Starwood Hotels released its 2011 Q-4 financial report for investors February 2. My interest is seeing the number of hotels in each Starwood brand and the average rates globally. Starwood Hotels has grown to 1,090 hotels worldwide.

Aloft brand has the lowest average rates at just over $100 and Four Points hotels are slightly more at $114 average daily rate.

Sheraton still squeaks in at under $150 ADR as a hotel brand. Westin and Le Meridien still come in under $200 per night.

W Hotels, Luxury Collection and St. Regis are in the $300 range.

The hotels in the lowest priced brands of Four Points and Aloft are concentrated in the USA making North America average room rates lower than other regions. Latin America has seen the highest rate increase of almost 10%.

Europe had no rate growth in 2011 and this is primarily due to the stronger US dollar in the region. This is good news for American travelers since Starwood Hotels in Europe already had the highest average daily rates at over $200 per night.

Marriott Rewards adds Aeroflot Bonus as an airline partner for points-to-miles exchanges and for members who prefer earning miles for hotel stays. Aeroflot is the 34th airline partner for Marriott Rewards.

Aeroflot is a SkyTeam Alliance member.

Marriott Rewards members earn –

2 airline miles per US$ spent on all qualifying charges:

• JW Marriott®
• Autograph Collection®
• Renaissance® Hotels
• Marriott® Hotels & Resorts
• Marriott Vacation Club®

2 airline miles per US$ spent on room rate only:

• The Ritz-Carlton®
• EDITION^SM

1 airline mile per US$ spent on room rate only:

• Courtyard by Marriott®
• AC Hotels by Marriott®
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott®
• SpringHill Suites by Marriott®
• Residence Inn by Marriott®
• TownePlace Suites by Marriott®
• Marriott Executive Apartments®

Members can earn more miles by choosing points for hotel stays at Courtyard, AC Hotels, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites brands.

Marriott Rewards Points to Aeroflot Miles Exchange Rates

• 10,000 points = 1,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 20,000 points = 3,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 30,000 points = 7,000 Aeroflot miles.
• 70,000 points = 17,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 125,000 points = 35,000 Aeroflot miles.

$1,000 in hotel spend earns 10,000 points = 1,500 miles when exchanging points-to-miles. This rate improves at higher point transfers. At the 125,000 points exchange rate every 10,000 points = 2,800 miles.

Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 base points/$1 and this is a lower rate than earning miles at these brands unless you are at the 30,000 points transfer level or higher. 

Members are better off earning Marriott Rewards points when staying at any Marriott International brand except Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites, unless you have no expectation of earning 10,000 points for a minimum points-to-miles transfer or there is a bonus miles promotion for Aeroflot.

Club Carlson, SPG, Wyndham and Hilton are the best hotel chains for earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles from hotel stays. SPG is the best earning for the top elite, well-traveled Super 75 Platinum. Still, even if your lifestyle is only Super 8, Wyndham Rewards will get you there on an AA or partner airline flight by earning miles nearly at the same rate of hotel spend as SPG.

My Loyalty traveler series on hotel points-to-miles exchange rates for frequent flyer miles continues with a look at 9 major hotel loyalty programs and points-to-miles exchange rates. These tables look at the miles earned at set levels of hotel spend. Top-tier elite hotel status and the best earning hotel cobranded credit card for hotel stay payment are additional factors in the miles calculations.

Table 1: Comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the actual exchange rate based on hotel spend for hotel stays. Credit cards and elite status are not considered.

Table 2: Top-tier elite membership factor when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows how top-tier elite membership earning rate alters the total number of points earned at each level of hotel spend.

Table 3: Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card with hotel loyalty top-tier elite membership when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the influence of top tier elite and credit card spend.

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