Planet Hollywood – First Las Vegas…and now the World

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation signed a Planet Hollywood franchise and development deal for worldwide hotel brand development. This is the second hotel brand acquired for Wyndham Rewards in the past three months. Wyndham Hotels is the world’s largest hotel company by number of hotels with over 7,200 hotels worldwide. This compares to Choice Hotels in second at around 6,000 hotels with InterContinental Hotels Group (Holiday Inn brands) at about 4,500 hotels as the third largest hotel group globally.

Currently there is just Planet Hollywood Hotel Resort in Las Vegas that was formerly the Aladdin Hotel until Nov 2007 and then remodeled as Planet Hollywood. Both hotel entities participated in the Starwood Preferred Guest program up until January 15, 2010. The hotel was an economical SPG elite credit at consistently cheap Las Vegas weekday $59 to $89 rates with a regular SPG platinum upgrade every time I stayed these past few years.

 

 

Wyndham Takes TRYP

Sol Meliá is Spain’s largest hotel company with about 300 hotels in 26 countries on four continents. The hotel chain sold its TRYP Hotels brand to Wyndham in June 2010. TRYP Hotels are a midscale hotel brand with 92 locations in Europe and South America. Sol Melia and Wyndham will market and develop the TRYP by Wyndham brand globally.

TRYP Hotel Zaragoza, Spain

 

 

Wyndham Acquires ResortQuest to Grow rental vacation business

And just yesterday Wyndham announced a deal for ResortQuest to integrate the rental vacation homes company into its vacation exchange and rentals segment business. This portion of Wyndham’s business has been strong and the ResortQuest deal makes Wyndham the world’s largest provider of vacation homes with over 85,000 properties in 100 countries.

My morning routine on schooldays – my wife is a first grade public school teacher – is to scan the morning papers for any story of interest to stir my wife’s curiosity and wake her from morning sleep. Huffington Post is my usual stomping ground since a Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart video generally grabs her attention. No new videos today. So I went looking for details to see if the National Parks Service has issued the permit for the Saturday, October 30 rally on the Washington Mall. The permit was reportedly amended yesterday to up the attendance from 25,000 to 60,000 people.

Stephen Colbert – March to Keep Fear Alive

Jon Stewart – Rally to Restore Sanity

This morning I quickly browsed through the LA Times, San Jose Mercury, New York Times, CNN, and landed back on Huffington Post. Eventually I made my way to the Huffington Post Travel section.

Mall of America is getting the second Radisson Blu hotel in the U.S. But, I already knew that story.

Italy bans the plastic water bottle along heritage coastline. This one caught my interest due to a story I read yesterday about the first water fountain opening in Paris to dispense carbonated water. That article mentioned the fountains were common in Italy. My wife and I acquired a taste for carbonated water after a year’s worth of vacations in Europe this past decade. We have been weaning ourselves of the habit specifically due to the plastic bottle waste. But at least we drink our San Francisco produced Crystal Geyser and not some bottled sparkling water shipped from Europe. And I always recycle which is quite an ordeal in California with our antiquated redemption bottle recycling program.

Virgin Hotels is being launched by Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines fame. How often does Branson hit one out of the park? At 14 I liked to view my Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells LP record label. At 50 I like the mood lighting and white plastic interior of the Virgin America airplane. Can’t wait to see the Virgin hotel. But, I already knew that story too.

Hotel Kicks Out Cancer Patient After Bad TripAdvisor Review is a story I have seen around for days. This story even made its way to Lucky’s One Mile at a Time blog yesterday. But the Huffington Post story title was the first time I actually saw the word “cancer” in connection with the story. Kelley woke from her sleep and asked me to read the “Bad TripAdvisor” piece.

Adrian Healy and Sherrie Andrews were on a three day hotel stay at the Golden Beach Hotel in Blackpool, England. They were vacationing as a respite after his first round of chemotherapy treatment. The second night of their stay the hotel manager called Blackpool Police to evict the couple after he accused them of posting a bad TripAdvisor review.

My survey of the TripAdvisor reviews for the Golden Beach Hotel in Blackpool, England does not match up with the Sep 4 stay dates reported by the Blackpool Gazette. There is a September 8 TripAdvisor.com review which appears to most closely relate to this story, however, the date is September 8, 2010 and the poster is listed as a 65+ year old man.

And here is the manager’s response to this review:

How would the Golden Beach hotel manager even know about the TripAdvisor review during the couple’s stay if this incident happened on September 3, 2010? Are hotels notified of TripAdvisor reviews before they are actually published?

There was a family with children negative review on September 4 and the next earlier date is August 27, 2010.

Things do not quite add up with this story.

Now I have written my fair share of negative hotel reviews. First word of advice is go to the hotel manager on duty during your hotel stay to remedy a bad situation. Then, write the hotel review after you have left the property.

So you say it’s your birthday, well it’s my birthday too

Today, September 23, is my wife’s birthday – Happy Birthday Kelley and Bruce Springsteen.

Readers new to Loyalty Traveler blog in 2010 may not be aware that my wife was diagnosed with rectal cancer in January 2009 and she went through nine months of cancer chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation treatment. She has been cancer free for the past year.

SPG Insider is in bed with me and Huffington Post

After reading the TripAdvisor bad review story I noticed a Twitter link to instantly post the story to my Twitter account.

But what is this box for including “commercial text from Starwood Preferred Guest” on the Huffington Post page?

I checked the ‘Yes’ box to follow my own investigative travel journalism instinct.

And this is what it looked like when posting the TripAdvisor bad review story to Twitter.

[As a side note, The Bloggess is one of the funniest, irreverent women I follow. She was featured at BlogWorldExpo 2009 last October and I laughed so hard. She is a comic genius, if you are not too easily offended by her humor.]

Looking up #SPGInsider I see the twitter feed for HuffingtonPost travel is sponsored by Starwood Preferred Guest.

I don’t mind SPG being in my bed with me and HuffingtonPost. At least the option is there to not insert a #SPGInsider link in your tweet.

The internet is about brand exposure and data mining. The primary function for Twitter is self-promotion. The most practical use I have seen for Twitter is taking questions and comments remotely during a conference or seminar and displaying them for the audience to read in real time.

Hey SPG – isn’t HuffingtonPost leaning a little to the left? I actually voted for Arianna Huffington in the October 2003 California special election that gave us our 38th and current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Arianna is an example of someone who had the ability to change political views to evolve into a left leaning political machine.

So what’s next for SPG? Might I suggest a corporate sponsorship tweet link for Democracy Now.

I get the news that truly matters to me during the 6am hour here in Monterey when our local cable access channel broadcasts Democracy Now bringing Amy Goodman to our breakfast table, one of America’s finest journalists.

Hyatt Card “Nights On Us” Sweepstakes is available on Facebook for a chance to win two free nights at any Hyatt worldwide or 7,000 Gold Passport points. The entry period is September 15 through October 15, 2010 eastern time.

This sweepstakes promotes the new Hyatt Visa card, but there is no purchase necessary and you do not need to apply for the credit card to enter the sweepstakes.

Simply enter a Hyatt location where you would like to have two nights and write a 50 word or less description of what activities you would like to do there.

You have to be a registered member of Facebook to see the Hyatt Facebook page and enter the Sweepstakes.

There are two sets of sweepstakes prizes. The sooner you enter, the better your odds.

5 Grand Prize drawings will occur for two night stay prizes.

The drawings occur:

• 9/17;
• 9/24;
• 10/1;
• 10/8;
• 10/18.

 

12 prize drawings will occur between September 15 and October 18 for 7,000 points. A winner will be randomly selected from among all entries to date on:

•  9/16/10,
• 9/20/10,
• 9/22/10,
• 9/24/10,
• 9/28/10,
• 9/30/10,
• 10/4/10,
• 10/6/10,
• 10/8/10,
• 10/12/10,
• 10/14/10,
• 10/18/10.

Oberoi Hotels Advantage, the loyalty program for the luxury hotel chain in Asia, has a loyalty offer for two free nights at any of 11 Oberoi Hotels after 5 stays in one of the chain’s four business hotels in India by October 31, 2010. Qualifying stays can be at the Oberoi Mumbai, Oberoi New Delhi, Oberoi Bangalore and Oberoi Grand Kolkata. Free nights can be redeemed at any of 11 Oberoi leisure hotels and resorts including Mauritius, Bali, and several leisure resorts in India through October 31 or December 1-15, 2010.

This is a luxury hotel loyalty program promotion that has been around since June 1, but unfortunately I did not see this offer until this week. There are just five weeks left to take advantage of this promotion and you need to be in India. And unfortunately the month of November is not available for free nights redemption with this offer.

I am writing about this Oberoi Advantage offer just to bring the Oberoi Hotel chain to readers’ attention in case you find yourself traveling to India (11 hotels)  or one of the other locations with an Oberoi luxury hotel like Egypt (4), Saudi Arabia (1), Mauritius (1), Bali (1) and Lombok (1), Indonesia.

A couple of years ago I received a survey invitation from Oberoi Hotels. Bali is the only location I had ever visited with an Oberoi Hotel. The survey was professional and left me with the impression of Oberoi Hotels as a luxury hotel chain.

The Oberoi Hotels website is nice to browse just for the photos and descriptions of these wonderful hotels and locations.

I am particularly intrigued by The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India. This luxury property is a 25-room jungle resort located next to Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Travel + Leisure Reader’s Poll 2010 rated this hotel Number 1 in Asia and the World. There appear to be only around 20 tigers living in the National Park according to IndianTiger.org and that data is from 2001. Apparently May and June are the best months for tiger sightings, but the park is closed from July through September. The park opens again next week on October 1.

Sample room rates for Friday, September 24 at the four Oberoi Hotels

Five stays at any one or any combination of these four hotels by October 31, 2010 earn two free nights. Kolkata is the cheapest and five stays can be done for under $900 at the Oberoi Grand.

Oberoi Grand Kolkata = 6,800 INR (7,480 after 10% tax) = USD$164/night (weekday rates about USD$180 after tax).

Oberoi Bangalore = 9,200 INR (10,304 after tax) = USD$226/night

Oberoi New Delhi = 11,000 INR (12,800 after tax) = USD$281/night

Oberoi Mumbai = 14,000 INR (15,400 after tax) = USD$338/night

Oberoi Hotel leisure sample hotel rates for two free nights in December 2010

The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India Dec 7-9, 2010 = 32,000 INR = 70,400 after tax for two nights = USD$1,546 for two-night stay.

Oberoi Mauritius,  Dec 7-9, 2010 = 500€/night = USD$1,341 for two-night stay.

This is a high value promotion if you find yourself in a position to take advantage of Oberoi Advantage.

Loyalty traveler 5-key promotion.

I regularly see articles stating hotel loyalty program membership numbers are closely guarded secrets. An internet search seems to dispel the truth in that statement. The tricky part is the blurred distinction between active loyalty program members and the hotel loyalty program’s member database which is any person who ever signed up for the hotel program. In general, the active membership is only about 20% to 40% of the total membership cited for most programs.

The bottom line is all the evidence I found indicates that more than half of all hotel guests globally staying in a chain hotel are not members of the hotel loyalty program and miss out on the opportunity to earn loyalty points, benefits and rewards for the hotel stay, regardless of hotel loyalty program and chain.

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club – 48 million members

IHG Priority Club proudly displays its membership numbers at 48 million for December 31, 2009 as the largest membership in the hotel industry on its 2009 annual report and on different pages of its websites. Some sources even show membership at 52 million now.

Don Berg, Vice president of IHG loyalty programs stated IHG has $450 million in reserves for unredeemed loyalty points. In an August 5, 2010 Hotel and Motel Management article, “Brands: Programs target return guests,” he states Priority Club has over 50 million customers but only about 20% are active members.

Nick Rich, IHG’s Director of Consumer Insights for Europe, Middle East and Africa in an interview published late December 2009 stated the membership as 47 million members with 3 million new members joining in late 2009. He states Priority Club members account for 1/3 of all nights spent in IHG hotels.

My Loyalty Traveler insight tells me that 2/3 of all IHG hotel guests are not getting any value-added loyalty program benefits from their IHG hotel stays. This kind of explains much of the resentment expressed by travelers that chain hotels are overpriced and Priceline or budget accommodation is the way to travel.

My loyalty traveler rule of thumb is that I receive $100 value-added benefits with every $100 I spend through a hotel loyalty program stay in loyalty benefits received during a hotel stay like a complimentary room upgrade, free internet, free breakfast, and hotel gifts or points and credits toward a discounted or free future hotel stay. Of course this demands loyalty to get this kind of added value. Top elite status is the objective if high value-added benefits from a hotel loyalty program is the goal.

 

Marriott Rewards – 33 million members

Marriott Rewards at 33 million members comes in second place in membership. The source of this number is from January 10, 2010 on Marriott’s site describing the Marriott Rewards program. The Wall Street Journal article  last week gives additional insight to Marriott Rewards. Alexandra Berzon’s piece on Ritz-Carlton Rewards – “Ritz-Carlton Bows to Recession, Adds Rewards” provided information from Ed French, Senior VP Marriott Rewards, indicating about 50% of all Marriott brand hotel stays are by Marriott Rewards members.

 

Hilton HHonors – 26 million members

Hilton HHonors has about 26 million members according to this HHonors press release in August 2010 regarding the complimentary internet access globally for HHonors Gold and Diamond elite members. This article states more than 1,000,000 new members joined HHonors in 2010. The article also states 40% of Hilton Worldwide hotel brands occupancy is by HHonors members representing 40 million guests.

So Hilton Worldwide has about 100 million guests per year with a capacity of about 216 million room nights per year. 60 million of these guests are not members of Hilton HHonors. That is an awful lot of HHonors points left on the table by consumers.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest – 11 million+ members

Starwood Preferred Guest with an estimated 11 million+ active members is next on the list of loyalty program membership. SPG illustrates the confusion when it comes to determining program membership. Most sources site a much higher SPG program membership, but sources I found on Starwood sites use the term “active members”.

WebFlyer has a table with hotel loyalty program membership numbers on its website. Their table lists SPG at 25 million members from May 2007. Wikipedia states 41 million members on the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide page, however, the source link provided links to Starwood’s 2009 10-K report and I did not find any reference to SPG membership numbers in that report.  The interesting find from the 10-K document regarding SPG is the fair value future redemption financial obligation of outstanding Starpoints was estimated at year-end 2009 as $689 million. This includes a “breakage” estimate for points Starwood projects will never be redeemed, but no details as to the proportion of breakage points is provided.

The 11 million+ active SPG members number I cite is based on two sources published by Starwood Hotels. The first source is from a 2008 Westin Hotel Development pdf brochure.  This brochure states SPG members accounted for 46% of Westin room nights in 2007. A 2009 development brochure for Sheraton Hotels updates this information with the statement, “with over 11 million active members”, and “in 2008, SPG contributed 37% of Sheraton room revenue globally”. 

So 63% of Sheraton Hotels global room revenue did not earn points for those hotel guests?

The use of the term “active members” describes SPG members who have stayed in a Starwood Hotel in the previous 36 months. The pattern shown from Starwood documents indicates there may be around 12 million active SPG members currently. Perhaps there are 25 million or 41 million SPG members through enrollment and SPG American Express credit card membership, but the number of active members reduces the total greatly.

Active membership is a crucial distinction when it comes to counting members. As shown for IHG Priority Club, only about 20% of its 50 million members are considered active members which places it on par with SPG.

While most hotel loyalty programs have terms and conditions stating member accounts will be closed for lack of activity, the reality is that Hilton HHonors is really the only program for which I have seen a policy to aggressive purge its membership database to eliminate members who do not use the program for a year or two. I held on to Marriott Rewards points for several years without a hotel stay and then redeemed points after several years of inactivity. HHonors closed my account and purged my point balance in September 2009 after about 30 months of inactivity.

 

Hyatt Gold Passport – 10.2 million members

This number actually comes directly from a June 2010 interview I had with Jeff Zidell, Vice President Hyatt Gold Passport for an InsideFlyer piece published July 2010. Hyatt Gold Passport just won the first annual Colloquy Loyalty Innovation in Hospitality/Travel award for its program changes and promotions. The article states visits among Diamond members rose 41% in 2009 compared to 2008. No surprise to me since Hyatt was giving away Platinum and Diamond elite status for asking beginning in May 2009.

Best Western Rewards – 11 million members

Even though 11 million is a larger number than Hyatt’s 10.2 million, I have placed Best Western below Hyatt Gold Passport due to the statement by Best Western President and CEO David Kong in this February 2010 Hotel News Now article  that about 35% of this membership is considered active which reduces the 11 million number down to about 4 million active members.

 

Choice Privileges – 10 million members

Choice Privileges gave Felicia Jones of Houston, Texas 10 free hotel nights in May 2010 for becoming the 10 millionth Choice Privileges customer.

 

Wyndham Rewards – 8 million members

This number is from a press release announcing a relationship between Loyalty360, the loyalty marketer’s association and Wyndham Hotel Group from September 10, 2010.

 

Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus – 5.5 million members

This data is from my attendance at the Carlson Hotels Global Ambition conference in March 2010 where 5 million members was the number being used when describing Carlson Hotels in 2010. Ambition 2015, the five year growth plan for Carlson Hotels and goldpoints plus set a goal of 1 million new members in 2010. A subsequent article in Carlson Hotels “Hotline” quarterly magazine for 2010-Q3 on the progress of Ambition 2015 states 440,489 new members joined Goldpoints Plus through May 2010.

 

Accor A|Club – 5 million members

Accor is the French-based hotel company, ranked #4 globally by number of hotels behind Wyndham, Choice, and IHG. Accor A|Club is celebrating its 2^nd birthday this month. The 5 million number is from Accor A|Club’s birthday announcement. Loyalty traveler posted about the Accor A|Club birthday promotion for free stays, elite status and bonus points.

SPG made the program rule change in October 2009 to allow SPG Category 1 and Category 2 Cash & Points awards in the US and Canada.

Every couple of months since last year I looked and never found any category 1 or 2 hotel in the U.S. offering a Cash & Points award. I just checked today and went through eight states before I finally tried Wisconsin. Today is the first time I found a SPG category 2 hotel in the USA offering this elusive Cash & Points award opportunity.

Aloft Green Bay Wisconsin has a Category 2 Cash & Points award available this weekend for Friday, September 24, 2010. Green Bay Packers have a Monday Night Football away game in Chicago so the weekend football crowds are out of town.

There are only 10 SPG category 1 hotels in the USA. Good luck finding a SPG category 1 hotel, let alone a Cash & Points offer. There are about 100 category 2 hotels in the US and Canada. 

Simple calculation for hotel stay redemption point value  

Aloft Green Bay is $101 after tax for a paid stay or 3,000 points for a weekend rewards night or 1,600 points and $30 for a Cash & Points award. 

Points Redemption Value of a 3,000 points Award Stay

$101/3,000 = $33.67 per 1,000 points 

Points Redemption Value of Cash & Points Category 2 Hotel $30 + 1,600 points Award

$101 – $30 cash portion = $71 saved with 1,600 points

$71/1,600 = $44.38 per 1,000 points.

 

Advanced Points Redemption Value Calculations 

To be more precise you might want to consider the points for a paid stay not earned when spending points. Paying $89 for the Aloft Green Bay room will earn points and elite credit.

In general, I always try and pay when the room rate is around $100 to earn elite credit and points. But assume elite credit is not a concern and the value of points can be adjusted to include points not earned with a paid stay. The base points generally are not a big factor compared to the loss of SPG promotion points.

Currently SPG has the Every Night Counts promotion for double points or triple points. This promotion is really not a big effect on this stay. But sometimes promotions are worth 1,000 or more points per night or even credit towards a high value free night offer. High-value promotions can greatly impact the value of points calculations and should be considered when determining the value of a point.

Starpoints earned on paid Starwood stay: 

$89 x 2 base points/$1 = 178 points

SPG Double points promotion (Sep 8-Dec 15, 2010) = 178 points

Gold or Platinum elite bonus = 89 points 

• Base member earns 356 points (with double points promotion)
• Gold or Platinum member earns 445 points (assume double points)

 

SPG Platinum Elite 

• Platinum member already requalified for 2011 status earns extra elite bonus point or 89 points = 534 points
• Platinum member, requalified and with 10 nights in Every Night Counts (triple points) earns 712 points 

To keep this post shorter I will ignore the Platinum member who could potentially earn more points from a paid stay with the current promotions.

Two other points earning situations I will ignore since these are not relevant to the value of a paid stay vs. award stay:

• Platinum member earns 250 points amenity regardless if paid stay or award stay so this is not included.
• SPG American Express payment is also negated since 2 points/$1 earned for Starwood Hotel spend whether a paid stay or Cash & Points stay.

  

Redemption Value of Standard Award Stay for SPG general member:

Non-elite member earns 356 points paying $89 base rate ($101 after tax)  with the current double points promotion. 

• $101/3,356 points =
• $30.10 per 1,000 points.

This is still good redemption value.

Redemption Value of Cash & Points Stay for SPG general member: 

• $101-$30 = $71 saved;
• $71 saved ÷ (1,600 points Cash & Points Award + 356 points not earned for paid stay) =
• $71 ÷  1,956 points =
• $36.30 per 1,000 points

This is still excellent redemption value since you can buy points for $35 per 1,000 points from SPG.

 

Gold or Platinum elite member earns 445 points paying $89 base rate ($101 after tax)  with the current double points promotion.

Redemption Value of Standard Award Stay for SPG Gold/Platinum member:

• $101/3,445 points =
• $29.32 per 1,000 points.

This is still good redemption value. 

Redemption Value of Cash & Points Stay for SPG Gold/Platinum Elite: 

• $101-$30 = $71 saved;
• $71 saved ÷ (1,600 points Cash & Points Award + 445 points not earned for paid stay) =
• $71 ÷  2,045 points =
• $34.72 per 1,000 points

This is still excellent redemption value since you can buy points for $35 per 1,000 points from SPG.

The main point of this post is finding a Cash & Points for a SPG Category 1 or 2 hotel is a rare find in my searches. This is the first time I have seen a hotel offer this award in the U.S. since they were placed on the SPG award chart in October 2009.

Questions for readers:

Have you ever redeemed a Cash & Points award stay in the U.S. or Canada at a Category 1 or 2 hotel?

Do you even see them offered?

Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions and News – updated September 19, 2010

The frequent guest has the choice of many hotel loyalty promotions with little guidance to their relative value. Here is Loyalty Traveler’s summary of current hotel loyalty promotions and limited time rate offers for the frequent guest. Newly added offers since the last September 8 update are marked with an asterisk (*).

The September 15 launch of Ritz-Carlton Rewards hotel loyalty program is a major development from this week. Marriott Rewards members can now earn points and receive elite stay credit and benefits for Ritz-Carlton hotel stays. The cost for single night reward stays has dropped by as much as 33%. The downside is the change in rewards to a 5^th night free program and new reward categories were expanded from two tiers to five tiers. The cost for some 7-night rewards has increased by 20% to 68%. For 20 hotels in Tier 1 the cost of reward nights has decreased.

Hilton HHonors, Goldpoints Plus and Wyndham Rewards are still the only major hotel loyalty programs that have not announced a primary Fall 2010 promotion at this time. Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport have the best deals so far for fall hotel stays in my opinion.

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.

Rate discounts and loyalty program bonuses are two types of hotel chain incentives to consider when booking travel. 

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 significantly high-value return on hotel spend in terms of a future 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 hotel location and travel industry.

 

Accor A-Club

*Sweepstakes: A-Club 2^nd Birthday – Enter by September 19 and select the prizes you would like to win. New members to A-Club will receive 1,000 bonus points after first hotel stay by Dec. 19, 2010. 365 prizes including free upper-upscale Sofitel Hotel weekend hotel stays, up to 100,000 points, and $600 in A-Club vouchers are birthday gifts. Drawing is October 22, 1010.

Limited Time Offer: Motel 6 is accepting A-Club $60 vouchers at over 1,000 North America hotels for stays from June 1-October 31.

 

Best Western Rewards 

3-key promotion – 2,000 bonus points per night at 315 hotels in Southeast U.S. from August 24 – September 26, 2010. This may be earned for up to four nights for 8,000 bonus points. Registration is required.

3-key promotion – 1,250 miles with American Airlines or Air Canada Aeroplan after two stays Sep 12-Nov 21. Earn 750 bonus miles every second stay. There is no cap on the number of times this bonus may be earned, unlike the concurrent promotion for triple points. Registration is required and you need to set your BW account earning preference to miles to see these promotion offers.  LT promotion post (Aug 22)

2-key Promotion – Double or Triple Points, Sep 12 through Nov 21, 2010. Earn triple points (30 points/$1) on your second stay booked through Bestwestern.com. Earn double points if reservation not booked online. This bonus is earned only one time, except elite members also earn triple points on 4^th stay. Promotion code is FALL10 or for AAA BestWestern Preferred members AAAFALL10. Promotion registration required. LT promotion post (Aug 22)

Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010)

Program Change for Elites: Elite members earn 250 bonus points for stays in US/Canada or a welcome snack. (Aug 3, 2010)

 

Carlson Hotels – Goldpoints Plus

* 1,000 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage miles per Radisson Hotel stay between September 15 and November 15, 2010.

Goldpoints Plus program change – elite members earn 2,000 points for online booking. This change doubles the regular 1,000 online booking bonus for goldpoints elite members. (LT post July 18)

 

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

3-key promotion (4-key for platinum and diamond elite members) – Earn 8,000 points for every two stays between August 26 and November 3, 2010 at Choice Hotel brands of Ascend Collection, Cambria Suites, Clarion, Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites, Quality Inn and Sleep Inn.  Promotion may be earned four times for 32,000 points. Choice Privileges Platinum and Diamond Elite members may earn 8,000 points every two stays unlimited times.

Platinum and Diamond elites have the choice of a triple points alternate offer for every stay beginning with second stay.

3-key promotion – Choice Privileges hotel brands of EconoLodge, MainStay Suites, Rodeway Inn and Suburban Extended Stay have a double points promotion for every stay during the same period of August 26-November 3, 2010. These brands normally earn 5 points/$1 so double points = 10 points/$1.

*Nordic Choice Club hotel loyalty program covers 140 Choice hotels in Scandinavia and Baltic regions of Europe. Choice Privileges members currently do not earn points for hotel stays in Scandinavia, although hotel stays are available for points. Nordic Choice Club offers points and benefits for hotels in this region. Choice Privileges members planning frequent travel in Scandinavia may want to compare the benefits of Nordic Choice Club to Choice Privileges.    (LT post Sep 9)

 

Four Seasons Hotels

* $100 dining/spa credit at six participating California hotels for using Gowalla. Visit three location recommendations from Four Seasons concierge through Gowalla location-based social media site during a stay of two or more nights through November 19 to earn a $100 credit.

 

Hilton HHonors 

*HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards posted for hotels through December 2010. Point Stretchers require 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. Use the drop-down menu to see participating hotels in different Hilton brands. This is the largest set of hotels I recall in several years offering Point Stretcher discount reward dates. (LT post Sep 9)

*HHonors Comprehensive Reward Charts – Members have difficulty locating the various reward charts on the Hilton HHonors sites, particularly VIP Rewards and Waldorf-Astoria rates. This Loyalty Traveler post puts all the HHonors reward charts in one place.

* Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – this Loyalty Traveler analysis developed from the Priority Club Anywhere Challenge. Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points for the same reward. (LT post Sep 17)

4-key promotion – up to 10,000 Delta Skymiles Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) for stays of two or more nights between September 1 and December 10, 2010.

HHonors Program change: Gold and Diamond members receive complimentary internet at all Hilton Worldwide hotels beginning September 1, 2010. (Hilton – Aug 2 press release)

3-Key promotion Double Points or Double Miles July 7-September 30, 2010. This is the standard promotion for HHonors. There are some good miles opportunities. You must remain with your choice for the duration of the promotion once you select double points or double miles. (July 6)

 

Hyatt Gold Passport

4-key promotion – ‘Great 10K’ Fall 2010 offer awards 10,000 Gold Passport points for every 5 nights September 15 – December 15, 2010. Nights do not need to be consecutive nights. Stay every night in a Hyatt Hotel and you can earn 180,000 bonus points. Register online beginning September 15 at goldpassport.com/welcome10k. LT post Aug 25. This promotion may be combined with the 3,000 AA miles per stay offer below (60,000 AAdvantage miles).

4-key Promotion – 1,000 bonus miles per night for up to 30,000 bonus miles through September 30, 2010 with a choice of nine airlines. Amtrak, ANA, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, Lufthansa Miles & More, Southwest, Thai, United, US Airways. Southwest Airlines earns 1 bonus Rapid Rewards credit per night. Bonus miles are in addition to regular 500 miles per hotel stay (or 0.5 Southwest credit). Member must choose miles as earning preference which excludes earning most G bonuses or hotel specific points bonuses.

4-key promotion = 60,000 AAdvantage miles. 2,500 bonus miles per stay with American Airlines AAdvantage through October 15, 2010. This offer may be repeated for up to 20 stays. Bonus miles are in addition to regular 500 miles per stay. 60,000 AAdvantage miles registration link. Loyalty Traveler post July 16.

Program change: Hyatt Gold Passport hotel award categories increased for 25% of hotels as of June 4, 2010. Loyalty traveler post.

 

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

5-key promotion – Sweet Dilemma – Free night after two stays or double points/miles for stays between September 20 and December 31, 2010. Registration is required and member must choose to earn free nights or double points/miles. There is a limit of five free nights after ten stays. Free nights stays must be used between December 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011. Asia-Pacific region IHG hotels are not participating in free nights portion of this promotion. A big drawback to the free nights offer is members will not earn any base or elite points for the remainder of 2010, even if the free night offer is maxed out after ten stays. IHG loyalists may prefer double points or miles.

* Contest – Priority Club Anywhere Challenge –  Correctly identify a place from photo and written clues to win 500 to 2,000 Priority Club points each week through October 29. Answer correctly on Tuesday and win 2,000 points, Wednesday 1,500 points; Thursday 1,000 points and Friday 500 points. Answers post on Monday for the previous week’s challenge.

* Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – this Loyalty Traveler analysis developed from the Anywhere Challenge. Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points. (LT post Sep 17)

5-key offer Priority Club “Crack the Case” individually targeted promotion terms. My Crack the Case offer is a 5-key promotion, however, the best offers appear to be for Priority Club members who did not stay too frequently over the past year. Members who received this promotion have until May 31, 2011 to fulfill the tasks for bonus points. You need to already be a Priority Club member and check your email offer for your own Crack the Case promotion terms.

My offer was 162,000 points for five tasks and a 91,000 points bonus for completing four of the challenges: PC credit card enrollment 60,000 points; stay two Saturdays; stay in two brands, complete a hotel stay profile survey; stay 10 room nights. I can potentially receive 157,000 Priority Club points for just two Saturday hotel nights in two different brands over the next nine months.

5-key offer Priority Club PointBreaks 5,000 points per night awards to October 30 (Aug 2, 2010)

3-key promotion – Sep 1-Dec 30 – Stay two consecutive weekend nights (Fri, Sat or Sun) at an IHG brand hotel in conjunction with a flight and get reimbursed for one roundtrip checked baggage fee up to $50. (Aug 17)

Europe IHG Rate Discount: 2 nights for the price of 1 for hotel stays through September 27, 2010. The InterContinental Budapest was available for $83 per night when I first posted this offer. These rates are prepaid and nonrefundable, but there are some fantastic savings if you want to prepay your hotel stay. (May 25)

3-key promotion 1,000 Points for Android Application Bookings to September 30.                  (LT post July 17)

2-key promotion: Ambassador members receive 25,000 points for a two-night stay at participating InterContinental Hotels (June 1-September 30). Unfortunately most hotels are asking a significantly higher rate ($50 to $100 per night over lowest available) for this offer. Bonus may be earned three times for 75,000 points.  (May 11)

IHG Friend & Family Hotel Rates (through Dec 26, 2009)

Program Change: Ambassador Annual Membership Fee Increased from $150 to $200 as of July 1, 2010. You can also buy Ambassador membership for 32,000 Priority Club Rewards points (formerly 24,000).

 

Joie de Vivre Hotels – Joy of Life Club

3-key promotion - Earn both Virgin America Elevate points and Joy of Life points for the remainder of 2010. LT post July 22.

 

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

*Program change – Free internet worldwide for Gold and Platinum Marriott Rewards members beginning January 2011. This expands the complimentary internet benefit offered to elites for hotel stays in the Americas since May 2010.

3-key promotion – Marriott Triple Airline Miles October 1-December 31, 2010. You need to set your Marriott Rewards earning preference to miles to register for this promotion. Marriott Rewards has 30 airline partners and miles are earned at the rate of 2 miles/$1 for full-service Marriott brands (3x miles = 6 miles/$1) and 1 mile per $1 for other Marriott brands (3x miles = 3 miles/$1). The Triple Miles promotion has just five participating airlines: Air Canada, Continental, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Jet Airways. Loyalty Traveler post Aug 26.

Marriott Sweepstakes – Win 7 nights at JW Marriott and a 7-night Caribbean cruise. Online entry required at CrusiesOnly.com between September 1 and October 31, 2010. The hotel stay and cruise may be done in separate trips. The cruise is a balcony stateroom on Norwegian Epic. Prizes expire Nov 30, 2011 if not used by then. (Sep 2)

4-key promotion – Marriott MegaBonus (Sep 15-Jan 15, 2011) various targeted offers with the basic offer being one free night after two stays paid with Visa. Limit of two free nights during promotion. Free night valid only for Category 1 to category 4 hotels.

Active Marriott Rewards members may receive bonus points offers based on total nights stayed or 5,000 points for every two stays. There are several variations mentioned for 25,000 to 50,000 bonus points. 

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

 

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

* 5-key promotion – New members to Ritz-Carlton Rewards earn one free night for two stays through December 31, 2010. Limit of two free nights after four stays. You are not eligible for this offer if you are a current or past member of Marriott Rewards. I provided a guide to how new members can get $2,500 in Ritz-Carlton Hotel rooms for under $1,000. (LT post Sep 18)

* Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty program launching Sep 15 (LT post Sep 14)

* Reward Changes in new Ritz-Carlton Reward Tiers (LT post Sep 15)

* Ritz-Carlton rewards Hotel + Air Packages Analysis (LT post Sep 16)

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

* Sweepstakes – Westin Hotels “Travel and Be Well” sweepstakes. Enter between September 15-October 15 with a pledge to take a vacation. 200 prizes of 48,000 points, enough for a five night Category 5 Westin Hotel reward will be chosen October 18. (LT post Sep 15)

* SPG Platinum members only – register for an extra Starpoint during stays from October 1-December 31. Platinum members will receive two elite bonus points for every $1 in hotel spend for stays completed after requalification for 2011 Platinum status (25 stays or 50 nights in 2010). (LT post Sep 16)

2-key promotion – Every Night Counts Double/Triple Points for stays from Sep 8-Dec 15, 2010. Earn double points beginning with your first night and triple points (applied retroactively) after10 nights during the promotion period. Registration is required by October 31, 2010. The FAQ state this promotion is combinable with other SPG promotions.

There are over 150 hotels globally not participating in this promotion, so check the list carefully. The list of non-participating Starwood properties are posted on FlyerTalk.

Every Night Counts does not thrill me as the primary Fall 2010 SPG promotional offer.  Spend $2,000 on 10 or more nights during the promotion and you will only earn 8,000 bonus points with triple points. That is nothing to get too excited about.

4-key promotion – Earn 10,000 bonus points at Starwood Resorts for a stay of four or more nights between Sep 1 and Dec 19, 2010 at any of 131 participating resorts globally. This bonus may be earned multiple times. Only stays after promotion registration are eligible for bonus. Register by Sep 30. 

SPG Blackberry app Sweepstakes – Win 100,000 points by downloading SPG Blackberry app between August 1-September 30, 2010. Two winners will be chosen from entries October 15.

Limited Time Rate offer – 20% Discount with MasterCard payment at over 60 Starwood Hotels in Latin America. Reservations must be made by September 30, 2010 for hotel stays through December 15, 2010. This rate plan also includes a welcome amenity and a kids eat free offer. This may be the lowest rate at some hotels, however, check other rate plans for better deals. Loyalty Traveler rate analysis (August 31).

Starwood Preferred Guest – American Express credit card changes effective October 14, 2010. The annual fee is increasing to $65 from $45 for renewals beginning Oct 14. Benefit changes include 5 elite nights credit each year. This will have no effect for members who qualify on stays. The SPG50 certificate will be discontinued in favor of a 3^rd night free offer at Sheraton Hotels. Loyalty traveler post (August 24)

4-Key Promotion – (through Sep 30) Earn a free night at any Aloft or Element Hotel after three stays at an Aloft or Element brand hotel by September 30, 2010. (Aug 10, 2010)

4-Key Promotion – (through Dec 30) 3,000 Bonus Points for Sunday night stay at 11 NYC area Starwood Hotels through December 30. (Aug 13, 2010)

3-Key Promotion – (through Dec 31) 3^rd Night Free or Two Free nights on six-night stay in Europe, Africa, and Middle East when paying with MasterCard

SPG program change: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards is new airline partner. Exchange rate for points-to-miles transfer is 1,500 Starpoints = 1 Rapid Rewards credit. Free roundtrip flight requires 16 credits. SPG members may also earn 0.5 credits per stay through SPG Airline Direct Deposit. (August 19, 2010)

SPG Southwest Airlines Bonus – Four Points hotel stays earn double Southwest Rapid Rewards credit through September 30 (1 credit per stay instead of regular 0.5 credit).

Starwood and Harrah’s Total Rewards double dip opportunity:  For the remainder of 2010 members of Harrah’s Total Points may earn both Harrah’s points and Starpoints for Starwood Hotel stays. (Aug 6, 2010)

4-Key Promotion – SPG Rewarding Returns offers members a choice after 5 stays by December 31, 2010. Promotion choices are 25% off an award up to five nights at any category 1 to 5 hotel for redemption by July 31, 2011. Discount may be combined with “5th night free award”. Other choices are $50 hotel credit certificate or 4,000 Starpoints. Loyalty Traveler post July 14.

There are variations of this offer including only requiring one stay by August 31 for targeted members. Points offer ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 points, and some members may have a free night choice. Offers are targeted.

Promotion registration is required at https://www.spgpromos.com/rewardingreturns/index.cfm.

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 discount rates Starwood Hotel Rate Discount Codes for Multiple Night Stays

These offers are for rate discounts on stays of 2 to 6 nights. Third night free tends to be one of the best discount rates. Important to check other rates (AAA, Senior, Special Offers) as these discounts are generally based on the Best Available Rate (BAR) and may not be the lowest overall rate for some hotels. 

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

 

Wyndham Rewards

4-Key promotion: Earn up to 25,000 American AAdvantage miles after 9 stays from April 30 to September 30, 2010. Wyndham, Wingate, and Hawthorn Suites brands only. Earn 3,000 bonus miles after 3 stays. Earn 7,500 miles bonus after 6 stays. Earn 10,000 bonus miles after 9 stays. Combined with the normal 500 miles per stay, you can earn 25,000 AAdvantage miles after 9 stays. (June 15, 2010)

 

Airline-Hotel Partner Bonuses:

American Airlines 

Earn up to 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles for ten hotel stays between September 1 and November 15, 2010. Earn 3,000 AAdvantage miles after three hotel stays and 1,000 bonus miles for each additional stay up to ten stays during promotion period. This offer is combinable with Hyatt 60K offer (ends 10/15/10), Wyndham 25K offer (ends 9/30/10), and Fairmont double miles offer (ends 11/15/10).

 

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards and the Value of Hotel Points

Hotel Rewards Credit Cards Comparison of Benefits (September 1) 

Hotel Credit Cards Comparison by Value of Points (September 2) 

Hotel Credit Card Comparison using NerdWallet.com Value of Points (Sep 5) 

Loyalty Traveler’s Three Rules for the Value of Hotel Points (Sep 7)

 

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Conversion Tables

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

 

Hotel Market Segments and Hotel Brand Profiles based on JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study

Overview JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study (Aug 10)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Luxury Segment and luxury hotel brands  (Aug 11, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Upscale Segment Hotel Brands (Aug 11)

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Brand Ratings (Aug 13, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Brands (August 15, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

 

Hotel Rates Survey for USA States, Cities, and Average Hotel Rates Worldwide

* Hotels.com 2010-Q2 – Global Hotel Price Index – This is a great resource for finding where hotel rates are high and low around the world. There are tables of USA average hotel rates by state and major cities. (Sep 14)

Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty program launch has a valuable offer through the end of 2010. New members to Ritz-Carlton Rewards will earn a free night after two Ritz-Carlton stays completed by December 31, 2010. There is a limit of two free nights after four stays. The free night certificate is valid for one year from issuance.

There are about 70 Ritz-Carlton hotels participating in the new Ritz-Carlton Rewards hotel loyalty program. New members to Ritz-Carlton Rewards will receive a free night at any Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton hotel after two stays. You have one year from date of issuance to use your free night.

The primary impediment to this offer is you must never have been a Marriott Rewards member to qualify for the free nights offer (see item#3 in this Marriott Concierge Sep 17 FlyerTalk post). That knocks out about 33 million of us loyalty travelers. So while this is not an offer I can personally use, there are people close to me who have the opportunity for some luxury travel on the cheap.

My parents do not belong to Marriott Rewards. One of my sisters does not belong to Marriott Rewards. And I have a whole lot of readers who do not belong to Marriott Rewards.

Finding cheap Ritz-Carlton Hotel Rates

Not all of us can take advantage of flying to Asia for stays at the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur where starting room rates are regularly under $150 per night.

Searching the Ritz-Carlton website for cheap dates can waste hours of your time.

Here is a step-by-step shortcut guide for finding low rate dates at Ritz-Carlton Hotels or other hotel brands using Travelocity.com/hotels flexible dates function.

• Open the webpage showing all Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Find the location of a hotel you want to rate check.
• Open a separate window for Travelocity.com/Hotels

• Search the location of the selected Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Travelocity.com.
• For example, search Atlanta, Georgia, October 15, 2010.

 

• Travelocity.com will return a list of hotels in Atlanta, Georgia for your date.
• Sort the hotels by “Star Rating”. The default mode is “Travelocity Picks”. Use the drop-down menu to select Star Rating. Since Ritz-Carlton hotels are 5-star hotels the list will bring up Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the area.

 

•  Click on the “Select Hotel” button on Travelocity.com under the rate for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

 

• Click the tab for “Flexible Dates” on the Travelocity.com hotel page.

• Flexible dates shows rates on a 90-day calendar for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The nice aspect of Hotel Best Rate Guarantees is the rate shown on Travelocity.com will indicate the low rate dates for the next three months. The rate shown on Travelocity.com should be the ceiling. The calendars indicate lowest rate dates and then you can narrow your searches on the Ritz-Carlton website to these dates and look for even lower rates or high value package deals during these low rate dates indicated by Travelocity Flexible Dates search results.

 

Low Rate Ritz-Carlton Hotels

In the Washington, D.C. area you can try the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner where published rates are regularly $179 for weekends during this promotion period and drop to $159 in December.

Atlanta area travelers have a great opportunity for relatively cheap weekend rates and two Ritz-Carlton hotels. Ritz-Carlton Atlanta is $179 for Friday and Saturday weekend nights in October and November. Ritz-Carlton Buckhead Atlanta is regularly $219 on Fridays and Saturdays. And these are just the lowest published rates in default searches. AAA, senior, or special offer rates may even be lower.

Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia has cheaper rates on weekdays, dropping as low as $199 per night in October and November.

Ritz-Carlton Phoenix has $199 per night rates through Thanksgiving week and Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain near Tucson drops to $259 per night during that week. Pick up some sunshine and late autumn warmth with a couple of stays and earn a free night certificate during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Ritz-Carlton Westchester, New York drops to $259 per night during Thanksgiving week. Compare that to Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park where the lowest published rate is $995 per night during the holiday week. Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park has a rate of $325 for tonight, September 18. Rates are as low as $345 on weekends and $395 per night during Thanksgiving week. The average weekday rate at Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park is about $575 after tax. This hotel is a Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton reward and your free night certificate will have good redemption value at this particular hotel in 2011. New York Central Park is a Tier 5 hotel and is not eligible for the free night certificate which is restricted to Tier 3 or lower properties. New York hotel rates are the fastest rising in the U.S.

California has six Ritz-Carlton Hotels, but you will have a difficult time finding rates under $300 per night, unless you can frequent Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe in November before ski season begins and $199 nightly rates are common.

I have shown you some places where you can stay at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel for around $200 per night. Two one-night stays for under $500 will earn a free night certificate.

** The difference between a hotel stay and a hotel night.**

A hotel stay is one or more consecutive hotel nights at the same hotel, regardless if guest checks out and back in on different reservations. This promotion requires two stays.

In a place like Atlanta you could stay Friday night at the RC Atlanta and Saturday night at the RC Buckhead and that will earn one free night certificate. This type of hotel hop also works for Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner and Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in the D.C. area where both these hotels have relatively low weekend rates for a Ritz-Carlton.

In Lake Tahoe you could stay Monday night at the Ritz-Carlton, go to the Hyatt Regency or some other hotel in the area on Tuesday and return to the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe for Wednesday night. That would qualify for a free night certificate with two separate stays.

High-Priced Ritz-Carlton Hotels for free night redemption

I already mentioned Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park as a place for a $575 free night opportunity.

Here are some other high-priced Ritz-Carlton Tier 3 hotels for your free night. Tier 3 hotels are normally 50,000 points per night so the promotional value of this new member enrollment is between 60,000 points and 100,000 points if you earn and redeem two free nights after four stays in 2010.

Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. in April 2011 during cherry blossom season is an example of a high-priced Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton reward redemption. Two free nights at this hotel prices out at $1,555.

I have shown how you can stay 4 hotel nights at Ritz-Carlton for around $900 to $1,000 all in. Earn two free nights and you can potentially save over $1,500 on a future Ritz-Carlton stay in some place like Washington, D.C., New York City, Florida or California.

Ritz-Carlton has a 5-key loyalty traveler promotion with this offer.

Last week after playing the Anywhere Challenge, I took a closer look at Priority Club’s Hotels Anywhere program. I found several examples of Hilton brand hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than the same reward booked with HHonors points through Hilton.

Here are some examples:

Hilton San Francisco Union Square (Fri Sep 24, 2010)

• Hilton HHonors = 50,000 points (HHonors category 7 reward)
• Priority Club Hotels Anywhere = 46,000 points

Hilton San Francisco Financial District (Fri Sep 24, 2010)

• Hilton HHonors = 50,000 points (HHonors category 7 reward)
• Priority Club Hotels Anywhere = 47,000 points

 

Hilton San Francisco  Union Square room rate is $275 after tax. This gives HHonors points a value of $5.50 per 1,000 points. That is about average redemption value for Hilton HHonors.

Hilton San Francisco Financial District room rate is about $244 after tax. HHonors points value is $244/50 = $4.88/1,000 points. Again, about average for HHonors.

IHG Priority Club Hotels Anywhere offers these two San Francisco Hilton Hotels for less than 50,000 points.

Hilton San Francisco  Union Square room rate is $275 after tax. This hotel only requires 46,000 Priority Club points for the same night Hilton HHonors is charging 50,000 points. Priority Club points have a higher value at $5.98 per 1,000 points compared to $5.50 per 1,000 points when redeeming a reward night at this Hilton hotel using HHonors points.

Hilton San Francisco Financial District room rate is about $244 after tax. Despite the Hilton Financial District having a lower published room rate, this hotel requires more Priority Club points than the Union Square hotel for the same date.  Priority Club points are worth $5.19 per 1,000 points compared to HHonors points value $4.88/1,000 points for the same reward night.

Hilton HHonors members have a Points & Points advantage for earning 15 points per $1 in hotel spend, however, HHonors Points & Miles collectors earn base points at the same rate as Priority Club members with 10 points per $1.

Priority Club members earn base points just as fast as HHonors members, tend to have more promotional points earning opportunities from hotel stays than HHonors members, and have the ability to get some Hilton Hotel rewards through Priority Club’s Hotels Anywhere program for fewer points than HHonors members get Hilton Hotel rewards through the Hilton program for these same hotels.

Doubletree Hotel San Diego-Mission Valley is $162 after tax.

Priority Club points value is $162/27,000 = $5.32/1,000 points.

Using a Hilton HHonors reward will cost 35,000 points for the same reward date that is available for 27,000 Priority Club points. $162/35,000 = $4.63 per 1,000 HHonors points compared to $5.32/1,000 Priority Club value.

The real hit comes with a hotel like the Doubletree Club Hotel San Diego shown in the picture above as HHonors Category 6 for 40,000 Hilton HHonors points. This hotel is only 33,000 Priority Club points through Priority Club Hotels Anywhere.

But really, why bother with points?

Doubletree Club Hotel, San Diego – Friday, September 24, 2010

$104 after tax or 40,000 Hilton HHonors points. This hotel is not even a HHonors Point Stretcher option for 2010.

HHonors points redemption value = $2.60 per 1,000 points.

Priority Club points redemption value through Hotels Anywhere = $3.15 per 1,000 points.

The high cost of Hilton HHonors rewards makes the cost of many Hilton Hotels more expensive through the HHonors program than through Priority Club Hotels Anywhere which correlates reward cost to the actual rate cost for the hotel. Priority Club members have the greatest potential with Hilton Hotels compared to the other chains of Starwood, Marriott and Hyatt, but there are some fairly reasonable deals when you have more Priority Club points to spend than cash.

The new Ritz-Carlton Rewards Travel Packages have some built-in convenience fees. The Hotel + Air Travel Package has several reward options, each for 7 hotel nights plus 35,000 to 120,000 airline miles, depending on airline and reward level. These Ritz-Carlton Travel Package rewards, often called one of the best value rewards in hotel programs for the similar Marriott Rewards Travel Package, are actually more expensive for hotel nights and miles at the lowest miles level than  redeeming points in separate transactions for a hotel stay and a points-to-miles exchange.

The problem with the Ritz-Carlton Travel Packages is Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 hotels are lumped together in the same reward price. Marriott Rewards does this for category 1-5 hotels, but maintains separate reward levels for category 6, 7, and 8 hotels.

A Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton hotel is only 30,000 points per night or 180,000 points for seven nights. A Tier 3 hotel is 50,000 points per night or 300,000 points for a 7 night reward stay. There is a 120,000 points difference in the cost of a seven night hotel stay at a Tier 1 versus a Tier 3 hotel, yet the 7-night package cost is the same for these two different tier hotels.

The way I view Marriott’s Travel Packages is the full cost of the hotel is charged for the reward, but the air miles are effectively 1 point = 1 mile. The best exchange rate available in a Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Rewards points-to-miles exchange is 2.5 points = 1 mile when redeeming 125,000 points for 50,000 miles.

• Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Tier 1 are 30,000 points per night with the option for a 5^th night free reward.
• 5 nights at a Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton cost 120,000 points. 7 nights are 180,000 points.
• Points-to-Miles Exchange for 50,000 United Airlines Mileage Plus miles = 125,000 points.

In separate transactions a seven night stay at a Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton Hotel and 50,000 United miles only cost 305,000 points, yet the Hotel + Air Travel package for 7 nights + 50,000 miles charges you 350,000 points. This is a 15% higher rate for the same items.

This Marriott deal reminds me of when I went to a bagel bakery and the sandwich on the menu was more expensive than buying the bagel and paying for each item separately as a bagel addition. When I pointed this out to the salesclerk, he said, “But the one on the menu is a sandwich.”

So, I guess Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards feel there is something about the Travel Package menu that warrants a higher cost for a Tier 1 hotel stay + 50,000 miles.

My advice is just order these rewards separately unless going for a Tier 2 or higher hotel.

Hotel + Air Travel Packages increase in value for rewards with more miles

There is no savings redeeming a Ritz-Carlton Hotel + Air Travel Package at a Tier 1 hotel for 50,000 miles. There is a slight savings of 15,000 points when redeeming a Ritz-Carlton Travel Package for 50,000 miles at a Tier 2 or Tier 4 hotel. The big savings occur when using the Travel Package at a Tier 3 or Tier 5 hotel.

Savings increase as you go to Travel Packages including more than 50,000 miles. Additional miles above 50,000 miles are given at the rate of 1 point = 1 mile, so the package with 120,000 miles is only 70,000 points more than the points needed for a 50,000 mile Hotel + Air Package.

Again, the best exchange rate available with Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Rewards points-to-miles exchange is 2.5 points = 1 mile when redeeming 125,000 points for 50,000 miles.

The real value behind redeeming points for a Hotel + Air Travel Package reward is the points-to-miles 1:1 exchange rate.

Redeeming points for anything other than a Tier 3 or Tier 5 hotel will give less than 1 point = 1 mile exchange rate in the Ritz-Carlton Travel Package. You might want to look at redeeming for a Marriott Category 7 or Category 8 Travel Package for a better deal.