Accor Hotels had a global press conference September 13, 2011 to announce a new strategic plan for rebranding a large portion of its economy and midscale segment hotels among the 4,200+ hotels in the French based chain. A new hotel loyalty program name with Le Club Accorhotels replaces A|Club.

The major change in the Accor brands structure is the creation of an Ibis Mega Brand with over 1,500 hotels by rebranding midscale all seasons to Ibis Styles and the Etap brand becomes Ibis Budget.

• Ibis
• Ibis Styles (currently all seasons)
• Ibis Budget (currently Etap)

Accor Hotels has global reach with over 15 brands from economy (etap, Formule 1, Motel 6) to its flagship luxury brand Sofitel Hotels.

The Accor Hotels chain is proportionally far heavier in the economy hotel market segment with about 2,200 hotels in brands like etap, Formule 1, Hotel F1 and Motel 6. The two upscale hotel brands of Novotel and Mercure at 1,100 hotels are far larger than the global Hyatt chain at under 500 properties and match the total hotel presence of Starwood Hotels.

Sofitel was divided up into separate brands when Accor added Pullman Hotels and MGallery Hotels and these upper upscale and luxury brands hold about 220 hotels.

Le Club Accorhotels, formerly A|Club is the loyalty program for Accor Hotels that excludes several hotel brands from the economy segment of the Accor family. Only about 2,300 hotels participate in the loyalty program and more than 1,700 hotels in Motel 6, Etap and Formule 1 are excluded from A|Club for earning points.

It remains to be seen what the loyalty program changes might be, if any.

Etap hotels are not currently included in A|Club points earning. The Ibis Budget hotel brand could be added to Le Club Accorhotels and increase the earning potential for members by 400 hotels globally. No word on that aspect of the loyalty program came out of the press conference.

Moderator StarFlyerGold of the FlyerTalk Accor forum  states Le Club will launch beginning 2012.

 

A|Club Loyalty Program Basics

A|Club operates differently from other points-based major hotel loyalty programs. The earning side is similar in that members earn points based on hotel spend at the rate of 2 points/1€ at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio Hotels. Ibis and all seasons earn 1 point/1€. Global and property specific promotions offer bonus points for member stays just like other loyalty programs.

A|Club Earn Rate

2 points per EUR

• Sofitel,
• Pullman,
• MGallery,
• Novotel,
• Suite Novotel,
• Mercure,
• Adagio Hotels

1 point per EUR

• Ibis
• all seasons (to be rebranded Ibis Styles)

The different aspect of A|Club is the redemption side of points. Points can be exchanged for hotel cash vouchers to redeem for hotel stays. Hotels are not divided into hotel redemption categories, the system used in most major hotel loyalty programs.

2,000 A|Club points can be exchanged for one US$60 voucher or in a variety of other currencies.

• 2,000 points = US$60
• 2,000 points = 60 AUD (Australia) =US$62.18
• 2,000 points = 30 GBP (UK) = US$47.36
• 2,000 points = 40 EUR =US$55.19
• 2,000 points = 90 BRL (Brazil) = US$51.95

There is room for currency leverage when traveling with Accor Hotels. Even with a hotel currency exchange rate somewhat lower than a credit charge rate, I’d think the 60AUD voucher would be worth more than the 30GBP voucher.

The past two years A|Club has run a summer special allowing redemption of A|Club cash certificates for payment at Motel 6.

Redeeming a voucher at a Motel 6 is not going to earn loyalty points, however, when redeeming a loyalty hotel voucher at a Motel 6 you are getting the same US$60 cash discount that you would get when redeeming the voucher for a paid room at the Sofitel Chicago.

 

Accor Hotels Brands

• Sofitel (120 luxury segement hotels)
• Pullman (60 hotels in upper upscale market)
• MGallery (40 hotels in upper upscale market)
• Novotel (400 hotels in upscale market)
• Suite Novotel (30 hotels in upscale market)
• Mercure and Grand Mercure (700+ hotels in upscale market)
• Adagio (33 extended-stay apartment hotels)
• Ibis (900+ hotels in midscale market)
• Ibis styles (formerly all seasons brand – 140 hotels in midscale market with about 30 in Australia)
• Ibis budget (formerly etap – 430 hotels in economy market)
• Formule 1 (360 economy hotels with 80 outside France)
• Hotel F1 (260 budget hotels in France)
• Motel 6 and Studio 6 (1,100+ economy hotels in U.S. and Canada)

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

What changes will be made to A|Club as it becomes Le Club Accorhotels remains to be seen. Potentially the number of properties available to members for earning loyalty points could increase. The multifaceted loyalty programs among Accorhotels could be consolidated. No details have emerged in the strategic plan for the evolution of Le Club Accorhotels.

Motel 6 still  remains mostly neglected as an Accor family brand in the loyalty program. Remember that pets stay free in Motel 6 and a US$60 A|Club voucher is worth as much at a Motel 6 as a Sofitel Hotel.

Story Update: Sep 19 – This morning I just saw the Bloomberg News story from September 13 stating Accor is interested in selling Motel 6/Studio 6 brand.

Stays at Sofitel and Novotel in USA and Canada from September 1 to October 1, 2011 earn triple Accor A|Club points. A 2-night minimum stay between Sep 15-21 earns an additional 3,000 points bonus. Accor A|Club 3x Points Birthday Promotion Link.

The regular earn rate for A|Club members is 2 points/1 EUR so this bonus offer should work out to be a little over 4.25 points/US$1 and slightly more for the higher value Canadian dollar.

You can redeem 2,000 A|Club points for US$60 hotel voucher or 40EUR voucher.

Assume you spend $250 for a two night stay during the week of Sep 15 to 21 and you will earn over 4,000 points that can be used for US$120 Accor hotel vouchers. That is nearly a 50% rebate on a $250 hotel stay.

Of course most of the Sofitel properties are in the upper upscale to luxury range and the nightly cost will likely be much higher than US$125 per night. Sofitel San Francisco Bay has cheap weekend rates and many of the Novotel properties in Canada are less expensive hotels than the Sofitel Hotels.

Participating Accor Novotel and Sofitel Hotels:

• Novotel Montreal Aeroport
• Novotel Montreal Centre
• Novotel New York Times Square
• Novotel Ottawa
• Novotel Toronto Centre
• Novotel Toronto Mississauga Cntr
• Novotel Toronto North York
• Novotel Toronto Vaughan
• Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
• Sofitel Los Angeles
• Sofitel Miami
• Sofitel Minneapolis
• Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile
• Sofitel New York
• Sofitel Philadelphia
• Sofitel San Francisco Bay
• Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square

HELP SHEET #8 – updated July 7, 2011

This Loyalty Traveler post is the 8th update for 2011 hotel loyalty promotions  and includes about 25 new promotion offers since the June 7 list. Offers marked with an asterisk (*) were added since the last update June 7.

Accor Hotels -  A-Club

Hotel Brands: Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, Adagio, All Seasons, Thalassa Spa.

* Motel 6 is the primary Accor Hotels brand in USA, however, extremely limited A-Club hotel loyalty program participation. A|Club repeats last year’s promotion allowing redemption of A|Club vouchers for stays at North America Motel 6 hotels from June 1-October 31. LT post June 29.

Accor Hotels is the largest chain of hotel brands globally outside of the USA.

Accor 10^th Anniversary World Tour Giveaway – One monthly trip consisting of Round the World flights and hotel stays in 10 cities over 30 to 40 days. Ten prizes each month for a hotel stay. (11 prizes each month from March through December 2011). LT post March 30. 

Accor A|Club Global Promotion Offers List – link (This link allows searches by continent region)

Accor Hotels A|Club bonus offers

Best Western Hotels – Best Western Rewards 

Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier  

5-Key promotion – Best Western free night after three stays from June 19 to August 14, 2011. Limit one free night during promotion. Loyalty Traveler post June 4.

Best Western International Offers webpage link. The link provides a variety of promotions internationally for Best Western hotels.

Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) This offer is ongoing and still available. Best Western is a particularly useful loyalty program when traveling outside the USA. Best Western and Accor A-Club have more hotels outside the USA than all the other major hotel programs combined including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Starwood.

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

Best Western Brand Tiers Change – Best Western has designated about 25% of the chain’s higher quality hotels in the 4,000+ hotel chain as Best Western Plus (about 800 hotels) and Best Western Premier (about 100 hotels, mostly outside U.S.).

 

Carlson Hotels – Club Carlson (formerly Goldpoints Plus loyalty program)

Hotel Brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza 

* Club Carlson does not currently have a major bonus points promotion since the free night after two stays promotion ended June 15. There appear to be some good discount rates (35% off two day Radisson stays – book by July 12) and Park Inn 20% off two or three night weekend stays in North America through August 31.

There are also some good values with Club Carlson double points rates where members earn 40 points/$1 for room rate. This is an extra 2,500 points on a $125 room rate that may only be $10 more than otherwise lowest rates.

These Loyalty Traveler posts describe changes with Club Carlson launch March 31, 2011: 

 Club Carlson Hotel Category Reassignment Analysis – Overview and Category 1 Hotels (April 7) – This post has links to posts for each Club Carlson Hotel Reward category with tables showing the new Club Carlson reward category and the former Goldpoints Plus reward category.

Club Carlson Loyalty program Launches March 31 – Replaces goldpoints plus (Feb 14)

Club Carlson Reward Category Changes March 31, 2011 (Feb 18)

Club Carlson Hotel Reward Category Analysis (Feb 28) This post shows the number of hotels in each category and changes from 2010 level for different global regions.

Club Med resort credit for goldpoints. $100, $250 and $500 credit.  (March 10).

Club Carlson online booking bonus – Club Carlson general members earn 1,000 bonus points for online booking. Silver and Gold elite members earn 2,000 bonus points for online booking. Concierge elite members earn 3,000 points. Club Carlson Benefits table link.

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

Hotel Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban, EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Ascend Collection.

Hotel Reward Partners: Preferred Hotels Group, Barcelo Resorts 

Stay two times for 8,000 points May 19-August 11. This promotion awards members with 8,000 total points after two stays. Four brands require a two-night stay for this promotion ay Rodaeway Inn, EconoLodge, MainStay Suites and Suburban Suites. This offer is a variable bonus offer since two $60 stays that normally earn 1,200 points ($120 x 10 points/$1) receives 6,800 bonus points for 8,000 total points, yet two $300 hotel stays that earn 6,000 base points will result in 2,000 bonus points for 8,000 total points. This offer is best bonus on low cost hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler post May 16, 2011.

Choice Privileges reward night cost analysis. Using a spreadsheet of 2010 reward cost, I calculated the percentage of hotels in various reward levels worldwide from 6,000 points to 40,000 points. This is the only breakdown of hotel reward tiers I have ever seen for Choice Hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 1, 2011.

Choice Privileges Program Changes for Elite Members effective January 1, 2011:

Program enhancements for elites. 

• Platinum elite qualification = 20 nights in a calendar year (formerly 25 nights).
• Diamond elite bonus increased to 50% base points (formerly 40%).

Reward night booking window extended for Choice Privileges elite members:

• Gold = 50 days (formerly 40 days)
• Platinum = 75 days (formerly 60 days)
• Diamond = 100 days (formerly 90 days) 

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, 2010)

 

Drury Hotels – Gold Key Club

* 1,000 bonus points for enrollment in Drury Gold Key Club.

 

Expedia Rewards –

Double Rewards points for Expedia Vacation Package paid with MasterCard through August 31. Registration required. 

Expedia’s new loyalty program earns points for air, hotel and travel package bookings. This is a gamechanger for online travel agencies. Booking airfare through Expedia is a no brainer method for earning additional travel rebates since frequent flyer benefits are unaffected. Hotels are a different matter though since no hotel loyalty points with programs like SPG, Marriott, Hilton and others are earned for Expedia bookings.

Main Expedia Rewards benefits are the ability to earn points when booking travel for other people like family members and friends. And Expedia vacation packages often allow a hotel night to be added for the same price as airfare alone; particularly when traveling to Las Vegas. Loyalty Traveler Analysis March 28.

 

Fairmont Hotels and Fairmont President’s Club

Tip: Sign up for Fairmont President’s Club to receive monthly special discount rates for Fairmont Hotels. 

Four Seasons Hotels

Four Seasons Special Offers website link

 

Global Hotel Alliance – GHA Discovery – Hotel loyalty program alliance for 12 independent hotel brands including Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific, Kempinski, First Hotels, Mirvac, Anantara Resorts, Tivoli Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Marco Polo Hotels, Park Royal, The Leela Palaces, Shaza Hotels.

Overview of GHA Discovery, elite membership benefits and local experiences, Loyalty Traveler post January 30.

 

Hilton Hotels – Hilton HHonors

10 Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, and Home2Suites. 

* Double HHonors Points or Double Miles for stays worldwide from July 1-September 30, 2011. List of about 250 excluded hotels, mostly in U.S.. Promotion registration required. Loyalty traveler post June 24.

* HHonors Gold VIP elite after 4 stays or 9 nights in 90 days at U.S. hotels with Hilton HHonors MVP. Promotion registration required.

* Free HHonors Gold VIP elite  to August 31, 2011 for U.S. resident Visa Signature cardmembers. Complete three stays by August 31 to extend Gold VIP status through March 2013. Existing Gold and Diamond members receive 5,000 bonus points. Loyalty Traveler post June 10.

Great Getaway Hilton Summer Sale with discounts from 15% to 40%. Book May 13 to August 31 for hotel stays May 27 to Sep 5. Prepaid rates and must book 14 days in advance. Loyalty Traveler post May 19.

HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards posted for hotels through November 2011. Point Stretchers require 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. Use the drop-down menu to see participating hotels in different Hilton brands. The Point Stretcher hotel awards were updated in early June.

HHonors Points & Money – Loyalty Traveler reward analysis indicates these are good value. Loyalty Traveler post May 9.

Home2Suites opens first hotel of Hilton’s new extended stay brand in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Unfortunately this new hotel brand becomes the first HHonors brand with a lower earn rate for points and miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 21.

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 places all the HHonors reward charts in one post. (LT post Sep 13, 2010)

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)

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

 

Hotels.com Welcome Rewards

Earn a free night for every 10 nights.

* Double points (up to 4 bonus points) through July 31 for new Welcome Rewards members.

Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands:  Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Summerfield Suites

* 2,500 Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay July 1-September 30. Maximum bonus is 25,000 miles after 10 stays.

* Welcome credit and 2,500 bonus points for stays paid with American Express at 75 international hotels. Loyalty Traveler post July 2. 3-key promotion.

Earn 19,000 Southwest points after 5 Hyatt stays June 1-August 31. Loyalty traveler post June 5.

Program Change – Hyatt Property Specific Bonuses: Jeff Zidell Hyatt VP, told me on March 8 the ‘property level bonus’ program is being evaluated and reinvented. We will probably only see regional hotel bonus offers until July. Specific property level bonuses that typically offered 1,000 to 2,000 points in G1, G2, and G3 offers may be gone for good. We’ll see.

 

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

Hotel Brands: InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo 

* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – Up to 35% off for weekend stays in Europe through August 31. These rates are prepaid and nonrefundable with no changes allowed. T&C also state no points.

* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – 2 nights for the Price of 1 – LT Note: Promotion page states this offer expired June 30, 2011, but I still found available 2-for-1 rates for August dates on July 7. This is a recurring rate promotion for several years and offers one of the greatest discounts on hotel rooms in Europe; particularly London. LT 5-key rate offer.

* Pack Your Points Tweetstakes July 1-July 31. Retweet @IHG_Deals daily message for entry. One entry per day. Prizes are 15,000 or 30,000 points for daily winners chosen in August. LT post July 4.

* IHG Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights are posted the week before the first weekend of the month. Hotels are only posted for a few days and must be booked by Thursday prior to the Friday through Sunday dates. LT post June 30.

$75 MasterCard Gift Card for 2-night weekend stay worldwide at any IHG hotel May 19-August 31, 2011. Limit of four cards per member. Only for U.S. residents. Loyalty Traveler post May 18. 4-key offer.

IHG Double Points or Double Miles (May 16 – August 15, 2011) – 2-key offer. LT post April 21.

InterContinental Hotels in Europe 5^th Night Free rate July 14 – Sep 11, 2011. These rates are about 20% off Best Flexible Rate and equivalent to Advance Purchase rate. Loyalty Traveler post March 16.

Priority Club PointBreaks through July 30, 2011 are probably the best hotel loyalty program reward night value available at 5,000 points for a free night. Many of the hotels are discounted 80% from their normal 25,000 points for a reward night. The current list had 133 hotels on May 9 and only 27 hotels on July 6. Look for a new list of hotels posting in July.  Loyalty Traveler post May 9. (5-key offer.)

Complimentary InterContinental Ambassador membership ($200 value) after three stays at InterContinental Hotels by July 31, 2011. My Loyalty Traveler post argues for spending 32,000 points or $200 for Ambassador membership and earning benefits on three stays.

IHG Priority Club relaunch previews new reward option for Last Minute Hotel Nights at 50% points of standard reward night. Other changes are primarily cosmetic with new mobile apps, card redesign and website changes. Loyalty traveler post March 29.

IHG Priority Club partnership with Las Vegas Resorts – The Venetian and The Palazzo become InterContinental Alliance hotel partners as of April 1, 2011. Priority Club points can be earned and burned (40,000 points per night) for hotel stays and InterContinental Ambassador benefits apply. Earn 6,000 bonus points for a three night stay booked by June 30 (Loyalty Traveler April 11 post).

InterContinental Ambassador Accelerator - 20,000 points after 15 nights at InterContinental Hotels. Registration required.

Priority Club Any Hotel Anywhere American Express gift cards.

      New Price for Any Hotel, Anywhere Cards  Loyalty Traveler post Jan 25.

• $100 = 33,000 points (formerly 29,000)
• $125 = 39,000 points (formerly 34,000)
• $150 = 45,000 points (formerly 39,000)
• $200 = 60,000 points (formerly 49,000)
• $250 = 72,000 points (formerly 59,000)

3-key offer IHG Sweetheart Deal – $100 Visa card rebate for a three-day or longer stay at any IHG hotel worldwide within 90 days of 2011 wedding in U.S. or Canada. (LT Jan 11)

Points & Cash Program Change:  Priority Club Points & Cash Reward nights increased the cost of 5,000 Priority Club points to $40 from $30. The cost to buy 10,000 points remains unchanged at $60. Loyalty Traveler post (Nov 19)

Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – 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)

IHG Friend & Family Hotel Rates (Steve Sickel). Steve Sickel is senior Vice President Relationship Marketing for InterContinental Hotels Group. During the hotel recession of 2009 he offered this link to FlyerTalk members for booking discount friends and family rates. This link is still active. And we are all friends of Steve’s. Here is a FlyerTalk thread discussing this rate deal. The link in Steve Sickel’s name leads to the offer page for a voucher to complete. Some guests mention the hotel wants the completed voucher at check-in. These rates do not qualify for points or stay credit. One of the best features of this offer is the ability to book high category rooms at steep discount.

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). Renewal fee is still $100.

Priority Club Points Exchange Value and Points.com – Loyalty traveler research (Jan 20) into the exchange value of Priority Club points into airline miles through Points.com

 

Kimpton Hotels – InTouch

* Kimpton “Summer Like a Local Rate” offer gives a $25 nightly dining credit for a rate $10 over BAR May 26-September 5.

Loyalty Traveler posted an outline of Kimpton’s InTouch program showing how 21 stays in 2011 can potentially earn 7 free nights at any Kimpton Hotel. (LT post Jan 11)

 

La Quinta Hotels – La Quinta Returns

Hotel chain and hotel loyalty program overview by Loyalty Traveler,  April 12.

* New La Quinta Returns members earn Gold elite after two nights within 60 days of enrollment. Two nights may be one stay. Gold elite promotion offer for new enrollments through August 31, but keep in mind these offers are sometimes withdrawn early.

 

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

Leaders Club Rewards program changes: Membership fees for Leaders Club Rewards dropped to $100 annual for Access level. Access membership includes complimentary breakfast for two each day of stay and free internet. Unlimited membership is $1,200 annually. Loyalty traveler post Feb 3.

Earn a free night after every 5 stays with stays in at least two LHW properties by December 31, 2011.

LHW Hotel Special Offers link

 

Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards

Hotel Brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites, Edition, Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club, AC Hotels. 

Marriott Rewards Earn one free night at a category 1 to 4 hotel reward after two hotel stays June 1-August 31. Registration deadline for this promotion was June 30, 2011. This offer may be earned two times during promotion. Active Marriott Rewards members may have a points offer based on 15 to 25 nights. Loyalty Traveler post May 16.

Marriott Rewards 4x miles for hotels stays June 1-August 31. Earn 8 miles per $1 or 4 miles per $1 with 13 participating airlines depending on Marriott hotel brand. Loyalty Traveler post May 27.

Program Change: All Marriott Rewards members receive complimentary internet at Asia-Pacific region hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 2, 2011.

AC Hotels is Marriott’s newest hotel brand. AC Hotels are a Madrid-based hotel chain now partnered with Marriott and brings 90 new upscale hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal into the Marriott Rewards system. This brand is projected to expand in Europe and Latin America. Loyalty Traveler post March 27.

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Assignment Changes for 2011 (Loyalty Traveler March 2)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers –PointSavers reduce the points cost of a free night by one hotel category. For example, category 5 hotel requires only 20,000 points per night. 5^th night free applies to PointSavers rate. http://www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi

Marriott Points Redemption Strategy using $1,000 in Marriott Cheques. This post explains how Marriott elite members may buy $1,000 Marriott Cheques for 135,000 points. You can then pay for hotel stays and earn points and elite credit on paid stays you actually purchased indirectly with points. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 27.

Marriott Rewards Elite Rollover Nights extended for 2011. This is the third year Marriott Rewards offers elite rollover nights for elite qualifying nights over your earned elite membership. For example: Silver elite requires 10 nights in calendar year and Gold elite takes 50 nights. Stay 25 nights in 2011 and the 15 nights above Silver elite rollover to 2012 membership year. You will have earned Silver elite for 2013 from your 15 extra nights in 2011 rolled over to 2012. Confused? Don’t worry. This is a great benefit for elite members. (Loyalty Traveler 5-key offer. LT post Dec 23.)

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.

 

Omni Hotels – Omni Select Guest

Member benefits include complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, shoe shine and morning beverage delivery.

Earn a free night after every 10 nights or earn 500 miles per hotel stay.

 

Preferred Hotels Group – I Prefer

I Prefer and Preferred Hotels Group special offers page.

 

Red Lion Hotels – 44 hotels in western U.S.

* Red Lion Double Points and Free Breakfast promotion code = RLDOUBLE (through Dec 31, 2011)

 

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

* Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa – 50,000 points enrollment offer and Gold elite first year. Maintain Gold elite with $10,000 annual spending. Three confirmed Club level upgrades per year and other benefits. Loyalty Traveler post June 13.

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 Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest

Starwood Hotels brands: Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Four Points, element, aloft. 

* $40 gas card for two-night or longer stays at Four Points, Aloft or Element hotels in North America through September 15. Must book hotel stay by July 31 using rate code SSBGAS. LT post July 6.

* Four Points $25,000 contest for best story submitted on Four Points Facebook page between June 15 and August 10. Contest open to US  and Canada (except Quebec). Also weekly prizes for two-night stay and $50 in beer credit. Contest Rules.

* 3x points for Starwood Hotels in Japan for stays and dining June 1-August 31. LT post June 26.

Starwood Preferred Guest – Stay 3 and get a free Starwood Resort hotel night from May 1-July 31, 2011. Note: Promotion registration ended June 30, 2011, so too late if you are not already registered. Free nights are good for over 200 Starwood Resorts including several category 6 and one category 7 resort. Free nights are valid until December 21.  LT post April 15. (5-key promotion)

FourSquare 250 bonus points for mobile check-in at Starwood Hotels May 1-July 31, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post May 12. Note: Most of these bonuses have quickly posted for me. I need to follow up on a couple of missing bonuses.

Starwood Preferred Guest Hotel Category reward assignment changes for 2011 took effect on March 1. My LT post (Feb 22) has a list ordered by city, state and country for changes.

Starwood Hotels data on number of hotels in each brand and average rates by brand and global region. Loyalty traveler post Feb 4.

Starwood hotels Website Enhancement – Website now allows comparison of four different rate types side-by-side for hotels in one location including promotion rates, AAA, breakfast rates, senior, government and reward nights. There are monthly calendars to locate days when Cash & Points nights are available at a specific hotel Loyalty Traveler post Nov 23, 2010. 

SPG Peak Season Rates Return for 2011. Category 5, 6 and 7 hotels relaunch peak season dates and a calendar of dates and participating hotels is posted here. Book by January 9 to lock in lower rates for your hotel stays. Loyalty traveler post Dec 6. 

Starwood Hotels Policy Change: Sheraton Hotel Club Lounges will be open 7 days a week in 2011.

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 and 2 elite stays 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); Sheraton 3^rd Night Free Analysis (Nov 12)

3-key or sometimes a 5-key promotion SPG link: Pay Your Birthyear Rate -This promotion has been extended through 2011. Rates can be an incredible 5-key savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear.   LT post 4/28/2009

3-key or sometimes a 5-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)

 

Stash Hotel Rewards

Stash Hotel Rewards New Member Enrollment 1,000 bonus points link.

Stash Rewards is a one year old loyalty program for over 100 independent upscale hotels in the U.S. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 19. Loyalty Traveler has found the hotel partners with Stash Rewards in Monterey, Napa and Washington D.C. are great choices for hotel travelers. Stash Rewards offers points for many high quality independent hotels that previously had no loyalty program affiliation.

Stash Hotel Specials for Bonus Points and Low Redemption Rate Hotels

 

Voila Hotel Rewards

Loyalty Traveler profiled Voila Hotels program in light of the recent signing of two New York former Starwood W Hotels as the initial hotel members in the USA for this international loyalty program for 250 independent hotels.

* 2,500 Voila bonus points per stay through August 31 and entry into 500,000 points sweepstakes.

* Double elite credit for Voila member hotel stays through July 31. Registration required.

Wyndham Worldwide -  Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham Brands: Wyndham, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Baymont Suites, Microtel, Knights Inn, Tryp.

1,000 bonus points per Wyndham stay from June 1 –September 5, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post June 2.

* European residents only – 15,000 bonus points for two hotel stays worldwide by September 30 at most Wyndham brands. Stays must be booked by August 31. Bonus may be earned four times for 60,000 points. Loyalty Traveler post July 6.

 

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

* Room77.com hotel room views compared to my photos. Loyalty Traveler website analysis June 22.

Comparing the value of hotel program points - compares Hyatt, Priority Club and Hilton programs, then discusses how I am planning summer travel using free night promotions. (May 2, 2011)

Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards and the Value of Hotel Points

Loyalty Traveler Analysis of Hotel Rewards Credit Cards (March 19, 2011)

Elite Status Benefits with Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards (March 21, 2011)

Hotel Credit Cards Comparison by Value of Points (September 2, 2010) 

Hotel Credit Card Comparison using NerdWallet.com Value of Points (Sep 5, 2010) 

Loyalty Traveler’s Three Rules for the Value of Hotel Points (Sep 7, 2010)

 

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 – Full Year 2010 – 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.

Loyalty Traveler ranks the consumer value of some 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 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 Hotels A|Club hotel loyalty program repeats last year’s limited time offer allowing members to redeem vouchers for hotel stays at Motel 6 in the USA and Canada from June 1 to October 31, 2011.  Studio 6 properties are not eligible for A|Club voucher redemption with this offer.

Motel 6 has over 1,100 hotels in the US and Canada and is the largest hotel brand in the 4,000+ hotels of France-based Accor Hotels chain. The guest loyalty program for Accor Hotels is A|Club, however, Motel 6 is generally not a participating hotel brand in A|Club for earning or redeeming points. For international travelers planning to drive in the US, the prevalence of Motel 6 along major routes like the California Highway 101 coast road makes the Motel 6 brand an easy to find property when traveling rural areas of the US. 

The earning side of A|Club works similarly to most major hotel loyalty programs.  As a points-based program, members in A|Club earn points correlated to hotel spend. Points are earned for spend and bonus points opportunities are available among various brands and properties and regional specific bonuses.

The redemption side of A|Club is different from most major hotel loyalty programs in that 2,000 A|Club points may be redeemed for a fixed-value hotel credit voucher (e-reward) in any of five currencies.

2000 A|Club points may be exchanged for a hotel credit voucher in these amounts:

• 60 Australia Dollars (60AUD = $63.76USD)
• 90 Brazil Reals (90BRL = $57.10USD)
• 30 British Pounds (30GBP = $48.04USD)
• 40 Euro (40EUR = $57.51USD)
• 60 USD

As you can see, the value of A|Club points varies with currency differences. A|Club points have about the highest value when used for e-vouchers in US Dollars. The opportunity to redeem e-rewards in the US at Motel 6 properties is a good value redemption opportunity.

A|Club Leverage Opportunity with Currency Exchange?

When I look at the differential between the value of 2,000 A|Club points for a $60USD reward compared to a 30GBP reward worth only $48USD, I wonder if an A|Club member might get more value by redeeming points in a different currency for hotel stays in the UK?

There will certainly be a less than bank rate exchange at hotel check out when converting A|Club vouchers from USD or EUR or AUD into British Pounds, but when $60AUD is worth 39.81GBP, I think even a poor hotel exchange rate will likely work out to a better deal for 2,000 points vouchers worth only 30 GBP British Pounds.

Currency exchange rates are based on xe.com rates for June 29, 2011.

Question for A|Club members.

Has anyone tried using different currency A|Club reward vouchers in the UK?

Accor Hotels has a 50% off Super Sale for over 1,000 hotels on bookings made by June 22 for stays from July 8 –September 4, 2011. Particpating Hotels link. These sale rates earn A|Club points.

There are some real bargain rates for hotels I checked in Frankfurt and Prague, Florence, Italy and Dublin, Ireland. All these cities revealed weekend rates in the range of US$50 to $100 per night.

July 9, 2011 sample Super Sale rates

• Mercure Hotel Kaiserhof Frankfurt City Center = US$50
• Novotel Franfurt City = US$57
• M Gallery Hotel Savigny Frankfurt City = US$71
• Novotel Praha Wenceslas Square, Prague = US$89
• M Galley Hotel Century Old Town Prague = US $93
• Ibis Dublin Red Cow Junction, Dublin, Ireland = US $57
• Novotel Firenze Nord Aeroporto, Florence, Italy = US $86
• M Gallery Hotel Cerretani Firenze, Florence, Italy = US $129

Accor 50% Sale Terms & Conditions:

• Book June 14 to June 22.
• Stay July 8 to Sep 4.
• Sale rates in UK do not apply  for stays until July 17.
• Sale rates end for Paris August 22.
• Rates are prepaid and nonrefundable and do not allow changes.  

Loyalty Traveler aside note: I always wondered why place names are not the same in English as the name used in the country where the city is located like Praha and Prague or Firenze and Florence? This has puzzled me from the time I lived in Deutschland (Germany) as a 9-year old.

Accor Hotels tutorial for Americans

Accor Hotels has around 4,329 hotels worldwide making it a larger chain than Hilton or Marriott and on par with InterContinental Hotels Group. Travelers in Europe and particularly France will find Accor Hotels the most prevalent chain in many cities with over 2,400 hotels across the continent.

Accor Hotels is the largest hotel chain in Europe with a range of hotel brands from luxury segment to budget.

• Sofitel Hotels is Accor’s luxury brand.
• The upscale brands are Pullman Hotels and M Gallery.
• Novotel and Mercure are midscale market segment hotels (think Four Points, Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn).
• Economy hotel brands are Ibis Hotels and All Seasons. 
• Accor has around 2,000 budget brand hotels with ETAP and Formule 1 in Europe and Motel 6 in the U.S. Many of the budget hotels in Europe in the ETAP brand and Formule 1 are less than US$40 per night making these hotels affordable overnighters for couples and families needing a place to simply sleep in a bed.

 

Accor A|Club hotel loyalty program

2,300 hotels in the Accor brands of Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Novotel Suites, Mercure, Adagio, Ibis and All Seasons participate in A-Club hotel loyalty program. The Accor budget market segment brands do not participate in A-Club loyalty program.

General A|Club membership is free, although there are paid memberships with Accor Favorite Guest and Ibis la carte for additional benefits.

A|Club Points Value

A-Club is a points-based loyalty program, however, A-Club points have a fixed value.

2,000 A|Club points = US$60 or 40EUR

Leveraging A|Club for hotel room points requires the member to find bonus points promotions when paying for rooms. Most brands earn points at the rate of 2 points per Euro.

Ibis and All Seasons earn 1 point per Euro. In France only Ibis stays Friday to Sunday nights earn points.

 

A|Club Elite Status

A|Club has elite status levels with the following qualification levels and bonus points:

• Silver = 10 nights or earn 2,500 A|Club points. Earns 50% bonus points.
• Gold = 30 nights or earn 10,000 A|Club points. Earns 75% bonus points.
• Platinum = 60 nights or earn 25,000 A|Club points. Earns 100% bonus points.

The advantage of A|Club is the ability to redeem points for vouchers to pay for room stays. This allows members to effectively redeem points for vouchers and discount room rates while earning more points and elite credit on paid stays.

A|Club in the Americas

Only about 7% of A|Club hotel loyalty program members live in the U.S., while about 50% of all A-Club members live in Europe where most Accor brand hotels are located.

Latin America with nearly 200 Accor brand hotels has 21% of A|Club global members; the second largest regional membership base for A|Club.

Brazil is another country where A|Club is a useful loyalty program membership. You won’t find many of the U.S. hotel chain properties in Brazil, although every hotel chain is building and rebranding hotels like crazy in advance of the major sporting events of World Cup 2014 and the Summer Olympics 2016 hosted by Brazil.

Links: Accor Hotels 50% off Super Sale at 1,000 Hotels

PDF of Participating Accor Hotels (No hotels in USA are participating)

Loyalty Traveler Request for Reader Assistance:

Please leave tips on A|Club and Accor Hotels to help Loyalty Traveler build a better knowledge base on this program that is unfamiliar to most Americans.

If you are involved in Accor Hotels PR or management, I’d love to hook up with someone from Accor Hotels to arrange a hotel brand tour. TBEX Prague (Praha) is happening November 2011. Let’s talk.

Accor Hotels current offer of 3 nights for the price of 2 nights is a straight 33% discount based on the best unrestricted rate, aka BAR, for 3 nights at a participating hotel. Book April 12 to May 16 for hotel stays 12 April to 30 May inclusive. This promotion does not use artificially high rates to get the 3-for-2 deal, so the overall 3-night rate is a good deal. Primary drawback is these rates are prepaid and nonrefundable.

Accor Hotels 3-nights for the price of 2-nights special rate offer.

• Rate is 33% off best unrestricted rate (BAR).
• Book April 12 – May 16, 2011.
• Stay April 12 – May 30, 2011.
• Prepaid and nonrefundable.

All Seasons Grenoble Centre Gare, France US$82/night 4/27-4/30 including unlimited breakfast and free wi-fi.

There are some good deals for USA too with Sofitel Chicago as low as $121 this weekend.

Accor Hotels are the largest chain of hotels in Europe with more than 2,000 hotels in brands like Mercure, Novotel, Sofitel, M Gallery, Pullman, Ibis and a variety of budget hotels that can be lower than US$40 per night. Another 800 hotels for international travel around the globe are located outside of North America and Europe. The variety of Accor brands provides hotel market segments from basic budget to luxury resorts for hotel rooms across the hotel budget spectrum.

Accor Hotel locations and global distribution map.

Accor Hotels has regional special rate offers all the time. They just generally are not applicable to the USA, and even if they are there are only six cities in the USA with Sofitel Hotels. The other 1,100+ Accor Hotels in the USA are in the Motel 6 brand. And Motel 6 rarely participates in Accor global promotions.

I refer to Motel 6 as the bastard American brandchild of French-based Accor Hotels.

Bottom-line: There are some good deals in this sale at 33% off for a three night stay at Accor Hotels over the next six weeks. Just be sure to use it or lose it in this prepaid, nonrefundable sale.

Accor is celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2011 with 10 months of prizes for 10 hotel stays and one round the world trip each month. March is the first month of this 10th anniversary year promotion running through December 31.

Accor Hotels 10^th Anniversary World Tour Giveaway link.

Accor Hotel brands include Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Suite Novotel, Ibis, All Seasons, Hotel F1, Formule1, Adagio, Etap, Hotels Barriere, Orbis Hotels. Accor Hotels has more global hotel properties outside the USA than any other major global chain.

Motel 6 is nearly 25% of Accor’s global hotel portfolio, but generally is the neglected stepchild of Accor Hotels and rarely participates in Accor Hotels global promotions and specials.

To Participate in 10^th Anniversary World Tour Giveaway:

• Make a reservation online at an Accor Hotel
• Stay at the hotel in the month prior to the monthly drawing.
• Alternatively there is a free postal entry method (see promotion rules).

Ten phases of the Accor 10^th Anniversary Game

The Game comprises of ten separate phases:

• First phase: from 1 March 2011 to 31 March 2011 midnight
• Second phase: from 1 April 2011 to 30 April 2011 midnight
• Third phase: from 1 May 2011 to 31 May 2011 midnight
• Fourth phase: from 1 June 2011 to 30 June 2011 midnight
• Fifth phase: from 1 July 2011 to 31 July 2011 midnight
• Sixth phase: from 1 August 2011 to 31 August 2011 midnight
• Seventh phase: from 1 September 2011 to 30 September 2011 midnight
• Eighth phase: from 1 October 2011 to 31 October 2011 midnight
• Ninth phase: from 1 November 2011 to 30 November 2011 midnight
• Tenth phase: from 1 December 2011 to 31 December 2011 midnight

Dates and times are based on Paris (UTC+01:00) time zone.

World Tour Prize:

ten (10) identical world tours for two persons with a market value from 3000 Euros onwards, with each comprising plane tickets in economy class with first departure from one of the following ten stop-over cities nearest to the winner’s place of residence:

• Paris (France)
• London (Great Britain)
• New-York (United States of America)
• Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Bangkok (Thailand)
• Beijing (People’s Republic of China)
• Sydney (Australia)
• Berlin (Germany)
• Rome (Italy).

The duration of each world tour varies between 30 and 40 days depending on the place of departure. The ten stop-over cities visited during this world tour are Paris (France), London (Great Britain), New-York (United States of America), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Madrid (Spain), Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (People’s Republic of China), Sydney (Australia), Berlin (Germany), Rome (Italy).

The stop-over order in these cities will be determined by the Organiser Company. This world tour comprises plane tickets in economy class, transfer to the departure airport that is nearest to the winner’s place of residence and lodging. Transfers between the airports and the lodging places are not included in the prize. Lodgings include only the room nights. The number of room nights of stay at each stop-over as fixed by the Organiser Company varies between two and four. Hotels for the lodging will be selected by the Organiser Company depending on the availability. Any extras consumed by the winner will be to his/her charge. The list of participating hotels for each of the ten cities is identical to the list given hereinbelow for the prizes pertaining to the won hotel stays.

One Hundred (100) stays for two persons for four nights in one of the following ten stop-over cities:

• Paris (France)
• London (Great Britain)
• New-York (United States of America)
• Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Bangkok (Thailand)
• Beijing (People’s Republic of China)
• Sydney (Australia)
• Berlin (Germany)
• Rome (Italy).

The winners will choose their destinations and their dates (taking into account the availability as indicated in these rules) and ACCOR will be responsible for selecting a hotel depending on the developments in these availabilities).

Drawings for Winners

• Draw of lots of the participants in the first phase on 13 April 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the second phase on 11 May 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the third phase on 15 June 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the fourth phase on 13 July 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the fifth phase on 10 August 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the sixth phase on 14 September 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the seventh phase on 12 October 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the eighth phase on 16 November 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the ninth phase on 14 December 2011
• Draw of lots of the participants in the tenth phase on 11 January 2012

Eleven winners will be named at each draw of lots and the winning order will determine the awarding of the prizes at stake.

Good Luck.

Loyalty Traveler surveys world’s Top 20 Hotel Brands for loyalty program affiliation and hotel benefits.

The hotel industry generally ranks the world’s biggest hotel brands by different criteria than Loyalty Traveler. The hotel industry ranks hotel brands by the total number of rooms worldwide. That is the hotelier’s viewpoint since more rooms creates the potential for more money.

My viewpoint as a traveler is whether I will be able to find a hotel in a particular hotel brand in the location I am visiting.  I generally only need one or two rooms for my hotel stay. As a traveler I care less about whether a hotel has 100 rooms or 1,000 rooms and more about the number of hotels in my preferred brand for geographic coverage.

Therefore, Loyalty Traveler ranks hotel brand size by the number of hotels rather than the number of rooms. This results in a different hotel brand ranking order than will be found for most hotel chain size surveys.

When it comes to the number of hotels in a hotel brand you can forget about your upscale Hyatt’s and Hilton’s and Marriott’s being the leaders. There are no upscale market segment brands in the top 20 global hotel brands when ranked by number of hotels.

Marriott Hotels (550 hotels) and Hilton Hotels (540 hotels) just miss the Top 20 cut coming in at #21 and #22 respectively with the distinction of being the highest ranking upscale brands worldwide.

The Benefits of Economy and Mid-scale Hotels

Free internet and complimentary breakfast are the two most desired benefits for upscale hotel travelers. In recent years there has been a move among loyalty programs to add these benefits for elite members of Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hyatt Gold Passport.

Travel in the economy hotel market segment pretty much guarantees you will have access to free internet and most of the top brands also offer a free breakfast as a benefit for all hotel guests. Downsizing your hotel brand may upsize your savings in more ways than room rate.

Family-Friendly Hotel Brands  

One of the biggest value benefits of the major economy/mid-scale hotel brands is a policy at six of the Top 20 Hotel Brands to let kids stay free in the room with an adult family member. This policy is extended to a high age limit of 19 years old for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express which offers some interesting possibilities for taking Mom, Dad or Uncle Bob on spring break.

Children Stay Free Policies can be big savings for big families. Bring the sleeping bags.

Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express = Children 19 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

La Quinta Inn = Children 18 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Super 8 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Motel 6 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Premier Inn (U.K.) = Children 15 and under stay free.

 

“Honey, I Just Fed the Kids!”

Some hotel brands even offer free restaurant meals to kids when an adult orders off the regular menu. The age limit is a bit lower than 19 for this benefit.

Holiday Inn (U.S. and Canada only) – ‘Kids Eat Free’ policy allows up to four children age 12 and under to eat free from kids menu any time of day when adult guest pays for meal from regular menu.

Premier Inn (U.K.) – free breakfast for up to two children (15 or under).

 

Loyalty traveler note on hotel numbers and Choice International hotel brands count:

The source of hotel numbers is primarily hotel brand website checks February 8-10, 2011 and data from the most recent financial reports. Choice Privileges only reported domestic properties in its Sep 30, 2010 financial statement. There were 1,140 international Choice Hotels Sep 30, 2010. This is the only detail on international franchised Choice Hotels properties I located without making a hand count by country.

My website checks indicate these 1,140 international hotels are primarily Comfort Inn & Suites and Quality Inn & Suites properties with about 150 Clarion and a handful of EconoLodge and Sleep Inn properties. Australia and New Zealand have more than 200 Choice Hotels.

Choice Hotels total hotel numbers for Days Inn and Quality Inn are from TopHotelChains.com Sep 2010. Hotel numbers for U.S. properties are taken from Choice International financial statements for Sep 30, 2010.

 

Loyalty Traveler Survey of the Top 20 Hotel Brands in the World

Tip: Click on the spreadsheet picture to open in a new window and see in full size. (You may need to click on picture again in new window to magnify size).

Please add a comment if there are other noteworthy features and benefits for these 20 brands; particularly some first-hand knowledge of Mercure and Ibis would be appreciated for these non-U.S. hotel brands.

Several hotel chains currently offer winter hotel discount rates for Europe. Hyatt has a third night free with American Express payment. IHG has a 2 nights for price of 1 offer. Accor, the chain with the largest number of hotels in Europe, has brand specific discounts.

IHG 2 for 1 UK and Europe for hotel stays Nov 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011.

This is one of my favorite recurring hotel discount offers. The high value aspect of IHG’s 2 nights for the price of one night offer is increased when booking high category rooms like hotel suites. This offer is for Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands, although I occasionally found InterContinental Hotels in past promotions offering the same 2-for-1 rate deal.

IHG 2-for-1 Terms:

• Prepaid rate at time of booking. No refunds, changes or cancellations.
• Based on Best Flexible Rate
• Two consecutive nights for the price of one night.
• Primarily for weekend stays Friday – Sunday, although many hotels offer this rate any days of week.
• Rate is capacity controlled meaning the rate may not be available for your stay dates.

Rates are  below $100 per night with the 2-for-1 rate at many major city properties.

The 2-for-1 rate can be used multiple times on back-to-back stays by changing hotels every two nights. For example, a 6-night stay in London can be achieved through two or three different hotels. London and surroundings feature dozens of particpating IHG hotels with some incredible discounts for upper upscale Crowne Plaza suites on weekends for less than a basic room on a weekday.  This allows you to locate yourself in different parts of London and visit sites in that area and then move to another hotel in a different part of the city after two nights. For a tourist this can save hours of commute time and hundreds of dollars on hotel rates.

Hyatt Hotels 3 Nights for Price of 2 Nights with American Express Payment in Europe, Middle East and Africa (Jan 1, 2011 – March 31, 2011)

3-for-2 Offer Code AX436 and Hyatt promotion link.

• Fully prepaid rate, nonrefundable, no changes or cancellation.
• Reservations require 14-day advance purchase.
• Diamond elite Confirmed Suite Upgrades are not allowed for these American Express 3-for-2 rates. [source is Hyatt online customer service representative to FlyerTalk-Gold Passport Concierge]
• 3-for-2 rate is eligible for Gold Passport stay credit and elite credit. [source is Hyatt online customer service representative to FlyerTalk-Gold Passport Concierge] 

Participating Hyatt Hotels:

Europe 

• Grand Hyatt Berlin, Germany
• Hyatt Regency Cologne, Germany
• Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf, Germany
• Park Hyatt Hamburg, Germany
• Hyatt Regency Mainz, Germany
• Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, Greece
• Hyatt Regency Warsaw, Poland
• Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg, Russia
• Park Ararat Hyatt Moscow, Russia
• Hyatt Regency Belgrade, Serbia
• Grand Hyatt Istanbul, Turkey
• Park Hyatt Istanbul – Macka Palas, Turkey
• Hyatt Regency Kiev, Ukraine
• Hyatt Regency Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, United Kingdom

Middle East/Central Asia

• Grand Hyatt Amman, Jordan
• Hyatt Regency Almaty, Kazakhstan
• Grand Hyatt Muscat, Oman  
• Grand Hyatt Doha, Qatar
• Park Hyatt Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Hyatt Regency Dushanbe, Tajikistan
• Grand Hyatt Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Park Hyatt Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Hyatt Regency Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Africa 

• Grand Hyatt Cairo, Egypt
• Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
• Hyatt Regency Taba Heights, Egypt
• Hyatt Regency Oubaai Golf Resort and Spa, George, South Africa
• Hyatt Regency Johannesburg, South Africa

 

Accor Hotels has more branded properties outside the USA than any other major hotel chain. 

Pullman Hotels 50% off second night plus Free Breakfast Jan 1 – March 31, 2011 global offer.

 Pullman is an upscale business-oriented hotel brand with 47 locations around the globe. Pullman Hotels are a rapidly growing brand since launching in December 2007. Recent acquisitions are Starwood’s Le Meridien Montparnasse Paris rebranded to Pullman Montparnasse last week on January 7 and the Hyatt Regency Auckland, New Zealand rebranding as the Pullman Auckland January 20, 2011.  

Pullman Hotels 50% off second night and breakfast Special Offer link .

• Fully prepaid rate, nonrefundable, no changes or cancellation.
• Reservations require 3-day advance purchase.
• Rate valid for stays through March 31, 2011.

Accor has several hotel brands for the traveler wanting lower market segment hotels in the economy and budget range. Here is the main Accor Hotels page for rate discounts for hotels with rates as low as US$30 per night. Here is the main page for A-Club loyalty promotion offers.

Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions and News – updated November 16, 2010

Here is the update to the Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions page on Loyalty Traveler blog.

Sixty Second overview of current offers:

Choice Privileges has one of the best points reward offers with discount hotel partner rewards up to 50% off at Preferred Hotels Group properties for bookings through January 19, 2011.

Starwood Preferred Guest has a fast-track elite offer for the remainder of the year with Stays Count Double at their brands of Aloft, Element and Four Points Hotels through December 31.

Fast-track to SPG Gold elite with just four stays at these brands by January 31, 2011 with the other SPG offer. Elite status will last through February 2012.

Sheraton Club Lounges will remain open on weekends beginning in 2011. Will Marriott follow?

Priority Club Sweet Dilemma for a free night after two stays and Hyatt Gold Passport 10,000 points after 5 nights are the best points and free nights deals for hotel stays through December 31 in my opinion.

Priority Club has an instant platinum elite offer that could make Sweet Dilemma a suite opportunity. IHG also has a high value 2 nights for the price of 1 special rate offer for hotels in the UK and Europe through December 30, 2010.

Accor Hotels has more hotels in South America than most other hotel loyalty program chains put together and through the end of 2010 you can 4x Accor AClub points.

November 21 is the last night for 15,000 goldpoints with just one night at a Country Inn & Suites.

**************************************************

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 October 18 update are marked with an asterisk (*).

***********************************************************************

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 Hotels -  A-Club

Hotel Brands: Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, Adagio, All Seasons, Thalassa Spa.

Motel 6 is the primary Accor Hotels brand in USA, however, extremely limited A-Club hotel loyalty program participation.

 

*North America – Sofitel Hotels Triple Points 11/9 – 12/31

*UK – Mercure Hotels Triple Points Book 11/9 – 12/30 for stays through 2/28/2011.

*Latin America – Ibis, Mercure, Novotel, Sofitel, Pullman – 4x Points through 12/31 at over 150 hotels.

*Paris – Triple Points through 12/31/2010

*Australia – Double Points Dec 1- Feb 28, 2011

*Other Accor Hotels A-Club bonus offers

 

Best Western Hotels – Best Western Rewards

Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier 

* Best Western Travel Card Purchase Bonus – 2,500 points or $10 gift card for every $100 Best Western Travel Card purchase transaction from November 5 – December 31, 2010. You want to make separate $100 transactions to maximize bonus.

 

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)

* Best Western Brand Tiers Change – Best Western is designating about 25% of the chain’s higher quality hotels in the 4,000+ hotel chain as Best Western Plus (about 800 hotels) and Best Western Premier (about 100 hotels).

 

Carlson Hotels – Goldpoints Plus

Hotel Brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza

Country Inn & Suites -  October 3 – November 21, 2010; U.S., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama

• 15,000 bonus points for one-night stay on a Sunday through Thursday. (Limit one bonus per member)
• 3-day advance reservation required. Promo code = 15000PTS.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/09/28/country-inn-suites-one-night-stay-for-15000-goldpoints/

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

Hotel Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban, EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Ascend Collection.

Hotel Reward Partners: Preferred Hotels Group, Barcelo Resorts

*Preferred Hotels Group Reward Nights up to 50% off. Upper-upscale, luxury and boutique hotel room nights 20,000 to 30,000 points. Book between November 3, 2010 and January 19, 2011. (5-key promotion)

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

Four Seasons Special Offers website link

$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 Hotels – Hilton HHonors

Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2Suites.

 

* Sweepstakes for 200,000 HHonors points – Vote for American Airlines AmericanWay Road Warrior by November 30, 2010 for sweepstakes entry.

 

Hilton Double Points and 4x Sundays   October 12 – December 30, 2010

Stay Sunday night and the entire stay earns a bonus equivalent to quadruple base points. Elite base points are earned at regular rate of 10 points per $1. 4x Bonus ends up being 30 bonus points per $1. (LT post: Oct 8, 2010) 4-key promotion if including Sunday stay; 3-key if not.

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. (LT post Sep 13, 2010)

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)

 

Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands:  Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Summerfield Suites

* Hawaii Hyatt Hotels – 10,000 bonus points for 4 or more night stay, Dec 1 – Mar 31, 2011. Must book HI10K rate by Dec 31, 2010. (Nov 12)

* Hyatt Gold Passport Program Change – No elite status matches will be given for elite membership in another hotel program. Elite status trial offer is at the discretion of individual hotel properties.

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).

Hyatt 5,000 points for two-night stays at 27 West Coast hotels.

• September 25 – December 30, 2010, use Special Offer Code 5000GP
• 5000GP rates are reasonable and do not appear to have a mark-up like most special offer rates.

Combinable with Great 10K offer for 10,000 bonus points every 5 nights. You can potentially earn 35,000 bonus points after 10 nights. This is a good deal. Two reward nights at high-end Category-5 hotels will cost 36,000 points. 35,000 points will get 7 free nights at a category-1 hotel. And unlike other hotel loyalty programs, you will find lots of Hyatt category-1 hotels 

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/07/hyatt-5000-points-for-2-night-stays-at-27-west-coast-hotels/

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

Hotel Brands: InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo

* 5-key offer IHG Priority Club Instant Platinum Elite status and a $25 gift card after 5 nights within 90 days. (Nov 15) 

* IHG 2 nights for the Price of 1 in UK/Europe through December 30 – London for under $75 per night over the Christmas-New Year Holiday season. Suites under $300 per night.

* $50 flight credit for Friday, Saturday or Sunday night stay at any IHG brand hotel in the U.S. from November 5, 2010 to April 30, 2011 when you book by December 31, 2010.

* 15% points discount for retail and dining gift card Priority Club points rewards to November 30.

$50 gift cards = 17,000 points; $100 gift cards = 32,300 points

 

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.

Priority Club PointBreaks through December 30, 2010 are probably the best hotel loyalty program reward night value available at 5,000 points for a free night. The current list favors the USA with 77 hotels and only 49 hotels for the rest of the world.

Some of these hotels will run over $200 per night on some dates. PointBreaks rewards reduce the reward cost for a 30,000 points per night InterContinental Hotel to just 5,000 points. That can be quite a points break for an extended stay.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/05/priority-club-pointbreaks-hotels-list-to-dec-30-2010/

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.

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)

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 (California Boutique hotels)

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)

* LHW Hotels Special Offers link

 

Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards

Hotel Brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites, Edition, Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club

* Marriott Gift Card purchases earn 10 points per US$1, up to 25,000 points through December 31, 2010. (Nov. 2)

* Earn 5,000 Delta miles for a Marriott stay and Delta flight between Nov. 1 – Jan. 31, 2011. One bonus per Delta ticket, so one-way tickets are way to maximize offer if the price is not much more than roundtrip. (LT post Nov 6)

 

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.

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 Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest

Starwood Hotels brands: Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Four Points, element, aloft.

* 4-Key promotion – Free weekend night after 3 stays paid with MasterCard in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.  Stay November 1, 2010 – January 31, 2011 at over 250 Starwood Hotels. Maximum one free night may be earned per member during this promotion. Great offer, but too bad limited to one free night.

* Starwood Hotels Policy Change: Sheraton Hotel Club Lounges will be open 7 days a week in 2011.

* 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 and 2 elite stays 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); Sheraton 3^rd Night Free Analysis (Nov 12)

* SPG American Express Facebook Sweepstakes – enter once each week’s prizes 21,000 Starpoints Nov 4-10; 30,000 Starpoints Nov 11-17; 36,000 Starpoints Nov 18-24; 60,000 Starpoints Nov 25-Dec 1.

Buy Starpoints at 20% discount. October 12 – December 31, 2010.  $14 per 500 points rather than $17.50.  Calendar year purchase limit is 20,000 points. $560 for 20,000 points. http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/16/buy-spg-starpoints-20-discount-oct-12-dec-31-2010/

SPG Nights and Stays Count Double at Starwood’s Four Points, Aloft and Element brand hotels.

• October 1 – December 31, 2010 

(This is basically the offer for fast-track Platinum or for an SPG member who is already just a couple of stays away from SPG Gold Elite since the other offer gives Gold elite after 4 stays.) 

SPG Fast-Track to Gold elite after 4 stays at Starwood’s Four Points, Aloft and Element brand hotels.

• October 1 – January 31, 2011 

There are about 200 hotels in these three Starwood brands, mostly in U.S.

Gold elite status good through February 2012 and earns a 50% elite bonus points. This is a great time to grab cheap elite with SPG.

 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. 

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)

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 5-key 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 Worldwide –  Wyndham Rewards

Double miles with 11 airlines – October 1-December 31, 2010 

Participating airlines and travel partners are Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Amtrak, Continental, Delta, Midwest, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, United and US Airways.

The catch is these promotions are hotel brand specific offers for most of the participating airlines, except Aeromexico and Air Canada Aeroplan.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/06/wyndham-rewards-double-miles-with-11-airlines-oct-1-dec-31-2010/

 

Airline Bonuses:

* Qantas Airlines Sweepstakes – free flights for you and companion between Los Angeles and Adelaide for most of 2011. Enter by December 31, 2010.

* FareCompare Sweepstakes for a Rick Seaney designed Mileage Run. Enter by November 26, 2010.

 

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

* The Promotion Variable in Hotel Loyalty Programs – Part 1 (Nov 8, 2010)

* The Promotion Variable in Hotel Loyalty Programs – Part 2 (Nov 8, 2010)

* The Promotion Variable – Part 3 – Hilton HHonors Case Study 2009-2010 (Nov 9, 2010)

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)