchase rate terms:

Guarantee Policy:
Full payment in advance is required for this reservation. Your credit card will be charged 208.68 USD immediately.

Cancellation Policy:
If you cancel for any reason, attempt to modify this reservation, or do not arrive on your specified check-in date, your payment is non-refundable.

AAA rate Cancellation policy for Hilton Garden Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport:

If you wish to cancel, please do so by 4pm, hotel local time, on the day of arrival to avoid cancellation penalties. 

I personally avoid nonrefundable rates whenever possible.  I would have wasted thousands of dollars over the years if I went the nonrefundable rate to save $5 or $10 per night.  I generally only book nonrefundable hotel room rates a day or two before arrival when the probability of making the hotel stay is extremely high.

Christopher Elliott wrote a recent article, The Disappearing Vacation, where he coins 2009 the year of the ‘naycation’, as in No Vacation for 2009. 

The numbers are looking bleak, particularly on the luxury front of air travel.

Premium air travel fell 11.5% worldwide in November 2008 compared to November 2007, according to a New York Times article yesterday, January 20, 2009.  The greatest decline is in long-haul travel.  Those $15,000 to $20,000 ticket prices finally seem to be an inhibitor to flying up front for the moneyed corporate masses.  (I refer to corporate masses from my experience of having traveled on dozens of premium flights and never having talked to someone seated next to me in the premium cabin who paid for their own flight.  Corporate travel or frequent flyer award travel is common.)

Trans-Pacific premium travel suffered nearly an 18% drop in November 2008.  This might be a good time to try and score a First Class award ticket on a trans-Pacific route.

Trans-Atlantic premium flight travel to Europe dropped 9% in November over the year before. 

And the airline industry forecast is for the travel market to decline further before an improvement is seen.

On the hotel front, luxury hotel travel has dropped 24% from a year ago in recent industry tracking data.

Chris Elliott commented in his ‘Disappearing Vacation’ piece “No two ways about it, staying close to home and exploring the local attractions can be dull. (Unless you live in a place where people like to vacation.)”

Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach 1-18-09

Pebble Beach, Western Edge of California, Eastern Edge of the Pacific

I do have the good fortune to live in a place where a staycation is still a great time.  When traveling and asked where I am from, I regularly describe where I live, Monterey/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach/Carmel, collectively known as the Monterey Peninsula, as the place in California where Californians vacation.   

We spent the day basking in the sun and whale watching at Pebble Beach this past weekend.  The best whale watching from the shoreline I have seen in my life has occurred the past two weeks.  The Monterey Peninsula has had the longest winter heatwave in almost 50 years.  The temperature in Monterey has exceeded 70 degrees for the past 9 days and on Monday, January 19 the temperature peaked out at 80. The last time the Peninsula saw this kind of winter extended warm temperatures was January 1962.

Cypress Point, westernmost point of Pebble Beach, looking south to Point Sur

I rag on the exclusivity of Pebble Beach, but I have to admit the scenery is damn beautiful and the whalewatching from Cypress Point was the best location on the Peninsula I have been in the past two weeks for close views of whales from the shore. Some whales were within 1/2 mile of land. 

The $9.25 entrance fee to the 5,300 acre privately owned and gated community on the western edge of the Monterey Peninsula keeps me from visiting the area as frequently as I would like.  Bicycles may enter Pebble Beach without charge for the cycling alternative.  I need to get a bike.

Pebble Beach will have the ATT Pro-Am golf tournament in two weeks.  The hotels need the revenue.  Pebble Beach, feeling the pinch of luxury travel cuts, has shed employees, shut down restaurants on Sundays, and offered discounts on room and golf/spa packages for their three hotel properties: Pebble Beach Lodge, Spanish Bay, and Casa Palmeiro.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach, view from near 18th green of Pebble Beach Golf Links

Still, Pebble Beach Corporation has posted rate increases for April 2009.  An ocean view room at the Pebble Beach Lodge will increase more than 4% from $925 to $965 per night.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach, Oceanview rooms

The rooms above look over the 18th green of Pebble Beach Golf Links and Carmel Beach is in the distance.

Pebble Beach Golf Links, 18th green, a view from oceanview rooms at The Lodge

Is $965 for a night at a California coastal resort feasible in this economy? 

Time will tell if this luxury retreat on the Monterey Peninsula will continue to see a retreat in luxury for 2009.

Loyalty Traveler tip: The $9.25 car admission fee to Pebble Beach will be deducted from your restaurant or bar bill if you visit one of the Pebble Beach restaurants, bars, and cafes.  A bottle of Stella Artois will run $7.25 at Traps in Spanish Bay Inn and appetizers are $10-$20; Peppoli restaurant entrees are $30 to $50.  The Lodge has similar prices.

Spanish Bay Inn, bagpiper at sunset

Four Seasons, J.W. Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Conrad, Hyatt Resorts, and InterContinental Hotels are hotel brand names you might be surprised to see if you have not visited the travel auction site SkyAuction.com lately. 

I focus much of my analysis on hotel loyalty programs since I find chain hotel brands give me the most value for the 50 to 80 nights a year I stay in hotels.  The added value benefits received for a hotel stay as a top elite member in a major hotel loyalty program like HHonors or Starwood Preferred Guest can easily amount to $100 per night in complimentary upgrades and services.  Sometimes a spectacular room upgrade can be an added value of several hundred dollars for a single hotel night when you walk into a large best-in-the-hotel suite.

There is lesser value in hotel loyalty programs for the guest not receiving regular frequent guest elite benefits during the hotel stay. 

When you just want to get any room at any upscale to luxury hotel, there are alternatives like Hotwire.com and Priceline.com for getting a relatively low room rate compared to booking through a major hotel chain or an online travel agency like Expedia.com.   

SkyAuction.com hotel listings these days resemble more and more a bucket list of upper-upscale hotels rather than an auction block for struggling independent hotels and time-share dumps. 

SkyAuction.com is almost the reverse of Priceline.com.  You see the specific hotel where you are bidding for a stay, but what you don’t know is whether another bidder will win the auction at the last second.  Also, you don’t know, at least until after you have won the bid, whether your preferred dates will be available.

Booking and Bidding Advice:

1.      Check your desired dates on the hotel’s own reservations website to see the prevailing rates for your tentative stay dates and look for special offer rate discounts or add-ons like parking, breakfast, and free nights on extended stays.

2.      Calculate the SkyAuction bid limit based on adding together:

a.       Bid Price for auction

b.      Taxes and fees ($49 per night additional for most SkyAuction hotel offers)

c.       Any seasonal surcharges listed for your desired hotel stay dates.

3.      Compare the cost of SkyAuction hotel offer to hotel website best offers. 

4.      Make quick estimate of the value of additional items like breakfast, parking, spa treatment, and recreation opportunities incorporated into special offer rates.  If you need parking or really desire breakfast at the hotel in the morning, then special offer rates often provide these amenities at a lower overall package rate. 

Fortunately, SkyAuction has a fairly easy policy of refunding a winning bid if the dates of your stay fit within the parameters of the auction and the hotel doesn’t want to release a room during your preferred dates.

The upper upscale hotel market is being impacted by the reduction in travel in 2008.  Guest occupancy for upper upscale hotels in USA has declined over 20% from the same week period in 2008.  Total hotel room occupancy nationwide for the thousands of upper upscale hotels fell below 50% for the first full week of the new year according to hotel industry data for January 4-10, 2009 published by STR, a leading provider of hotel industry room rate research. 

The luxury hotel market segment has suffered even greater occupancy rate declines, around 24% fewer guests in the first work week of January 2009.

Thousands of rooms every night all across the USA are sitting empty.  More than half the rooms at high-end hotels with brand names like Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Conrad, and InterContinental were unoccupied by guests for the first full work week of 2009.  While the US upscale to luxury hotel market as a whole has seen occupancy declines greater than 20% at the start of 2009, the average rate for a room has only dropped around 8% for 2009 compared to one year ago. 

Loyalty Traveler analyzed potential winning bids on SkyAuction.com for hotel offers during January 17-19, 2009 and compared the SkyAuction prices to hotel’s own website offers.

Actual winning bid prices are not known. Potential winning bids shown were bids shortly before close and most hotels have had more than one offer in past week with similarly priced  potentially winning bids.

The morning of the promotion meltdown for $19.28 luxury hotel rooms with the Leading Hotels of the World on October 1, 2008 I spoke with  Adam Burke, Hilton Hotels Senior Vice President, Customer Loyalty.  First question to Adam Burke that morning was “Have you heard about the LHW promotion fiasco?  The website was down and the whole promotion was a bust.” 

Mr. Burke was unaware of what had happened that morning with Leading Hotels of the World, but he commiserated with the scenario as I explained it.  He said something like ‘We (hotel promotion people) all know what it is like to be there and I don’t envy them.’

Hilton HHonors starts 2009 with a goof. 

Tuesday, January 6 HHonors Double Base Points promotion launched.  Hilton HHonors is first in starting a major hotel loyalty promotion for the 2009 winter season.  In the past week there have been three more major promotions launched in the hotel world with Starwood Preferred Guest’ 10,000 points for 10 nights, Hyatt Gold Passport 20,000 points for 8 nights, and IHG Priority Club 3,000 points for 3 nights.

Wednesday January 7, Hilton HHonors sent out a press release to promote their latest promotion for Double Base Points.  The Press release was posted in a variety of media outlets.

Hotels Magazine January 7: http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/CA6627006.html?industryid=47565

Colloquy, January 7

http://www.colloquy.com/breaking_view.asp?xd=5576

StreetInsider.com, January 7

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Hilton+HHonors(R)+Rings+in+2009+with+a+Double+Base+Points+Promotion/4283185.html

Yesterday, Monday, January 12

The Hilton HHonors Double Base Points Press Release is reissued.  The change is a reduction to the number of points earned by a member with Points & Points earning preference from 30 points per $1 to 25 points per $1.

Some news services made the update yesterday to correct the Points & Points earning for Hilton’s Double Base Points promotion from 30 points per $1 to 25 points per $1.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/CORRECTING-and-REPLACING-bw-14030947.html

Mistakes Happen

My thoughts this morning are from the viewpoint of a blogger and consumer. 

As a consumer writer for hotel travelers, I am disappointed that I published inaccurate information in several posts on Loyalty Traveler regarding the Hilton Double Base Points promotion. 

There might be a couple of hundred people who anticipate getting 30 points per $1 from their Hilton stays because they read it over a couple of days on the Loyalty Traveler blog and will not be back here to see the information has changed. 

I searched the Hilton Double Base points promotion on Google and inserted the links above to show some other sources where erroneous information is being disseminated around the internet on websites where the updated press release may never be incorporated into the posted web page showing 30 points per $1 for Hilton stays with the Double Base Points promotion.

As a consumer, I understand the Double Base Points calculation was only an error in the Press Release and the meaning of Double Base Points is explained on the promotion registration webpage in the fine print “Terms and Conditions” at the bottom of the page as:

“Double Base points” means you will receive a bonus equal to the number of Base points earned during a stay. Bonus points earned on Base points do not count toward VIP tier qualification.”

I understand this terminology.  Do you? 

I write the Loyalty Traveler blog to help consumers understand all this stuff about hotel loyalty programs.  I am a hotel loyalty program geek so you don’t have to be.

Hilton HHonors Terminology

Base Points: Base points are earned based on the money spent for hotel stays.  Base points are earned for the room rate (but not the room taxes and fees portion); other charges like meals and bar charges posted to room, and room service.

Hilton HHonors members earn 10 base points per $1 in hotel spending.

Points & Points: Hilton HHonors unique earning system it calls ‘Double Dip’ allows a member to choose an earning preference for either Points & Miles or Points & Points.  When selecting Points & Points a member earns the normal 10 base points per $1 and an additional 5 bonus points for a total of 15 points per $1.

Double Base Points:  The current Hilton promotion through April 6, 2009 adds an additional 10 bonus points to the normally earned 15 points if earning preference with Hilton HHonors is set to Points & Points.  The Double Base Points promotion means a member will receive 25 points per $1 in eligible spending. 

VIP Tier Qualification:  Hilton HHonors has membership levels.

Blue – less than 4 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year. HHonors is the only program to give VIP tier qualification credit for Hilton-family hotel nights using points.  Free hotel stays at Hilton properties count towards elite status. 

Silver VIP – 4 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year.

Gold VIP – 16 stays or 36 nights or 60,000 base points.

Diamond VIP – 28 stays or 60 nights or 100,000 base points.

Hilton HHonors VIP status has the primary feature of making available access to discounted hotel stays using points when it comes time to spend your earnings.  A Category 6 hotel night is 40,000 points.  A VIP member 6-night hotel stay award for a Category 6 hotel is only 175,000 points.  This stay would require 240,000 points for a member without VIP status.

The Double Base Points terms state that Bonus Points earned on Base Points do not count toward VIP tier qualification.  60,000 base points still requires $6,000 in spending even with this promotion.

Bonus Points: Base points are the 10 points per $1 in hotel spending and these points count towards elite VIP tier status and are also redeemable points for free hotel rooms.  Bonus points are all the other points earned from Points & Points bonus points, VIP elite bonus points, and promotion bonus points.  The Double Base points promotion will allow a Points & Points member to earn at least 25 points per $1 in spending.  This earning rate may be higher depending on elite status and hotel specific bonus points promotions.

Points & Miles: Hilton HHonors members registered for the Double Base points promotion can receive 20 points per $1 in spending + airline miles. 

There are two preferences for airline miles:

Fixed Miles, generally 500 miles with most airline partners per hotel stay (Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites hotel stays earn only 100 miles or 20% miles compared to other brands) or

Variable Miles: 1 mile per $1 in hotel spending for most airlines.

Well, all’s well that ends well. 

My Hilton HHonors Double Base Points promotion analysis ended better last week when the promotion was offering 30 points per $1. 

Priority Club Rewards Hotel Brands

InterContinental Hotels Group is the parent of Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Crowne Plaza.  These three hotel brands are more than 80% of the 4,000 hotels represented by Priority Club Rewards.  Another four brands round out the IHG family with the upper upscale InterContinental Hotels, the extended stay brands of Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, and the recently created boutique brand, Hotel Indigo.

Crowne Plaza hotels number about 275 worldwide with more than half in the USA.  Crowne Plaza is the primary upscale hotel for IHG Priority Club in the USA.  InterContinental Hotels are the top-tier hotel brand of Priority Club and located in over 100 major cities and resorts globally, but in fewer than 20 cities in the USA.  The Holiday Inn brand has more upscale properties internationally than in the USA, but with the ubiquitous Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn brands, there are over 3,000 Priority Club hotels in the USA.  Priority Club represents fewer upscale hotels in the USA than Starwood, Marriott, or Hilton Hotels, however,  Priority Club has the most widespread hotel coverage of North America for any major loyalty program.

The Winter 2009 Promotion – Must register for bonus.  No retroactive credit prior to registration.

Priority Club Q1-2009 Registration link

Earn 3,000 points or 1,000 miles for every 3rd qualifying night between January 12, 2009 and April 30, 2009.  Qualifying night means a paid night booked through an IHG website or reservations agent.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

The promotion is rather straight forward so I want to comment on other aspects of Priority Club and compare the benefits of nights stayed at IHG properties with other promotions.

Hyatt Gold Passport currently requires 8 nights to earn 20,000 points and Starwood Preferred Guest takes 10 nights to earn 10,000 points.  I made comparative evaluations of these promotions for members with elite status in my last two blog posts.  I will use 9 hotel nights to evaluate the Priority Club promotion to try and keep the nights stayed in hotels within a narrow range as a variable in comparing different promotions. 

As seen from the table examples, the points earned after 9 nights are barely enough for a low level room redemption at a Priority Club hotel.  Priority Club offers special discount redemptions called PointBreaks for a free night with only 5,000 points.  A select Holiday Inn Hotel or Crowne plaza will be 25,000 points for a free night.  InterContinental Hotels start at 30,000 points per night and upper tier hotels are 40,000 points.

Hyatt and Starwood currently offer better promotional value with regard to the potential for a free hotel night with 10 or fewer paid hotel nights.  The sheer number of hotels in Priority Club make this program the best hotel loyalty option for many frequent travelers.

Earning the Priority Club 30,000 points or 10,000 miles bonus

Ms. Morland – Fast-track from General Member to Priority Club Platinum elite

Most hotels have Bonus Points rates offering an additional 2,000 bonus points for about $20.  Offers range from 1,000 points per night to 4,000 points per night.

Ms. Morland paid $20 more one night for a 2,000 points bonus room rate.  She calculated her Priority Club points would be 18,000 after $900 in spending for 9 nights.  She earns 20,000 points with the Bonus Points rate and qualifies for Gold Elite Priority Club status upon earning 20,000 points in 2009.

Ms. Morland purchases 40,000 Priority Club points for $460.  Her Priority Club account is upgraded to Platinum-elite status once she has 60,000 points posted in 2009.  Ms. Morland will be Platinum elite for the remainder of 2009 and has already qualified for status through February 2011 based on her 9 nights, bonus points, and purchased points.

Mr. Thorpe – Stuck in the Middle at Gold

The majority of Mr. Thorpe’s travel year consists of 20 nights per year at the Holiday Inn in Santa Maria, California when he has to train a new set of accountants for tax season each January.  He has earned Priority Club Gold elite due to his work stays reaching at least 15 nights in Priority Club hotels every year.  The Holiday Inn Santa Maria is near Mr. Thorpe’s work location, otherwise he never thinks of Priority Club points when booking holiday travel.  He occasionally registers for Priority Club promotions that come in his email.  He has earned around 50,000 or 60,000 points since his wife booked the Holiday inn Vero Beach, Florida in 2006 and cleaned out his account. 

Mrs. Thorpe would like her husband to get a Priority Club credit card.  She has her eye on a free hotel stay at the Holiday Inn Aruba for 25,000 points per night.  Mr. Thorpe should have enough points for four free nights in March 2010 after next year’s Santa Maria stay.   Mrs. Thorpe hopes to earn an additional 50,000 Priority Club points in 2009 with the credit card membership bonus and spending and try to earn 6 free nights in Aruba for a winter hotel stay next year.

 Mrs. Allen – Platinum Road Warrior

Educational publisher salesperson for the west coast region keeps Mrs. Allen in hotels 130 nights of the year.  Mrs. Allen is Priority Club Platinum, Marriott Silver, and Hilton Gold.  Holiday Inn Express is her home away from home when driving Interstate 5 from San Diego to Seattle month after month.

In addition to her Priority Club platinum status, Mrs. Allen is InterContinental Royal Ambassador.  On vacation Mrs. Allen spends her points.  For international conferences she spends her hotel stipend for luxury hotel stays at InterContinental Hotels around the world where she is treated to the finer pleasures of hotel travel. 

Room upgrades are common for Mrs. Allen.  She receives complimentary upgrades to better rooms than she booked over 90% of her stays at full service hotels offering junior suite and full suite rooms.  The majority of her stays are in Holiday Inn Express Hotels with few room differentiating  features, yet  Mrs. Allen regularly receives a specialty room with a Jacuzzi tub or the best room view in the hotel. 

Complimentary food, beverages, and gifts from hotels add at least $5,000 in value-added benefits to Mrs. Allen’s hotel stays for her 130 nights.  She earns upwards of 400,000 Priority Club points per year by registering for all the promotions she can and averaging $15,000+ in annual spending with IHG. 

Mrs. Allen rarely buys points or pays a higher rate for bonus points. 

InterContinental Hotel nights are the best redemption value for Mrs. Allen’s Priority Club points.  She has nothing but praise for her InterContinental Hotel stays on trips to North Africa, Southeast Asia, China, and South America over the past few years. 

Mrs. Allen usually has sufficient points for 12 to 14 free hotel nights per year using her earned points at the best Priority Club member hotels in the world.  Frequently, Mrs. Allen uses her points for a hotel free night reward stay at a luxury InterContinental Hotel location where the average room rate for her hotel room would be $500+ per night.   The hotel has lower priced rooms, perhaps starting at $275 as an entry level rate, yet Mrs. Allen almost always receives a complimentary upgrade from the basic room category for the hotel to a room type that would cost hundreds of dollars more per night.  Complimentary upgrades occur regularly, whether the hotel room is a paid reservation or a free night using hotel points.  Mrs. Allen typically gets a vacation value of $6,000+ in free hotel nights per year when using her points for luxury hotel stays.

Balancing points redemption for a free hotel night with the higher priced nights and paying a room rate for the lower priced rooms in the upper upscale and luxury hotels allows Mrs. Allen to travel the world and stay at InterContinental Hotels and upscale Crowne Plaza hotels for 30 days or more per year at a cost of less than $100 per night.  Her out-of-pocket expense for leisure hotel stays, about $2,500 per year, covers her Ambassador Club membership ($150 per year) and 12 upscale hotel nights ($2,400 per year for 12 nights @ $200/night).

Earning Miles from Priority Club Hotel Nights:  Miles have an allure – particularly if you are close to a nice frequent flier award.  The miles numbers look like a good deal for Priority Club members who prefer miles.  This post won’t get into a miles analysis.