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

9 IHG Priority Club Hotel nights at $100 per night = $900	Platinum Mrs. Allen	Gold Mr. Thorpe	General member Ms. Morland
Base Points (10 points per $1)	9,000	9,000	9,000
Elite Bonus Points  (50% Platinum; 10% Gold)	4,500 (50%)	900 (10%)	0
3rd Night Bonus Points	9,000	9,000	9,000
Points Total	22,500	18,900	18,000

 

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.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) has a promotion through April 30, 2009 to award 500 bonus points per night and an additional 5,000 bonus points after 10 nights at Starwood Hotels.

SPG Night after Night Promotion

Registration required.

SPG Offer: Earn 500 points for each night and 5,000 additional bonus points after 10 nights.  The 10K for 10 nights bonus may be earned multiple times.

Promotion dates: January 7-April 30, 2009.

 

SPG started the 10,000 points for 10 nights Starwood promotion January 7, 2009. 

Hyatt Gold Passport’s 20,000 points for 8 nights promotion launched January 9.

InterContinental Hotel Groups Priority Club bonus of 3,000 points for every 3 nights launches January 12. 

Hilton HHonors Double Base Points kickstarted the 2009 promotions on January 6 and is a somewhat misleading title in that it may be misconstrued at a faster way to elite status, however, the double base points simply refers to the method for calculating hotel stay bonus points with this promotion ending April 6, 2009.  The terms of the HHonors promotion are explicit in stating double base points does not refer to elite qualifying bonus points. 

Marriott Rewards will begin its 2,500 points per stay for 25,000 points promotion on February 1. 

Aside from Hilton, these promotions all end April 30, 2009.

Comparing loyalty programs to each other is time consuming to generate meaningful analysis and lengthy to explain due to the variables of money spent, location of stays, loyalty program member elite status, and hotel special offers.  That being said, the hotel traveler needs to see real numbers made in the context of real travel scenarios to get a comparative picture of how points may be earned and spent in the major loyalty programs.

Starwood Earning and Redemption Case Study:

3 corporate site inspectors have a west coast plant facilities inspection tour.  The team will stay in Phoenix, San Diego, Long Beach, and 7 other cities for 7 other hotel stays.  The team leader is a Starwood Platinum member and selects Starwood hotels for each hotel stay.  One inspector has Gold status and the third member signs up as a new member before the trip.  Hotel restaurants are used for most breakfast and dinner meals.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Elite Membership Qualification:

SPG Gold = 25 nights or 10 hotel stays in a calendar year

SPG Platinum = 50 nights or 25 hotel stays in a calendar year

The inspection tour will require 10 nights at Starwood Hotels at a nightly rate with meals averaging $200 per night.  Inspector Platinum informs the other inspectors to sign up for the 10,000 bonus points promotion. 

Inspector Platinum

·         Received Club Floor rooms and lounge access at 5 of the 10 hotels.  Two hotels without lounges provided Inspector Platinum with coupons for free breakfast and three hotels provided two complimentary drink tickets for the hotel bar.

·         Received complimentary upgrades to a full suite at six of the Starwood Hotels, a junior suite at two hotels, and the preferred view room at the other two hotels. (Aloft hotels and Element do not have to upgrade platinum members according to SPG rules.)

·         Received platinum amenity of 500 points per hotel stay at all the Starwood Hotels except for 250 points for one night at a Four Points in Bakersfield and one night at an Aloft Hotel at Ontario Airport.  (Element Hotels also only offer 250 points per stay as a platinum amenity.)

Inspector Gold received a full suite at one of the 10 Starwood Hotels, a junior suite at three hotels, and a preferred view room at the six other hotels.  Inspector Gold received complimentary lounge access at three hotels.

Inspector New received Preferred view rooms at three of the 10 hotels when checking in with the same desk clerk as Inspector Platinum and Inspector Gold.  Inspector New was offered lounge access for a fee at two hotels.

 

10 Starwood Hotel nights at $200 per night = $2,000	Inspector Platinum Earns Total 20,500 points	Inspector Gold Earns Total 16,000 points	Inspector New Earns Total 14,000 points
Base Points ($1×2)	4,000	4,000	4,000
Elite Bonus Points  (50% bonus)	2,000	2,000	0
Platinum Amenity Bonus Points            (500 per hotel stay for 8 stays; 250 for 2 stays)	4,500	0	0
10 nights bonus	10,000	10,000	10,000
Points Total	20,500	16,000	14,000

 

Redemption of Points for free nights:

Inspector Platinum uses 20,000 points for 4 nights at the Category 4 Westin Gaslamp, Hotel San Diego during a special promotional offer for SPG Platinum members offering a 50% discount on hotel redemptions.  (Note to readers: This promotion was offered to SPG Platinum members for the past two years and has not yet been offered in 2009, but highly anticipated by all of us Platinums.) 

Westin Gaslamp San Diego would otherwise be $359.10 per night for May 19-23;

Value of Inspector Platinum’s hotel points redemption: $1,436 for 4 nights at the Westin Gaslamp, San Diego.

 

Inspector Gold uses 16,000 points for Cash & Points Awards at the Category 4 Sheraton Delfina Hotel, Santa Monica for 4 nights at nightly rate of $60 + 4,000 Starpoints = 16,000 points + $240. 

Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica is $257.41 per night for May 19-23;

Value: $1,030 – $240 Cash portion of Cash & Points award

Value of Inspector Gold’s hotel points redemption: $790 for 4 nights at Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica. 

 

Inspector New uses 14,000 points to redeem a 4 night hotel stay in the SPG Category 2 Sheraton Ventura Harbor Hotel for Wednesday through Saturday.  Wednesday and Thursday weeknight awards are 4,000 points per night and Friday-Saturday weekend nights are only 3,000 points per night.  Inspector New takes her boyfriend to Ventura for a four night vacation on 14,000 points. 

Sheraton Ventura Harbor is $157 per night for May 19-23:  

Value of Inspector New’s hotel points redemption is $628 for 4 nights.

 

Conclusion: All three inspectors stayed in the same three hotels on the same nights and spent the same amount of money to earn the Winter 2009 Starwood Night after Night 10,000 points bonus.  Elite status bonus points are the primary factor in the earning differences between the three guests for their hotel stays. 

 

Redemption choices also determine the value of points earned since points have no value at all until actually redeemed.

 

Inspector Platinum earned approximately 50% more points than Inspector New with these hotel stays.  The value-added components of the actual hotel stays with complimentary upgrades, lounge access, and meals provided Inspector Platinum with about $1,000 in complimentary perks during the 10 hotel nights that Inspector New did not receive for the same hotel stays at the same room rate.

Inspector Gold only received about 15% more Starpoints for the same 10 stays as Inspector New, but Inspector Gold received about $500 in value-added benefits for free, including some room upgrades and lounge access during the 10 hotel nights.

The great news for Inspector New is that her 10^th night was her 10^th stay for 2009 and qualifies her for SPG Gold elite membership status.  She will now be SPG Gold through February 2011 and is looking forward to some value-added benefits on her upcoming Starwood Hotel stays.

Loyalty Traveler Note:  SPG is not as good as Hyatt and IHG Priority Club in allowing combinable bonuses.  Also SPG has fewer hotel specific bonus point offers than Hyatt and IHG.  Hyatt has frequent Gold Passport bonus point offers for specific hotels and IHG frequently runs brand promotions and also allows members to book hotel rates offering Priority Club bonus points.

Hyatt Gold Passport has uploaded its registration page for the 20,000 bonus points after 8 nights Winter 2009 promotion.

The promotion is quite simple and displayed in Hyatt’s Bonus Points Earning Table:

Adam Kirby’s Mu&Mi blog  post “Like Unicorns to Leprechauns” on January 7 for Hotelsmag.com, pointed to the fact that differences between hotel program points systems and redemption systems make it too confusing for the consumer to really know the comparative value of the current hotel promotions.

I actually use my website, www.frequentguest.net, to check facts on earning points, redeeming points, and elite status qualification and benefits for the different major hotel loyalty programs when I want to quickly check and not navigate between all the hotel program websites.  Comparative analysis of hotel loyalty programs is a central feature of Loyalty Traveler blog posts. 

The difficulty in comparing promotion value arises from all the variables involved in fulfilling a promotion.  A case example using just two different stay patterns and different elite membership levels will show the great variability in points earned with the current Hyatt promotion for two different Gold Passport members in far-ranging economic brackets of hotel spending.

Hyatt Points Accumulation Stay-Off: Ms Leisure Value  vs. Mr Rich Guest

Ms. Leisure Value is a Hyatt Gold Passport top-elite Diamond member.  Some Gold Passport snobs refer to her as Diamond-lite.  She earned her Diamond status in winter 2008 with Hyatt’s Double stays promotion after only 13 nights and $1,700 in hotel spending. 

Mr. Rich Guest had 25 Hyatt hotel nights in 2008 at an average per night rate of $325.  Mr. Rich Guest is Hyatt Platinum elite.  Rich frequents resorts.

Mr. Rich Guest booked the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort Deluxe Oceanfront room for $4,468 for 8 nights in February 2009.  Normally he would only stay 7 nights, but an additional 8,000 Gold Passport points was enough incentive to add an extra vacation night and get the full 8 nights and 20,000 points Gold Passport promotion bonus during his annual Hawaii vacation hotel stay.

Mr. Rich Guest earns hotel stay base points ($4,468 x 5 points per $1=22,340), elite member points (15% of base points = 3,351), and the 20,000 bonus points for his 8-night stay in Maui. 

Cost after taxes is more than $5,000+ for 45,691 points earned. 

Mr. Rich Guest has earned sufficient points for 3 free nights at a 15,000 point per night Category 4 hotel or 2 free nights at 18,000 points per night for a Category 5 hotel.

The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort is a Gold Passport Redemption category 5 hotel requiring 18,000 points per night.

Ms. Value has a trip to Australia planned for July 2008.  The Park Hyatt Sydney is also a top-tier Category 5 redemption property with a cost of 18,000 points per free night.  Currently the lowest priced room at the Park Hyatt Sydney for her stay is $500USD per night.

Park Hyatt Sydney, Australia centrally located with Harbour Bridge in background

Ms. Value wants to use Hyatt’s promotion to maximize the number of points she earns with the least cost.  Her strategy for getting maximum points is to have numerous one-night stays. 

Ms. Value always checks Hyatt Gold Passport bonus offers, called “G” offers for hotel stay booking bonuses. http://goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/offers/bonus.jsp

Ms. Value sees the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara has a G3 1,500 bonus points offer valid through February 28, 2009.  A quick check of Santa Clara hotel rates shows the weekend rate tonight is less than $85 per night. 

Ms. Value books 8 single night stays at various hotels offering G bonuses of 1,000 to 2,000 points per stay during the promotion period.  Her hotel nightly rate averages $100, or $800 for all 8 hotel stays and she averages 1,500 points per stay with Gold Passport booking bonuses.

As a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member, Ms. Value is offered 1,000 bonus points as an amenity for each Hyatt Hotel stay.

For 8 nights completed as 8 separate hotel stays, Ms. Value earns

·         4,000 hotel spending base points ($800 x 5 points/$1);

·         1,200 Diamond elite bonus points (30% of base points);

·         20,000 promotional bonus points,

·         12,000 G bonus booking points, and

·         8,000 Diamond amenity points.

Ms. Leisure Value earns 45,200 Gold Passport points on $800 in hotel spending and her 8 hotel stays have her on track to complete 25 stays in 2009 and maintain Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite status.

Ms. Leisure Value has sufficient points for two free nights using points at the Park Hyatt Sydney next July, a $1,000USD value, and is well on her way to a free third night.  Ms. Leisure Value will also likely receive a room upgrade to a better category view at the Park Hyatt as a benefit of her Diamond elite status.  There are some lovely room views of the Sydney Opera House.

·          

Mr. Rich Guest earned 45,691 Gold Passport points on $4,468 in hotel spending and his 8-night stay earned sufficient points for two free nights at any Hyatt Hotel.  Mr. Rich Guest is unlikely to reach Diamond elite in 2009, and so will continue to pay full-fare for the kind of hotel room he wants.

Mr. Rich Guest still feels good about earning sufficient points for two free nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort he can use with next year’s stay.  He rationalizes that he got a 25% rebate on his Hawaiian vacation.

The bottom line: Informed consumer shopping when planning your hotel stay strategy will greatly increase your points earned without greatly increasing your hotel spending. 

P.S. If there are no Hyatt Hotels around you with $85 per night rates, then take a road trip and travel.  There are plenty of Hyatt’s with rates below $100 per night, especially during the next three months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the week of the 2009 hotel loyalty programs’ promotion launches.  Hilton got the jump with a Tuesday start, Starwood’s first quarter promotion launched yesterday, Hyatt will launch tomorrow and Priority Club goes into effect on Monday, Jan. 12.  Marriott Rewards members must wait until February 1 for their promotional bonus. 

Loyalty Traveler has put together a table of earnings for members showing just the bonus points earned from these promotions based on different hotel stay scenarios. 

Hilton HHonors: Jan 6 – April 6  promotion link

Double Base Points promotion – 30 points 25 points per $1 with Points & Points earning preference (elite bonus points are additional). No points limit.

LT update Jan 13: Hilton HHonors sent out a press release on January 7 explicitly stating HHonors members choosing Points & Points earning preference would earn a total of 30 points per $1 with the Double Base Points promotion.  Monday, January 12, HHonors reissued the Press Release stating the actual earning rate will be 10 base points + 15 bonus points or 25 points per $1.  Elite member bonus is in addition to the 25 points per $1. 

 

Hyatt Gold Passport – Jan 9-April 30  promotion link

Earn 2,000 points after 2 nights; an additional 4,000 after 4 nights, an additional 6,000 points after 6 nights and an additional 8,000 points for 20,000 bonus points total after 8 nights.  Maximum bonus is 20,000 points.

 

IHG Priority Club– Jan 12-April 30   promotion link

Earn 3,000 points for every 3 nights, up to 30,000 points maximum.

 

Marriott – Feb 1-April 30  promotion link

Earn 2,500 points per stay beginning with 2^nd stay.  Maximum points earned is 25,000.

10 nights as 10 stays would earn 22,500 points.  One stay of 10 nights would not earn any promotion bonus since bonus kicks in with 2^nd stay.

 

Starwood – January 7-April 30  promotion link

Earn 500 points per night and 5,000 additional points with 10 nights.

10,000 points after 10 nights.  No points limit.

 

Key Points:  All these promotional offers are based on nights except for Marriott.  One extended stay of a week or more will earn a significant bonus from these offers except for Marriott’s promotion which favors numerous short duration hotel stays.

 

Marriott’s promotion does not start until February and all promotions end April 30, except Hilton which ends earlier on April 6.

 

Comparison of Bonus Points Earned in Winter 2009 Hotel Loyalty Program Promotions:

$100 base room rate per night	Hyatt Gold Passport	Hilton HHonors (Points & Points)	IHG Priority Club	Marriott Rewards	Starwood       Preferred Guest
4 one-night stays (4 nights / 4 stays = $400)	6,000 bonus points	6,000 bonus points	3,000 bonus points	7,500 bonus points	2,000 bonus points
8 one-night stays (8 nights / 8 stays = $800)	20,000 bonus points	12,000 bonus points	6,000 bonus points	17,500 bonus points	4,000 bonus points
1 one-night stay- 1 seven-night stay; 1 two-night stay  (10 nights /        3 stays =$1,000)	20,000 bonus points	15,000 bonus points	9,000 bonus points	5,000 bonus points	10,000 bonus points
2 three-night stays and 4 two-night stays (14 nights/6 stays = $1,400)	20,000 bonus points	21,000 bonus points	12,000 bonus points	12,500 bonus points	12,000 bonus points
6 one-night stays; 5 two-night stays.        (16 nights/11 stays = $1,600)	20,000 bonus points	24,000 bonus points	15,000 bonus points	25,000 bonus points	13,000 bonus points

 

The table only shows bonus points earned from the current Winter 2009 promotions. Regular points a member earns for hotel stays based on elite membership level are additional to totals shown in table.

Marriott Rewards members are the only ones affected by length of hotel stay.  The Marriott promotion favors the guest with many hotel stays, whereas bonus points earned through these promotions based on hotel nights in the other four chains will not be affected by length of stay.

20,000 Gold Passport points earned after 8 nights is sufficient for any Hyatt Hotel with the highest Category 5 hotel free night award costing 18,000 points.   This table is based on the assumption that Hyatt has a 20,000 point maximum.  Terms of the Winter 2009 promotion will be posted tomorrow, January 9 at Hyatt.com.

 Jan 9 Update:  Hilton HHonors cell changed to 15,000 for the 10 nights/3 stays.  I originally posted this as 20,000 bonus points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hilton HHonors started their winter 2009 promotion yesterday.  I received an email which outlines quite clearly the earning structure for this promotion.  Normally double base points would not be confusing to calculate, however, Hilton HHonors Points & Points or Points & Miles earning preference for members complicates the calculation.

January 13 Update:  On January 12, 2009 I received a reissued Press Release from HHonors stating the press release from January 7 was incorrect.  Points and Points earnings are actually 10 base points + 15 bonus points per $1.  Apparently, even HHonors is confused about how their Points & Points bonuses are calculated. 

Hilton HHonors Offer: Double Base Points at more than 2,400 properties globally.

Registration required: Promotion registration link

Reservation Dates: All stays between now and April 6 are eligible for double base points once member has registered for promotion.

Double base points are eligible with first stay after registration.

Participating Hotels: Since Hilton claims 3,000 hotels and this promotion states available for over 2,400 hotels, then about 20% of Hilton family hotels appear to not be participating in the double base points promotion.

Here is a list of participating properties:  My quick look over the list shows the Conrad Singapore missing and the Waldorf-Astoria New York are not listed.  Check the list before planning your 30 points per $1 earnings.

Calculating Double Base Points: Text is from HHonors press release dated January 7, 2009.

“HHonors members enjoy the flexibility of earning Points & Points or Points & Miles.  With this promotion, HHonors members staying at participating hotels during the promotional period will be able to earn double Base points no matter which earnings style they choose.  

         HHonors members choosing the Points & Points earnings style─the fastest way to a free night─will earn 10 Base points and 20 15 bonus points for every eligible dollar spent during the promotional period. Outside of the promotional period, on an ongoing basis, members earning Points & Points receive 10 Base points and 5 bonus points for every eligible dollar spent.

         HHonors members earning Points & Miles during the promotional period will earn 10 Base points and 10 bonus points for every eligible dollar spent plus miles. Outside of the promotional period, on an ongoing basis, members earning Points & Miles earn 10 Base points in addition to their mileage earnings.”

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:  I like to evaluate promotions based on the potential earnings when 5 to 10 hotel nights can be planned during the promotional period.  One consideration to keep in mind is this promotion favors Points & Points earning preference for any stay over one night since the miles earned with Points & Miles will not change whether you stay one night or 7 nights.  Rather than earning 500 miles for a 7-night $1,000 stay, the HHonors member with a Points & Points preference would earn an extra 5,000 points.

5-night Stay at $100 base spending per night = $500 or 5,000 base points. 

Assume a $100 night room rate (taxes paid do not earn base points).

 

Points and Points earns 5,000 base points + 7,500 bonus points = 12,500 HHonors points.

Points & Miles earns 5,000 base points + 5,000 bonus points + 500 miles (for most airlines).

Another point to understand is only the actual base points count towards VIP elite status qualification.  Besides hotel stays and nights, HHonors elite membership can be earned when the member earns 60,000 base points for Gold and 100,000 base points for Diamond VIP elite during the calendar year.  The additional points earned for the double base points promotion are considered bonus points and do not apply to elite qualification.  In both examples shown above for Points & Points or Points & Miles earned, the HHonors member only earns 5,000 base points toward elite qualification based on $500 in hotel spending.

30 25 HHonors points per dollar in hotel spending rivals some of the deals IHG Priority Club members receive through multiple combinable promotional bonuses for hotel stays.

Hilton HHonors has made a strong statement to its members that 2009 will be a rewarding year for HHonors loyalty.

 

Note from Loyalty Traveler regarding edits to this post on Jan. 13:  The numbers used in this post have been edited to reflect the actual 25 points per $1 earning with the Double Base Points promotion.  The original HHonors Press Release from January 7 stated Points & Points preference members would earn a total of 30 points per $1 in hotel spending.  The reissued statement from January 12 corrected that number to 25 points per $1 in spending.

The 2009 hotel rate sales are coming fast.  Hilton Hotels is offering a discount, as much as 50% based on the hotel’s regular Bed & Breakfast rate for reservations booked by January 31, 2009 for hotel stays through August 31, 2009.  The sale covers 220 international properties, none in the USA.  Hilton Hotels January Sale link.

Additional value-added benefits:

·         free breakfast until 11am

·         6pm checkout

·         kids stay free

This special offer rate is combinable with HHonors Double Base Points promotion running through April 6, 2009.  Double base points promotion requires member registration.

Offer: Discount Bed & Breakfast rates at participating international hotels.  Rate includes free breakfast and late checkout.  Valid for maximum of three nights, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, however, some hotels only offer this special rate on weekdays.  Promotion terms.

Booking deadline: January 31, 2009

Hotel Stay Deadline: Stays must be completed by August 31, 2009

Participating Hotels can be viewed by clicking on the link for the UK and Ireland and then selecting desired geographical region for Europe, Middle East, Africa, or Asia:

UK and Ireland

My find using the January Sale rate was the Conrad Singapore for $113USD.  That is a better price than I paid for the hotel in 2001 for a King Classic room. 

 

Starwood Hotels has two promotions currently available for participating hotels in Europe.  Both promotions offer discounts with nonrefundable rates.  You take a risk booking an expensive nonrefundable hotel stay, but the savings may be worth it.  And you always have the option of trip insurance to recover some of your loss if a cancellation is necessary.

Starwood Promotion 1

New Year Sale – Starwood Hotels promotion link

Special Rate Plan: BOXDAY

Book by 11:59 GMT, Friday, January 9 for stays through March 31, 2009 at participating hotels in Europe and also some hotels in Egypt, Morocco, Gambia, Mauritius, and United Arab Emirates. 

List of Starwood participating hotels.

Has there been a better time to take a trip to London in the past five years?

London, Sheraton Belgravia Hotel, 129GBP New Year promotional rate

The British Pound is worth $1.49 today.  A year ago is was $1.98. Five years ago $1.82.

Starwood Promotion 2

40% off a 4-night stay (C4E); 30% off a 3-night stay (C3E); 20% off a 2-night stay (C2E) for participating hotels in Europe for stays through August 31, 2009. 

Starwood Hotels 2009 Discounts for Europe, C2E, C3E, C4E

The rate plan description has an interesting detail.  You must ask for this discount rate or book it yourself using the code.  From SPG rate details using C4E promotion code:

 

“Rate Plan Description

Restricted Discount Non-Changeable Advance Purchase Rate. Fully Prepaid. Non-Refundable Deposit. Can Only Be Booked When Client Gives Promo Code Or Asks For It.”

This is an interesting condition.  Be sure to ask for it.  SC Flier, the original poster of the FlyerTalk thread for this Starwood Hotels Europe promotion, posted hotel bookings must be made by February 16.  None of the hotels I checked made any reference to a booking deadline.  I am awaiting further information.  The promotion rate details are not exactly the same everywhere. 

Cancellation penalties vary.  The Westin Paris had a one-night cancellation penalty for a stay.  London had a 100% prepayment penalty for the entire stay.  A four night stay could easily set you back $1,000 if you had to cancel.

FlyerTalk’s sc flier also shows a neat tech tip to find participating hotels since there does not appear to be a master promotion web page listing participating properties at this time.

Do google searches using links below to find individual participating hotels:

 

·         site:starwoodhotels.com c2e  (20% off 2 nights)

·         site:starwoodhotels.com c3e  (30% off 3-nights)

·         site:starwoodhotels.com c4e  (40% off 4 nights) 

 

An alternative is to just try the promotion code for a hotel and see if a discount rate shows up.  

To insert the promotion code you need to:

1.  Click on the scroll down window for Rate Preferences/Promotion Codes

2. Select Promotion Code

3. Enter code C2E for 20% off two-night stay; C3E for 30% off three-night stay, or C4E for 40% off four-night stay.

4.  Double check that promotion code used matches the nights selected for your hotel stay.  If you select a three-night stay and use code C4E you will get message stating promotion is not valid for stay.

Click on the picture to enlarge the image and see where promo code is inserted. 

Nights of the week are an important consideration since rates fluctuate most between Friday and Sunday. I found an instance, shown below for Sheraton Belgravia, London, where the nightly rate on a 3-night stay using the 30% discount was lower than the nightly rate using the 40% discount on a 4-night stay.  Try combinations around your stay dates to see if a lower rate is available.

In London, the 40% off rate (149GBP) gave a much better deal for Sheraton Park Tower, a Starwood Luxury-Collection-brand hotel, than the New Year promotion rate ending this week (199GBP).  The Belgravia had a better rate with the New Year promotion rate available through January 9 (129GBP) than the 40% discount rate (GBP149).

Sheraton Park Tower, London, UK – Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel

Hotel link SPG Category 5

2/14-2/16 Sat-Mon,

regular best rate = 209GBP (Endless Weekend with Breakfast)

New Year rate = 199GBP

C2E rate = 167.20GBP

 

2/13-2/16 Fri-Mon,

regular best rate = 219GBP (Endless Weekend with Breakfast)

New Year rate 199 GBP

C3E rate = 146.30GBP/night

 

2/12-2/16 Thur-Mon,

Best available rate = 249GBP 

AAA rate = 224.10GBP

New Year rate = 199GBP

C4E rate = 149.40 GBP

 London, Starwood Hotels C4E rate, Sheraton Park Tower

Sheraton Belgravia Hotel, London

hotel link, SPG Category 5

 

2/16-2/20 Mon-Fri,

            Regular best rate = 249GBP

            New Year Rate = 129GBP  (must book by Jan 9)

            C4E Rate = 149.40GBP

 

 

London Sheraton Belgravia, BOXDAY Special Rate, 129GBP

 

London vacation for 8 nights in two upscale central city Starwood hotels at total cost under $2,000.  These are still premium prices, but at a much lower premium than you would have likely paid over the past several years for these hotels or comparable properties in London.  

 

London hotel sales are frequent.  Hotel rates are fluctuating wildly over the past two months.  It is difficult to predict if the rates available with the Starwood 40% discount promotion will still be a good price for hotel stays in London six months from now. 

There are certainly some good deals to be found and that is welcome news for travelers in Europe over the next eight months.

Tomorrow, January 7, is also the start of the Winter 2009 SPG promotion for 500 points per night and a 5,000 point bonus after 10 nights.  Here is a link to the Loyalty traveler post about this promotion.

 

Today is my birthday and my first full day of work in two weeks.  I had my blow-out party last week at the Denver Hyatt Regency.  I had a Rocky Mountain size hangover that would have made the HotelChatter journalista ladies proud.  Thanks to Kristin at the Hyatt Regency.  A good portion of my joy and sorrow was attributed to your great drinking establishment recommendation. 

Happy Birthday, baby, to me

I’m feeling thankful for the small things today,

I’m feeling thankful for the small things today,

Happy Birthday, baby, to me.

“Happy Birthday to Me” – Cracker

Ten years ago I sat in a school board meeting and said to myself,

“Five year plan – See the world.”

I survived as a tourist in South America, lived better than most locals around Europe, swam in the South Pacific, and sweated out Southeast Asia.  Africa and Central Asia are still dreams away.

Five years to see the world and in the meantime I ended up living back on the Monterey Peninsula, the place I was born.

“Five year plan – Make a living through travel.”

Certainly not getting rich, but the experience is priceless.

Today, I am now truly a California 49er.

 

San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate Bridge, January 3, 2009

Two weeks ago there was snow in Seattle, snow in Las Vegas, snow in New York, and an arctic ice blast in Denver.

Hyatt Highlands Inn room fireplace is prepared and just requires a match to start

Two weeks ago Friday was a lovely day to hang out at the Hyatt Highlands Inn in the small town of Carmel Highlands, population 822, surrounded by Monterey Pines and the rare Monterey Cypress trees only found in this small area along coastal Monterey County. 

Hyatt Highlands Inn, Room 505 View, Carmel Highlands, California

My wife has always said she would live in Pebble Beach if we had the money.  Pebble Beach is too third world for me.  Pebble Beach is a beautiful location, privatized and exclusive — up to the fee for nonresidents entering the gates to the Del Monte pine forest.  Pebble Beach even claims some kind of legal trademark copyright over the photographic image of the Lone Cypress tree. 

My heart has always been in the Carmel Highlands.  Driving coast Highway 1 south of Carmel, the Highlands are the last residential community before Big Sur, another 25 miles down the Pacific coast range.  The beautiful homes perched above the Pacific Ocean where the mountains meet the sea in coastal Monterey County is the setting for a Hyatt Highlands Inn stay.  This historic hotel property originally opened in 1917.

Hyatt Highlands Inn pool, Rooms 501-508 townhouse suites. Tickle Pink Inn right background.

The Highlands Inn frequently gets bad reviews in traveler sources like TripAdvisor.com and FlyerTalk.com.  Up to this past year the Highlands Inn was branded a Park Hyatt, the top-tier luxury brand for the Hyatt Hotels corporation.  The Highlands Inn hotel is currently listed as a Hyatt Regency brand on the Hyatt.com main reservations page.  The Vacation Club Highlands Inn factsheet still claims the property is a Park Hyatt.  The timeshare portion of the Highlands Inn is one of 14 Hyatt Vacation Club properties in the USA.

The 10am official check-out time for the hotel seems absurdly early. 

Hyatt Highlands Inn, Room 505 townhouse entry

TripAdvisor Reviews of the Highlands Inn

I want to believe the truth is out there.

TripAdvisor displays the Hyatt Highlands Inn as a 4-star hotel with 448 rooms.  I saw that number of rooms and thought that seemed rather high.  The Hyatt Highlands Inn hotel actually only has 48 rooms.  There are 11 suites, 32 Ocean View King rooms and 5 Garden View Rooms.  The Highlands Inn buildings area is relatively compact on the hillside and limited to about a dozen two- and three-story buildings.  All the amenities are centrally located around the hotel lobby and pool.

Hyatt Highlands Inn Townhouse 505 living room

TripAdvisor has 152 guest reviews of the Highlands Inn as of Jan. 5, 2009. 

The hotel has a popularity index of #10 of 17 hotels in Carmel.

·         47% rate the hotel as a 5 circle experience.  71/152 = 5 circles.

·         18% rated the hotel 4 circles.  65% of the guest reviews are in the 4 to 5 star range.

·         The average rating was 3.5 for the 152 reviews.

·         17% of reviewers gave the hotel a 1-circle rating.

·         The average room rate listed on TripAdvisor is $592 per night.  I believe this price tag accounts for the high number of 1-star ratings by guests.  Guests should expect an exceptional experience when paying $600+ per night for a hotel stay.

My hotel stay experience at the Hyatt Highlands Inn was exceptional.  I had booked the room two weeks earlier using a free night credit.  My check-out bill was $43 for breakfast at the California Market restaurant.

Hyatt Highlands Inn, porch view 505

During 2008 I physically surveyed all 160 or so hotels in the Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey area.  I know what the Hyatt Highlands Inn offers relative to other hotels in this location.  Some hotels on the Peninsula offer exceptional service, some hotels have exceptional views, some hotels have both and charge sky high prices, some hotels have neither and charge what the market will bear.  The natural beauty of the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur coast generally maintains a high cost for available hotel rooms in the premier oceanfront locations.

The Hyatt Highlands Inn offers one of the top five ocean views on the Monterey County coast, in my opinion.  I was born here on the Monterey Peninsula and I have had years to travel the coastline. Rival views may be found at Tickle Pink Inn, directly adjacent to the Highlands Inn, Pebble Beach Lodge, Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach, or Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur.  There are also a couple of Pacific Grove B&Bs with oceanfront locations. 

Hyatt Highlands Inn lobby

Hyatt Highlands Inn or Tickle Pink Inn have more rooms with great ocean views than the other oceanfront hotel locations.  Being up on the hillside of Carmel Highlands allows more guests to receive premium view rooms than at the Pebble Beach hotels.  A good pair of binoculars were in the room and this item is also found on the outdoor tables at the California market restaurant.  No whales to be seen that day, but plenty of great bird viewing across the water’s surface. 

Many of the complaints I read on TripAdvisor are based on a sense of unfair exchange in hotel value received for money spent.  Nobody disputes the incredible setting for the hotel. People tend to complain there is not much additional value in the hotel aside from the view to justify the price.

As a Monterey Peninsula local I just have to say, “That’s it folks.  Highlands Inn is the view.”

The location is the view and the view commands the price.  The price you pay is for the privilege to sit beside an outdoor pool on the hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean in a wooded setting with clean ocean breezes and sunshine, and just ten minutes away from fine dining in central Carmel. 

Central Coast California has two natural attributes you don’t find in Southern California – clean air and coastal trees.  This is a Hollywood-priced getaway because there are people with money who can afford to getaway to this secluded location, not too far off the restaurant path and only a 6-hour drive from Hollywood, or just two hours from the Silicon Valley.

Hyatt Highlands Inn spa tub, room 505

Let the $700 per night travelers complain about an overpriced resort.  Well, yeah $700 is a bit pricey!  I wouldn’t pay $700 per night to stay at the Highlands Inn hotel.  $700 is outside my economic bracket for a hotel night, however, I do know of a few hotels around the world where I would consider $700 for the hotel experience.

Hyatt Highlands Inn bathroom

As it was for my Highlands Inn hotel stay, I had a relaxing visit in a free $700 per night oceanview hotel-townhouse and a $43 discretionary splurge for an expensive breakfast at the California Market. 

This is what Faster Free Nights was all about.  Luxury on the cheap.

For the lucky few who truly find vacation magic, the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn is an old style lodge environment in a remarkably serene oceanfront setting in a unique and natural California community.

I am a local and I loved the hotel room.  I would move in if I could afford it.

 

Hyatt Highlands Inn bed

TripAdvisor reviews of Hyatt Highlands Inn –

Dec 27, 2008 review by LPF rating hotel 2 stars (LT: Yes, I know they are technically circles on the TripAdvisor website.)

“It’s a Hyatt Hotel with a great view.  If the view is the only thing important to you, you’ll love it.”

Actually, the view was the most important thing to me.  I loved it.  The oversized spa tub was certainly another feature of the Highlands Inn not found at hotels all around.

“If you expect good service and accommodations for $595 + tax you’ll be sorely disappointed as well.”

As a top-tier Hyatt Diamond level member, I was surprised to find the hotel had an address from 2001, or three addresses old and long before I became a Hyatt Diamond member.  I did not receive any Diamond recognition in terms of an amenity for this stay.  I received a great room upgrade and that was what mattered most to me.  My other Hyatt free stay in Phoenix this year since being Gold Passport Diamond included an amenity offer of 1,000 points.

I cooked dinner from home in the townhouse kitchen.  We splurged for a restaurant breakfast.

Another critique mentioned in a TripAdvisor review is the isolation of the hotel.  Well, that is the innate charm of the Carmel Highlands.  This stretch of coast land is separated from Carmel by three miles, an active Monastery and Point Lobos State Park.

One traveler complained about not seeing anything due to fog for three days.  The fog is part of life on the Central Coast of California.  I am looking out my living room window now and see blue sky overhead and some fog over Monterey Bay a mile away. 

The best set of rooms is the building with rooms 501-508, according to the FlyerTalk reviews of the Highlands Inn.  I stayed in room 505.  Great views, K made the firelight, a cool breeze on a clear night over a dark ocean, and the tub was big enough for two.  A luxurious start to our two week winter break.

Hyatt Highlands Inn – Hyatt web site

Happy New Year to 

Loyalty Traveler readers. 

May your 2009 travels bring you exciting new hotel views.

Pacific Ocean view from Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands, California

Dec 19, 2008