Starwood Preferred Guest is currently running a targeted promotion whereby as a SPG Platinum elite member I can refer a new member to SPG for instant Gold elite and bonus points.

The new SPG member will receive instant SPG Gold elite membership valid through February 2011 and earn 1,000 bonus points for every night you stay in a Starwood Hotel between November 15, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

This offer is only valid for new members to Starwood Preferred Guest. Current SPG members and expired SPG members will be purged from this offer according to SPG representatives.

Starwood Hotels has about 1,000 properties globally. The hotel brands in the Starwood family include Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, the Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Four Points, element, and aloft. The hotel chain is regularly one of the top performers on Condé Nast’s annual Gold List of the World’s Best Hotels with far more hotels selected than the much larger hotel chains of Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Benefits link.

My new SPG friends earning 1,000 points per night will be earning more points per Starwood Hotel stay than me on my stays for the duration of this promotion. I only receive 500 points per stay for an SPG Platinum amenity and I don’t even receive that at some hotels.  1,000 bonus points per night is a great Starwood promotion for any member and a fantastic deal for a new SPG member.

SPG Gold elite membership normally requires 10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year. Gold membership has the benefit of increasing your earnings to 3 Starpoints per $1 compared to 2 Starpoints per $1 as a base level SPG Blue member. The 1,000 bonus points per night is on top of points normally earned and other promotional bonuses you may be eligible to receive during this promotion period. 

Spend $300 for a three night Starwood Hotel stay and you will earn 3,900 Starpoints rather than just 600 Starpoints normally earned by a new SPG Blue level member. Free nights with SPG start at 2,000 points for a Category 1 weekend. Category 4 Cash & Points Awards are just $60 + 4,000 points per night.

So what is in it for me?

I will earn a one-time 1,000 Starpoints bonus if a referral member stays at least one time in a Starwood Hotel during the promotion period ending March 31, 2010.

Let me help you. And you help me. My wife and I would thoroughly love a nice hotel vacation in 2010 far away from California in a European Starwood Hotel courtesy of our SPG friends.

Let’s make social media work for both of us.

What would really be cool for Loyalty Traveler blog is to have my new SPG Gold friends submit a photo of a Starwood hotel stay. Let’s see if Loyalty Traveler can spread the Gold touch of travel around the world.

What you need to do for me to refer you for this promotional offer:

1.       Send me an email to ricgarridolt@gmail.com using the email address you want for the referral to Starwood Preferred Guest. I’ll try to check it at least daily for referral requests. The SPG referral only requires your email so you don’t even have to provide your name if you so choose. And if you choose to write me a note, that is cool too.

2.       I will submit your email address using the SPG promotion referral form. (see picture)

3.       You look for the referral email from SPG. You should receive the email from SPG within a day of my referral. (see picture)

4.       Join SPG using the email referral link provided in the email from SPG.

5.       Your membership status should be Gold (assuming you are truly a new SPG member)

6.       Stay in a Starwood hotel and earn 1,000 bonus points for every night by March 31, 2010.

7.       Enjoy your Starwood Hotel stays. I have enjoyed most of mine over the years.

This promotion is a targeted promotion received by SPG for selected Platinum members.

Here is a picture of the email offer I received.

Here is what the email you receive from Starwood Preferred Guest will look like.

Terms and Conditions for the SPG Platinum Member Referral Promotion:

Existing SPG® Platinum members (“Referrers”) will earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints® for each referred friend or colleague (“Referee”) who joins the Starwood Preferred Guest® program and stays at least one eligible night between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010. Referrers must be Platinum status as of November 13, 2009. Referrers can earn a maximum of 1,000 bonus Starpoints per Referee, but there is no limit to the amount of Referees one can enter. Bonus Starpoints for Referrers will show up in the account within 4–6 weeks after the eligible night posts to the Referee’s account. Referrers must recommend Referees by registering and entering Referee’s email addresses on the promotion referral page. Deadline for referrals is February 28, 2010. Referees who enroll based on an existing member’s referral will earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints per eligible night between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010, plus receive elite Gold status through February 2011. Referees excluded from the promotion include existing SPG members, past members whose accounts have expired, or anyone who has opted out of Starwood Preferred Guest communications. There are no limits to the number of Starpoints a Referrer or Referee may earn during the promotion period. This offer is only open to Referrers who are existing Platinum members and were targeted through email directly. An eligible night is a night spent at any of the over 940 SPG participating properties while paying a qualifying rate that is eligible to earn Starpoints in the Starwood Preferred Guest program between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010.

This offer is only for new members of the Omni Hotels Select Guest loyalty program. Guests who select free nights as their earning preference will receive double credit for hotel nights stayed between November 1 and December 31, 2009.

Omni Hotels Select Guest Double Nights Enrollment Link

Omni Select Guest members have the choice of earning a free night for every ten nights or 500 airline miles per stay. These are mutually exclusive preferences. The new member promotion allows a guest choosing free nights to earn a free night with just 5 nights stayed during the promotion period.

A member normally earns a free night after 10 paid nights. The 10 qualifying nights do not need to be in a single calendar year. Omni Select Guest membership remains active as long as there is hotel stay activity in the previous 24 months.

Omni Hotels Select Guest membership levels

Gold Level is the base level membership for members with fewer than 2 stays or 5 nights in a calendar year. Benefits include free wi-fi.

Platinum level is reached with 6 nights or 3 stays in a calendar year.

Black level is reached with 20 nights or 11 stays in a calendar year.

A clause in the terms and conditions indicates a member can receive room night credit towards the free night for up to two rooms during a hotel stay. This is a strategy to keep in mind when traveling with others who do not mind letting you take all the credit for the hotel stay. 

“If a Qualifying Member reserves and pays for more than one room, free night awards or mileage awards are earned on a maximum of two rooms during such stay.”                         (Omni Hotels Select Guest T&C link)

Just hope your co-worker or relative doesn’t pull a Keith Moon on the hotel room with a TV set tossed out the window or cherry bomb down the toilet.

Omni Hotels Links

Omni Hotels Select Guest Airline partners (member must choose miles or nights as earning preference).

Omni Hotels in North America (43 properties)

 

 

 

 

Hey Dude, Where are my credit card Miles and Points?

Beginning in January 2010 American Express will not transfer points to your hotel loyalty program account with Hilton or Starwood if you are late with your monthly payment. The change will affect co-branded American Express credit cards with Hilton, Starwood, Delta Airlines, and JetBlue.

Getting your points or miles for the statement period of late payment will cost $29 for a reinstatement fee. The miles and points reinstatement fee is on top of the late payment fee and the possible higher interest rate triggered from a late payment.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20091118/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_flight_plan_credit_card_fees

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Between Cash & Points, Birth Year rates, and the 24-hour Hyatt sale today, my parents trimmed their 7 nights of upscale hotel stays in Florida from over $1,000 to under $600 for the week. A free night at Hyatt will be earned and Starpoints earned from paid stays will offset the cost for an SPG Cash & Points night.

My parents scored another nice deal using the Pay your Birth Year rate at Starwood Hotels. The rate dropped the cost of the hotel from $385 for three nights to $163 using the birth year rate for a 3-night hotel stay in Florida.

The Pay Your Birth Year rate is a great deal for older people and generally a savings for younger travelers in Starwood Hotels where the rate is offered. There is a set rate for the first night; often a higher rate than otherwise available (Luxury Collection Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa at Hallandale Beach was $60 over otherwise lowest $189 rate for first night). The Birth Year rate savings kick in on the second and third nights (2-night minimum, 3-night maximum stay) when you pay the rate of your 19xx birth year.

My parents were born in the 1930s. While $250 for one night is higher than the average guest might want to pay, the 3-night rate of $320 using the Birth Year rate for someone in their 70s makes going upscale not such an extravagance in cost.

And no, you can’t use your third grade child born in 2001 to get a birth year rate of $1 per night. Guest must be 18 or older for the birth year rate. And the rate is adjusted by the hotel for the 2^nd and 3^rd night billing, so your identification and proof of age will certainly be verified at check-in.

Here is a link to an April 28, 2009 Loyalty Traveler post about the Birth Year special offer rate with more details and strategy for using this promotion. I’ll repeat the strategy here. The promotion allows you to book higher category rooms so your best value is to book the highest category you can afford since the 2^nd and 3^rd nights will be a set low price. You can take the cost of a $1,200 suite for 3 nights down to below $600 for 3-nights in some hotels.

Starwood website Pay Your Birth Year link.

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Marriott offers a good Marriott Rewards points-to-airline miles transfer option if you have a boatload of points and want to take to the air in conjunction with a 7-night hotel reward stay. The hotel nights and air miles come together in one award, yet the miles portion is deposited into your frequent flyer account for whatever purpose you choose.

The basic Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air package is a 7-night hotel stay reward at the normal redemption rate for participating Category 1-8 hotels. The deal has lesser value for Category 1-4 hotels since the Hotel + Air Reward tables lump Category 1-5 hotels together in the same points level.  

The high value of Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air packages comes with the airline miles included in the reward. Basically miles are available at an even exchange of 1 Marriott Rewards point = 1 airline mile with 14 airlines if you have a sufficiently high level of points to take advantage of the opportunity.

Participating Airlines at 10 Marriott Rewards points = 10 airline miles:

1.     Aeromexico,

2.     Air Canada,

3.     Alaska Airlines,

4.     American Airlines,

5.     British Airways,

6.     Continental Airlines,

7.     Delta Air Lines,

8.     Frontier Airlines,

9.     Hawaiian Airlines,

10.   Mexicana,

11.   United Airlines,

12.   US Airways,

13.   Varig Brasil,

14.   Virgin Atlantic

The Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package reward starts at 200,000 points. You need to be a Marriott Rewards high roller with a large number of points to ante in to this game. 200,000 points can exchange into a 7-night, Category 5 hotel reward (150,000 points value) + 50,000 airline miles. Basically the miles are an even exchange for points with the airlines listed above.

 

 

 

 

 

This exchange for United Mileage Plus and Continental OnePass members is even better than Starwood Preferred Guest. SPG exchanges at a reduced rate of 2 points = 1 mile for these two airline partners (20,000 Starpoints = 12,500 miles after bonus), whereas most airlines exchange at rate of 1:1 or 25,000 miles for 20,000 Starpoints.

Marriott Rewards has additional international airline partners that exchange at a lower rate for these Hotel + Air package rewards.

 

 

 

Participating Airlines with exchange rate around 10 Marriott Rewards points = 7 airline miles:

1.     Air Berlin,

2.     Air China,

3.     Air France/KLM,

4.     Alitalia,

5.     ANA,

6.     Asiana Airlines,

7.     Cathay Pacific,

8.     China Southern,

9.     Emirates,

10.   Japan Airlines,

11.   Jet Airways,

12.   LAN,

13.   Lufthansa/Miles & More,

14.   Qantas,

15.   Singapore Airlines,

16.   TAP Air Portugal

 

 

 

Singapore Airlines is another SPG airline partner (SPG link to airline partners list) that has a lower exchange rate of 2 Starpoints per KrisFlyer mile. On the other hand, LAN has a 1 Starpoint = 2 LAN kilometers and SPG offers the better exchange rate for LAN airline.

Southwest Airlines exchange rate is 1,500 Marriott Rewards points = 1 Southwest credit. Southwest in not an SPG airline partner.

 

Starwood Nights and Flights

SPG offers the Nights and Flights award at 60,000 Starpoints for 5 nights at a Category 3 hotel + 50,000 miles.

70,000 Starpoints will get 5 nights at a Category 4 hotel + 50,000 miles. Only airlines with a 1:1 exchange rate are available.

 

 

 

 

Normally a SPG member can exchange 20,000 points for 25,000 airline miles. The Nights and Flights award is an even better exchange for points-to-miles.

SPG 5-night award for a Category 3 hotel is regularly 28,000 points using 5^th Night Free award.

SPG 5-night award for a Category 4 hotel is regularly 40,000 points using 5^th Night Free award.

Nights and Flights Category 3 award gives 50,000 miles for an additional 32,000 points over the hotel award component. Regularly a member would only receive 37,000 miles for 32,000 Starpoints.

(20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 airline miles) + (12,000 Starpoints = 12,000 airline miles) = 37,000 miles

50,000 airline miles only costs 32,000 points when using a Category 3 Nights and Flights award rather than the usual 40,000 points when exchanging points-to-miles. Nights and Flights for a Category 3 Hotel award gives the member a 20% savings on points-to-miles exchange in addition to the 5^th night free 20% savings on the hotel award.

The savings are even better with a Category 4 Nights and Flights award at 70,000 points. In this case 50,000 miles are only 30,000 points based on the regular 5^th night free 40,000 points for a Category 4 hotel. 50,000 miles for 30,000 Starpoints is a 25% discount on the regular points-to-miles exchange rate where 40,000 Starpoints = 50,000 miles.

The advantage of SPG Nights and Flights is the lower relative cost in points for these awards. In my opinion, it is easier to accumulate 60,000 Starpoints than 200,000 Marriott Rewards points, but earning potential is relative to elite status, hotel stays, promotion participation, and credit card earnings. A Platinum member in Marriott Rewards can probably earn 200,000 Marriott points more quickly than 60,000 Starpoints as an SPG member with no elite status or Starwood American Express card.

Credit card earnings probably favor Starwood American Express at 1 point/$1 compared to Marriott Visa 1 point/$1 for most non-travel purchases and 2 points per $1 for dining, airlines, and rental cars.

The main limitation to the SPG Nights and Flights package is availability only for Category 3 and Category 4 hotels. The exclusion of Category 5 hotels for Nights and Flights awards severely restricts hotel choice in locations like Mexico resorts, San Francisco, New York, London, and Paris. Marriott Rewards has a distinct advantage with the inclusion of all hotel categories, including the highest Marriott Rewards level Category 8 for Hotel + Air rewards.

Note to SPG

Starwood Preferred Guest should seriously consider expanding the Nights and Flights offer for higher category hotels to improve the total package options. I think this would be a relatively simple and meaningful program enhancement for SPG to implement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/ 

 

Nov. 18 Update: Hyatt Resort 40% Discount  link for 18 resorts in USA and Aruba. Available for stays through April 30, 2010. Sale ends 11:59pm Central time Wed. November 18.

Tune in tomorrow for details on the Hyatt Resorts sale. The tweets are spreading on Twitter for Hyatt Resort’s one day only, 40% discount sale on Wednesday November 18.

Now we wait and see if 40% off whatever rate (rack rate?, BAR?) is actually a significant discount on the typically low AAA rates for the participating hotels. Link to Hyatt Resorts.

 

Stay 3 nights at a participating Marriott brand hotel in continental Europe with a Friday or Saturday between November 5 and April 5, 2010 and pay for two nights. Reservations must be booked by January 3, 2010.

Marriott Promotional Code B4F.

Marriott promotion link. 

Participating Hotels link.

Loyalty traveler Analysis:

This is a good rate offer where I located availability. I had a hard time finding available rates for late November/early December in a dozen random checks, however, availability in January and later was easy to find in most locations.

Even better is the 3^rd night free offer actually reduced the cost at every hotel where I found the rate.

Sometimes the rate difference was not all that much. Some hotels had other rates with breakfast included for around 50EUR more which could be an overall savings for a couple over three days based on typical hotel breakfast prices.

The main feature of this special offer that is uncommon for 3^rd night free rates is the ability to cancel up to day of arrival at all the hotels where I found the rate.

Good luck finding this offer in Paris. There may be some weekends in Paris with availability, but I was unable to locate one.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Here are a collection of hotel news items that I have seen over the past week. These items just don’t seem big enough to dedicate an entire post for details, so I’ll just toss some elevator sound bites out for readers with links for topics.

1.       InterContinental Hotels Group states it has 44 million Priority Club Rewards members globally. Perhaps they should rename the loyalty program Priority Club Nation.   http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?PageID=116&NewsID=2366

 

2.       UN World Tourism Organization says 2009 travel is down 4 to 6 % globally. This is the first decline since a less than 2% decline in 2003.

 

3.       US Domestic Travel overall is down 3.8 percent for the year through September 2009. Leisure travel is down 2.7% while business travel is down a whopping 7.5% attributed primarily to a decline in meetings.

 

4.       The cost of international flights from USA was down 20% in September 2009 from a year ago.

(2-4 source: http://www.hsmaieconnect.org/news/154000370/4044202.html)

 

5.       Hyatt Hotels Corporation initial public offering of $1.14 billion in stock occurred November 4. Hyatt posted a $31 million loss for the first nine-months of 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601084&sid=aPPIjpC8xV5w

 

6.       Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, purchased 3 million of the 38 million shares for a 6.9% stake in Hyatt Hotels. Hyatt has a strong cash position with more than 5x the cash of Marriott and Starwood combined. (Ric’s note: Makes me think acquisition of new Hyatt properties is in the near future.) http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/43408-singapores-gic-buys-69pc-stake-in-hyatt

 

7.       Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur is a jewel on the edge of the Pacific Ocean that I visited last week when the temperature was unseasonably warm with high 70s/low 80s. The perspective of looking down 1,200 feet from the Cliff House rooms to the Pacific Ocean is an extreme and unique hotel experience. The rooms I had a chance to visit were eye-popping, the view dizzying, but the $1,500 to $2,200 per night price tag is what prompted my vertigo. Here are my Facebook post photos.

 

 

 

 

8.       Fairmont Hotels has a winter sale through 11:59 EST, Thursday, February 19. The rates for Canada look good for now as opposed to the lack of room availability for the Winter Olympics. http://www.fairmont.com/promo/winter

 

9.       Marriott’s SpringHill Suites has a video memory contest for prizes. You need to recall ten items shown in a 2 minute video. I only got 8 of 10. http://videochallenge.spacetoinspire.com/

 

10.   Mexicana Airlines joined the oneworld alliance this month. There are two more days left to redeem Mexicana Go miles at 50% off for Mexicana operated flights systemwide for travel through March 25. US-Madrid or London via Mexico City in Business Class is 56,000 miles and around $500 in taxes. USA-Cancun is 30,000 miles First Class and about $100. Members can buy miles from Mexicana. http://www.mexicanago.com/en/page/promociones-go-welcome-p

 

11.   Hotels Magazine blogger Adam Kirby wrote his case for free hotel wi-fi and hoteliers roasted his feet over the poolside BBQ in their comments. http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1720000572/post/1170050517.html

 

12.   Ritz-Carlton Residences in Denver have gone into foreclosure after selling only one of 25 luxury units in the 202-room hotel building in downtown Denver. My first impression when I visited the property was “Hey, it looks out over the Greyhound bus station!” http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13776640

 

13.   The Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell released a new report stating a hotel’s presence on Expedia increases bookings made through the hotel website’s own systems. The researcher calls this the “billboard effect” whereby a potential guest just seeing the hotel listed on Expedia helps drive sales through the hotel’s own reservation channels. Perhaps Choice Hotels management read the report before agreeing to settle their contract with Expedia this past week.

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/2009.html

 

 

The Autograph Collection is a Marriott concept brand based on the acquisition of independently operated upper upscale and luxury hotel properties in the resort, historic, and boutique hotel market segments.  The Marriott branding may be present, but these properties are meant to appeal to the guest who desires a unique hotel feel distinctive from your average Marriott brand hotel.

From the Loyalty Traveler perspective I wonder if Marriott Rewards will establish a unique category of hotel rewards to accompany the Autograph Collection in a similar way to the separate, higher points reward tables for the Waldorf Astoria Collection of Hilton HHonors.  The Marriott Rewards aspect of the Autograph Collection has not yet been revealed aside from statements these new Marriott brand hotels will participate in the Marriott Rewards hotel loyalty program.

Marriott states it is eyeing about 25 hotel properties globally to sign to the Autograph Collection in 2010. Marriott’s Autograph Collection looks to be a similar strategic move to match Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria Collection by aligning existing luxury resorts, historic hotels, and urban boutique properties with the Marriott chain in a move to cater to the high end market segment.  

“I thee wed” is becoming a more common occurrence these days between independent hotels and major hotel brands. These aren’t exactly shotgun weddings, rather, more a marriage of convenience. Independent hotels are struggling financially with the recession and desire the brand exposure that comes with association to a major chain. The major hotel chains like Marriott (Autograph Collection) and Hilton (Waldorf-Astoria Collection) have the ability to provide a global marketing program and clientele of loyalty members to the independent hotel. And for Marriott and Hilton, rebranding is usually cheaper than building a new hotel.

Hilton launched their Waldorf Astoria Collection in 2006 and greatly expanded in 2009 with the addition of several resort properties rebranded from LXR Luxury Resorts and Hotels. The WA Collection has grown from 4 to 20 properties in the last couple of years.  Marriott is playing catch-up and projects a similarly sized Autograph Collection brand.

The bottom line for the Marriott Rewards frequent guest with the development of Marriott’s Autograph Collection is more choice of high-end lodging to earn and burn Rewards points with hotels that may exude more individualistic character than your typical Marriott brand hotel.

The Elton John song, Holiday Inn, is about 40 years old. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) went through a billion dollar makeover of Holiday Inn in the past two years to shed that 40 year old image of the world’s best known hotel brand.

 

IHG announced it will dump older, poorly performing properties, about 300 franchisees of the Holiday Inn brand if the hotels do not remodel to the new style as of February 1, 2010. Hotels must meet minimum property standards, install signs with the new logo, upgrade lighting, remodel the lobby, and update bedding.

 

The cost to franchisees in these tough economic times is $150,000 to $250,000 for upgrading the property. IHG has set an end-of-year 2010 timeline for upgrade completions. Dropping 300 older hotels from the Holiday Inn portfolio is projected to reduce the average age of Holiday Inn properties from 26 years old to 15 years old. Since Holiday Inn is a 57 year old brand and the properties in consideration here are only about 20% of the portfolio, I think these must be some really old Holiday Inns.

 

Pictures can show the difference between an older Holiday Inn and the new style. Here is a photo I took in 2008 of the Holiday Inn Santa Clara which was certainly a step below the other major brand hotels on Great America Parkway with a Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott on the same stretch of road. This property recently rebranded in summer 2009 as the remodeled Best Western Avatar. And I see the Best Western management is actively working the TripAdvisor reviews and currently sits at #2 hotel for Santa Clara. That must have been some hotel remodel.

Henderson, Nevada is an example of the new Holiday Inn brand style.

 Henderson, Nevada is a newly built Holiday Inn.

“And you ain’t seen nothing till you’ve been

In a motel baby like the Holiday Inn”

-Elton John, “Holiday Inn” from the album Madman Across the Water

 

 

Sources: Kris Hudson – Wall Street Journal – http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/11/12/contemporize-or-else-300-holiday-inns-may-lose-their-brand-name/

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703811604574531630528094524.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews