This is the season of travel surveys.  Who is traveling this summer and where are they going? Travel surveys reveal some trends, some indicators and some insightful data about which destinations are attractive or not.  Declining popularity is an indicator I view as a sign hotel bargains are to be found.

One of the most relevant statistics to me is the American Express finding that 19% of summer travelers plan to use loyalty program points and miles for 2012 summer travel. This percentage was only 15% just one year ago. That is over 25% growth in the number of travelers planning to use loyalty programs in just the past year.  Read More…

Omni Hotels has participated in the U.S. Travel Association/American Express Daily Getaways for all three years these spring months sales have been around. And all three years I see the Omni Hotels deal does not sell out during the Daily Getaways offers. That is a mystery to me? Read More…

Any elementary school teacher knows music is the universal language to transcend cultural barriers. “Land of Dreams” is a beautiful song written and performed by Rosanne Cash for the first ever global marketing campaign to promote USA tourism.

The video of Rosanne accompanied by other musicians like Los Lobos and Bebel Gilberto was filmed under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and shows images of American life and landscapes. The song and video for Land of Dreams is being used in international marketing campaigns to promote the USA to the world as a tourism destination. Read More…

The Hotel Data Conference was held this past week at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville. One of the headlines from the conference caught my attention with –  

“Hoteliers could be leaving as much as US$50 on the table by not charging guests what they expect to pay.” 

The statement is based on a presentation by Nate Fristoe and the RRC Associates Travel Intentions Survey which showed U.S. leisure travelers late last year had expected to pay $294 per night for a luxury hotel in January to June 2010. The rate paid for a luxury hotel night during this time period was actually $244 per night.

The conclusion appears to be that hoteliers could have charged an extra $50 per night for their hotel rooms and consumers would have accepted those rates.

Really now? 

The last two luxury hotels I stayed in received an extra $5 of that $50 on the table when I needed to purchase coffee in the morning. Luxury hotels are the only hotels I have stayed in the past year where there was no complimentary coffee service in the hotel lobby. And often the complimentary coffee in luxury hotels is so discreetly placed that you need to ask where to find this freebie, if available. 

The RRC Associates data showed leisure travel price gaps for all market segments from economy to luxury hotels with the smallest gap in the midscale hotel market at $106 expected rate vs. $87 actual rate. Surprisingly to me is economy hotel rates were the next biggest consumer-seller gap with leisure travelers anticipating rates of $86 per night for the first half of 2010, but actual spending came to just $49 per night for a $37 room rate gap. 

Upscale hotels showed a $33 gap from $161 expected to $128 actual rate paid.

So does this mean hoteliers will be raising rates rapidly in the latter half of 2010? 

Some markets like New York City appear to be pushing the rate ceiling skyward again with room rates jumping more than 10% in the past year. Rate increases on average are still confined to a few hot spots in the U.S.

Consumer sentiment is still low as we finish out the 2010 year.  Another finding by RCC Associates Travel Intentions Survey is leisure travelers clearly consider room price the most critical factor (44%) when choosing a hotel. Loyalty programs came in distant second with 16% of respondents citing this as a factor in choosing a hotel.

Luxury Hotels are making a big comeback in occupancy and price rate increases in 2010, but is that attributable to the lower, and might I say more reasonable pricing for luxury hotels this past year?   

The consumer optimism of six months ago has taken a hit as the economic recovery stalls for working Americans and travel plan expectations diminish. Destination Analysts, Inc published their report in July, “The State of the American Traveler” (pdf) with the headline “Leisure Travel Outlook Weakens”.

My September column for InsideFlyer used data from that report to argue that hotel recovery without a recovery in the economic conditions for the vast majority of leisure travelers makes rapidly rising hotel rates a move that will drive millions of Americans to downsize hotel market class segments to cheaper rate segments – luxury to upper-upscale; upper-upscale to upscale; midscale to economy – or even move away from hotels altogether.

“Glamping” seems to be the 2010 replacement for hotel staycation. Google search glamping!

I wonder how the Economy sector of hotels will survive low rates in the $50 range while the upscale and luxury segments of hotels push hard to bring rates up at a more rapid pace. The divide in hotel rates and economic classes may mirror the widening American income gap between the wage class and wealthy class.

The economy sector of hotels is still losing rate pricing ability in the latter half of 2010 while luxury and upper-upscale hotels are geared to test the rate increase waters in the last half of 2010.

Can luxury hotels continue to fill rooms and maintain occupancy in 2011 with higher rates?

In early 2009 the industry analysts were saying 2010 would be the year when hotels would come out of the rate doldrums. By late 2009 the forecasts were more subdued. Now in August 2010 the industry is predicting a better 2010 end-of-year forecast with 2011 forecast to be even better.

The lackluster hotel loyalty promotions going into the fall 2010 season leave me wondering if hoteliers will see a drop in occupancy when rates go up and hotel loyalty promotions drop out.

I still have my doubts on a U.S. hotel recovery in 2011.

My Loyalty traveler advice is to use online travel agencies (OTAs) for hotel rate comparisons, but always go to the hotel chain’s own websites for booking your hotel stay.  After you have narrowed your hotel selection down based on rates displayed on sites like Expedia, Kayak, and Orbitz, then search the hotel chain’s website for even lower rates. This will often reveal a better rate. Remember to check group rates like AAA and senior discounts which are not shown on the results of an OTA search.

Also, special offer rates through the individual hotel’s website many times will provide an even lower rate than AAA for your dates.

HotelMarketing.com posted an article showing OTAs make the majority of their revenue from hotel industry fees and commissions. Expedia made 60% of its 2008 revenue from hotel bookings compared to just 15% from airline bookings.

The case study shown in the cited article reveals Expedia had a 25% mark-up for hotel fee/commission on a $550 New York 2-night hotel stay. Basically the hotel is paying Expedia quite a chunk of change, $137.50, for a $550 booking.

The deep discounts available on special offer rates through the hotel’s own website are possible because the inventory off-loaded to OTAs is at a substantial discount to the hotel’s own listed rates.

In this case study the $550 booking for a New York hotel shown on Expedia is only generating $412.50 for the hotel while generating $137.50 in revenue for Expedia. This is equivalent to a nightly rate of $206.25 for the hotel.

What does this mean for the hotel guest?

The chances are fairly high that a potential guest looking for rates on the hotel’s own website will find a lower rate somewhere between the $275 shown on Expedia and the $206.25 the hotel has contracted with Expedia to sell the room. A $240 per night rate is a $35 savings for the hotel guest and generates an additional $33.75 for the hotel.

What do you do when you go to the hotel’s own website and you see a $275 rate just like seen on Expedia?

Advice: Go to the hotel’s website and look for AAA rates and special offer rates. You should be able to drop the $275 rate by 10 to 20% with a group discount like AAA or AARP or a hotel special offer rate.

The hotel is giving up 25% of its revenue to sell a room through an OTA, whereas the cost is only a few dollars to sell through its own website. This is the reason hotels require frequent guest members to book through hotel chain branded websites to earn loyalty program benefits. And this is the reason hotel loyalty program benefits can be generous.

A free breakfast, some hotel loyalty points, and a $50 room upgrade make the frequent guest a happy guest and may still bring in more revenue to the hotel than the guest on an OTA booking.

Loyalty travelers are generally happier travelers when it comes to getting good value on hotel bookings.

Loyalty Traveler Case Study: Hotel Rates Comparison between OTAs and Hotel Branded Websites

Chicago, Illinois

Friday night, August 14, 2009

Remember three facts about Online Travel Agency Rates:

1.      OTAs do not display AAA rates which are typically the lowest rate about 50% of the time.

2.      OTAs charge a small fee of $1 to $5 per hotel booking that is disguised in the additional Tax and Fees rate charged by the OTA for the booking.

3.      OTA bookings do not qualify for frequent guest benefits in most cases. Points and benefits earned from a hotel stay booked through the hotel chain’s own website can be a $50 to $100+ value.

The Hyatt Regency Chicago could earn 2,000 Gold Passport points using a G2 booking bonus and earn 2,500 points per stay with the current Gold Passport promotion. Along with base points earned, the frequent guest would earn over 5,000 points for this one night stay at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. 5,000 points is sufficient for a free night at a Category 1 hotel. That is a lot of added-value to forego on an OTA booking.

We have all done hotel rate searches and you may already have a strategy that works well for you. I just completed a hotel rate search for family members planning to stay 7 nights next month in Washington, D.C.  

Here is a case study of how I approached the task of finding a hotel deal in Washington, D.C. for July 2009.

The search was more challenging than I predicted, primarily due to constraints of

1)      Two kids

2)      No hotel changes during stay

3)      Must be near metro in downtown DC

The Search Process:

# 1 Check rates on meta-search engine like Kayak.com or search engine of your choice to get comparative rates for Washington, D.C.

Hilton Washington at $115 for Wednesday and Thursday night looked like the best weeknight deal in the rates shown on Kayak.com. The rate for the week was only $106 per night. The Renaissance M Street was even less at $99 per night. There was a $200 range in upper upscale hotel brand rates for weeknights Monday through Thursday night.

Friday and Saturday nights had widespread hotel rate deals with many upper upscale hotels under $100 per night: Grand Hyatt ($99), Crowne Plaza The Hamilton ($90), Westin D.C. City Center ($95), Marriott at Metro Center ($109), Hilton Garden Inn Downtown ($98).

These downtown D.C. hotels were averaging $100 on weekend nights and $250 on weekday nights.

Sunday was a variable day depending on hotel. Some hotels were only $20 more on Sunday night than Friday-Saturday rates and other hotels were $100 more for Sunday night compared to the weekend rates.

Initial check shows possibility for major brand, upscale hotels with Renaissance M Street ($795 after tax) or Hilton Washington ($850 for 7 nights after tax).

# 2 Check Rates for Priceline, Hotwire Successful bids

Checking a website forum where people post their winning bids is crucial for the traveler planning to use Priceline or Hotwire for hotel bidding. Here are the two most popular websites for Priceline bid info:

http://www.betterbidding.com

http://www.biddingfortravel.com

Rates on bidding threads in the sites listed above for Priceline looked like an average of $75 would likely secure a room.  The 7-night rate with Priceline would be right around $600 for an unspecified 3.5 to 4 star room bid. Recent bids for Washington D. C. indicated likely hotel winning bids would be at Renaissance Mayflower for around $75 per night, Marriott Wardman Park ($65), or Renaissance M Street ($70).

Priceline looked like a pretty sure bet for one of the Marriott Hotels.

The hotel guests I was working for did not want to go with the uncertainty of Priceline, although I thought that was a good choice.

Another problem with Priceline is there is no guarantee the hotel will honor the reservation for 4 guests (2 adults and 2 teenagers).

# 3 Checked SkyAuction.com and LuxuryLink.com for hotel and timeshare offers. Nothing found.

My family looked for apartment rentals on their own and found a $1,400 all-in one bedroom apartment for the week.

# 4 Check individual hotel sites for special offers. 

This is a process that is generally limited by time. There are dozens of hotels, each with several special offers, and a rate check is the only way to know if the special offer is a good deal. Checking all the special offers of 20 hotels can take a day of rate searches. Limiting your searches is imperative.

I found loads of high-value special offers, however, nothing was even close to the price of staying at the Renaissance M Street ($800 all-in for week) or Hilton Washington ($850 all-in for week) or Priceline ($600 all-in for week).

#5 The Starwood Loyalty Preference

After coming up with the Marriott and Hilton options, I was asked to look into Starwood Hotels more closely. The hotel guests have 40,000 Starwood points. These Starwood members have one stay so far during the free weekend night promotion and will earn a free weekend night with a second paid stay in Washington, D.C.

Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria is only $108 per night, but the commute into D.C. is a consideration and they decide being in downtown is more important than price.

#6 Break down potential rates within the selected set of hotels including a Search of Hotel Special Offers

The primary difficulty in finding the lowest available hotel rate is the lowest rate is usually some special hotel offer that is only accessible through the hotel’s own website links. This means that for the 6 Washington, D.C. hotels in the Starwood chain, the lowest rate is likely available through a link on the Hotel Offers page on one of the 6 websites for these specific hotels.

Kayak, Expedia, and Travelocity do not show these hotel special offer rates.

UpTake.com is good at pulling up hotel special offers, however, I still have not found them to lead me to the lowest rates in the few searches I have conducted through the website.

The problem with special offers is that you need hours and hours to check all the possibilities.

The feature that narrowed my search was the discrepancy between hotel rates over the weekend among the Starwood brands.

Washington D. C. Hotel Weekend Rates for Friday and Saturday nights

The rates at the Four Points, Westin City Center, and Fairfax at Embassy Row were so much lower for the weekend than the other Starwood Hotel options. With the list narrowed to these three hotels I could easily search special offers, free nights, and Cash & Points for the best 7-night value at a single hotel.

Westin D.C. City Center had a 3-night rate of $119 for Friday through Sunday for the lowest overall weekend rate. Westin DC City Center also had Cash & Points awards for all the dates around the weekend. Four Points Downtown and Fairfax at Embassy Row only had Cash & Points for 2 days of the 7 night stay.

# 7 Focus on a single hotel and special offers for Westin Washington D.C. City Center

3^rd Night Free brings the rate down from $119 per night for Friday-Saturday, and Sunday nights to $300 for 3 nights.

The big score was when I found availability for three nights at the Westin D.C. City Center using the pay your BirthYear rate at $180 for the first night and $36 for the second and third night. This rate was $50 less than the 3rd night free and brought the nightly room rate down to $84 per night.

Final reservation choices:

a)      $287 for three paid nights at Westin Washington D.C. City Center and 4 nights free for 40,000 points.

b)      $287 for three paid nights and 4 nights using Cash & Points award for $240 + 16,000 points; $275 after tax.

$562 + 16,000 points = Final Booking for 7 nights in July 2009 Washington, D.C. at Westin DC City Center.

16,000 points provided over a $1,000 savings on the published Starwood Hotels rate of $1,683 after tax for the Westin DC City Center for my family’s travel dates.

Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.

Scottsdale More Your Style?  20,000 Points for a 3-night stay

Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale is resort hotel nirvana in the desert. Think JW Marriott and The Phoenician of the Starwood Luxury Collection.  InterContinental Hotels Group has the InterContinental Montelucia, recently remodeled, and at a price much lower than the Marriott or Phoenician.

InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa between December 1, 2008 and June 14, 2009 is offering a 10,000 points bonus for a 2-night stay or 20,000 points for a 3-night stay.

Registration is required.  Stay must be booked by March 31 and completed by June 14, 2009.

Rates start at $190 per night and a $300 resort credit offer is available at little additional cost to the lowest minimum nightly rate ($195/night).  A 20,000 points bonus after a 3-night stay and you are well on your way to a free night.  InterContinental Hotel stays regularly earn 2,000 points per stay through the InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club program. 

This offer awards 22,000+ points for your $600 hotel stay, in addition to your resort vacation.  There is a good chance a 3-night stay will also earn 3,000 points with IHG Priority Club Rewards current promotion for 3,000 points for every 3 nights through April 30, 2009.

Priority Club Gold Gold elite membership is earned after a member earns 20,000 Priority Club points in a calendar year.

Consider purchasing InterContinental Ambassador loyalty program membership for a complimentary upgrade and additional amenities if you plan to participate in this offer.  Your $150 membership will pay for itself with a one category room upgrade on this stay.

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling,

traveling, traveling, traveling,

Looking for something, what can it be?

    All I Want –  Joni Mitchell

Mt. Shasta, California view from I-5 near Dunsmuir

I heard a blogger panelist at BlogWorld08 in Las Vegas tell bloggers never to apologize for not blogging.  I’m not apologizing – just writing.

I was on the Family and Friends plan this past week over the Thanksgiving holidays.  I have hotel reviews, stories, and photos from Las Vegas for Loyalty Traveler December blog posts.  There are still several pieces of the Vancouver, Washington, Oregon, and California trip I want to finish writing and posting to this blog. 

I drove around the western states for most of November.  It has been 12 years since I did serious road travel.  My realization this past month is writing as a road warrior is much more difficult than writing when flying the friendly skies.  Piloting and navigating a car takes a lot more physical and mental energy than being a high flyer drifting between airports penning thoughts.

Most of my November days were used seeing hotels (about 25 hotels or so), staying in hotels (11 stays), and driving between hotels (3,500 miles).  Gas dropped from $2.94 to $1.81 over a three week period of driving around California and the west.  Hotel prices also dropped by 35% in many locations from the time I started looking in mid-October/early-November to when I was booking rooms during November.  Airfares for domestic December holiday travel are some of the lowest fares I recall seeing in the past 7 years.

The new Starwood Luxury Collection hotel, the Nines Portland, Oregon has dropped rates as low as $149 for Christmas week.  This is 40% less than lowest rates were 30 days ago.  Recently opened hotels like the InterContinental Monterey are currently offering abnormally low rates like $117 per night (AAA rate) for an upscale hotel in a resort destination.

I was checking Denver hotel rates for stays around Christmas week and the Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver are only $70 a night.  I am astonished and thankful.  Hyatt Gold Passport Faster Free Nights makes hotel rates this low essentially freebies.  A Hyatt Gold Passport member can stay upscale in downtown Denver at economy hotel room rates and redeem luxury hotel nights in a place like Scottsdale’s Hyatt Gainey Ranch Resort or a Park Hyatt for free during winter 2009.

I think we have about two to three weeks before the 2009 hotel promotions appear on the web to try and stimulate the hotel economy.  Hotels are mirroring the national economy in needing a jump-start to keep rooms occupied in 2009. 

Hotel industry news throughout November has repeatedly shown occupancy declines, luxury and upscale hotel market room rate cuts, and average room rate declines across the USA, although Texas hotel rates are rising at the moment. Forecasts offer an even bleaker 2009 hotel industry scenario.  Projects like the St. Regis Las Vegas and new Starwood hotels in Macau are postponed indefinitely.   

Much of the hotel industry occupancy projections in 2008 and into 2009 were based on increased international visitors to the USA.  The dollar was weak and the British pound and Euro were strong and made the USA a bargain destination.  Many international currencies have lost 20% to 30% of their value against the dollar since September and the likelihood of large increases in the numbers of international visitors to the USA has diminished.  The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar have plummeted against the US Dollar taking away the financial incentive and the financial resources for USA travel from our top two sources of international visitors. 

Time-Rich, Job Poor?  Go Travel!

Work interferes with seeing the world.  This is a great time to travel and see the world.

There are travel deals all around.  Last week, Holland America offered an inside cabin for $1,025 per person on a 16-day San Diego to Fort Lauderdale cruise via the Panama Canal.  A 16-day cruise for $2,050 all-in, including the fuel surcharges for sailing next week December 7.  $125 per day for a room, entertainment and recreational activities, and all the food you can eat is a great deal. 

Stanford University Day Tripping – So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA October 16, 2008

Rushing out of Monterey I had no idea what the temperature was in Silicon Valley, California.  The 70° Monterey air soon went to 90° on Highway 101 right where Monterey County changes to San Benito County.  Somehow the County line seems to be situated right at the point of the freeway where the Pacific Ocean air conditioning ends.

The beautiful hotel exterior of the Four Seasons caught my attention numerous times as I passed by on Highway 101 through Palo Alto. 

Four Seasons Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, California

A room with a view of IKEA and the freeway always seemed like an odd location for a luxury hotel.  The dichotomy of social existence in California is reflected perfectly in a luxury hotel next to a freeway separating the predominantly lower socioeconomic households of East Palo Alto from the Stanford University dominated Palo Alto to the west.

Four Seasons Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, California

I decided to check out the freeway-side hotel as I exited University Avenue in East Palo Alto on the way to Stanford University.  Ambient music played in the lobby.  The bright sun on this 90°F October day kept the west facing window seating “awash in clear sunlight by day”.  That descriptive phrase lifted from the Four Seasons website perfectly captures the light I experienced as I walked through the hotel.  Most of the people present were in the Quattro café/bar area.  http://www.fourseasons.com/siliconvalley/photo_gallery/

Four Seasons Silicon Valley lobby, East Palo Alto, California

I wasn’t dressed for public relations or The Bar.   The rooftop pool view will have to wait for another day.

Four Seasons Silicon Valley Quattro Restaurant

A quick lobby walk-through and photo snaps with a stop in the toilet comprised my visit.  Five star luxury bathrooms use hand towels, not paper towels in the public area restrooms.

Four Seasons, Silicon Valley has a $245 Bed and Breakfast rate which must make this hotel one of the lowest priced Four Seasons in the United States. 

·          

The train tracks separate the few blocks of upscale shops, restaurants, and bars on University Avenue east of the tracks, from the Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin and Stanford University on the west side of the tracks.  I parked in the business district and joined the multilingual crowd on the sunny sidewalks. 

Electric Car, Palo Alto, California

Several people walking in front of me all turned right into a store.  Several people walking towards me all turned left into the same store.  I glanced in as I passed by the door and saw it was an Apple computer store.  Dozens of shops on the street and it seemed just about everyone on the sidewalk had walked into the Apple store.  There must have been fifteen people go inside in a 30-second period.

I turned around and went in the Apple store.  I have never been in an Apple store before.  Long white countertops had Apple products evenly spaced for consumer-user friendliness.  One counter had about six or eight computers.  There were several rows of these counters.  Another area had i-phones, and another area i-pods.  Headphones were dangling from overhead fixtures.  Dozens of people were standing in front of computers surfing the internet.   My little city of Monterey has nothing like this. 

The Palo Alto Sheraton and Palo Alto Westin are adjacent to each other and across the street from Stanford University.  I have stayed at both of these hotels.  The Westin is elegant and has nicer rooms.  The Sheraton has the better pool and is the place to be if you want to party.  The Westin exudes professorial sophistication and the Sheraton says California sunshine and tan maintenance.  Both hotels are outrageously high on most weekdays with $200+ rates.  Over the past year the Sheraton Palo Alto drops to $99 to $119 for some weekends, while the Westin tends to bottom out in the $129-$149 range.

The Sheraton concierge kindly provided me with a map of Stanford University and even a 10% discount card for dinner at Gordon Biersch Brewery near where I had parked my car. 

Palm Avenue, Stanford University

Along Palm Avenue, across the street from the Sheraton Hotel, it is a 15 to 20 minute walk to the University buildings.  In the hot sun, my ears burning, the distance to the Rodin Sculpture Garden was a bit farther than I had remembered and I wished I had brought a bottle of water from my car.  The temperature controlled environment of the museum was a respite from the early fall heat of California.

Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford university, Palo Alto, California

My Rodin knowledge is primarily from the 1989 Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu movie, “Camille Claudel”.   

The Thinker, Rodin sculpture, Cantor Museum, Stanford University

A museum that permits photography is a pleasant surprise.

I love this painting of Napoleon. 

 Napoleon (1798), Artist: Andrea Appiani (1754-1817)

I was disappointed to take two fuzzy photographs of a painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).  I purchased a print of Bouguereau’s “The Young Seamstress” in Ireland back in 1997 and it hangs in our bedroom.

There was a party scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 with a free band and $5 microbrew beers and wines ($8) in the Rodin Sculpture Garden.  I wandered on to look for food.

“Social Butterfly” 1990, Roger Brown, 1941-1997

·          

Naomi Klein (right) and Terry Karl, Stanford University, 10-16-08

Naomi Klein, author of “No Logo” and “The Shock Doctrine”, speaking at Stanford University was the purpose of this trip. 

What does a liberal journalist have to do with hotel travel? 

Well, the main thesis of Naomi Klein’s latest book, “The Shock Doctrine“ is the pattern of corporatism winning out over public good through privatization and appropriation of resources, money, and law in a catalytic way of change after a major disaster.  Her thesis is supported by four main examples: Chile and the corporate overthrow of democratic socialism in the 70s, Bush’s war privatization in Iraq, hotel development on appropriated beaches after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and school privatization in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Naomi Klein spoke primarily about the current economic crisis and expressed her activism in urging everyone to hound their legislators for securing a better bailout economic package to the one Hank Paulson negotiated with the banks.

Her main social point was to stay on your legislators to enable Barack Obama to address a grassroots call for change and generate reforms for infrastructure and social policy development in a climate that is unfortunately ripe for a continuation of disaster capitalism a la Bush Administration through corporate bailouts rather than changes more directly related to the working people of the USA.

·          

W Hotel Silicon Valley, Newark, California

The W Hotel Silicon Valley is an easy 20 minute drive from Palo Alto.  Crossing the Dumbarton Bridge over southern San Francisco Bay reminded me of the leftover fresh crab I cracked and ate for lunch before leaving my home in Monterey.  The scent from the sea at low tide pervaded my car.

W Silicon Valley is located near the East Bay shoreline in the estuary of Newark, California.   Estuaries are a great place for bird watching.  The darkness at 10pm kept my eyes from seeing the mudflats my nose detected.

The Check-in receptionist told me I was being given an upgrade.  The room was on the 4^th floor facing east.  The preferred view in this hotel is the west facing room or pool rooms.  I have stayed here probably a dozen or more times in the past six years and I have only had an interior facing room once and I couldn’t see the pool from that room, just the roof of the café area. The room looked like every room I’ve had at this hotel.  One time, years ago, I actually did receive a corner room upgrade. 

Room 410, W Hotel Silicon Valley, Newark, CA

At $89 on a Starpicks rate for a Thursday night I am not complaining.  This hotel is normally twice the price on Thursdays.

Lobby was dead at 10:00pm.  One man working on a computer at a café table.

Only one bar of soap in the bathroom.  That was inconvenient to have to move the soap from the sink to the bath and back to the sink.  Ecologically, I can’t bear the thought of throwing away bars of soap after one day so one bar is a “green” move.  Personally,  I always take the soap home with me and my home supply is a little low lately.   

Room 410, W Silicon Valley bathroom

Friday morning working on my computer and  I realize there is no coffee maker in the room.  I had to put on my glasses to read the W Hotel card on the sink counter.

“WHO DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE AROUND HERE?”

The sentence on the card was written in all caps like that.  The card then said “Join us for coffee or tea, at the W Café in the Living Room this morning. Along with coffee or tea, you will find fresh-baked pastries and other tempting treats to whet your appetite.”

The card does not say if coffee is complimentary.

I had to place the card under the lamp to decipher the line at the bottom of the card, set in a smaller size font: “Can’t live without your fix?  Call Whatever/Whenever to have a coffee maker delivered to your room.”

This is a change for the W Silicon Valley.  There was always a coffee maker in the room for my hotel stays over the past six years.

I tossed on some gym shorts and headed to the lobby for coffee.  Felt a little underdressed in the elevator with a perfumed, business attire woman.  Then again, I looked like I might be headed to the workout room or perhaps I was on my way to “Wet” (the W synonym for swimming pool).

Coffee fixed I proceeded to work on my computer.

W Hotels have interesting accessories for your stay.  On the desk was a silver tube sitting in a tray labeled “WISH” and the tube was in fact a kaleidoscope.  The hotel has complimentary DVD movies for check-out and a DVD player beneath the TV.  The room has a sink, microwave, and refrigerator and two sets of plates and utensils.  Magazines are everywhere from the selection of three in the room to three more titles in the elevator vestibule.  I grabbed a copy of “Wired” to take home.

The café was busy in the morning.  I have never seen it so crowded in my previous stays as I am usually here on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  They appeared to be business guests who probably have meetings in one of the tech buildings in the business park surrounding the W Hotel.  After all, it is called Silicon Valley for a reason.

Leading Hotels of the World $19.28 Promotion for 80 Minutes on Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) is the largest luxury hotel brand around the globe.

Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley, California, Leading Hotels of the World participating member in 1928 promotion

The LHW Offer:  6,000 luxury hotel rooms — 96 luxury hotels — 45 nights — $19.28 room rates

… if you are lucky enough to secure a reservation.

Booking Window: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 beginning at 8am Eastern time for an 80 minute window at $19.28 rates.

Eligible hotel stay period:  November 1 – December 15, 2008 is the stay period eligible for $19.28 room rates.

Registration required at this LHW link to be eligible for $19.28 rates.

Maximum of one hotel reservation per household and maximum 2 nights at $19.28 rate.

LHW 1928 Promotion Terms and Conditions – link here.

Bernardus Lodge croquet lawn, Carmel Valley, California

Steps to success:

1.      Register for LHW promotion here.

2.      Study the hotel properties.  Pick your top 3 to 5 hotel locations for destinations that you are confident in being able to travel to during the 45 days eligible for the $19.28 rates.  

3.      Remember one reservation per household for a maximum two nights at $19.28 per night.

4.      Keep in mind that hotel urban locations tend to have better availability on weekends and resort locations tend to have better availability on weekdays.  This may or may not be the case for this promotion.

Bernardus Lodge pool, Carmel Valley, CA

This is a good promotion for exposing travelers to the Leading Hotels of the World group of luxury accommodations.  And this is an incredible opportunity for hotel room rate savings with the most expensive luxury hotel brand in the world.  A news report last February showed the average room rate for the Leading Hotels of the World hotel members in 2007 was $470.  This group of hotels had the highest average room rate of the luxury hotel segment. 

1928 is the year the Leading Hotels of the World was founded hence the $19.28 promotional rates.

Bernardus Lodge lobby seating, Carmel Valley, CA

Total room night sales of 1.65 million in 2007 with fewer than 250,000 of those rooms booked over the internet at www.lhw.com may be a primary reason for this discount promotion.   With five of six hotel room nights booked for LHW stays not happening through the lhw.com website this promotion is a good marketing tool to increase reservations traffic over the internet.

Promotions like the 1928 online promotion are a clever marketing strategy for increasing LHW brand awareness, new Leaders Club members, and lhw.com website activity.  The Leading Hotels of the World has over 450 hotel members and about 84,000 rooms worldwide.  A bit more than 20% of the LHW hotel members are participating in this promotion. 

Bernardus Lodge cabin room surrounded by spring flowers, Carmel Valley, CA

Leaders Club is a $300 membership hotel loyalty program for Leading Hotels of the World.  For hotel travelers who plan to stay at a LHW member hotel on regular paid rates, the Leaders Club is a means to complimentary upgrades that will likely result in a rebate equivalent to the membership fee after one hotel stay.  Complimentary membership to Leaders Club is available for newsletters and special offers, but don’t expect the complimentary upgrades with a complimentary Leaders Club membership.

Bernardus Lodge fountain and rooms, Carmel Valley, CA

Geographic regions for 97 participating

hotel members in the 1928 promotion.

South Africa    2 hotels

South America    5 hotels

Caribbean    2 hotels

North America    14 hotels

Europe    63 hotels

Asia    11 hotels

Bernardus Lodge tennis courts, Carmel Valley, CA

If at first you don’t succeed…try…try…try again.

The past month has seen me frustrated with trying to secure these “first-come, first-served” promotions with unsuccessful attempts at getting the Sheraton San Diego for $5.01 a couple of weeks back (LT post here) and prior to that the Super 8 Motels $8.88 rooms (LT post here). 

Bernardus Lodge Spa, Carmel Valley, CA

While I don’t count on landing this incredible hotel deal, the opportunity to book a luxury hotel room night selling for less than 5% of the average daily rates for most of these participating hotels will have me setting my alarm clock, and readying my mouse finger for scrolling and clicking at 5am California time Wednesday morning, October 1. 

Bernardus Lodge Ingrid’s Vineyard, Carmel Valley, CA

The ultimate question for every loyalty traveler is:

            What is the best hotel frequent guest program for me?

I could work out an individual profile for your travel lifestyle to suggest the best hotel program, but you will have to pay me for that kind of personal attention.  For all you internet freeloaders I have this blog which should help you make an educated decision based on information.

Last week I addressed the issue of hotel brands in hotel market segments using the JD Power survey on guest satisfaction.  The more important aspect of brands for the loyalty traveler choosing a hotel program is knowledge of the proportion of hotel brands in the different market segments and the proportion of USA and international hotels participating in a frequent guest program. 

Choosing the “best fit” hotel loyalty program should be based on matching the hotel brands and locations with your desired travel pattern.  The best hotel program can vary depending on the market segment you tend to travel within (free breakfast at a midscale hotel or full restaurant room service dinner at upscale hotels?), your hotel stay pattern (single nights vs. multi-night stays), your hotel room redemption opportunities (do you want lots of nights at midscale hotels or a few nights at luxury hotels?), and whether the locations you travel are strictly USA, global travel, or particular cities and regions.

I look at this stuff all the time and I have difficulty remembering the ratios of USA vs. international hotels and the ratio of upscale brands vs. mid-scale brands.  I decided to recheck information for this post on choosing the best hotel program for your travel lifestyle.

Loyalty Traveler’s Look at Hotel Market Segment and Geography by Hotel Loyalty Program

Marriott Hotels Corporation

USA = 2,518 hotels  (434 upscale hotels; 1,753 midscale; 860 extended stay)

International = 369 hotels (269 upscale hotels; 81 midscale; 19 extended stay)

Marriott Brands:

·         JW Marriott = 39 hotels (16 USA, 23 international)

·         Marriott  = 521 hotels (343 USA, 178 international)

·         Renaissance Hotels = 143 (75 USA, 68 international)

·         Courtyard = 770 (697 USA, 73 international)

·         Residence Inn = 547 (529 USA, 18 international)

·         Fairfield Inn = 535 (527 USA, 8 international)

·         TownePlace Suites = 145 (145 USA)

·         SpringHill Suites = 187 (186 USA, 1 international)

Marriott Rewards has the competitive advantage of the number of hotels in several different market segments.

Marriott has the competitive strength in the extended stay market with nearly 900 hotels in three brands: Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and SpringHill Suites.  Extended stay hotels are where hotel guests have the ability to live apartment-style with a refrigerator and stove in the room.  Starwood is just entering the extended stay market with their Element Hotel brand.  Hyatt has Summerfield Suites as a new brand in Gold Passport for 2008, but with only 31 hotels this is not yet a real player in the extended stay market.  Hilton’s extended stay brand, Homewood Suites, is still relatively small at 200 hotels.  IHG has Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, but these still number only 300 hotels total.

At the high end (think over $200/night much of the time, but some locations and dates will have rates in the $100 to $150 range some of the time), Marriott has luxury and resort locations in 3 hotel brands, JW Marriott, Marriott, and Renaissance, each with a strong international presence. 

For the midscale hotel traveler the average hotel rates tend to be in the $70 to $100/night for much of the country.  Some locations will have midscale rates as low as $50 at times and other popular locations will go over $200 at times. Marriott has a range of midscale hotels in two brands of over 500 hotels each in the USA.  The upper midscale brand (Courtyard) is often combined with an adjacent Residence Inn property allowing some facilities and services to be shared.  The two properties combined have an economy of scale to meet two market segments of short-stay and extended stay hotel guests. Marriott also has the lower midscale brand  of Fairfield Inn hotels offering the basic room and often with limited hotel facilities. 

For USA travelers there are over 2,000 Marriott Rewards participating hotels located in the USA with five hotel brands (Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites) in the midscale segment. 

The full-service brand hotels in the upscale market segment approach 450 hotels in the USA and another 300 international hotels in the Marriott and Renaissance brands.

2,500 hotels in the USA across several market segments from upscale to extended stay to a range of midscale hotel brand options makes Marriott Rewards a strong program for a traveler who needs hotels in places where other chains might not be present.  Marriott is the only major hotel chain to have hotels in the city of Salinas, California – population 150,000 and the largest city in Monterey County.

How the other hotel programs compare by number of hotels:

Hilton Hotels Corporation Brands – over 2,800 hotels  (HHonors repeatedly uses over 3,000 hotels in their press releases, however, the brand fact sheets only add up to a little more than 2,800 hotels currently open.)

USA = 2,506 hotels; upscale 600 hotels; midscale 1,700 hotels; extended stay 220 hotels

International = about 350 hotels (almost all upscale)

·         Homewood Suites – 220 hotels (almost all in USA)

·         Hilton Garden Inn – 312 hotels (293 USA, 19 international)

·         Embassy Suites – 185 hotels (almost all in USA)

·         Doubletree Hotels – 180 hotels (almost all in USA)

·         Hampton Inn – 1,400+ hotels (almost all in USA)

·         Hilton Hotels – 511 hotels (231 USA, 280 international)

·         Conrad Hotels – 18 hotels (3 USA, 15 international)

·         Waldorf=Astoria Hotels – 5 hotels (4 USA, 1 Saudi Arabia)

Hilton HHonors is well-matched with Marriott Rewards for hotel brand segments.  Hilton has the edge over Marriott with more upscale properties in the USA and international, and is comparable to Marriott domestically in the number of midscale hotels, while Marriott has more hotels in the extended stay market.

InterContinental Hotels Group

IHG Fact Sheet: http://www.ihgplc.com/files/pdf/factsheets/group_at_a_glance.pdf

·         InterContinental Hotels – 153 hotels (20 USA, 133 international)

·         Crowne Plaza – 308 hotels (140 USA, 168 international)

·         Hotel Indigo – 14 hotels (12 USA, 2 international)

·         Holiday Inn – 1,369 hotels (809 USA, 560 international)

·         Holiday Inn Express – 1,819 hotels (1,532 USA, 287 international)

·         Staybridge Suites – 130 hotels (121 USA, 9 international)

·         Candlewood Suites – 169 hotels (168 USA, 1 international)

3,962 hotels globally

Upscale – 1035 hotels  (Many international Holiday Inn hotels fall in upscale market and are included here.  Most USA Holiday Inns included in midscale market segment.)

Midscale – 2,600 hotels – Holiday Inn Express and most Holiday Inns in USA

Extended Stay – 299 hotels in Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites

USA = 2,500 hotels (upscale 200 hotels; midscale 2,100 hotels, extended stay 290 hotels)

International = 1,160 hotels (upscale 860 hotels; midscale 300 hotels; extended stay 10 hotels)

Competitive advantage: IHG has the largest number of upscale hotels internationally with more upscale hotels outside the USA than Marriott and Hilton combined.  The Priority Club loyalty program offers plenty of opportunities to earn points at lower rates than a program like Starwood, but with many more hotels for redemption opportunities.  The upscale side of Priority Club is best experienced with travel outside the USA.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation

399 hotels globally (Upscale 241 hotels; midscale 127 hotels; extended stay 31 hotels)

USA 284 hotels; (upscale 126 hotels; midscale 127 hotels; extended stay 31 hotels),

International 115 hotels; (all upscale)

·         Grand Hyatt – 36 hotels (USA 11, international 25)

·         Hyatt Regency – 164 hotels (USA 99, international 65)

·         Park Hyatt – 27 hotels (USA 3, international 24)

·         Andaz – 1 hotel (international 1)

·         Hyatt Summerfield Suites – 31 hotels (USA 31)

·         Hyatt Place – 127 hotels (USA 127)

·         Hyatt Vacation Club – 13 hotels (USA 13)

Hyatt is the small hotel program in this set.  Frequent guest promotions are high-value in this program and loyalty is well rewarded if your travel pattern includes destinations with Hyatt Hotels.

Starwood Hotels Corporation

June 30, 2008 data: source

899 hotels (Upscale 768 hotels; midscale 130 hotels; extended stay 1 hotel)

North America 453 hotels (361 hotels upscale; 91 hotels midscale; 1 hotel extended stay)

International 446 hotels (408 hotels upscale; 38 hotels midscale)

·         Sheraton Hotels – 404 hotels; 141,000 rooms (205 hotels North America)

·         Westin Hotels – 158 hotels; 63,000 rooms (104 hotels North America)

·         Four Points – 130 hotels; 23,000 rooms (92 hotels in North America)

·         W Hotels – 22 hotels; 6,600 rooms (18 in North America)

·         Luxury Collection – 57 hotels; 9,700 rooms (12 in North America)

·         St. Regis – 13 hotels; 2,900 rooms; (8 in North America)

·         Le Meridien – 111 hotels; 29,000 rooms (10 North America)

·         Aloft – 3 hotels; 400 rooms

·         Element – 1 hotel (Lexington KY)

Starwood is heavily weighted to the upscale market segment.  Only Hilton Hotels has more upscale properties in the USA and only InterContinental Hotels Group has more upscale properties internationally.  This is another program with great loyalty program promotions if the more limited locations fit your travel lifestyle.