Stayed Wed 5-27 and Sat 5-30

 

Rate Search History: The hotel was priced at $74 for weeknights and $59 on Friday and Saturday when I first started my searchs at the end of April 2009. On May 5 the room rate increased to $98 for Wednesday night May 27. I had already planned to stay there but I had not made a reservation. I saw the rate was $74.13 on Orbitz.com and filed a Best Rate Guarantee. The weekend rate had increased from $59 to $71 so I also filed a BRG based on teh $59 Orbitz.com rate for Saturday, May 30.

Starwood Best Rate Guarantee representative approved both claims.

For the nights I was in Denver and could have potentially stayed at Sheraton Denver Tech Center the nightly room rate had a range of $59 to $71 on the weekends. Weeknight rates ranged from $74 to $143 as the lowest nightly rate.

Arrival:

We arrived late – around 10:00 pm.  Agent spent some time reading the computer while I waited. I was curious what was in the file.

Desk agent stated that all the upgrade rooms had already been given out. The Club floors are Floors 9 and 10. The top floor is 10 and the elevator exits into the Club Lounge. Key card is required to reach Floor 10. I was given Club Lounge access on my key. We had room 832.

Lobby:

 

Room:

We walked into Room 832 and the smell of smoke knocked us over. The 8^th floor is a nonsmoking floor and the room contained a card stating a $200 charge would be assessed for smoking in the room.

This room had the strongest smoke smell of any room we have been in since Amsterdam a few years back. Kelley was exhausted and didn’t want me to bother changing rooms.

The room entry had closet to the left and bathroom to the right.

King size bed and two endtables with clock radio.

 

A long desk area with the TV, coffee maker and AV panel with comfortable desk chair. Two upholstered cushions and a coffee table as a seating area. 

 

The room seemed a decent size at 305 square feet but the larger space room was at the expense of a small bathroom  under 40 square feet.

 

Features: Curved bathroom shower rod. 37 inch Philips flat screen TV and long desk counter. Two red upholstered cushioned chairs. It was nice to have two chairs in the room.

Bathroom had no working fan. Windows do not open. Toilet did not refill immediately after flushing. More than two flushes an hour cleared the toilet out and no more flushes allowed. We hoped this would not be a night with Kelley vomiting from her chemotherapy which unfortunately has been occurring more frequently the past couple weeks.

No robe in room which apparently are in rooms on Floors 9 and 10. Only one decaf Starbucks coffee packet in the room so no morning jolt. Fortunately we had lounge privileges beginning at 6am for my morning coffee pick-me-up.

Hotel Facilities:

Outdoor pool and hot tub open 7am-11pm. The pools were covered when we arrived. A posted sign stated management would be happy to uncover the pools for guests during pool hours.

 

 

Fitness room is accessed via ground floor and is located in the conference center wing. Fitness room is relatively small with only about 6 pieces of equipment. The door key card lock was broken to the fitness room and I needed two trips to the front desk and an engineer just to get inside the room.

The hotel design is such that a person must either walk through the ground floor conference center wing to reach the fitness room or pass by the hotel restaurant and bar to reach the pool and hot tub.

Two suites on 10^th floor and one suite on 9^th floor of hotel were the only ones I saw.

10^th Floor lounge had one computer terminal and printer. Breakfast was primarily fruit, yogurt, cereal, and pastries. One hot item was bread pudding. No eggs or meats.

The pictures in the guest room were hung at a level that would be appropriate if guests were all 5 ft 0 in tall. I laughed looking at the room hangings. I don’t think I have ever seen wall hangings so low on the walls of any hotel I’ve ever stayed.

 

M

y criticism of Sheraton Denver Tech Center is focused on the hotel itself and not the staff. The staff were all pleasant, accommodating, and friendly. The Club lounge concierge was highly attentive, friendly, and talkative with guests.

The hotel is a Category 2 for SPG award night redemption and will remain a decent value given low rates and an option to use a relatively small number of points for a free night. The hotel lobby looks nice and the pool is a decent size for a warm day. The appearance of the hotel is fine, particularly the public spaces. Hopefully you won’t experience any room surprises. 

My first impression of this hotel after my stays was this hotel should probably be gutted and remodeled from scratch. The hotel has done a decent job with the public spaces, but the rooms still need some major remodel work.

5-30 revisit to Sheraton Denver Tech Center

Kelley really did not want to return to this hotel after staying at the Sheraton Denver West and Westin Westminster. I had a nonrefundable Best Rate Guarantee rate of $59 and decided if the room was as bad as before then we would leave and head to the Sheraton Downtown Denver.

We enjoyed the several parking spaces with the sign “Starwood Preferred Guest”.

  

Once again the Front Desk read the computer for an inordinate amount of time before checking me in.

We received a 10^th floor, top floor club level room this time. The main difference in the room is a wall of windows with electronic shades. Also the room had a red upholstered couch rather than two chairs.

Bathroom was same miniscule design. The bathroom is only 7.5 ft x 5’ and the door, if you don’t close it, rests against your knees when sitting on the toilet.

I was there for an hour thinking I needed to re-evaluate my criticism of the hotel since the smoking smell was not apparent and there was a couch, and the atrium windows are great, and the full-strength coffee packet was present. And hey the toilet actually flushed properly.

The standard hotel room at Sheraton Denver Tech measures out at about 305 square feet. A high ceiling can compensate for a smaller room. There are fifteen 10^th floor atrium rooms with a wall of windows and where one-third of the room has an 11 ft. high ceiling. These rooms are more desirable and open than the other 247 hotel rooms.

 

 

 

My main complaint on second stay at Denver Tech Center that we did not notice before is the paper thin walls. The voices I had been hearing and wondering if the noise was from the parking lot became clearer as we sat in a quiet room. There were at least three people next door and I could actually understand 70% of the words being spoken in the next room. The people did not seem to be speaking abnormally loud, but the words were fairly clear through the wall.

All you tech industry people discussing secure business matters should be aware that conversations can be heard and much of what you say, particularly when speaking in a slightly higher than normal speaking voice is clearly audible to your neighbors.

The room hotel guide lists the restaurant as Browser’s Bistro when it is Redfire, so the hotel room guide is even out of date.

 

 

37 inch Philips TV and couch and the windows of Floor 10 are the highlights of the hotel. Lounge is nice for computer access and morning breakfast although the color ink had not been replaced between my two stays and I still could not print out hotel driving directions on the lounge printer.

The 10^th floor room is great on the north facing side of hotel because a portion of the ceiling is 11’ high.

I just kept telling myself that two nights only cost $150 all-in and I earned a free hotel night that will be worth at least double that amount and over 5,000 Starpoints (4,000 Best Rate Guarantee points and 1,000 platinum amenity points). 

Hotel stays are a matter of chance:

It was highly improbable to have so many issues occur during our stay. The heavily smoked out room of 832 was not present in 1026 three nights later. The missing coffee in 832 was fully stocked in 1026. The toilet that did not flush correctly for several hours was working again by morning and there was no toilet flushing issue on our second stay. The fitness center door that was broken on Thursday was working on Sunday. The noise of Saturday night was not an audible concern on Wednesday night.

 

Before leaving the Denver Tech Center area I toured several other hotels.  There is the Marriott Denver Tech Center, Hyatt Regency Tech Center, and DoubleTree Tech Center within a couple miles of the Sheraton. I enjoyed my past stay at the Four Points Denver Southeast and would recommend that hotel for people loyal to Starwood and needing this part of Denver. If you just want a Starwood Hotel in the Denver area and downtown is too expensive, then I recommend the Sheraton Denver West for the best value.

 

 

 

Hyatt Summerfield Suites is next to the Sheraton Denver Tech Center. I would stay there next time given all other factors being equal. The rooms were recently remodeled and looked great and they are much larger with better furnishings than the Sheraton Denver Tech Center.

I am a leisure traveler by years of training. When I spent over 100 nights a year in hotels as a business traveler in the early 90s, I accumulated plenty of miles and points, but dates ruled my travel instead of price. The fundamental difference between leisure and business travel is the focus on price. When no reimbursement is coming for your hotel expenses there is incentive to find lower room rates.

The next few months offer an unprecedented opportunity to earn free nights with Starwood and InterContinental Hotels Group. Many of my travel strategies are better suited for a flexible leisure traveler rather than a time-schedule-dependent business traveler. A leisure traveler planning to book multiple stays can save some significant cash by studying hotel rates over a period of time, a day or two or even a week or two before booking hotels. You only know you have scored a good hotel rate after you have seen enough room rate variation to determine what is a low rate for the particular hotel.

How I search hotel rates when planning a major leisure trip (and for Starwood Promotion):

1.    Set up a spreadsheet of hotels and dates for your destination. Here is a portion of my San Francisco Bay Area spreadsheet.

2.    Maintain notes of rate changes. Some hotels change rates up or down several times a week. (Red triangles in some cells are comment boxes with rate change notes.)

3.    Check the hotel website and a meta-search engine like Kayak.com periodically, once a day or every couple days. Look for discrepancies.

 

Spreadsheet for Starwood Hotel Rates in San Francisco Bay Area-May 1-7, 2009

San Francisco search area on StarwoodHotels.com displays 21 Starwood properties. The aloft Santa Clara hotel is listed but that hotel is not scheduled to open until 2011.

My basic planning strategy when organizing a trip is to make a spreadsheet of rates for my travel dates and follow hotel rates for several days or even weeks when planning an international trip or promotion fulfillment.

This chart is much larger than most rate charts I create due to the Starwood promotion and my ability to travel anywhere in the Bay Area for hotels. Normally I would have far fewer hotels in a more limited geographic area and fewer dates to check. The process is not so daunting when dealing with a three night stay in Seattle.

Setting up the chart takes time and then it is just a matter of performing periodic rate searches on StarwoodHotels.com to note changes in room rates. All the red triangle cells have a comment note showing rate changes and date. I can track the rate changes over a couple of weeks and note patterns for days when rates change, and the range of rates.

Some hotels in San Francisco like The Palace, Le Meridien, Westin Market Street, and Westin St. Francis have a room rate range of around $200 between the lowest rate nights and the highest rate nights. This means you may be able to book the room for $110 one night and another night the lowest rate will be $310. Choosing nights carefully for the best rates is a luxury leisure travelers have as a consumer strategy.

Finding Best Rate Guarantee Claims

·         Build a rate spreadsheet for your desired hotels and dates using StarwoodHotels.com rates (or whatever hotels you are tracking).

·         Check Kayak.com or some other meta-search engine for hotel rates.

·         Filter the rates for just Starwood Hotels (or whatever hotels you are tracking).

·         Look for discrepancies in price and room category. Sometimes a higher category room will have a better rate at an Online Travel Agency (OTA) like Hotels.com or Orbitz.com than you find at the hotel branded websites.

·         Submit a Best Rate Guarantee claim when you find a discrepancy. Starwood has an online claim form. Simply fill out the form listing the hotel, dates, and room type. List Starwood hotels lowest rate from a regular search which is usually some type of nonrefundable rate.

·          I have been finding discrepancies for more than 50% of the hotel nights I have booked this year. I think there is a lot of juggling with hotel rates in this economic climate.

My basic hotel booking rules:

·         Always try and book a refundable room, at least up to the day before arrival, in case I need to cancel. 

·         Once I have decided on a hotel or a small group of hotels, I check out the specific hotel website for special offer rates. There are sometimes incredible promotional deals for free meals or parking at the same low price or even lower.  Typically I will only find these on the hotel’s own website. (Sheraton Denver West had a special offer rate of $89 available on a Thursday night when the lowest rate I had found was $141 using AAA rate.)

·         I narrow my hotel selection to a small list of two or three hotels to examine rates closely for better room rate offers. It can take hours to check 20 hotel websites, find special offers, check sample rates for my projected hotel stay dates and compare to other rate options. Key is to balance search time with actual savings. Several hours to save $10 night on a room is not worthwhile. Saving $500 on a Hawaiian resort is worthwhile.

·         A $300 per night room is unlikely to be $109 on some other site. It happens, but rarely. Expect rate fluctuations of 10-25% over the course of a week or two in hotel rates on the hotel’s own sites. Knowing when to buy is a skill. Studying hotel rates typically allows me to book upper-upscale hotel rooms at rates around 50% of the average room rate for the hotel.

	Hotel	Rate Booked	Lowest Rate found for date	Highest Rate seen for same date I booked	Highest Rate seen for hotel during same  Week	Rate difference between what I paid and highest rate of week.
1	Four Points SFO	$79 BRG	$89	$119	$129	$50
2	Westin Market Street	$110 BRG	$99	$239	$239	$129
3	Westin SFO	$81.75 AAA	$79 NR	$99	$199	$117
4	Westin St. Francis	$107 AAA	$107	$179	$269	$162
5	Palace Hotel	$104 Starpicks	$104	$149	$249	$145
6	W Silicon Valley	$89 AAA	$79	$89	$189	$100
7	Le Meridien	$111 Starpicks	$111	$139	$349	$138
8	Four Points SFO	$73 BRG	$75	$75	$129	$56
9	Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf	$90 BRG	$118	$125	$199	$109
10	Sheraton Denver Tech Center	$74 BRG	$74	$98	$129	$55
11	Sheraton Denver West	$89 Hotel Special Offer	$89	$144	$144	$55
12	Westin Westminster	$111 AAA	$111	$124	$179	$68
13	Westin Tabor	$129	$129	$129	$289	$160
14	Sheraton Denver Downtown	$79	$79	$79	$139	$60
		$1,327	$1,343	$1,787	$2,831	$1,404

 

Rate Booked: These are the rates booked for my Starwood Hotel stays.

Lowest Rates: My $1,327 is actually $16 less than the lowest rates I found on StarwoodHotels.com. Several Best Rate Guarantee claims allowed me to pay a lower total rate than the lowest found on the Starwood hotel websites.  Two BRG claims were rates lower than found on Starwood Hotels.

Highest Rate for My Hotel Stay Dates: The rate I paid for my dates of booked hotel stays could have been as much as $450 more, 33% higher if I had booked the same type hotel room for the same date on a different day of my searches. I watched rates over a couple of weeks and booked during rate changes. Studying hotel rates over a couple of weeks allowed me to save $450 and earn 12,000 additional points from Best Rate Guarantee claims.

Highest Rate of Week: The problem for business travelers is the exorbitant hotel rates during conferences and events. My hotel spending for 14 stays could have actually been twice the amount I paid if I had needed to stay on different dates at the same hotel during the same week.

The same hotels could have been as high as $2,831 if I had booked different dates during the same week. I paid less than 50% on average over 14 nights at $1,327 compared to the highest room rates of $2,831.

Rate Difference: I saved $1,404 compared to the highest rates at the hotel during the same week of my stays.

I stayed at the Westin Market Street on a Saturday night for $110 on a Best rate Guarantee claim. The week before I could have booked the hotel on StarwoodHotels.com for $99. If I had needed Friday night the hotel would have cost $239.

 

Westin Market Street, San Francisco, Corner Suite 3306 – $110 rate

Saturday is the 103^rd anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I plan to be in the city. My hotel stay plans were not based on the earthquake anniversary. That is just a coincidence.  

My parents are visiting and wanted to spend some time in San Francisco after several years away. My father is a San Francisco native who moved from the Monterey Peninsula in the mid 90s to Las Vegas. This weekend may indicate if he left his heart in San Francisco.

My task was to find two hotel rooms for this weekend.  The week became a study of hotel rates.

Hilton San Francisco was a deal at $95 per night.   The last time I stayed there I did not receive a room upgrade, even as an HHonors Diamond member.  I have no status with HHonors currently. I received a targeted  offer yesterday for Gold status with  4 stays between July 1 and September 30, 2009. I’ll be hoping for $95 rates at the Hilton San Francisco this summer.  

I actually prefer the Hilton Financial District hotel where Chinatown eateries are right outside the door and some of the room views are better. Rates there were $149.

The Fairmont San Francisco at $103 per night was a choice for a historic hotel at a bargain price in a great location.  My reluctance with the Fairmont is its location on the top of steep Nob Hill. My father recently had knee surgery and Nob Hill is a tough walk for the healthy.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco was my hotel preference due to the top floor circular Club lounge with its 360 degree views and food spread throughout the day. I haven’t had chocolate cake since my last visit. The location near the Ferry Building and the Embarcadero shops and restaurants is a prime tourist spot.  The Hyatt Regency has a WOW factor.  Unfortunately rates were oscillating between $199 and $239 per room all week.  This hotel has been $119 on many weekends recently, but not this one.

Calculating BRG Rates

I almost went for a Best Rate Guarantee with GTAHotels.com who had the Hyatt Regency San Francisco hotel at $147 per night last week and then upped the rate to $152 per night this week. 

Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee offers 20% off the competitor’s lower rate and you can make a claim before booking a room.  Hilton, Marriott, and IHG offer Best Rate Guarantees, but only after you book a room.  

$152 x 0.8 = $121.60 gives an estimate of the Best Rate Guarantee price, however, the BRG calculated rate will normally be slightly higher.  OTAs, online travel agencies, make money from both advertising and additional fees.

The fee charged by GTAHotels can be calculated by taking the room rate of $152 x 4 nights x 15.5565% tax and subtract from the total rate shown for the room.

$608 x 1.15565 = $702.64

The GTAHotels.com total rate was listed at $716. 

$716 – $702.64 = $13.36 for four room nights.

GTAHotels add-on fee per room night is$13.36/4 =  $3.34.

The Hyatt BRG 20% discount is not based on the $152 room rate shown. You have to add on the GTAHotels fee and the 20% discount is based on $155.34 per night.

Hyatt BRG for GTAHotels.com $152 rate at Hyatt Regency San Francisco would result in a room rate of $124.28 per night + 15.5565% tax = $143.63/night after tax. The Hyatt rate would be $230 after tax.

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco was available for $75 less than the room rate listed on Hyatt’s website. After tax that would be a $344 savings on four room nights.

I actually filed a BRG claim with Hyatt using ReserveTravel.com as a competitor rate at $137 per night compared to Hyatt at $199. The claim was denied due to ReserveTravel.com being an OTA that does not offer instant online confirmation.

The Palace Hotel, a Starwood Luxury Collection property, has been available as a BRG property for the entire week.  Orbitz had a rate of $119.20 for several days and on Tuesday dropped that rate to $108. Starwood Hotels had the rate at $135 all week.

I filed a BRG claim with Starwood Hotels for The Palace hotel citing Orbitz at $108 compared to $135 on StarwoodHotels.com.  The final rate came out to $100.73 per night. After tax the rate is $13 less per night than the Orbitz rate – a savings of $52 for our two night stay with two rooms.

A person booking the Orbitz rate of $108 without going through a BRG claim would still save $17 per night on the lowest available rate through Starwood Hotels using the Better Tomorrows offer of 50% off the second night.

The BRG claim saves money and qualifies for Starpoints and elite stay and night credit. This is the first time I have taken the 10% discount rather than 2,000 Starpoints.  I would have taken points if it was a one room night stay since 2,000 points are definitely a better value than a $13 savings. Four room nights made the 10% discount a more tangible savings of $52 now rather than 2,000 Starpoints for some future use.

My parents have never stayed in an upscale hotel in downtown San Francisco.  There was never a reason to spend the money. My grandmother owned a house in the city for over sixty years until she died in 1990. I think the historic Palace Hotel is an appropriate hotel for revisiting the city on the 103^rd anniversary of the Great Quake.

 

Comparison of Various Room Rates on StarwoodHotels.com  for The Palace Hotel, San Francisco

 Orbitz rate was found through Kayak searches.

Hotel Stay: Fri April 17 – Sun Apr 19, two night stay

Mon April 12 rates	Room Category	Rate Plan	Room Rate	Total	Total after Tax
Orbitz	Superior Room (lowest category)		$119.19	$238.38	$275.48   $137.74/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	Internet Rate nonrefundable	$135	$270	$312.03   $156.01/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	Better Tomorrows (50% off second night)	$169 Night 1 $84 Night 2	$253	$292.38   $146.19/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	California Resident special rate offer	$152.10	$304.20	$351.55   $175.78/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	AAA	$135.20	$270.40	$312.49   $156.25/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	Z2H Promotion Code 20% off based on $169 rate	$135.00	$270	$312.03   $156.01/night
StarwoodHotels.com	Superior Room (lowest category)	Z3H Promotion Code 3rd night free based on $179 rate	$119.33	$358	$413.73 for 3 nights   $137.91/night
Wed April 14
Orbitz	Superior Room (lowest category)		$108  + Orbitz fees = $111.92	$223.87	$258.72   $129.36/night
Starwood Hotels	Superior Room (lowest category)	Best Rate Guarantee (10% less than Orbitz final room price after booking fee)	$100.73	$201.43	$232.82   $116.41/night

The Palace, San Francisco, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel

San Francisco seems like a good place to hang out for St. Patrick’s Day. There are quite a number of Irish pubs in the City.

Tuesday night hotel rates in San Francisco can be astronomical at any time of year.  Find yourself in town on a convention night and the upper upscale hotel room is going for $350+ per night. Hit a quiet weekend night or holiday and rates can plummet to $90 for a four star and $120 for a five star hotel and all its associated loyalty program benefits.

Starwood Hotel Rates

San Francisco,

Tuesday night March 17, 2009 (St. Patrick’s Day)

Westin St. Francis	$249
St. Regis San Francisco	$399
W San Francisco	$299
Westin Market Street	$189
Palace Hotel	$249
Le Meridien	$259
Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf	$139

 

Fisherman’s Wharf is the best rate, but a Union Square/Market Street hotel is going to be more conducive to a pub crawl.

San Francisco has a 14% hotel room tax and at $189 for Westin Market, the one night hotel rate is going to cash out at $216 for a night. I want a better priced option than that.

Kayak.com Comparison for Hotel Rates

A quick survey of Kayak.com rates showed discrepancies between Westin Market Street displayed for $129 at Hotels.com and The Palace Hotel at $119 at HotelClub.net.

I tested the Palace Hotel with HotelClub.net and the system kicked me out near the end of the booking process. When I restarted my search the room rate for the Palace Hotel increased to $249. I also tried other sites still showing a $119 rate for the Palace Hotel and all searches resulted in a rate change with the third party online travel agency to the rate shown on Starwood Hotels sites.

I tried the Westin Market Street through Hotels.com and the rate actually came up even lower at $109 for a Traditional room and the rate was bookable. Even better, an added value certificate for $50 on a future two night Hotels.com booking would accompany the $109 room rate.

I rechecked the Starwood site and the lowest priced room for the Westin Market Street was $169 and called a Grand Deluxe. The Starwood Hotels internet rate had dropped $20 on the room between 6:11pm and 6:53pm.

The Palace Hotel had also dropped in price during the hour, from $249 to $211.

I filed a Best Rate Guarantee claim for the Westin Market Street citing the $109 rate at 6:57pm, March 12, 2009.

 

Westin Market Street Hotel, San Francisco

The Day After

I checked my email this morning and there was nothing from Starwood Hotels Best Rate Guarantee.

I checked SPG.com for St. Patrick’s Day hotel rates in San Francisco. The Westin Market Street was still listed at $169 for a Grand Deluxe room at 8:00am, March 13.

I saw another opportunity for a BRG claim at the Le Meridien San Francisco for this weekend at $119 on Hotels.com compared to $139 at Starwood Hotels sites.

I checked a few times today looking for the Starwood BRG email, but nothing came.

5:40pm March 13, 2009; Starwood Hotels response came 22 hours, 43 minutes after filing my BRG claim for the San Francisco Westin Market Street. My claim was approved. The Starwood rate is $233.75 and if I book a room at that rate within 24 hours, then my rate will be adjusted to $109 and I will also receive 2,000 Starpoints (a $70 value) for a successful BRG claim.

The $233.75 rate puzzled me so I went to SPG.com and searched rates.  The Westin Market Street rate was displayed as $289. When I selected the hotel rate , the rate dropped to $159 for a Premier room. Premier is a higher category room for $30 less than last night’s initial search showing a Grand Deluxe San Francisco hotel room on the Starwood sites for $189.

The fundamental question I considered these past 24 hours was whether a hotel chain, not Starwood per se, but in general,  ‘Could a hotel skirt the best rate guarantee by just altering inventory to move cheap rooms through third party sites?’ 

A hotel chain could maintain higher category rooms at higher prices on its own sites at times for the guest who doesn’t search around to get better rates or from loyal customers who may not go elsewhere to compare rates.  Best rate guarantees that do go through could technically be voided because the room types are not the same when a lower category room is on a third party site and that room is not bookable online at the hotel chain’s own site.

The point was moot anyhow since Starwood Hotels honored my Best Rate Guarantee claim for $109, a rate $60 less than the $169 Starwood rate for the Westin Market Street, San Francisco, despite the room types being different between the Starwood Hotels and Hotels.com sites.

Hotels.com showed the rate at $229 for March 17, 2009 when I checked just after I received the email of my successful Best Rate Guarantee claim.

I spent a couple of years wondering if writing about travel loyalty programs would negatively influence programs and ruin the benefits.  A few hundred travelers getting an incredible deal typically did not spread far in the travel community. 

Between 1999 and 2004 there were opportunities every year to earn 500,000 or more frequent flyer miles for $2,000 to $4,000 and generally the expense for earning so much travel credit was simply paying to travel. FlyerTalk was a much smaller community at one time.  The loyalty programs have become much more sophisticated at balancing loyalty promotion giveaways with revenue benefits.

Today social networks over the web connect millions of people on common threads. Tens of thousands moving en masse for a travel bargain can be devastating. Consider the Leading Hotels of the World debacle last October. Perhaps the coming change to Wyndham Rewards Best Rate Guarantee is a case of public overexposure too concentrated on one type of great travel deal.

Wyndham Rewards has an incredible Best Rate Guarantee policy that will be changing April 1, 2009.

Free hotel rooms are a bargain traveler’s dream deal. The guys at BestRateGuarantee.blogspot.com may have put themselves out of their current blog business. The basic purpose of the site is a listing of Wyndham Rewards hotels with a lower rate on a third party travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and many others.

Best Rate Guarantee with Wyndham Rewards means you receive one hotel night free if the lower rate is verified to exist. From April 1 there will no longer be free rooms awarded as a Best Rate Guarantee benefit.

David & Dave of the Best Rate Guarantee blog have posted a statement on February 26 regarding the Wyndham BRG changes.   They allude to recession pressures on Wyndham forcing a policy change. Sure, there is recession pressure throughout the hotel industry, but a website alerting people to book hotel rooms for free is bound to have a devastating impact on revenue.

I posted comments one time to the BRG blog when a Monterey Super 8 property came up on the blog. I questioned the location of the Super 8 since I had just photographed every motel on Fremont Street a couple of days before and there was not a Super 8 among the 16 hotels. I drove to the hotel and spoke with the management that morning. They had in fact changed to a Super 8 and the banner was in the office being readied to drape over the former motel name sign outside.

 

Vagabond Motel, Fremont Street, Monterey 2008 (currently a Super 8 motel)

 

I drove away from that newly branded Super 8 thinking how that family in the hotel office was being impacted by free room giveaways. They may also have been affected by my poor rating of the hotel in my survey of Monterey hotels.  I am glad the motel name changed to a Super 8 since its former name, Vagabond Motel created confusion with a similarly named, Vagabond House Inn located on a lush lot in Carmel. I often wondered how many guests thought they booked a lovely Carmel inn and found themselves sleeping in a motel on Fremont Street by a porn shop.

Vagabond House Inn, Carmel

Wyndham’s new policy will be a 10% reduction of the lower competing price. I think additional points as another BRG incentive would be good to promote hotel loyalty and brand awareness.

The budget hotel market segment is faring better in holding room rates than many other market segments in this deflationary economy.  The 10% BRG is a start, but points would have more leverage value and provide customer loyalty awareness for the brands in Wyndham. I study hotels all the time and I still have difficulty differentiating the brands between Wyndham Rewards and Choice Privileges.

The hotel brand members of Wyndham Rewards followed by 2008 average room rate:

 

1. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, $116.61

2. Wingate by Wyndham, $91.84

3. Ramada Worldwide, $79.69

4. Travelodge, $67.68

5. Baymont Inns and Suites, $65.66

6. Amerihost, $63.38

7. Howard Johnson, $63.11

8. Days Inn, $61.99

9. Super 8, $56.78

10. Knights Inn $40.88

 

(Hotel brands are ordered by average daily room rate for first quarter 2008 which correlates with relative market segment for hotel brand).

 

The low average room rate for many of these hotel brands is why I feel Wyndham would be well served by issuing bonus loyalty points with the BRG claim.  Saving $4.09 on a Knights Inn stay may not be sufficient incentive for someone to bother with a BRG claim.

 

Then again, after 1,000 BRG hotel posts by David and Dave in the past year, perhaps Wyndham Rewards wants to eliminate guest incentive for best rate guarantee claims.

Trumpeter swans honking were the sound I heard and I spotted them flying over the water of English Bay coming towards  me in Stanley Park.  The Westin Bayshore hotel is near the entrance to Stanley Park, 1.5 square miles of wooded parklands and gardens on the western peninsula within walking distance of Vancouver’s central business district.

Trumpeter Swans over Stanley Park, Vancouver

Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl native to North America.  These Pacific Coast trumpeter swans are endangered by shotgun pellet lead in Judson Lake, located across the Canadian border in the USA, just 15 miles east of Highway 101 and the border town of Blaine, Washington.  Wildlife biologists traced the deaths of hundreds of trumpeter swans.  About 1,600 swans have died in the region since 1999.  News story for this information is here.

Westin Bayshore Hotel complex, Vancouver

That is probably not a good way to start a hotel review.  The point is the Westin Bayshore is near Stanley Park in Vancouver and a great place to be in a natural setting adjacent to skyrise Vancouver.  My eyes love the skyscrapers of Vancouver city and the Sheraton Wall Centre and Westin Grand in the urban center are architectural eye candy.  In contrast, the Westin Bayshore presents a blight on the waterfront architecture of Vancouver.  This hotel, from the outside, looks like a 1970s retro beach hotel in the 21^st century city waterfront along the rest of the bayshore of Vancouver’s Central Business District.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver city skyline view

Viewed from the inside the Westin Bayshore provides the comfort of an upscale hotel experience with fine furniture, comfortable seating, high quality TV viewing, Heavenly bed and great bath features (except for the ultra-skinny shower width).  Best of all was the city view of the Vancouver small boat docks and bayshore pathway leading into the city center. 

Westin Bayshore Vancouver waterfront view

My eyes like the architecture of Vancouver city center.  My soul likes the waterfront position of the Westin Bayshore hotel and the proximity of escaping into Stanley Park for quick contact with nature.  The big city is something I only enjoy for a few days at a time and then I like to be back in the woods and on the beach.  Vancouver is a city of 600,000 people.  The place is dense with people. 

The Westin Bayshore is the Starwood Hotel in Vancouver for the traveler who wants the activity of city life, but relaxing at a hotel closer to the water, trees, and paved waterfront paths for walking, jogging, or cycling.  There are lots of residents in the surrounding streets in this west end of the city making this part of Vancouver easier for finding services like markets, cheap food cafes, and laundry facilities.  This end of the city definitely seems more affluent when walking the streets at night than the Gastown – City Center areas of Vancouver.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver outdoor pool, Nov. 11, 2008

Remembrance Day, November 11, is a well-observed holiday in Canada.  The day brought an intense rain storm to Vancouver. On the waterfront with a view of the bay, we saw some strong gusts of wind and rain.  There was a couple in the large outdoor hotel pool hanging out in the heated water on a blustery day.  It looked fun.

Remodel exhibit in Tower lobby of Westin Bayshore Vancouver

The indoor pool had several children and dads swimming on the Tuesday holiday morning.  Moms were having quiet time I guess.  The indoor pool and workout room are located in the Tower section of the hotel complex and the hotel corridors go from one side to another without having to go outside.  The Tower rooms are in the process of being remodeled until the spring of 2009.  Some rooms are still open for Tower guests.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver suite sitting room on 5th floor main building

The Westin Bayshore lobby is cavernous compared to the other two Vancouver Starwood properties.  There is a conference center portion to the hotel.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver sitting room

Westin Bayshore Hotel has two buildings for rooms.  The main hotel is a 9-story building wing extending to the waterfront.  Half the rooms face east to the city center and half face Stanley Park, the Tower building of the Westin Bayshore, and the outdoor pool enclosed from the bay shore paved pedestrian path by hedges and and a fence.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver suite sitting room TV

The bedroom and the sitting room of the Westin Bayshore suite had sliding glass patio doors to balcony decks. 

Westin Bayshore Vancouver balcony

The Heavenly bed was its usual comfort.  The bed was center aligned with the patio door.  The bedroom was huge and easily would have accommodated shifting the bed over another foot or two for better views out the windows to the city and harbor.  This would also alleviate the problem with the bedroom door opening inward to the room and being blocked by a doorstop leaving so narrow a space that the guest has to squeeze between the bed and the door. 

Westin Bayshore Vancouver suite bedroom

Was this the same designer for the Westin Grand bedroom?  It seems Vancouver Westins like to force guests to contort around physical barriers in the guest bedrooms to get around the room.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver shower and tub in suite

The bathroom was nicely equipped with a closet containing robes and an umbrella, vanity mirror, separate shower and tub, and the glass shower stall was another space for skinny people.  Barely 20 inches between the handle fixtures and glass of the shower door and the tile wall.

The horrible weather of Vancouver on Remembrance Day motivated me to head back to Seattle earlier than I planned.  There was no issue with immigration questioning for this trip that I usually experience with airport travel to Canada.  Driving back to the USA wasn’t a cakewalk though.  Over 90 minutes to drive the last mile through border control at the USA border.

Remembrance Day Poppy, November 11

Room Cost: $134 CAD room +$28 CAD parking (about $155 USD total).

This was a Best Rate Guarantee found on GTAHotels.com via a Kayak.com search and based on a $145CAD rate on the SPG website.  Received 2,000 Starpoints bonus and the hotel still generously placed me in a full suite upgrade.  Vancouver Westin Bayshore was a good value stay.

Related Loyalty Traveler links:

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre review 11-24-08

Vancouver Westin Grand review 11-25-08

 

Analysis of Hyatt Hotels Nonrefundable 21% Off Sale, December 1-12, 2008 

Loyalty Traveler Trip Tip: Shop Other Rates Before You Drop a Prepaid Bundle on this sale

The Offer: 21% Off ‘Prevailing Rates’ using offer code LTO107.

Discount rate is eligible for Faster Free Nights promotion.

Requires nonrefundable prepayment for hotel stays booked with this offer.

Blackout Date: 12/31/08

Booking Timeframe: In USA, Canada, Caribbean – Must book by December 12

Park Hyatt hotels worldwide*, Hyatt’s top-tier hotel brand, and Hyatt hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific and Latin America (including Mexico) require 7 days advance booking for stays through January 31, 2009.  The December 12 date is not the timeframe limit for Park Hyatt or Hyatt Hotels in most international regions. 

*Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort, Colorado is an exception and must be booked by December 12.

Hotel Stay Timeframe: Rate applies to stays through February 1, 2009.

 

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Hotel rates are dropping faster than home prices in many locations.  I have family traveling during the December holidays and I focused my searches for the Hyatt 21% LTO107 sale on California and Arizona hotels.

Best hotel rate findings are mixed.  The Hyatt sale is a good deal for some locations and the offer is an opportunity to book a Hyatt hotel at its lowest rate of 2008. 

I also found Hyatt locations where comparable AAA rates are available.  In several searches the prepaid, nonrefundable 21% discount rate saves only $10 to $15 per night compared to a refundable AAA rate.  Paying an extra $30 to $50 for a $600 stay can be a smart insurance policy on unforeseen circumstances that may result in a missed stay and a hefty loss if your vacation plans fall through on a prepaid hotel.

I try to avoid nonrefundable rates at every opportunity.

The problem with buying a nonrefundable rate hotel stay at the present time is hotel rates are dropping.  Hotels are seeing some serious deflation in the past two months.  It is hard to know a good deal unless you are highly informed about the rates for a particular hotel over the past several years.  I have followed San Francisco Bay area hotels for the past five years and I am seeing some hotel rates fall back to 2003 levels.  Other hotel rates are still in the bumped up range from the 2006-2007 huge room rate increases and have not fallen back to the post-9-11 lows of 2002 and 2003.

Some Hyatt Hotels are a good deal at the 21% discount rates, however, they may not necessarily be the best deals of 2008 for that property.  I think the Hyatt rates are likely to be about as low as rates go for December, but I would be reluctant to prepay a resort like Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona  for a late January stay.  Resort properties may be slashing rates for January even more in the coming weeks if the reservations don’t roll in for the major hotel players with deals like this Hyatt Hotels 21% discount promotion.

Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

 Rate Comparisons for Hyatt Hotel Stays in December and January

Hotel, Location, Date	Limited Time 21% rate – Offer Code: LTO107 (prepaid-nonrefundable)	AAA rate (usually refundable – rules vary from 48 hours prior to arrival to day of arrival)	Hyatt.com (prepaid-nonrefundable)	Prevailing Rate (rules vary)	Special Offer Rates (hotel specific)
Hyatt Regency Orange County, Garden Grove, CA  Fri 12-26 to Sun 12-28 (2 nights)  *prices shown are total rate for two nights	$243.32 King   $338.12 King suite or 2-bedroom kids suite	$277.20 King   $385.20 King Suite or 2 bedroom Kids Suite (cancel up to 24 hours before arrival)	$298.00 King   $418 Suite	$308 King   $428 Suite	‘Suites on Sale’ Special Offer - Suite $368.00 (may cancel up to 24 hours before arrival)  Refundable rate helps if little Julie comes down with the flu.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Fri. Dec. 26	Deluxe King $141.41   Regency Club $200.66	Deluxe King $152.15   Regency Club $215.90 Cancel up to 24 hours   AAA Hot Deal rate includes breakfast for 2 and 25% off valet parking   Deluxe King $161.10   Regency Club $236.10 Cancel up to 24 hours	Deluxe King $159.00   Regency Club $234.00	Deluxe King $179.00   Regency Club $254.00	San Fran on Sale Deluxe King $161.00   Regency Club $236.00 (includes a $25 food credit and may cancel up to 24 hours)
Grand Hyatt San Francisco Fri-Sat Jan. 16-17	$330.22 King   Regency Club $448.72 (RC is complimentary for Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members)	$376.20 King AAA Hot Deal includes breakfast for two daily ($80 value) – May cancel up to 48 hours before arrival   Regency Club $526.20 (negates value of free breakfast)	$418.00 King Regency Club $568.00	$418.00 King No option for Regency Club shown online.	No applicable special offers
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, AZ Gainey Ranch 4 nights-Fri-Sat Jan 16-20	$1,061.20 King (30% off prevailing rate of $1,516.)	$1,212 King Cancel up to 72 hours.	$1,436 King	$1,516 King	$1,137 3 For Free group/corporate #: 22828 (includes free one category room upgrade and credit for 4th night) Cancel up to 72 hours.
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, AZ Gainey Ranch 2 nights -Fri-Sat Dec  12-14	$404.60 King	$462.40 King Cancel 72 hours prior to arrival	$538.00 King	$578 King Cancel 72 hours prior to arrival (AAA has $116 value for this stay)
Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego 2 nights Dec 26-28	Not Offered	$238.50	$288.00	$338.00	Hotel Site Special Offer – Winter Getaway $198 Cancel 24 hours prior to arrival
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego 2 nights Dec 26-28	$248.00  (40% discount)	$334.56	$388	$408	$298 Holiday Rate special offer.  Cancel by 24 hours.

 

 

 

Hyatt Regency Orange County, Garden Grove, California (near Disneyland).

Fri-Sat night weekend stay for December 26-28, 2008.

A hotel special offer for a full suite or a 2-bedroom kids suite is available through the “Suites on Sale” special hotel offer at only $15 more per night than the 21% nonrefundable rate.  The Suites on Sale rate may be cancelled up to the day before arrival.  That is relatively cheap insurance to protect your vacation money.

 

The lowest priced one bedroom King room is available as a refundable AAA rate for just $17 more per night than the nonrefundable LTO107 room rate for the 21% discount.  To reiterate, $34 extra for a room rate that may be cancelled up to day before arrival is a good insurance rate to protect your cash from a cancellation of travel plans or a rate drop between now and the hotel stay dates.

 

Hyatt Regency San Francisco at the Embarcadero

Friday, December 26, 2008

Some of the major cities in the USA and Europe have their lowest rates of the year during the December holiday week when business travel is near non-existent.

 

The LTO107 discount rate offer of $141 for the night is only slightly lower than the basic AAA rate of $152 that may be cancelled with no charge up to day before arrival.  An extra $20 for the AAA Hot Deal rate of $161 includes breakfast for 2 guests and 25% off valet parking.  The breakfast deal alone is worth at least $40 at the rates charged in the Hyatt Eclipse lobby restaurant.  AAA is a better deal.

 

A “San Francisco On Sale” special offer rate of $161 includes a $25 food & beverage credit which could be a better deal for someone with Diamond elite status who will receive complimentary Regency Club access for complimentary breakfast.  This special offer rate may be cancelled up to day before arrival.

 

San Francisco Bay view from Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero

Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Friday-Saturday, January 16-18, 2009

 

The 21% discount LTO107 rate of $330.22 ($165/night) is the lowest available rate for this hotel.  There are no applicable special offer rates for these dates at this time.

 

AAA Hot Deal rate is an extra $23 per night and includes breakfast for two each day.  The AAA rate may be cancelled up to two days before arrival making this a comparable rate to the LTO107 with the value-added breakfast component.

 

The Holiday Sale rate for the Hyatt Mission Bay, San Diego did not appear when searching AAA rates for the two night December 26-27 weekend stay.  By checking both the LTO107 rate and the AAA rate I saw the special Holiday Sale rate with the same cancellation terms as the AAA rate for a savings of $36.  Paying an extra $50 (20%) to avoid the nonrefundable LTO107 rate is a choice that needs to be weighed against the probability of a change in plans for the hotel stay.

 

San Francisco Bay view from Grand Hyatt

Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

January 16-20, 2009

 

The LTO107 four night rate for this hotel is $1,061.20.  This nonrefundable, prepaid rate is a $37.50 per night savings on the $1,212 AAA rate which has no value-added component except for a cancellation policy up to 72 hours before arrival.

 

There is a free night and free one category upgrade hotel special offer at $1,137 for the four night stay.  This rate allows cancellation up to 72 hours before arrival and brings the refundable room rate to just $16 per night more.  The special offer rate at $60 more to protect an $1,100 hotel investment for your vacation may be a wise choice.

 

At the pace hotel rates are dropping there might even be lower rates that become available for this stay 7 weeks away.

 

And the best deal of all for the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch may be booking the room through an online third party site.  This hotel stay listed for $969 for the 4-night stay, January 16-20, 2009 through GTAHotels.com link found through Kayak.com. This is $90 less than the Hyatt.com LTO107 rate.  Regency Club is $1,155 total for these dates.

 

This stay may qualify for Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee which would reduce the $969 rate by an additional 20% and bring the nightly rate down to $776 or $194 per night compared to the $265 per night rate using the LTO107 rate.  Loyalty Traveler has made several successful Best Rate Guarantee claims with Hyatt Hotels and Starwood Hotels based on GTAHotels.com rates.

 

 

Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California 

December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay

 

The 21% Discount LTO107 rate is not offered at this Hyatt property.  There is a AAA rate of $238.50 which is $50 less than the nonrefundable Hyatt.com rate.  Even better is a hotel special offer rate “Winter Getaway” for $198 for the two night stay.   

Kayak.com showed a rate of $95.09 per night on Hotels.com for this stay.  This could be another Best Rate Guarantee claim that, if successful, would reduce the nightly rate to just $76 per night.  Now that is a hotel bargain you can’t beat for one of San Diego’s top hotels.

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego, California 

December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay

 

The 21% Discount LTO107 rate of $248.00 for the two-night stay is actually a 40% discount on the prevailing rate of $204 per night.  The AAA rate is $47 more per night and does not include any value-added component except for the more liberal cancellation policy.

Hyatt Mission Bay has a hotel “Holiday Rate” special offer of $149 per night.  The additional $25 per night for a cancellation policy up to day before arrival may be a better choice for some.

 

 

I spent three days in Vancouver November 8-11, 2008.  I stayed one night in each of the downtown Vancouver Starwood Hotels: the Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver Westin Bayshore, and Vancouver Westin Grand.

There are significant differences between the three Starwood hotels in Vancouver and I will highlight some features of each Starwood hotel in these hotel reports.

Any of the three Starwood hotels in downtown Vancouver are a good choice of lodging for a stay.  I spent three nights in Vancouver and wished I had stayed a fourth night.  There is plenty to see and do and four nights is a good length of stay to have reasonable time to see shops, eat, visit sites and museums, go to GasTown, Yaletown, Granville Island, False Creek, Chinatown, Robson Street, and Stanley Park, exercise and swim in the hotels, not to mention trying to squeeze a trip over to Grouse Mountain, a day trip to Victoria, or a city stadium sporting event.  I never pack too much into a stay and we only did a few of these things.  I maintain the philosophy of just being anywhere and what I don’t get around to this trip, perhaps I’ll do next time.

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre is a major city center hotel with over 700 guest rooms in two glass exterior skyscraper towers.   The architectural beauty of the Sheraton Wall Centre complex makes this my favorite hotel of the three Starwood Hotels in downtown Vancouver. 

 

 Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, South Tower

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, North Tower

Complimentary food and beverages (alcohol costs money in evening social) is another reason I favor the Sheraton Wall Centre.  

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre Club Lounge Breakfast, Floor 25, South Tower

 

Sheraton Wall Centre Club Lounge access through Club lounge doors on Floor 25 is coded into key card for platinums and is door for stairway to business center in the room on Floor 26.  Floor 27 is a separate room and entry.  The lounge rooms can be accessed throughout the day for TV, newspapers, chilled non-alcohol beverages, wireless internet access, and the lounge computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Spiral Stairway leads to Floor 26 SPG Business Lounge

 

 

 

 

Platinum members receive complimentary passes for wireless internet on the Club Floors 25-27.  Ask at front desk or concierge in lounge for complimentary pass codes for internet access. 

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre SPG Business Center in 26th Floor Lounge, South Tower

A nice feature of our room location on Floor 27, South Tower was easy access to the SPG Club Floor TV room on Floor 27.  The SPG Club Floor TV lounge has a large screen TV, board games and magazines, and iced drinks (sodas, juice drinks, and sparking water) and coffee throughout the day.

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre, SPG Club Floor TV room, Floor 27, South Tower

North Tower is said to have nicer rooms, but that is all relative to your view and whether you are upgraded to a suite or possibly have a balcony room in the South Tower.  My reservation was changed from the North Tower to a Club floor one-bedroom suite on the 27^th floor South Tower.  All of my hotel stays have been in the South Tower.  This stay was a Best Rate Guarantee that lowered the room rate from $169 CAD to $129 CAD and garnered a 2,000 Starpoint bonus for a successful Best Rate Guarantee claim.

 

 

 

 

 

Sheraton Wall Centre patio table and chairs in suite

The Sheraton Wall Centre 27th floor guest suite itself had minimal furnishings.  The couch was the least comfortable of the three Vancouver Starwood Hotel suites.  Westin Bayshore had the nicest furniture of the three hotels.  The highlight of a stay at the Wall Centre are the high floor views from the floor to ceiling windows.  And there really isn’t a bad direction to be facing in Vancouver.  The view from up high is all good. 

View to the north along Burrard Street, Vancouver

There is a 3rd floor interior walkway between the South and North Towers, however, you must walk by the conference center rooms which could be crowded at times.  The workout room, spa, sauna, and indoor pool area are located at the base of the North Tower.  Large changing rooms are available at the gym/pool area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre North Tower pool

An attendant manages the door entry for the gym/pool and swimming hours are 5am to 11pm daily.  Facilities include a large workout room stocked with a variety of machines and weights, a steam room, and a sauna room.

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre workout room, North Tower

Starbucks at North Tower entrance and reception and bar up escalator to main lobby

Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre is in the geographic center of downtown Vancouver.  All the downtown districts are within easy walking distance from Granville Island, Yaletown, Downtown hotels and restaurants and Robson Street shops, Gastown, and even the Coal Harbour waterfront is only a 20 to 30-minute walk.

The architecture of Sheraton Wall Centre is striking and looking out the hotel floor to ceiling windows from the 27^th floor is the kind of experience I find invigorating as a small town resident where very few buildings are more than four stories tall.

 Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre, North Tower

The Sheraton Wall Centre takes up a city block and has two hotel towers, South and North with Convention Center rooms between the towers.  A third tower is a residential unit.  A parking garage is below ground.  Parking is $26CAD per day.

The South Tower is the older building and has 35 floors.  The SPG lounge floors are 25, 26, and 27.

South Tower on left and Residential Building at Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre

The North Tower is a striking piece of architecture prominent in the Vancouver skyline as it stands higher than most surrounding buildings. 

Sheraton Wall Centre North Tower (tallest building in center) as seen from Westin Grand

 

 

 

 

“I mean everyone has got to take a road trip, at least once in their lives.
Just you and some music.”

Claire Colburn in the Cameron Crowe movie Elizabethtown.

The next two weeks will likely be different types of blog posts than typically seen here on Loyalty Traveler.  The plan is for sporadic dispatches from the road.

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of my two week road trip through the Pacific Northwest.  The California winter rain season started this weekend.  Going north on Interstate 5 the rain was supposed to be greater than 2 inches.  California is a state where most people only drive in rain about 10% of the year.  Driving during the first major storm of the year is “No Fun”. 

The rainy weather changed my itinerary from a coast road drive to an Interstate 5 trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. I’ll see how the weather is next week for the return south and determine if time and inclination take me coastward.

I feel like there is no better time than election day USA to go on the road.  The media is anticipating change.  I anticipate a national breakdown if we, as a nation, don’t embrace change. 

My  schedule is 1,050 miles north through California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia to Vancouver over the next five days.   Portland plans include visiting an elementary school converted into a hotel/brewpub.  I’ll see if they need a substitute for the day. 

As with most travel trips the cost generally comes out more than what you initially planned.  The price of gas is down, and some hotel rates are down, however, there are still a fair share of $200+ per night hotels out there in the Pacific Northwest.  I have pulled out lots of hotel rate tricks for this trip.  

Starwood Best Rate Guarantee for two hotels is saving about $50USD and SPG awarded me with 4,000 bonus points for the successful claims.  SPG 50% off awards will save me another $175 in Portland, Oregon. 

IHG PointBreaks awards at 5,000 points per night discount the Holiday Inn Express hotels in Oregon to $62.50 per night compared to the outrageous $140 per night regular rate the hotels command from Interstate 5 traffic. I bought 11,000 points for $125 on Saturday and the points posted to my account by Sunday.  Yesterday I booked my PointBreaks hotel for 5,000 points.

Canada is an absolute bargain right now for hotel rates.  The Canadian Dollar is down against the US Dollar.  When I first started planning this Canada trip a couple of weeks ago the exchange rate was $1.15 and on Monday, Oct 27 it approached $1.29CAD.  The Canadian currency has strengthened during the last week and today the US Dollar is back to $1.16CAD.  I should have exchanged some cash last week.  Many of the 4-star and 5-star hotels in Vancouver downtown area are under $130USD per night, even among the major brand hotels. 

Kimpton Hotels Fall-ing for Vancouver with $139CAD suite (under $120US + 18% tax)

Some deals in Vancouver are under $100 USD per night like Kimpton Hotels’ Vancouver Pacific Palisades Hotel with an $89USD room special. 

Next Loyalty Traveler dispatch should be from the state of Oregon.

A call-out to any readers with sight-seeing tips or other recommendations for a traveler along the I-5 corridor.  Leave me a comment or send an email ricgarrido@frequentguest.net.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel Best Rate Guarantee Claims

In a recent Loyalty Traveler post I titled “Why Kayak is Not Your Best Friend for Hotel Rates” I showed a lower rate found on Kayak.com than appeared on the Marriott site for the Renaissance Eden Roc Hotel in South Beach Miami.  GTAHotels.com was the online travel agency with the lower hotel rate ($330) than Marriott ($369).  I commented a Best Rate Guarantee claim could probably be made with Marriott Hotels and, if successful, the $330 rate would be reduced by 25% to $247.50.  The Marriott Best Rate Guarantee would have reduced the Marriott.com rate from $369 to $247.50, however, I went on to show an even lower rate found on Marriott.com through a hotel special offers link for a rate of $129 per night.

This week I was planning travel to Vancouver, British Columbia.  I checked hotel rates on the Starwood website.  I then checked Kayak.com and found the Sheraton Wall Centre had a lower rate listed on Kayak.com with the same GTAHotels.com online travel agency.   The hotel rate listed as $169 Canadian Dollars on the Starwood site and $98USD on the GTAHotels.com site.  This was about a $32USD difference.

On Monday I submitted a Best Rate Guarantee claim with Starwood Hotels.  My claim was successful and I will be receiving 2,000 bonus Starpoints in addition to the lower $129CAD rate.

The process for submitting a Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) is different across the hotel chains.  Starwood and Hyatt have the most consumer-friendly processes for Best Rate Guarantee claims.  A Starwood Hotels customer seeking a Best Rate Guarantee fills out an online claim showing the hotel rate on the third-party site and a Starwood representative validates the room rate offered on the third-party site to the Starwood Hotels rate for the same type of room for the dates of your hotel stay. 

A Hyatt Hotels customer can call to validate a claim over the phone before making a reservation.

I received an email reply from Starwood Hotels about 10 hours after submitting my Best Rate Guarantee claim.  The email stated my claim was valid and I had 24 hours in which to book the hotel room at the listed $169CAD rate on a Starwood website.  After booking the higher rate through Starwood Hotels and sending an email reply to the BRG email from Starwood Hotels with my new reservation confirmation number, my rate was adjusted within a couple of hours to $129CAD to match the GTAHotels.com $98USD rate.

How do other hotel chains handle Best Rate Guarantee Claims?

Hilton Hotels Best Rate Guarantee Terms

Hilton requires a reservation be made on a Hilton website or directly with the hotel.  Then, if a lower rate is found within 24 hours for the same room type, Hilton will match the lower room rate and give you a $50 American Express gift certificate for hotel stays in USA, Canada, and Mexico.  International hotel rates will be adjusted to the lower rate and a $50 credit applied at check-out. 

Hyatt Hotels Best Rate Guarantee Terms

Hyatt will discount a competing lower rate by 20%.  You do not have to make your reservation first.

If you find a publicly available and immediately bookable room-only rate on the Internet for a Hyatt Hotel (“Competing Rate”) that is lower than the room rate available for the same reservation on http://www.hyatt.com/ (i.e., same hotel, same type of room, same number of guests, same dates of stay and same length of stay), then prior to or within 24 hours of booking the reservation on http://www.hyatt.com, please call Hyatt Hotels & Resorts at 1-888-96 HYATT (1-888-964-9288) or 402-593-5445.

Once Hyatt confirms the availability of the Competing Rate on the Internet, subject to room availability at the applicable Hyatt Hotel, Hyatt agrees to match the Competing Rate for the same reservation, plus discount an additional twenty percent (20%) off the room rate for the duration of the stay being so reserved.

InterContinental Hotels Group Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee

Every hotel reservation booked through an IHG web site is guaranteed to have the lowest rate publicly available on the internet or IHG will match a lower rate under the following conditions:

If you find a rate on a competing web site that is lower than the lowest rate shown on the ‘Best Available’ search of IHG web site, IHG will honor that rate for the nights for which the lower rate was found, plus give you an additional 10% discount off the lower rate found upon its verification by IHG.

 

 

 

Marriott Hotels Best Rate Guarantee

Must book hotel rate through Marriott channel first and then within 24 hours if a lower rate is found on a competing website, Marriott will adjust your rate to the lower rate and will give you a 25% discount off lower rate.

Starwood Hotels Best Rate Guarantee

Starwood Hotels will discount a competing lower rate by 10% or award you 2,000 Starpoints.  The choice is yours.  You do not need to make the reservation with Starwood first.

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Starwood Hotels and Hyatt Hotels do not require you to make a reservation before making your Best Rate Guarantee claim.  The advantage of this for the consumer is you will not have booked the higher rate through the hotel chain’s reservations if the BRG claim is unsuccessful.

Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Marriott require you to make a reservation through them before you can file your Best Rate Guarantee Claim.  Additionally, you must make your claim within 24 hours of your initial reservation. 

I have found lower hotel rates on third-party websites for Hilton and Marriott in the past, but making a reservation with Hilton or Marriott first at the higher room rate and then filing a claim is too restrictive a condition for me.  I search rates until I make a reservation and I am unlikely to continue searching for a lower rate during the 24 hours after booking a room.  I also am reluctant to book a more expensive room than I need to book in case the Best Rate Guarantee claim is unsuccessful.

I have had good luck this year with several successful BRG claims.  And I have seen several more that would have likely been successful if I had decided to stay at those hotels.  It pays to compare rates on a couple of third-party sites when searching for better hotel rates than the hotel chain listed rates.  The Best Rate Guarantee keeps most hotel rates on third-party sites from being lower, but when they are lower on a competing site, the loyalty traveler knows an even better deal awaits through the hotel’s Best Rate Guarantee process.