Starwood Hotels launched a cyberMonday 72-hour sale today for select resort properties in the US, Caribbean, and French Polynesia. Rooms must be booked by Wednesday, December 2 for stays from January 1 through April 30, 2010. These limited time offer rates are nonrefundable.

The best deals I saw was for  Le Meridien Bora Bora (property link) overwater bungalow with glass floor for about US$715 per night (57,000 XPF after 10% VAT). The cheapest room at the Le Meridien is around $500 per night with this sale. The St. Regis Bora Bora is a few hundred dollars more per night.

US resort locations revealed some discounts, however, given the nonrefundable terms and the forecast for rates to continue dropping, particularly for resorts in 2010, I would be reluctant to recommend this sale as a great bargain. The handful of hotels I checked in Arizona and California for some sample dates did reveal these rates to be the lower than AAA rates, but generally only about 20% lower.

If the South Pacific Bali Ha’i sirens are calling you, then this might be your cyber-Monday deal of the day for a Bora Bora resort vacation.

US Airways 1,000 Bonus Miles offer

This cyberMonday Starwood Resort special offer also comes with a US Airways 1,000 miles per stay bonus if you choose Airline Direct Deposit miles for your stay. Members choosing airline miles direct deposit have Starpoints earned from a hotel stay converted automatically into miles. You receive 1 mile for every Starpoint you earn for the stay. The 1,000 Dividend Miles are in addition to regular earning of miles. You will not earn Starpoints for your hotel stay if you choose Airline Direct Deposit of miles.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Instant Gold Elite Offer for new members

Upgrade your Starwood Hotel lifestyle with 1,000 bonus points per night and instant Gold elite-level membership. Just send me an email to ricgarridolt@gmail.com and I will refer you for SPG Gold elite membership. This offer is only available to new members of SPG.

Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, is all about retail shopping in America. Even IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards hotel loyalty programs are offering Black Friday weekend specials for merchandise using points. Several hotel loyalty programs offer redemption of hotel points for merchandise including Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club, Starwood Preferred Guest, Wyndham Rewards, and Choice Privileges.

This post looks at the value of using hotel points for shopping. Comparisons are made across hotel loyalty programs by showing the cost in hotel points for $25, $50, and $100 gift cards.  Using hotel points for non-travel merchandise shopping is something I am regularly asked about by hotel companies and reporters, but I have never used my hotel points for non-travel purposes.

I repeatedly find the best value for hotel points is redeeming points for hotel stays.

Is there Value in Redeeming Hotel Points for Merchandise?

In this comparison I focus on gift card value based on the number of points required for a $25, $50, or $100 gift card purchase using hotel points in various hotel loyalty programs.

One of the difficulties in evaluating the value of points exchanged for merchandise are the vague descriptions typically provided on hotel website shopping portals, particularly with electronics item descriptions.

I find it difficult to match electronics items shown such as i-pods, computers, and cameras with identical items for sale on Amazon.com. Many of the products come in several versions and the hotel shopping portal website descriptions frequently lack sufficient detail to determine which version of an item is available using hotel points.

Here is how hotel loyalty programs stack up in points for gift card redemptions.

Choice Privileges

$50 gift card = 16,000 points  (Value = $3.12 per 1,000 points)

$100 gift card = 32,000 points  (Value = $3.12 per 1,000 points)

Choice Privileges has a variety of retail partners including PetSmart, Walmart, Costco membership, and over 300 other gift card retailers.

Hilton HHonors

$50 Gift Card = 25,000 points  (Value = $2 / 1,000 HHonors points)

$100 gift card = 50,000 points  (Value = $2 / 1,000 HHonors points)

Sample retailers include Best Buy, Saks Fifth Avenue, Borders, Macy’s.

 

50,000 points will redeem a free night at a Waldorf Astoria Collection hotel or a Hilton HHonors category 7 hotel. Using points for HHonors hotel stays should see a return of $5.00 to $10.00 per 1,000 points.

 

 

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club (Black Friday weekend 15% sale)

(Black Friday 15% sale on all gift cards through November 30)

Sample retailers: Best Buy, Macy’s, Target, Gap

 

$25 Gift Card = 10,000 points  (Value = $2.50 / 1,000 Priority Club Rewards points)

Black Friday sale only 8,500 points through Nov 30 (Value = $2.94 / 1,000 Priority Club Rewards points)

 

$50 gift card = 20,000 points

Black Friday sale only 17,000 points through Nov 30 (Value = $2.94 / 1,000 Priority Club Rewards points)

 

40,000 points will pay for a free night at any InterContinental Hotel globally. This will typically be a $400 value for 40,000 points or $10/1,000 points compared to less than $3.00/1,000 points on gift cards. 25,000 points for a $125 per night hotel like a Crowne Plaza is points value of $5.00/1,000.

 

 

 

Marriott Rewards (Black Friday 48 hour weekend sale, 8am Friday to 8am Sunday)

 

Marriott Rewards is offering a 48 hour discount, but it is not a fixed discount on sale items. Some merchandise is discounted as much as 35% in points.  Nikon D 3000 DSLR 10.2 megapixel camera was 179,000 points just 120,000 during sale. This camera comes up around $550 on Amazon.com. This comes out to about $4.58/1,000 Marriott Rewards points redemption value.

 

 

 

Points used for a hotel stay such as the JW Marriott San Francisco will be 30,000 points and worth about $250 much of the time. This example would be a redemption value of $8.33/1,000 Marriott Rewards points.

 

10,000 points for a Category 2 hotel stay at a Courtyard in a business area on a weeknight can easily save $150 in many places. Here is a low cost redemption opportunity where your points will have a $15 per 1,000 points value.

 

Saving points for a 5^th night free Marriott Hotel reward can bring redemption value over $10 per 1,000 points. Using points for a multi-night Ritz-Carlton hotel stay may have even higher redemption value.

 

Gift cards in exchange for your hotel points show a much lower value than many of the merchandise options like the Nikon camera described above.

 

Marriott Rewards sample gift card items:

$50 iTunes gift card = 28,000 points  (value $1.79/1,000 points)

$100 Saks Fifth Avenue gift card  = 35,000 points  (value $2.86 / 1,000 points)

$100 Barnes & Noble gift card = 36,000 points  (value $2.78 / 1,000 points)

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)

 

Starpoints are earned at a lower rate of 2 points per $1 compared to 10 points/$1 in all the other chains shown in this comparison. Promotions with SPG allow many members like me to earn more points in bonuses rather than points earned based on hotel spending. At the lower category hotels a free night is only 3,000 points for a SPG Category 2 weekend night. This generally works out to around a $100 hotel night value for 3,000 points.  At the high end Starwood Hotels a free night can be 20,000 points for a Category 6 hotel with $400 per night rates ($450 after tax). In this case a member would receive a redemption value of $450/20,000 points or $22.50/1,000 points.

 

Keep in mind that the value per 1,000 points is much higher for SPG than for the other hotel programs like Marriott and Hilton. This is all relative to earning rates for hotel points with SPG. Using points for hotel stays with Starwood Hotels can generally see a return of $25 to $50 per 1,000 points compared to $5 to $10 per 1,000 points for other hotel chains shown. A gift card value of $10/1,000 points with SPG equates to a value of $2.00 to $2.50 per 1,000 points for other hotel chains shown in this post.

SPG Retail partners link 

$25 iTunes gift card = 2,800 points  (value $8.93/1,000 points)

$50 iTunes gift card = 5,000 points  (value $10.00/1,000 points)

$150 Amazon gift card = 14,000 points (value $10.71/1,000 points)

 

Wyndham Rewards

$100 SkyMall gift card = 20,000 points (Value = $5.00/1,000 points)

$200 SkyMall gift card = 45,000 points (Value = $4.44/1,000 points)

 

All I can say is buy your SkyMall gift cards in the $100 denomination to get better value. Quite odd to see the $200 gift card has a lower redemption rate than the $100 card. Wyndham Rewards gift card value is good compared to other programs, but extremely limited choice for gift cards.

 

Bose Wave Music Player 125,000 points ($500 on Amazon so points value =$4.00/1,000 points). You can probably buy it through Skymall using gift card for fewer points.)

 

$49 rate is truly a bargain priced room for Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf.  This Sunday-night-only, November 29 rate beats the $90 Starwood Best Bate Guarantee I received last May. This online only special offer rate is almost too good to pass up.

The otherwise low AAA rate is $104 for Sunday night. The buffet breakfast for SPG elites is an added bonus to a Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf stay. (Read this Loyalty traveler post if you are not currently a Starwood Hotels loyalty member and want to become an instant SPG Gold elite).

The weather is supposed to be in the 60s and sunny on Sunday . The outdoor pool at the Sheraton will be feasible with the sun out. The fourth floor rooms with the slanted roof are the rooms I have been given this year. The rooms are bright and comfortable.

I had planned to book this cheap stay for Sunday night until I learned today I won tickets for an advance showing of the George Clooney movie, Up in the Air for Wednesday night in San Francisco.  And Wednesday, being the first Wednesday in December, is free museums day in San Francisco.

The Sheraton offer is 49 rooms at $49. There were still rooms available when I checked at 10:30am Pacific time.

Warning: Parking is $43 at the hotel. I have managed to get street meter parking on my last two stays and Sunday night should be free meters. Be prepared to move your car on Monday morning.

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco Special Offer Link

Lucky over at One Mile at a Time is promoting Marriott SpringHill Suites with a $300 Marriott gift certificate prize to be given to one “lucky” reader who posts a comment on his blog by Sunday evening, November 29. The promotion is based around a video memory challenge game on the SpringHill Suites site.

BargainHuntingMoms also has been given a $300 SpringHill Suites gift certificate being offered to readers.

 

 

 

 

SpringHill Suites is Marriott’s upscale all suites brand. I was at the new SpringHill Suites Napa Valley property this past summer. This hotel is conveniently located at the southern end of Napa Valley, at the intersection of Highway 12 (the Napa Valley wine road) and Highway 29 (road to Vallejo).

 

The new SpringHill Suites property is on the opposite side of Napa from the much larger and old-style hotel design of the Marriott Napa and Spa.

 

 

 

 

The outdoor pool and barbeque area of the SpringHill Suites is a comfortable space to hang out, although the road is a little nearby and the newly developed area is sparse on trees.

 

I have a plea for assistance if anyone from SpringHill Suites management reads this post.  

Can you spare another gift certificate to donate as a prize to the Passports with Purpose raffle and help travel bloggers raise $13,000 over the next month to build a new school in rural Cambodia?

 

 

 

 

H42R3UMR4DZ9

Shout Out to Hoteliers  –  Passports with Purpose Needs Your Assistance with raffle prizes.

Passports with Purpose is in its second year of bringing together the online travel community in an effort to mobilize social media to a charitable action through this year’s travel bloggers global fundraiser.

The Passports with Purpose action for 2009 is raising $13,000 for American Assistance for Cambodia to build a rural school in Cambodia.

Passports with Purpose is organizing a $10 per ticket raffle for the chance of winning travel gear, products, and destination prizes.  Hotel rooms were a popular raffle prize last year.

 

My Loyalty Traveler Request

Hoteliers – Please contribute a hotel oriented prize for the Passports with Purpose raffle or consider becoming a sponsor for the Passports with Purpose fundraising effort.  A $500 sponsorship will buy a good amount of advertising across the blogosphere.

A hotel room night (or two), a robe, a spa treatment, a hotel restaurant dinner certificate are just some of the items you might consider for donation to Passports with Purpose.

You will get high quality advertising through the Passports with Purpose travel bloggers fundraiser.  I’ll be repeatedly promoting the Passports with Purpose fundraiser over the next six weeks through Twitter, Facebook, and Loyalty Traveler blog.

While I recognize this is a hectic time during the Thanksgiving holiday week with many hotel industry personnel on vacation, I am asking for a quick response from charitable hoteliers who can donate a raffle prize within the next week for this high value humanitarian and educational cause.

I have already committed from my personal resources to provide a hotel night prize for the raffle.

 

Any airlines or other travel companies who want to contribute a raffle prize, by all means contact me soon.

Contact me at RicGarridolt@gmail.com or the women at Passports with Purpose to donate prizes or become a sponsor.

 

Travelers – My request to readers of this blog is bookmark the Passports with Purpose link and return next week to view the prizes being offered and contribute through the purchase of raffle tickets to the goal of raising $13,000 to build a new school in Cambodia. $13,000 to educate Cambodian children is very little money that goes so far in building education infrastructure in this developing country.

The raffle begins November 30, next Monday, and lasts through December 19, 2009.

Who are Passports with Purpose?

The founders of Passports with Purpose are preeminent Seattle travel bloggers Debbie Dubrow (DeliciousBaby.com), Michelle Duffy (WanderMom.com), Pam Mandel (NerdsEyeView.com), and Beth Whitman (WanderlustAndLipstick.com).  These are travel blogs with loyal followers and each blog reaches a large audience in the travel blogging community. Debbie maintains a Top 5 travel blog and Pam is currently listed in the top 25 travel blogs on Technorati. Debbie Dubrow’s DeliciousBaby.com ranked #1 travel blog on Technorati’s Top 100 Travel blogs list last month when its newly revised rankings were released.

The participating travel bloggers form a global list of the online travel community.

Act now, donate, and contribute. Minds need education. I know as a public school teacher with ten classroom years instructing children.

The force of social media is fully realized when a concerted effort brings about an authentic change in a short period of time through sheer numbers of participants.

Loyalty Traveler believes in Passports with Purpose.

Join us for change.

 

For more information on Passports with Purpose 2009 fundraiser please read these blog posts from the Passports with Purpose founders.

Beth Whitman – Passports with Purpose  - Build a School in Cambodia! (Nov 22, 2009)

Debbie Dubrow – Please Join Us for Passports with Purpose (Nov 18, 2009)

Pam Mandel – Passports with Purpose 2009 (Nov 20, 2009)

“Under the new program, customers who find their prepaid hotel room available for a lower price on any site, including Orbitz, can receive a refund for the difference and a $50 discount on a future hotel or vacation package booking. Plus, Orbitz now allows customers to submit a claim right up to the time of the property’s cancellation deadline.” http://pressroom.orbitz.com/index.php?s=43&item=770

This looks like a great Best Rate Guarantee policy. Loyalty traveler took it out for a test spin. How hard can it be to find a Best Rate Guarantee claim? Both Travelocity and Orbitz offer $50 if their site doesn’t have the lowest rate. This means their rates have to match perfectly right?

Price Discrepancy 1:

Hilton Garden Inn Monterey

2 nights for Friday, December 11 – Sunday, December 13

 

·         Travelocity          $110.71 (nonrefundable)

·         Orbitz                    $110.72 (nonrefundable)

·         Hilton                    $111.00 (nonrefundable)

There should be at least two valid Best Rate Guarantee claims since there are three different prices and obviously Travelocity is the lowest rate. Orbitz Lowest Price Guarantee Claim form.

The issue with Orbitz.com is each of these rates is a nonrefundable rate and the cancellation period is passed the moment you make a reservation. The Orbitz policy claims a customer can “submit a claim right up to the time of the property’s cancellation deadline.” Once the customer has booked the Orbitz.com reservation the cancellation deadline has passed.

The total price for the Orbitz hotel room comes out to $245.78 with tax and fees.

Hilton lists the total price as $246.36. The $0.58 difference should make for a valid claim using the  Hilton Hotels Best Rate Guarantee. Hilton gives you a $50 American Express gift cheque if a Best Rate Guarantee claim is validated.

Price Discrepancy 2:

For the same weekend the rates are highest at Orbitz.com for the Hyatt Regency Monterey. Again, the room type is the same, but the rates vary by pennies. This time the Hyatt website has the lowest rate.

Hyatt Regency Monterey

2 nights for Friday, December 11 – Sunday, December 13

 

·         Hyatt.com                           $119.40

·         Travelocity.com                $119.43

·         Orbitz.com                          $119.47

 

 

 

Is Orbitz.com Low Price Guarantee any good in this case?

Again, the rates being compared are nonrefundable rates. The cancellation deadline has passed for the Hyatt Regency Monterey hotel the moment you submit your reservation payment to Orbitz. And this time you do not have a lower Hyatt rate to fall back on for a claim with the hotel company. (Hyatt discounts a lower rate by 20% if a Best Rate Guarantee claim is validated.)

In this example Travelocity should be a valid Best Rate Guarantee. The rules only consider the base rate and not any additional fees or taxes associated with the hotel stay.

“The Price and Service Guarantee applies only to the base cost, and not tax recovery charges and service fees, of standalone Flight, Hotel, Car, and Cruise bookings.”

Travelocity Best Rate Guarantee terms:

For a prepaid “Good Buy” Hotel (excluding Top Secret Hotels) if you find a Qualifying Lower Rate up until the day before check in, we will provide you with the following per booking:

§  For claims made between October 22, 2009 and December 31, 2009: One $50 Promo Code for a future “Good Buy” Hotel or Flight + Hotel vacation package booking on Travelocity and

§  A refund of the difference between the price you paid through Travelocity and the Qualifying Lower Rate.

 

For the next five weeks a claim with Travelocity provides a $50 future Travelocity “Good Buy” hotel credit. Come January 1, 2010 this Hyatt Regency scenario where three different prices exist will only provide you with 6 cents credit back to your card using Travelocity’s Best Rate Guarantee. Orbitz will have you shut out with their cancellation deadline clause.

Conclusion:

Best Rate Guarantee claims are easy to find if you are interested in cutting 10% (Starwood, IHG), 20% (Hyatt), or even 25% (Marriott) off the lowest rate bookable on the internet.  Or you can get a $50 future stay certificate with Orbitz or Travelocity or a $50 gift cheque from Hilton for a successful Best Rate Guarantee claim.

In these two examples the rate at Orbitz.com was not the lowest, yet the hotel rate does not appear to meet the Orbitz.com terms for a valid Lowest Price Assurance claim for a $50 credit on a future stay.

The main drawback to having a claim approved is the lag time between when a claim is submitted and when the claim is processed. Hotel rates change frequently. I watched rates go from $109 to $249 today for next weekend at the Westin Market Street San Francisco while at the same time the rate for the San Jose Sheraton dropped from $189 to $84 over the same two hour period between 11am and 1pm. And screen shots are not considered evidence for a valid claim.

Travelocity “Good Buy” Best Rate Guarantee

Orbitz Lowest Price Guarantee

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

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

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

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

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Benefits link.

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

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

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

So what is in it for me?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is a picture of the email offer I received.

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

Terms and Conditions for the SPG Platinum Member Referral Promotion:

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

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

Omni Hotels Select Guest Double Nights Enrollment Link

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

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

Omni Hotels Select Guest membership levels

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

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

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

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

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

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

Omni Hotels Links

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

Omni Hotels in North America (43 properties)

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Starwood website Pay Your Birth Year link.

Starwood Preferred Guest

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

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

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

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

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