Starwood Lurker posted a Starpoints purchase offer yesterday on FlyerTalk with DiscoverAmerica Daily Getaways in support of the U.S. Travel Association. Starwood Hotels is first up in a month of daily travel offers from May 3 to June 4, 2010 involving 50 companies. Lucky’s One Mile at a Time blog brought this offer to my attention today.

On Monday, May 3 at 10:00 AM ET, you have a chance to buy from any of three Starwood Preferred Guest fixed price items on sale at the DailyGetaways.DiscoverAmerica.com website.

Forget the Starwood Hotels branding distracters of aloft, Four Points, and Sheraton free nights. Starpoints are the items for sale and there is no restriction on their use. If you buy 4,000 points through the Stay 1 Night for $60 aloft hotel branded page, there is no obligation for you to use the 4,000 points at an aloft hotel. The points are deposited into your account for whatever hotel or airline miles exchange you choose.

Starwood Points Getaway Offers at DailyGetaways/DiscoverAmerica.com

• 4,000 Starpoints for $60 (281 items available; maximum purchase is 5 items = 20,000 points/$300)
• 7,000 Starpoints for $100 (400 items available; maximum purchase is 5 items = 35,000 points/$500)
• 10,000 Starpoints for $145 (470 items available; maximum purchase is 5 items = 50,000 points/$725)

The terms of the sale state any credit card may be used for Getaway Offer purchases.  Starpoints items are a fixed price offer. Registration is not required to purchase this offer. DailyGetaway Frequently Asked Questions.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: 8,624,000 Starpoints for sale Monday, May 3

Purchasing Starpoints through the DiscoverAmerica deal at $14.28 to $15.00 per 1,000 points is nearly 60% off the normal rate for buying Starpoints from Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) at $35 per 1,000 points.

You can try to buy as few as 4,000 points for $60. You could likely save $50 on a category 2 Starwood hotel night. This offer may go fast and require immediate action at precisely 10:00 AM on Monday, May 3 to get your order through the channels. A maximum purchase of 5 items in each category means this could be as few as 230 total transactions to clear out the nearly 9 million in points inventory.

You can go for a big purchase and buy as many as 50,000 points for $725. For 50,000 points you can buy 5 nights in a category 5 hotel (48,000 points actually). There are dozens of category 5 hotels that will run over $300 per night, so basically you get an upper-upscale hotel for half-price. Points, Miles & Martinis just posted a St. Regis Atlanta (SPG category 5) hotel review today.

40,000 points ($580) exchanges into 50,000 airline miles with about 20 SPG airline partners.

This is one of the best opportunities in years to buy Starpoints at a price this low per 1,000 points. No guarantee that we will see an offer like this again from SPG. Starpoints normally sell for $35 per 1,000 points. A current sale on the Starwood website offers points for $28 per 1,000 points until May 31, 2010.  Just a few years ago points were sold by SPG for $50 per 1,000.

Remember: Monday, May 3, 2010 – 10:00 AM ET.

Emirates Skywards is offering triple miles for Hilton brand stays from May 1 to July 31. The email from Emirates shows miles can be earned from any hotel brand, yet the normal rules for Emirates miles exclude Hampton Inn according to the HHonors chart.

Emirates email for triple miles

The Emirates Terms and Conditions page states HHonors members choosing Points and Fixed Miles earn 1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 with Points and Variable Miles.

This offer is applicable to all Skywards members worldwide.

Offer is valid for eligible stays completed after registration, at participating hotels between 1st May and 31st July 2010.

Members who book stays after registration will be eligible to earn Skywards bonus Miles.

Customers must be a HHonors member to earn Skywards bonus miles

HHonors members choosing Fixed Miles award will earn 500 Skywards Miles, plus 1000 bonus Skywards miles.

HHonors members choosing Variable Miles award will earn 1 Skywards mile plus 2 Skywards Bonus Miles per $1 USD spent.

Skywards Miles accrued and awards issued are subject to Skywards terms and conditions.

Hilton HHonors membership, earning Points & Miles and redemption of points are subject to HHonors terms and conditions.

Taxes and Service charges apply

                  10.  This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion

Homewood Suites stays regularly earn just 100 miles when choosing Fixed Miles and Hampton Inn stays do not earn miles with Emirates.

This is either a good deal for earning Emirates miles or perhaps poorly written terms and conditions.

Check with Emirates and Hilton if you plan hotel stays with Homewood Suites or Hampton Inn while trying to collect Emirates miles.

HHonors Emirates Triple Miles registration link.

Most hotel loyalty programs clearly state a member will only receive elite qualifying credit for one hotel room per hotel stay.

An interesting question on FlyerTalk asked: Is it possible to book two different Hyatt Hotels for the same day and receive hotel stay credit for both to qualify for a free night with the Big Welcome Back promotion?

My initial thought was this is not allowed, but I see nothing in Hyatt Gold Passport terms and conditions that state it is prohibited.  

Priority Club is one program that clearly has a clause limiting a member to one qualifying night credit per night for elite credit and promotions.

Only the member whose name is on the reservation record will be awarded points and will be awarded Qualifying Night credit toward achieving Elite-level status or other promotional goals. Only one Qualifying Night credit, per member, per night will be awarded regardless of the number of reservations booked and paid for by the member.

Earning Points for Multiple Rooms at a Hotel 

I want to focus on a more practical strategy with usefulness for many frequent guests. I don’t want to lose you here because I am now switching to the topic in the title of this thread. Hotel geeks wanting to milk Hyatt’s “free night with every two stays” promotion might consider booking two nearby Hyatt hotels for the same night, and I’ll let you know when I hear a definitive response on the two hotels in the same day question, but the rest of this article has nothing to do with the Hyatt promotion or that question.

Earning points for multiple rooms on a single stay at one hotel is a points strategy that you may have never considered and one that is useful to hotel travelers in a position to be the guest of record for multiple rooms at a hotel when meeting for business, family and social occasions.

Most hotel chains will credit your account with points for the charges in two or three rooms as long as you are the guest of record and the rooms are booked in your name. Priority Club will even let you earn points on nine rooms in the U.S. and Canada. You might as well get the points if you find yourself the group leader and unpaid travel agent.

Family or business hotel stays requiring multiple rooms can be a strategy for significantly boosting your account balance.

Has Aunt Betty ever heard of Hilton HHonors points?

Will Uncle Manny ever stay at a Westin again?

And if you have to tolerate traveling with the new Ivy League business school graduate poised to take your job next year, you can at least have the satisfaction of taking his or her hotel loyalty points for the present.  (That is what happens in Loyalty Traveler’s version of George Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham for “Up in the Air”.) 

Rules for earning points on multiple rooms for a single hotel stay.

Read the conditions carefully as each program has its subtle variations.

Best Western = 1 room (But ask at hotel, since hotel discretion to award points for multiple rooms.)

Members are eligible to receive points for staying at Best Western brand lodging establishments if (1) the room is reserved in the Member’s name, (2) the room is occupied by and paid for by the Member and (3) the Member has presented the Card or number at the time of check-in.

Carlson goldpoints plus = up to 3 rooms

You may earn Points on up to three rooms booked under the same reservation. Please be sure to make this request at or before the time of check-in.

Choice Privileges = up to 2 rooms

Earn points for up to 2 rooms* per night for qualifying stays at over 5,000
Choice Privileges locations in: United States (including Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Middle East, Europe**, Australasia***   

* Both rooms must be in your name and include your member number. You must stay in one of the rooms and pay for both of the rooms. You only receive any applicable bonus points on one room. Members only earn Elite status on one room per stay.

** Excluding Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.

*** Including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Hilton HHonors = up to 2 rooms

1. No points, miles, or credit toward tier status will be awarded for “no show” situations when a member has made a reservation guaranteed with a credit card but then does not check in to the hotel–irrespective of whether or not the member’s credit card is charged for any portion of the reserved stay per the hotel’s “no show” policy.  

Loyalty traveler note: I placed this Hilton HHonors policy above since I saw Starwood Preferred Guest states  a paid “no show” is eligible for Starpoints, however, no stay credit for elite status or promotions is earned for a no show stay (see SPG section below in this post). 

Hilton’s multiple room night policy:

A Member may earn Base points for up to two rooms per stay, if all eligible charges for both rooms are paid on one folio. Base points will be earned for all eligible folio charges incurred on both rooms. The term “eligible folio charges” is defined below. Bonus points issued on Base points, including tier bonuses (15%, 25% or 50%, depending on member tier), bonus points earned through the HHonors Points and HHonors Points Earnings Style and double or triple Base point promotions, will apply to the total Base point credit earned for both rooms. For any other bonuses, including HHonors Marketing Partner bonus points and other promotional bonuses, bonus points will be awarded on one room only. For purposes of obtaining tier status, a member may receive one stay credit on one room only. For purposes of earning miles for stays, miles may only be earned on one room only.

Loyalty traveler note: When booking multiple rooms, the member needs to change earning preference to Points and Points since elite bonus and “Points and Points” 50% bonus will apply to two rooms, however, if earning Points & Miles, then miles are earned for just one room.

Hyatt Gold Passport = Up to 3 rooms

8. Hyatt Gold Passport members may receive Hyatt Gold Passport points for up to three rooms (member’s room and two additional rooms). Member must be a registered guest, occupy at least one of the rooms and pay for all three. Only the room occupied by the member will count toward tier status, benefits and current Hyatt Gold Passport promotions. The occupant of the second or third room may not receive Hyatt Gold Passport points, airline miles or Amtrak Guest Rewards points, either at time of stay or retroactively.

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards = up to 9 rooms in US/Canada; 1 room elsewhere

Member may earn points for up to 9 roomsin U.S. and Canada, except InterContinental Hotels.

In other countries, only one room per night will receive points.  

1. You must have stayed in the room and paid for it in full to receive Priority Club points. Only one room will be credited per member per night; however, at U.S. and Canadian hotels (except InterContinental), you can collect points or miles on all Eligible Charges for multiple hotel rooms (less than 10), provided those rooms are used in conjunction with your stay at the same hotel, and your Priority Club Rewards member number is recorded on each reservation, or the charges from those multiple room reservations are referred to on the hotel room bill associated with your reservation. Only the member whose name is on the reservation record will be awarded points and will be awarded Qualifying Night credit toward achieving Elite-level status or other promotional goals. Only one Qualifying Night credit, per member, per night will be awarded regardless of the number of reservations booked and paid for by the member. Points and/or Qualifying Night credit are not awarded for “no shows” even if the room is paid for in full.  

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/2/content/dec/pc/0/en/ptc.html

Marriott Rewards = up to 3 rooms

Point Earning for up to three rooms.

A member is eligible to receive points/miles for staying at participating Marriott Rewards hotels for his/her guestroom and up to two additional rooms. At least one of the rooms must be reserved and registered in the member’s name and the member must pay for all rooms, which must be requested at time of hotel check-in. The member must also stay in one of the rooms. To ensure points are automatically posted to member’s account, the member’s Marriott Rewards number must be present on his/her guest room folio and up to two additional rooms, as applicable.

Starwood Preferred Guest = up to 3 rooms

5.4. You may earn Starpoints for Eligible Charges paid by you during your stay even if the room charge was not an Eligible Charge. However, if the room charges are not Eligible Charges, the stay will not count as an Eligible Stay or Eligible Night towards elite levels of Membership or for threshold bonuses and promotions.

(Loyalty Traveler note: You can receive points for incidental expenses like room service and restaurant charges when the room is booked through an online travel agency like Priceline or Expedia or an airport voucher stay.   

5.5. If you are a registered guest, you may receive Starpoints for Eligible Charges incurred and paid by you for up to three rooms during the same stay (your room plus two others) if all such rooms are registered in your name, you stay in one of the rooms, and you personally settle all room charges upon check-out. Multiple rooms on the same stay count as only one Eligible Stay or Eligible Night towards elite levels of Membership and for threshold bonuses and promotions.

5.6. Starpoints can be earned on charges for no-shows and early departure fees, less taxes and service charges; however, these earnings will not count as an Eligible Stay or Eligible Night towards elite levels of Membership or for threshold bonuses and promotions.

Loyalty Traveler note: Remember the Starwood clause if you ever find yourself missing a hotel stay due to a missed flight or you booked a prepaid room and you were a no show.

5.7. You may also earn Starpoints for food and beverage charges of US$10 or more in Participating Properties’ restaurants even if you are not a registered guest, when you present your Membership card; however, these earnings will not count as an Eligible Stay or Eligible Night towards elite levels of Membership or for threshold bonuses and promotions.

Wyndham Rewards = up to 3 rooms

3. A Member is eligible to earn Wyndham Rewards points or airline miles or rail points, as the case may be, for up to three rooms per night when he or she stays at one of the Participating Hotels or Participating WH&R Properties. The hotel should be notified of this request at the time of check-in. If two or more Wyndham Rewards Members share a guestroom, only the paying Member will be awarded Wyndham Rewards points, airline miles or rail points.

Fairmont Newport Beach is gifting one free weekend night in a junior suite with breakfast for two and complimentary valet parking for the worthiest Mom & apple pie raconteur who fans both the Fairmont Newport Beach Facebook page and the Visit Newport Beach Facebook page and leaves a comment on the Newport Beach – Southern California Facebook wall.

There are currently only 25 comments. Winner will be announced May 3.

Fairmont Newport Beach

Think your Mother deserves a stay at the lovely Fairmont Newport Beach for Mother’s Day? Visit and become a fan of Newport Beach at http://bit.ly/bZXa9D and see contest details. You could be entered to win a 1-Night Weekend Stay at Fairmont Newport Beach in a Junior Suite with Complimentary Valet Parking and Breakfast for 2 in Bambu Restaurant. You must be a fan of us and the Southern California-Newport Beach.

Winner will be announced on May 3rd. Good Luck!

Marriott Hotels released 2010 first quarter financial results a few days ago. What I like about hotel quarterly financial reports is the ability to see how many hotels are currently in the chain and what has changed with room rates over the past year. The number of hotels in a hotel company is an important metric for loyalty travelers. The more hotel locations a chain has to offer frequent guests means the better opportunity to meet the traveler’s needs for paid room nights and award room nights. I particularly like to keep an eye on the full service Marriott Hotels, and the high end J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton properties for nights using points.

Marriott had 3,457 properties as of March 26, 2010. This is 230 additional properties opened in the past year under Marriott brands. This is more than 7% expansion of the Marriott chain in the worst year of the hotel industry in decades. The strong hotel chains grow stronger in this weak travel environment. (Loyalty traveler note: there is a discrepancy of one hotel between Marriott’s financial report at 3,457 and the numbers in the table below at 3,456. I can’t figure out where the missing hotel is located. In the big picure this is not so big a discrepancy.)

Marriott International Hotels by Brand as of March 26, 2010

Rates have continued to drop and are significantly lower in 2010 than a year ago. Rates have dropped on average by 5% to 10% in the USA. Occupancy has actually picked up slightly. The luxury sector with Ritz-Carlton in the lead has seen the largest occupancy increases of any Marriott brand in the past year. The mid-scale and extended stay market segments show slower occupancy growth. Looks like the well-to-do guests are well-off again while frequent guests are returning back to mid-tier and extended stay travel more slowly.

Marriott’s domestic hotel performance lags behind the international hotel room rates and occupancy levels. Asia-Pacific has seen great occupancy growth. The USA has only seen a 3.0% occupancy increase over the past year and worldwide a 3.6% increase. Rates meanwhile have continued to drop and the average daily rate in the US is $120 compared to $165 international.

Marriott forecasts rate increases in 2010 as hotels attempt to push up average daily rates in the face of higher occupancy.

Marriott International Domestic and Regional Average Daily Rates and Occupancy

Source: http://investor.shareholder.com/mar/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=462338

Results from an American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) indicate nearly 40% of hotels are using flash selling like last minute website sales, or Twitter and Facebook specials. I saw some examples of flash selling with Hyatt and Starwood hotels in San Francisco for this weekend.

Here is the AH&LA poll survey question:

Poll: A recent report described that hotels, airlines, and other travel suppliers are increasingly finding success in flash selling, or offering last minute deals in the form of emails or other means to fill unsold capacity – and more customers are purchasing such deals. Is your hotel increasingly using flash selling and has this method improved the filling of unsold capacity?

Results:               

• 61% No flash selling tried;
• 26% Flash selling has boosted last minute sales;
• 13% Flash selling has not significantly boosted last minute sales.

I was finding all kinds of hotel deals on Twitter a few months ago, but then I hit follow on loads of people who were following me and the hotel deals now seem to be lost in the myriad of tweets on my page. I think I need to aggressively unfollow to filter my tweet follows back down to mostly hotels.

The problem I find with Twitter is not enough hashtags, #, are used in tweets to allow good searches. For example, if all hotel deals were labeled #hotel, then it would be easy to search for deals. But with only 140 characters to write for a tweet, labeling with multiple hashtag terms takes up the strictly limited writing space.

Question for the twitterati – I would love to learn about some good resources for tutorials on using Twitter and Facebook. Anyone have sites to share?

Hotel Rates this week in San Francisco

I like the case study method for analyzing hotel rates. I spent the past week studying room rates for San Francisco this weekend. I was struck by the high rates I saw for San Francisco hotels this Friday and Saturday April 23-24 when I started looking last week. The rates were generally low with Hilton and IHG all week, but the rates were quite high for Starwood and Hyatt hotels.

I noticed huge discrepancies between rates displayed on Kayak.com and rates displayed on the hotel websites during the course of the week.

Last Sunday I spotted several lower rates on Kayak.com compared to the Hyatt and Starwood websites. I clicked on several of the lower rates listed on the Kayak.com search results. The rates generally were incorrect on Kayak.com and came out matching the hotel website when I followed through a booking on Orbitz or Expedia.

I happened to find a $45 discrepancy for the Westin Market Street San Francisco between EasyClickTravel.com and Starwood. I applied for a Best Rate Guarantee (BRG). I applied for the wrong night. I resubmitted a second BRG for a different night.

The odd discrepancy was the standard room, called traditional at the Westin Market Street was not showing up on Starwood’s site. A higher category Deluxe room was the lowest room category bookable through Starwood for most of this week. The EasyClickTravel.com room was a standard room.

The responses from Starwood’s Best Rate Guarantee representatives were interesting. My first submitted claim was rejected. The response stated my claim was invalid since EasyClickTravel.com did not have a Deluxe room available on its website and only the Deluxe room was listed on the Starwood site for $143 . The fact that EasyClickTravel.com had a lower $98 standard room did not matter since the lower category rooms were not being sold on Starwood’s sites.

No problem. I had submitted that BRG claim for the wrong date anyway.

But it does bring up a lingering question of logical consequences since I book so many rooms using Best Rate Guarantee claims.

If this were truly a rational reason for rejecting a BRG claim, then what keeps the hotel from moving their lowest room category inventory to online travel agencies and charging more on their own websites for higher category rooms? This seemed to be the case with the Westin Market Street this week when standard rooms were available through several online travel agency sites but not on Starwood’s sites.

Turned out to be a moot point.

Twenty minutes later I received a second email from a different Starwood Best Rate Guarantee specialist who approved the second submitted claim for the night I actually wanted. I got the $98 room and 2,000 points.

Then the hotel rates suddenly dropped yesterday for this Friday and Saturday.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco on Monday $200+; Thursday ($159 AAA with breakfast)

Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Monday $179; Thursday ($116 AAA)

Le Meridien San Francisco on Monday $199; Thursday $109 Starpicks prepaid rate

W San Francisco on Monday $219; Thursday $149 Starpicks prepaid rate

Westin Market Street $159 Monday; $114 Starpicks rate for the “traditional” room. Suddenly Westin Market has traditional rooms for sale after only offering Deluxe rooms all week.

The other interesting fact is the OTAs have not lowered their prices for the weekend.

Orbitz is charging $139 for Westin Market Street – Starwood is $114.

Expedia is charging $189 for W San Francisco – Starwood is $149.

Orbitz is charging $199 for Hyatt Regency San Francisco with a $25 Food & Beverage Credit– Hyatt is $169.15 (AAA with breakfast for two at hotel restaurant).

Orbitz is charging $199.01 for Le Meridien San Francisco – Starwood is $109.

There has been a growing clamor among big-chain hoteliers that online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz are playing too large a role in dictating room rates. I cited an article earlier this week arguing room bookings over the internet through third parties like Expedia, Orbitz, and dozens of other online travel agencies cost hotels about 8 times more than direct booking through hotel websites.

Hotel revenue is the largest proportion of OTA profits for the big companies like Expedia.

Too bad the San Francisco hotels waited so long to drop their rates this week. They would have taken in more money from me, but I already went for the bonus points of a Best Rate Guarantee due to the lower rates with the online travel agencies much of this week.

The point to take away from all this is keep an eye on hotel rates as you go for the free night promotions these next few months. Hotel revenue management tactics mean you will see highly dynamic room pricing. Getting the best room rate deal is really a matter of timing and luck.

The frequent guest has the choice of many hotel loyalty promotions with little guidance to their relative value. Loyalty Traveler’s summary of current hotel loyalty promotions and limited time offers for the frequent guest are shown below.

April 22, Loyalty Traveler Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions

New Promotions added:

American Express Membership Rewards has a limited time offer for a $100 savings certificate towards a two-night stay at Hyatt for just 1,500 points through May 31. These certificates are normally 5,000 points. Click on the link and look for the certificates tab.

Hyatt is adding a new Park Hyatt property when Four Seasons Avaria, Carlsbad, California rebrands June 21. Park Hyatt Avaria will be another Hyatt resort for free nights this summer.

IHG Priority Club – May 14 to Aug 31, 2010 –  Double Points or Double Miles starting with your second qualifying stay at any hotel or your first stay at Candlewood Suites or Staybridge Suites. Registration required.

Priority Club Enroll a Friend – March 1 – May 31, 2010 – New member can earn 7,500 points after first stay at Candlewood Suites or Staybridge Suites within 90 days of Priority Club enrollment. Earn 5,000 points for first stay at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express worldwide. Offer is restricted to US and Canada members. Referral member receives 5,000 bonus points. Contact me at ricgarrido@live.com for a referral link.

Starwood Preferred Guest Free Weekend Nights - Earning period: May 1 – July 31, 2010; Redemption Period through December 19. Earn one free weekend night (Fri, Sat, or Sun) for every three stays at any Starwood Hotel worldwide. Free weekend nights are valid for up to category 6 hotels. This is all but about 15 hotels worldwide.

SPG Registration required and registration link will be activated May 1.

Canada – See It Now Sweepstakes, March 27 – May 31. One entry per day allowed for a choice of five $5,000 Canadian vacations. Only U.S. residents in lower 48 states and D.C. are eligible. One prize will be awards around June 1. I have included this promotion since the Urban Fare prize includes three nights at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto.

Best Western $100 Travel Card, March 30-May 31. Buy a $100 Best Western travel card by May 31 and stay in a Best Western between June 1 and August 31 to earn 3,000 bonus points. Promotion link.

Best Western is also running their elite status match promotion. Members on FlyerTalk report the elite status match may come with 5,000 bonus points after first stay.

Loyalty Traveler Key Rankings

Rankings are subjective and subject to change. Your specific travel pattern may result in some promotions ranking more favorably for you. When assigning a key rank I take into consideration the following factors and probably more: 

• The opportunity for a significantly high-value return on hotel spend in terms of a hotel rebate in free nights and discounted  hotel nights. 
• Current loyalty program promotions and offers from other hotel chains.
• Past loyalty program offers and rates for the specific hotel chain and loyalty program.
• Current economic conditions in the travel industry and hotel location.

Loyalty Traveler ranks the consumer value of hotel loyalty promotions on a Five Key Scale.

Five Keys = one of the best hotel loyalty promotions of the year.

Four Keys = high value rebate on the cost of hotel stays.

Three Keys = good value hotel loyalty promotion or rate offer

Two Keys = a bonus value if you play, but not necessarily worth going out of your way.

One Key = There is limited or no value. You are likely paying more than the bonus value.

April 22 Summary of Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions by Program 

Best Western Rewards 

3-key Promotion $50 gift card after two stays by May 30 (March 30, 2010)

Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) FlyerTalk members are stating there is an accompanying offer for 5,000 bonus points after first stay.

3-key promotion -  Best Western $100 Travel Card, March 30-May 31. Buy a $100 Best Western travel card by May 31 and stay in a Best Western between June 1 and August 31 to earn 3,000 bonus points. Promotion link. 

Carlson Hotels – Goldpoints Plus

5-Key promotion: Award Nights On Sale through May 31: Radisson 50% off, Country Inn and Park Inn 25% off

4-Key promotion Country Inn & Suites Third Night Free is Truly a Free Night -March 1 – May 15 (March 18, 2010)

3-key promotion Up to Quadruple Points for stays through May 28, 2010 (March 31, 2010) This can be a 4-key or 5-key promotion if you have 4-night stays at a Radisson which combined with 50% free nights can be one or two free nights earned. 4x points is 80 points/$1. Top category hotel awards for a Radisson Blu or Regent Hotel in places like London and Paris at 50% discount are just 30,000 points. $800 on a 4-night stay will earn 65,000 points with online booking bonus.

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

3-key promotion Spring Promotion Stay Twice and Earn 8,000 points Feb 22-April 30

(8,000 points are sufficient for a free night at 1,500 hotels in the two lowest award night categories.)

Hilton HHonors

5-key promotion Fast Ways to Free Stays (Earn a free night after every 4 stays or 10 nights through June 30) (April 7, 2010) I have raised this offer from 4-key to a 5-key promotion since the free night certificate is valid at any hotel and good for one year from issue date. A property like Hilton Bora Bora Nui is a $700+ per night hotel.

Hilton HHonors earn unlimited free nights through June 30 – Fast Ways to Free Stays promotion (April 4, 2010)

4-key promotion Nine bonus airline miles promotions that may be combined with free night promotion (April 13, 2010)

Hyatt Gold Passport

5-key promotion – Big Welcome Back promotion for one free night after every two stays March 26-June 30 (March 26, 2010)

5-key promotion – Hyatt Gold Passport Instant Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite Fast-track (Feb 21, 2010)

3-Key Limited Time Offer American Express Membership Rewards Hyatt $100 certificate for 2-night stay for 1,500 Membership Rewards points through May 31, 2010. Certificate valid in US, Canada, and Caribbean through December 30, 2010.

Costco, the wholesale discounter, offers $100 in Hyatt gift certificates (two $50 certificates in a package) for $79.99.

Limited Time Offer – American Express Membership Rewards has a limited time offer for a $100 savings certificate towards a two-night stay at Hyatt for just 1,500 points through May 31. These certificates are normally 5,000 points. Click on the link and look for the certificates tab.

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

2-key IHG Priority Club – May 14 to Aug 31, 2010 –  Double Points or Double Miles starting with your second qualifying stay at any hotel or your first stay at Candlewood Suites or Staybridge Suites. Registration required.

Priority Club Enroll a Friend – March 1 – May 31, 2010 – New member can earn 7,500 points after first stay at Candlewood Suites or Staybridge Suites within 90 days of Priority Club enrollment. Earn 5,000 points for first stay at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express worldwide. Offer is restricted to US and Canada members. Referral member receives 5,000 bonus points. Contact me at ricgarrido@live.com for a referral link.

3-Key promotion Earn 200 miles or 1,000 points per night up to 20,000 points or 4,000 miles through April 30, 2010 (Dec 22, 2010)

Priority Club PointBreaks 5,000 points per night awards to June 30 (March 29, 2010)

IHG Friend & Family Hotel Rates (Dec 26, 2010)

Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) – Leaders Club Rewards 

3-key promotion – Earn 1 free night after every 5 hotel stays in 2010. Must stay in at least two different hotels. Bellagio in Las Vegas is LHW member. (April 13, 2010)

Marriott Rewards

5-Key promotion – May 1-July 31 New members of Marriott Rewards earn a free night after two stays  (April 5, 2010)

1-Key offer – Marriott Rewards Instant Redemption Awards (March 24, 2010)

Marriott Rewards Triple Airline Miles through April 30 (Feb 18, 2010)

Marriott Rewards 2010 MegaBonus Feb 1- April 30, 2010 (Dec 22, 2010)

Starwood Preferred Guest

5-key promotion - Starwood Preferred Guest Free Weekend Nights - Earning period: May 1 – July 31, 2010; Redemption Period through December 19. Earn one free weekend night (Fri, Sat, or Sun) for every three stays at any Starwood Hotel worldwide. Free weekend nights are valid for up to category 6 hotels. Free weekend nights are valid for all but about 15 hotels worldwide of the 1,000 hotels in the Starwood chain.

SPG Registration required and registration link will be activated May 1.

4-key promotion $100 Amazon Gift Card for 2 Westin Stays in US/Canada by May 13 (Feb 20, 2010)

3-key promotion SPG link: Pay Your Birthyear Rate (This promotion can be an incredible savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear.) LT post 4/28/2009

3-key limited time offer Buy up to 20,000 Starpoints at 20% discount = $28/1,000 points. Offer valid April 9 – May 31, 2010. SPG link.

1-key promotion Four Points Breakfast for a Buck (April 12, 2010)

Starpoints Airline Direct Deposit is Better for United, Continental, and Singapore miles (March 25, 2010)

Wyndham Rewards

2-key promotion Lufthansa Miles & More 1,000 miles per stay, up to 4,000 miles March 15-May 15.

Hotel Points-to-Miles Conversion Tables for 9 hotel programs and 7 U.S. airlines (March 30, 2010)

Other Offers:

5-key offer – Condé Nast/Competitours - Condé Nast/Competitours 250,000 miles giveaway for 200 words by April 30   (LT post April 9, 2010)

Frequentflyerbonuses.com – Five Years, Five Ways to Win (2005-2010)

Frequentflyerbonuses.com 5^th Anniversary Contest through May 31 – Prize is $250 Marriott Gift card or 10,000 Spirit Airlines miles.

Canada – See It Now Sweepstakes, March 27 – May 31. One entry per day allowed for a choice of five $5,000 Canadian vacations. Only U.S. residents in lower 48 states and D.C. are eligible. One prize will be awarded around June 1, 2010. I have included this promotion since the Urban Fare prize includes three nights at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto.

Tahiti tourism is way down in the past year.  When an overwater bungalow room at a luxury resort on Bora Bora goes for US$1,500 per night, well, got points? French Polynesia is seeking millionaire tourists.

Year-to-date tourist arrivals to French Polynesia from September 2009 showed a drop from 150,000 to less than 119,000 arrivals. International hotels averaged 45% occupancy during the first nine months of 2009, down by 7.8% over the prior year. Recent tourism numbers indicate tourists are staying two days longer this year, but arrivals were down 10% in January 2010 compared to 2009. Then a hurricane hit in February and damaged some hotels around the islands. The St. Regis Bora Bora is closed for repairs until June 2010.

Hotel statistics show 2010 is worse than 2009 for French Polynesia and many hotels are averaging just 30% occupancy. Hoteliers are worried.

South Pacific Management took over management of two former Starwood Hotels in January 2009, when the Sheraton Tahiti and Sheraton Moorea Lagoon were rebranded as Hilton Hotels. The hotels’ owner Louis Wane remains unchanged. He also owns the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort.

Flyertalk member Thunderroad (Springsteen fan?) has an extensive trip report of the Hilton Moorea and Hilton Bora Bora from a trip in fall 2009.

Hilton Tahiti closed last month citing the poor economy as the primary reason. The hotel had 189 hotel rooms and a conference center meeting space. 131 employees lost their jobs. A recent news report states former Hilton Tahiti employees have started a hunger strike. I couldn’t find a second independent corroborating source on the hunger strike. I am sure the employment situation is rather bleak if tourism is down to levels not seen in 15 years. 

The two remaining Hilton hotels in French Polynesia have 225 rooms – Hilton Moorea Lagoon, a 10-minute flight from Tahiti, and the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort, a one hour flight from the French Polynesia international airport at Papeete, Tahiti. 

Hotel room math

Two Hilton hotels at Moorea and Bora Bora have 82,125 available room nights over the course of the year and 365 days.

Assume a tourist spends an average of 7 room nights, but assume half of the visitors are couples staying together in one room. There are single travelers of course, but there are also couples with kids not booking two rooms.

French Polynesia had 120,000 tourist arrivals in the past year. One room night for every two tourists is 60,000 room nights x 7 nights per tourist stay = 420,000 room nights needed over the course of the year.

Hilton’s three properties were around 160,000 room nights by themselves.

The closure of the Hilton Tahiti removed nearly 70,000 room nights out of the French Polynesia hotel room supply. South Pacific Management decided to focus resources on the Hilton Moorea Lagoon that has just seen a US$12 million renovation and improvement including a new pool and new suites. Hilton Bora Bora Nui is planning to upgrade furnishings in 2010 and build a kids club. 

French Polynesia is seeking millionaires; the kind of people who spend money to take their kids to Bora Bora luxury hotels.

 The St. Regis Bora Bora offers a 7th night free with a 6-night hotel stay.

This seems to be a good time to try for a free night in Bora Bora and lobby your host for a paid upgrade to the overwater villa. Hilton HHonors free night promotion certainly makes a trip like this much more affordable in 2010. But you will need points for Le Meridien Bora Bora or St. Regis Bora Bora since the SPG free weekend night doesn’t apply for these category 7 SPG hotels.

In case you aren’t aware, there is a major battle brewing in Bangkok’s Pathum Wan tourist hotel district where the InterContinental Bangkok, Grand Hyatt Bangkok, Four Seasons Bangkok, Holiday Inn Bangkok, and Courtyard Bangkok hotels are located. This is the sharpened bamboo poles and guns kind of street battle. Rocket propelled grenades were fired at a fuel depot near the airport today. See “Thai Government offers talks if protestors abide by law.”

“Red Shirts” have been demonstrating for over five weeks in Bangkok and since April 3 the protests moved into the hotel area with encampments and barricades on the streets of one of Bangkok’s most prominent luxury hotel and business districts. This part of the city has become a “no-go” zone. The Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton stores are closed at the Gaysorn shopping mall. Thai military encounters led to some of the worst violence in the city in two decades earlier this month with 25 killed. Hotels and retailers in the area have lost millions of dollars in revenue and several hotels have closed for the time-being, citing guest safety as a major concern.

The InterContinental Bangkok and Holiday Inn Bangkok have both temporarily closed as of April 20 and are scheduled to reopen April 26. Four hotels in the demonstration area have over 1,500 rooms and employ 2,000 people. Renaissance Bangkok and the Four Seasons Bangkok are not currently taking reservations for hotel stays this week. Guests have been relocated to other hotels in the city, particularly the Sukhumvit area.

Slum Living in Bangkok City Center Tourist District (2004)

The Four Seasons and Renaissance hotel websites show no traveler notices regarding the protests and safety concerns for guests at these hotels.

InterContinental Bangkok website mentions the Red Shirt protests at the end of the hotel overview, but states the city Skytrain stations are open.

*** NOTE: The red shirt demonstrations in the City Centre at Rajdamri road are still ongoing and could affect street traffic around the hotel due to the volume of people. However, BTS Sky train and Ploenchit Road in front of the hotel are still operating. Report was announced that these rallies will go on with no violence. We suggest that you check with your Foreign Ministry for any updates and possible travel advisories. ***

Grand Hyatt Bangkok has the most detailed warning for potential guests located as the first paragraph of the Hotel Overview.

Bangkok, April 20, 2010 – Protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have been taking place in the vicinity of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok since April 3, 2010. The government announced a State of Emergency in Bangkok on Wednesday, April 7. Visit News & Events to read more.

The link goes to this statement:                 

Media Statement on Latest Situation in Bangkok

Bangkok, April 20, 2010 – Protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have been taking place in the vicinity of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok since April 3, 2010. The government announced a State of Emergency in Bangkok on Wednesday, April 7.
For the safety and security of our guests and employees, Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok has at this stage decided to suspend all guest services and not to accept any reservations until April 24, 2010. Security measures remain at the highest level at the hotel. 

I am finally getting around to writing about The Big Welcome Back from Hyatt Gold Passport when I see Gary Leff is giving away free Hyatt nights at View from the Wing blog. The only thing better than a free night after two hotel stays is two free nights with no hotel stays requirement. Simply leave a comment, by noon eastern time, Sunday, April 25 on Gary’s Hyatt Free Nights post and cross your fingers for good luck.

One thing to point out about Hyatt’s free internet for Platinum and Diamond elites is the hotel may only offer one access mode for free, wired or wireless access, and you have to pay to use the other one. I found this to be the case at a couple of hotels where I wanted wireless, but only wired was free. Fortunately at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco my room location was sufficiently close to access the Regency Club wireless internet from my room.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) launched free internet access for top elite Platinummembers as an in-hotel benefit. Simply accept internet charges when logging on at the hotel and they will be removed from the bill for Platinum elites. This benefit is available worldwide at all SPG hotels offering internet. Public space and meeting room internet is not covered in this benefit and terms vary by hotel for these spaces.

Reaching SPG platinum elite membership requires 50 nights or 25 stays in a calendar year. SPG typically offers an 8 to 12 week window each year with a stays count double promotion making Platinum status available in as few as 13 stays which can be as few as 13 hotel nights.

The Big Welcome Back from Hyatt Gold Passport

“We want to welcome you back before you readjust to your time zone.”

I picked up the 6”x11” card from Hyatt Gold Passport at my mailbox yesterday.

Choose to earn a free night or 5,000 Hyatt Gold passport bonus points after every two stays through June 30, 2010.

Now just decide where you want to go. Start earning. Then, enjoy your reward. Because the only thing better than welcoming you, is welcoming you back.

• Register today at goldpassport.com for the reward you want – free nights or bonus points
• Stay at any Hyatt worldwide through June 30, 2010
• Provide your Hyatt Gold Passport account number

Earn as many rewards as you can and then redeem them at any Hyatt worldwide. Enjoy your free night awards with no blackout dates between April 1 and August 31, 2010. Or, enjoy your bonus points anytime toward free nights, upgrades, or miles, with no expiration.

Why is Hyatt working so hard to attract members with giveaways?

I am not actually referring to Gary Leff’s free nights promotion; rather, why is Hyatt giving instant elite membership for the asking and top-elite diamond for just 15 nights? Why is Hyatt Gold Passport offering a free night at a Hyatt brand hotel anywhere to a member with two stays at any Hyatt hotel anywhere? These are high value giveaways.

Recently, several articles have passed by me and together they kind of paint a picture of the high stakes game for hotel revenue management combined with brand name recognition and high value customers.

Max Starkov is chief e-business strategist at Hospitality e-Business Strategies, a business which focuses on hotel direct online channel strategies. Direct online channels are the hotel brand websites. For Hyatt hotels this means the company booking site at Hyatt.com, the loyalty program booking site at goldpassport.com, and individual hotel booking sites like highlandsinn.hyatt.com.

Max Starkov’s recent article, “Not All Internet Bookings are Created Equal,” analyzed the proportion of hotel chain bookings made via direct online channels vs. indirect channels like online travel agencies – Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline. Overall for the hotel industry the proportion of room bookings made via the internet is estimated to be around 45% of all hotel bookings in 2010.

That means fewer than 50% of hotel rooms booked are via the internet. The top 30 hotel brands actually have a higher proportion of bookings made via the internet with 54.2%. In 2009 about 71% of internet bookings are direct channels and 29% indirect channels. In 2007 about 76% of internet bookings were direct channel bookings. Basically, the hotels are losing ground to the online travel agencies for room bookings.

Why do direct bookings matter, and, what does this have to do with Hyatt’s promotion giveaways?

GDS systems used by travel agents book about 23.6% of hotel rooms in 2009 compared to 31.3% in  for the top 30 hotel brands. The number of hotel rooms booked by GDS dropped by 25% in four years. Over the same time period the number of phone bookings also dropped from 31.3% in 2006 to 22.2% for 2009.

Basically there is a smaller share of room bookings happening via GDS systems and the phone. Internet bookings are growing and the hotel brands are losing share in the booking channels used by customers for buying hotel rooms.

The truly remarkable part to me is the large number of guests staying at the top 30 hotel brands who are not receiving any hotel chain loyalty benefits due to booking via Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, etc. Even more amazing perhaps is the fact these guests probably did not pay any less than the rates available on the hotel’s own websites when not booking on an opaque site like Priceline or Hotewire where the hotel is not known in advance.

There certainly are some lower rates to be found through online travel agencies like Orbitz and Expedia. I book about 20% of my hotel stays through successful Best Rate Guarantee claims on the hotel’s website when I find a lower room rate at an online travel agency. I receive the low rate plus additional rate discounts or bonuses and I still receive all my hotel loyalty program benefits.

Starkov’s article goes on to show indirect bookings of hotel stays cost the hotel about 8 times more money. As the travel recession is now in the middle of its second year, hoteliers have pushed more inventory over to online travel agencies and the OTAs have gained share in the reservations market.

In my opinion I think Hyatt is pulling in a higher proportion of customers by giving elite status and free nights. You only earn these benefits through direct bookings. I do not have any data, but I assume Hyatt has seen a proportional shift to direct bookings after a solid year of high value promotions and complimentary elite status. Hyatt has loads of capital to invest. Hyatt has a credit card partner in the works to launch the hotel chain’s first cobranded credit card. Hyatt is maintaining high prices at its full service hotels.

I just hope after the Hyatt credit card comes around, the elite ranks have grown, direct bookings have grown, and the chain expands, perhaps with a new brand acquisition or two, that the program still offers free nights. I have a hunch though.

Faster Free Nights is what many of us who have been around Hyatt Gold Passport for much of the past decade refer to the free night after every two stays periodic promotion. In past years this promotion was commonly tied to using a MasterCard when paying for the hotel stays. I wonder is Hyatt really promoting the two stays for a free night concept heavily over the past year to tie in their new credit card with future free night promotion offers?

I would not be at all surprised to see 2011 require the Hyatt card be used for the free night after two stays promotion. Wait and see.

Back to the Big Welcome Back.

Seriously, this is a great promotion from Hyatt Gold Passport. Two stays anywhere and earn one free night anywhere and all summer to use it. Huge leverage potential makes booking unnecessary hotel stays totally worthwhile.

In the San Francisco Bay Area there are several Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotels with weekend rates $80 or less. Eight miles down the road from me is the Hyatt Highlands Inn with summer room rates typically $400+ per night. You do the math. I have.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my hotel stays at the Hyatt Highlands Inn.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler analysis of the SPG free weekend nights promotion running May 1-July 31.

I have interspersed totally unrelated photos from my Friday drive to Big Sur between the Starwood promotion Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Friday was one of those perfectly gorgeous days on the California Central Coast with 70 degree temperatures and incredibly clear skies.

Unfortunately there are no Starwood Hotels anywhere near the Monterey Peninsula or Big Sur coast.

St. Regis Monarch Beach is a category 6 Starwood Hotel near the beach at Dana Point in southern California.

Promotion Basics

Three eligible paid Starwood hotel stays from May 1 through July 31 earn one free weekend night good for any hotel with the exception of 16 hotels in the 1,000 property Starwood Hotels chain. Promotion weekend award nights must be redeemed by December 19, 2010.

1. Registration is required for this promotion by the date of June 30.

Starwood Preferred Guest Registration link. (registration is not active at time of writing.)

Garrapata Creek, Cabrillo Highway 1, Big Sur coast, California

2. Reservations booked before promotion registration are eligible for earning free night credits as long as part of the stay falls in the promotion period from May 1-July 31. Only one eligible night is required to make the stay eligible for earning free night credit. For example, a Starwood Hotel stay from April 28-May 2 or July 31 to Aug 2 will count.

Rocky Point, path from Rocky Point Restaurant on Highway 1 South to Big Sur

3. Earned free nights should be credited to your account within three to five days of your third eligible stay. You can check free weekend night availability online. If a room is available using points, then a free weekend night room should be available. Redemption period begins May 7 and ends December 19, 2010. 

Garrapata Creek Bridge, Cabrillo Highway 1, California

 4. US and Canada members may redeem free weekend nights by calling 888-625-4988. Elite members should call their dedicated SPG elite line listed on your SPG elite card. Members in other locations should call their regional Starwood reservations center.

5. Definition of weekend: Most locations use Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, however, many countries define the weekend as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Members may redeem their Free Weekend Night Award for any Friday, Saturday or Sunday except in select Middle East and African countries where redemption will be for any Thursday, Friday or Saturday: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Rocky Creek Bridge 1932, Cabrillo Highway 1, Monterey County, California

6. Multiple free weekend night awards may be combined for a multi-night hotel stay.

For example: Here is a Loyalty traveler type strategy that may work for some frequent guests. Stay 18 or 21 times during the promotion period and you can redeem six or seven free nights for a week-long luxury vacation. Even if you do not travel for work, you can probably plan some two or three night getaways, and if there are a couple of cheap Starwood Hotels around, then pick up some cheap weekend stays even if you really do not need a hotel room.There are 92 nights and 14 weekends for earning free night credits during the May 1-July 31 promotion period. A member could potentially earn 30 free nights. But assume you made 15 stays over 15 nights for an average of $100 per night. You can earn 5 free nights for about $1,500. Assume that you actually get hotel value and enjoyment out of at least half these stays. Use your five free nights for a luxury hotel stay and you can easily get back the $1,500 value in free nights while having several other short hotel staycations or mini-trips. The basic rationale is one free weekend night may actually be worth more than the cost of three cheap hotel stays. Some travelers will find 20 nights in hotels, including a free five night luxury hotel vacation for the same price as a paid 5-night luxury hotel stay to be a great travel strategy. Others won’t.

Secluded beach on Big Sur coast, Monterey County

7. Free night awards can be combined with paid nights for a multi-night stay. The paid nights will count for earning points and elite credit and qualify towards a free night credit if during the promotional period of May 1-July 31.

For example, a member might stay nine times in May and June and then redeem three free weekend nights Friday through Sunday night in Hawaii during mid-July. Add a paid night for Monday night at the same hotel. The paid night will count as one stay credit towards another free night.

Beach at Rocky Creek, Big Sur coast, Monterey County

8. Free weekend nights cannot be combined with other award nights for a fifth night free award. For example: SPG allows a member to redeem points for five nights with a 5^th night free award. A category 5 hotel at 12,000 points per free night takes only 48,000 points for a fifth night free award. You may combine free weekend nights with additional points for an extended stay, but you will not qualify for a 5^th night free award.

In the Hawaii example above, the member could redeem three free weekend nights and then spend another 12,000 points for the Monday night on a four night hotel stay. But you need another 12,000 points for a 5^th night.

Hurricane Point looking north to Monterey Peninsula, Cabrillo Highway 1, Big Sur Coast

9. Free Weekend Award nights are not transferrable, but you can book multiple rooms for a single stay. Regular award nights using points are transferrable. For example: I frequently redeem award nights using my points for my parents’ hotel stays. I can’t transfer my free weekend award nights from this promotion to my parents for their stays. But, I can book multiple rooms at a hotel using free weekend night awards for my parents as long as I am also a guest using one of the free weekend night award rooms. (Booking multiple rooms is not actually mentioned in the official SPG promotion FAQ, but I’ll keep it here unless I learn differently.)

10. Free Weekend Award night reservations may be cancelled and re-credited to your account as long as cancellation occurs within the hotel’s cancellation policy window.

Priority Club offered free nights last summer, but the Priority Club primary restriction was no cancellations on free night award bookings. If you cancelled, you lost your free night credit. 

Last summer I earned 8 free nights with the SPG free weekend nights promotion and I cancelled several of my free night reservations as I shifted my travel plans around to match the best redemption opportunities.

Pay close attention to the hotel award cancellation window. Some hotels will be day of arrival, most are likely the day before arrival, but some resorts may require as many as seven days before arrival to cancel without penalty.

Last year there was an issue of rack rate cancellation penalties which I think Starwood Hotels addressed after many member complaints. For example, I had a stay at the St. Regis San Francisco that was upgraded to a Metropolitan Suite and my cancellation forfeiture policy was listed as $1,500 per night for the hotel. I wasn’t about to miss that hotel stay as a no-show!

11.   Members will earn points on incidental spending during hotel stays using free weekend night awards.

Loyalty Traveler Note: Keep an eye on your account after free weekend nights with incidental spend to be sure the points post. Award stays frequently are not posted by hotels even when there is incidental spending. If your free weekend nights stay does not post and you had incidental spending for restaurant, room service, etc., then call the hotel to get your points posted.

12.   Free nights must be used by December 19, 2010.

13.   Free weekend nights are not valid at these SPG category 7 hotel properties: 

• The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, Punta de Mita, Mexico
• Sunset Key Guest Cottages, a Westin Resort, Key West, FL, USA
• The St. Regis New York, USA
• Santa Marina Resort & Villas, Mykonos, Greece
• Mystique, Santorini, Greece
• Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Italy
• Cervo Hotel, Costa Smeralda Resort, Porto Cervo, Italy
• Hotel Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Italy
• Hotel Romazzino, Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Italy
• The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, Spain
• Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland
• The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia
• Le Méridien Bora Bora, French Polynesia
• The St. Regis Bali Resort, Indonesia
• W Retreat & Spa-Maldives, Maldives
• Pine Cliff Residence, Albufeira, Portugal (category 6 all suites hotel) 

Pine Cliff residence is an all suites category 6 hotel, but free weekend nights are only valid for standard hotel rooms. 

Loyalty Traveler Example of a Hotel Hop

One of the most basic questions asked about these kinds of promotions based on hotel stays is: 

“Can I check-out and then check back in the same hotel with a different reservation to get two stays?”

No you can’t. 

Consecutive days at the same hotel will count as the same hotel stay regardless of check-in and check-out. The hotel hop is a common strategy. Last year I earned several free nights from San Francisco Bay Area hotel stays. Here are some examples of what I did.

• Westin St. Francis, Friday night
• The Palace, Luxury Collection, Saturday night.

These hotels are about three blocks apart in downtown San Francisco. Checking out and checking in to a new hotel wasted about an hour of time, but the benefit of a free night at the St. Regis San Francisco after two stays made the mid-day hotel change worthwhile. This year it takes three stays for a free weekend night.

In January this year I stayed at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco on a Thursday night, Hyatt Regency San Francisco Friday night, and back to the Grand Hyatt on Saturday night. I earned three hotel stay credits. 

These are examples of hotel hopping and perfectly acceptable for maximizing hotel stay credits for the free night promotions. 

Another strategy is checking into a hotel and leaving. I have also done this strategy of checking in, going up to the room and snapping a couple of photos and picking up some soap and shampoo, and then leaving the hotel. Hotels require you to check-in, but not necessarily check-out. I have always received stay credit and I have never been charged extra for not properly checking out. 

Feel free to leave a comment to ask any additional questions not covered in this post.

View from Rocky Point, 13 miles south of Monterey

Cliff's edge at Rocky Point looking across iceplant down to blue sea