Earning Points for multiple rooms on a single hotel stay

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.