InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn Hotels across Australia, New Zealand , and Fiji are a little more than half-way through a 72 hour sale that ends at midday Sep 19 (AEST). Rates are advertised from $179 Australia Dollars for InterContinental Hotels. Crowne Plaza Hotels are from $119 and Holiday Inn from $99.

The time zone clock I checked tells me the sale ends 6pm Friday, California time, if I am reading it correctly.

Here is the IHG Australia, New Zealand, Fiji sale web link

Special rates are available for stays through November 30, 2009. These sale rates earn Priority Club points.

Loyalty traveler analysis:

I easily found availability for these special offer rates in the IHG hotels I sampled.

I tried InterContinental Sydney for Friday, October 2, 2009. A 32 square meter King City View room shows up for $179 Australian Dollars = USD$156.

Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour-Sydney, Australia showed as $270AUD for Tuesday October 20, but the rate dropped to $119AUD = $103.69USD for Friday, October 9. Like many urban business centers the rates drop significantly for most weekend stays in Sydney.

Holiday Inn City Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand, shows up as $99NZD for Tuesday night, October 20, 2009.  $99 NZD = $70.36 USD.

Rates are prepaid and nonrefundable. The prepaid part is not bad for Americans who will probably see a continuing decline in the value of the US Dollar over the next ten weeks.

Aside: I saw a currency exchange report the other day showing one of the largest currency gains around the globe over the past 6 months is the Australia Dollar against the US Dollar. This means hotels in Australia are quite a bit more expensive now than six months ago for Americans.

September 17, 2009 currency exchange rate

$100 Australia Dollars = $87.25     (March 17, 2009 exchange rate $100AUD = $65.83USD)

$100 New Zealand Dollars = $71.07 US Dollars  (March 17, 2009 exchange rate $100NZD = $52.81USD)

(xe.com 9-17-09)

Faster Free Nights returns for October 1 through January 31, 2010. The recurring Hyatt Gold Passport promotion packs even more punch this time around. No specific credit card brand is required and stays will count double for elite qualification.

Faster Free Nights allows a Gold Passport member to earn a free night at any Hyatt hotel worldwide after every two eligible stays. An eligible stay is generally any paid stay booked through Hyatt website or Hyatt customer service.

Free nights can be redeemed from October 15 through March 31, 2010.

Registration is required and the Hyatt Gold Passport link will be available as of Friday, September 25. Currently there is a link-less description of the offer on Gold Passport.

http://goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/index.jsp

Road warriors who just don’t care for free nights have the option of earning 3,000 bonus points per stay starting with your 2^nd stay during the promotion period. Unlike free nights, points do not expire March 31. This option may be a better choice for someone unable to take advantage of free night redemption before March 2010.

A member must choose between free nights or bonus points for the duration of the promotion. Once your choice is made the promotion terms are set for the duration of this offer. You can’t alternate stays between earning bonus points and free nights.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Faster Free Nights is straightforward.  A Gold Passport member will earn a free night credit after every two stays. A stay can be one night, 2 nights, even 7 nights. Some members will earn a free night after two 1-night stays. Some members will have a 7 night stay and still need another stay to earn a free night.

Leisure travelers and flexible business travelers can maximize this deal. Last Christmas season, at the end of the last Faster Free Nights promotion, I stayed at the Denver Hyatt Regency one night for $70 and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Denver the next night for $70.

A month later I redeemed my free night for a $600 per night room at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn.

This promotion normally has high leverage value. A member can have ten 1-night stays at an average cost of $100 per night and earn 5 free nights. The five free nights will have a redemption value of $400+ per night in many Hyatt locations. Spend $1,000 for ten hotel nights and take a $2,000 free hotel vacation. That is the value of Faster Free Nights to the loyalty traveler.

Stays Count Double Analysis

Hyatt has two elite status levels. Platinum elite normally requires 5 stays or 15 nights in the calendar year. This promotion allows a member to earn Platinum status with just 3 stays during October 1 – December 31.

Diamond elite is the highest Gold Passport tier with privileges like four guaranteed advance upgrades, 1,000 bonus points per stay at most hotels or the choice of an amenity like a food tray, free movie, or mini-bar credit. Qualification normally requires 25 stays or 50 nights in a calendar year.

The value-added component of this Faster Free Nights offer is the ability to earn free nights while fast-tracking your way to high elite status.

A member with no Hyatt hotel stays currently can register for this promotion and stay 14 times between October 1 and December 31.  The cost for 14 Hyatt hotel stays may cost as little as $1,100 to $1,500 for some members.

In addition to earning 7 free nights for any Hyatt Hotel worldwide and securing Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status before the end in 2009, the member will retain Hyatt Gold passport Diamond status through February 2011.

And for the truly ambitious the feat can be repeated or even delayed until January 2010. A member with 14 Hyatt hotel stays in January 2010 would earn 7 free nights and retain Diamond elite status through February 2012. January is traditionally the lowest hotel rates of the year in many locations.

Bottom Line: Hyatt has unveiled an unprecedented high value offer for the frequent guest who has the ability to leverage hotel stays into high value free nights while attaining high elite status in Gold Passport.

Sep 30 update: Hyatt’s Gold Passport Concierge, a company representative on FlyerTalk, announced today in Post 49 in link below that Gold Passport members selecting miles for hotel stays will qualify for Faster Free Nights and double stays elite credit .

Note on United Airlines 5,500 miles per stay bonus. Initial chatter on Gold Passport Concierge promotion FAQ on FlyerTalk indicates the Faster Free Nights and United miles bonus are mutually exclusive offers. I’ll report more about this when details become clear.  Gold passport members must earn points to earn free nights and stays count double credit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/998020-next-best-thing-ffn-2009-promotion-t-cs-faqs.html

Hyatt Regency Denver - complimentary Diamond member amenity of wine and food tray