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. 

Starwood Hotels 7 Day Summer Value Sale (up to 50% off rack rate)

Starwood Hotels has launched a 7 day sale on hotel rates in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean.  Save up to 50% off rack rate for stays in August and September.  Reservations must be booked by 11:59pm EDT, August 5 and rates are non-refundable.  A hotel search by location will show the hotel lowest prices available for these special rates.  Some hotels may impose a minimum stay requirement for this special rate and some hotels have blackout dates.

My initial ten searches only located one hotel available for the lowest rate shown with this summer special at $87/night for the W Hotel Silicon Valley in Newark, California.  This hotel has had a regular rate of $109 for most weekend nights of the past two years and this $87 special rate is the lowest I have seen in quite some time.

San Francisco Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf is shown at $149 per night. August/September are the hotel high rate months for San Francisco.  I was unable to find a rate anywhere near $149 for dates I checked.  But there are thousands of combinations of hotels and dates and I did find an example of good savings using this special offer (20% off the normal low rate for W Silicon Valley).  

Check out Starwood Hotels sale rates and possibly save some summer cash with your Starwood Hotel travel for reservations made this week.

Starwood Hotels Summer Value Sale Terms and Conditions

July 31 Update to this post:

I have seen the summer sale rates more prevalent since yesterday.  I am now finding the low advertised rates more frequently than when I wrote this post two days ago at a number of California hotels.  The rates are coming up in regular Starwood website hotel searches even without searching through the special summer link

I came across two data sources over the past couple of days that show interesting trends across the USA for airport flight reductions and average hotel rates for dozens of major cities around the USA.

This past month I have been seeing articles about the impact of airport flight cutbacks on the hotel industry.  An article I read estimated every 10% reduction in flights creates a 3.9% reduction in hotel demand for the area.  I imagined I could look at the data I saw on flight cutbacks and hotel occupancy and have some revelation, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Last Friday, USA Today produced a graphic showing the reduction in percentage of passenger seats for flights at 300 airports in the USA based on November 2008 schedules compared to November 2007.  My initial shock was to see my local airport in Monterey (MRY) is listed with 24.5% fewer seats.  And yet, I just searched for tickets from Monterey to Las Vegas and the fare is $100 all-in roundtrip, the lowest fare I’ve ever seen to Las Vegas from Monterey with our new airline service on Allegiant Airlines.

 

 

Smith Travel Research tracks US lodging industry revenue and publishes weekly reports.  The data for June indicates a significant slowdown in hotel occupancy along with a continued increase in average room rates.  The summer months of 2008 are seeing drops from summer 2007.  June 2008 hotel occupancy dropped 4.5% compared to June 2007 while the average room rate climbed 3.2% over the past year.

The good news for consumers is the average room rate increases are slowing in most markets as we progress through 2008.  My observation for the San Francisco Bay area is some of the lowest rates I have seen in a couple of years occasionally pop up over the past few months at several upper upscale hotels I track.  This is even as San Francisco has one of the strongest hotel markets in the USA due to high occupancy, high rate increases, and increased international tourism.  The Le Meridien Hotel was $139/night over the July 4^th when usual rates are $200+ for this hotel and I have seen the rates surpass $500 during some weeks. 

 

 

Impact of Several Years of High Hotel Room Rate Increases 

The budget traveler has seen average USA hotel rates rise 25%, and in some hotel markets like Hawaii even up 50% over the past 4 years.  Has your salary increased 50% in that time frame?  If not, then you are feeling the economic pressures on your travel lifestyle.

Assume Hilton, Starwood or Hyatt top elite status is achieved on hotel stays for a frequent guest with 30 to 40 nights per year in hotels.

 

2004 Full service hotels in USA $117 ADR (+12.5% tax) = $131.63

 

2005 +5.5% = $138.87

2006 +7.4% = $149.15

2007 +5.9% = $157.95

2008 +4.4% = $164.90

 

The average daily rate for a full-scale hotel in 2008 is $33.27 more than 2004 (a 25% increase in 4 years.) 

30 nights for top elite status will cost $1,000 more in 2008 than 2004 if you are in the average rate market.  New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Phoenix will cost you even more.

 

2004 the cost of 30 hotel nights at full service hotels averaged about $4,000 after taxes ($3,949).

 

2008 the cost has increased to $5,000 for 30 nights or your $4,000 budget that bought 30 nights 4 years ago now only buys 24 hotel nights.  Think one less week vacation and not enough nights for top elite frequent guest status.

 

Top 10 Hot Hotel Markets in USA

Source: TWR Hotel Outlook Summer 2008, Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration

Average Daily Rate (ADR) annual increase over 7% from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008

1.      Charlotte, NC  9.6%

2.      Houston 9.1%

3.      San Francisco, 8.8%

4.      New York City 8.7%

5.      Fort Worth, TX 8.3%

6.      Columbia, SC 7.9%

7.      Richmond, VA 7.6%

8.      Cincinnati, OH 7.1%

9.      Portland, OR 7.1%

10. Philadelphia 7.0%

 

11 Cool Full-Service Hotel Markets

ADR annual increase less than 2% from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008

1.      Trenton, NJ -3.1%

2.      Fort Lauderdale, FL -1.5%

3.      Tucson, AZ -1.3%

4.      New Orleans, LA -0.8%

5.      Cleveland, OH 0.4%

6.      San Diego, CA 0.4%

7.      Miami, FL 1.0%  (already overpriced at #1 upscale ADR in USA in 2007)

8.      Columbus, OH 1.1%

9.      Long Island, NY 1.2%

10. Baltimore, MD 1.3%

11. Atlanta, GA 1.6%

 

 

10 Expensive Cities for Full Service Hotels

(Room Rate Percentage increase from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008)

 

1.      West Palm Beach, FL $265.18  (4.9%)

2.      New York City $254.71 (8.7%)

3.      Miami, FL $249.53  (1.0%)

4.      Phoenix, AZ $203.10  (4.8%)

5.      Fort Lauderdale, FL $195.38  (-1.5%)

6.      Honolulu, HI $186.86  (6.0%)

7.      Washington, DC $175.33  (2.2%)

8.      San Francisco, CA $174.65  (8.8%)

9.      San Diego, CA $171.67  (0.4%)

10. Los Angeles, CA $161.91 (5.1%)

 

10 Low-Cost Cities for Full Service Hotels

(Room Rate Percentage increase from First Quarter 2007 to First Quarter 2008)

 

1.      Dayton, OH $83.87 (2.1%)

2.      Albuquerque, NM  $96.38  (5.6%)

3.      St. Louis, MO  $101.45  (2.2%)

4.      Columbia, SC $101.63  (7.9%)

5.      Omaha, NE  $102.94 (5.6%)

6.      Cleveland, OH $104.43  (0.4%)

7.      Richmond, VA $107.02  (7.6%)

8.      Cincinnati, OH $107.41 (7.1%)

9.      Kansas City, MO $108.34  (4.9%)

10. Albany, NY $110.10  (2.6%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Marriott (of Marriott Hotels) wrote a blog post last week, “Weathering Turbulent Times” in which he states “business outside of North America is terrific – and that’s where over 60% of our new full-service hotels will be built.”  I frequently see articles about large international contracts for new hotels in India, China, and Russia.  Several reports have come out about hotels relying on their international sectors to maintain profitability.  Hotel rates rising 20-40% year-to-year in India and the Middle East over the past few years has made these locations some of the most expensive in the world for lodging.

I wanted a chart to track the proportion of international properties in each hotel chain.  My experience has been the most consistent upgrades occur when staying at international hotels as a high elite member of a hotel loyalty program.  The best value for free room stays using points also tends to be for international properties. And now it looks like the growth of the major hotel loyalty program member hotels will be outside the USA for the next few years.

So how are different hotel companies positioned in their international portfolio? 

This is really an important consideration in choosing your hotel loyalty program if you want to travel the world and take advantage of your frequent guest opportunities for free stays in expensive places.

 

USA Hotels and International Hotels (percentage of total hotels) in major hotel corporations:      

Best Western 2,400 hotels in USA, 1,800 international (43% international)

Starwood Hotels 520 hotels in USA; 340 international (40% international)

Carlson Hotels 700 hotels in USA; 250 international (36% international)

Hyatt Hotels 320 hotels in USA; 120 international (27% international)

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,100 hotels in USA, 900 international (23%)

Choice Hotels 4,770 hotels in USA, 830 international (15% international)

Hilton Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Marriott Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Wyndham Hotels  6,130 hotels in USA,  370 international (6% international) 

(While Wyndham Hotels has the lowest percentage of hotels in international locations, the company also operates the profitable time share RCI and a rental system in Europe which generates most company revenue and has strong international component.  These vacation rentals are not included in hotel properties.)

Hilton and Marriott have big plans for abroad.  Hyatt and Starwood look well-positioned for expansion.  Best Western is a program that will benefit you in a multitude of places with 1,800 hotels outside the USA.

 Source data for hotel numbers, geographic locations, and hotel brands:

Best Western: 4,200 hotels  (1,805 hotels outside North America or 43% international)

            2,395 North America

            1,312 Europe

            75 Asia/Middle East

            265 Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific

            43 South/Central America

            6 Africa

Choice Hotels: 5,600 + hotels  (830 outside North America)  14.8%

Choice Hotels International Properties: (Source from December 2007, page 30)

            Canada 273 Hotels

            Mexico 17

            Central America 13

            Brazil 48

            Europe 441

            India 25

            Australia/New Zealand 261

            China 2

            Japan 42

            832 hotels outside North America

          1,100+ international hotels 

Choice Hotels by Brand  

          549 Comfort Inn/Comfort Suites

            378 Quality Inns

            118 Clarion

            16 Sleep Inn

 

Hilton Hotels Corporation: 3,000 hotels  (about 400 international properties)

13.3% international

Hilton Hotels By Brand

            Hilton 505 hotels

            Conrad 15

            Doubletree 189

            Embassy Suites 190

            Hampton Inn 1,511 (99% of Hampton Inns are in USA)

            Hilton Garden Inn 362

            Homewood Suites 223

            Waldorf=Astoria 5

 

Hyatt Hotels  435 hotels, 117 international hotels)  27% international

USA 318 hotels

Canada 4 hotels

Mexico 6 hotels

Asia   52 hotels

Europe 28 hotels

South America 4 hotels

Caribbbean 3 hotels

Australia/New Zealand 9 hotels

Africa/Middle East 11 hotels 

Summerfield Suites, 30 hotels in USA

Hyatt Place, 111 hotels in USA)

InterContinental Hotels Group – 4,000+ hotels  (About 900 international hotels)

22.5% international

InterContinental Hotels 153 properties (USA 21, Canada 3, Mexico 10)

            Americas 52 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 64 hotels

            Asia Pacific 37 hotels

Crowne Plaza 308 hotels

            Americas 176 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 76 hotels

            Asia Pacific 56 hotels

Holiday Inn 1,369 hotels

          Americas 946 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 328 hotels

            Asia Pacific 95 hotels

Hotel Indigo 14 hotels

            Americas 14 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 1 hotel (opening London Summer 2008)

Holiday Inn Express 1,819 hotels

            Americas 1,619 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 188 hotels

            Asia Pacific 12 hotels

Staybridge Suites  130 hotels

            Americas 130 hotels

Candlewood Suites 169 hotels

            Americas 169 hotels

 

Marriott Hotels Corporation 

3,000 Hotels  (400 international hotels) (13.3%)

Marriott Hotels ,  521 hotels = 343 USA, 178 International

JW Marriott, 39 hotels = 16 USA, 23 International

Renaissance Hotels, 143 hotels = 75 USA, 68 international

Courtyard by Marriott, 770 hotels = 697 USA, 73 international

Residence Inn by Marriott,  547 hotels = 529 USA, 18 international

Fairfield Inn, 535 hotels = 527 USA, 8 international

TownePlace Suites, 145 hotels in USA

SpringHill Suites, 187 hotels = 186 USA, 1 international

Ritz-Carlton Hotels  68 hotels = 36 USA, 32 international

Starwood Hotels, 860 Hotels 

600 North America, 260 international hotels (30%)

USA 517

Canada 51 hotels

Mexico 23 hotels

Caribbean 9 hotels

South America  36 hotels

Europe  74 hotels

Africa 40 hotels

Middle East 58 hotels

Asia Pacific 151 open (36 hotels scheduled to open in next 18 months)

 

Wyndham Hotels, Howard Johnson and Ramada are primary international chains.

6,550 franchised hotels  (About 370 international hotels, 6% of total hotels)

Europe 212 hotels

Middle East 13 hotels

Africa 10 hotels

Asia Pacific 133 hotels

 

San Francisco, California, view of Golden Gate Bridge

I have noticed the abundance of travel articles in the past few weeks touting the simplicity of domestic travel this summer right here in the good ole USof A.

Personally, my travel plans are on hold as I work through my Loyalty Traveler business plans, the prospect of teaching school kids this summer, and awaiting a great airfare opportunity like the tickets I purchased last May 2007: Buenos Aires to New York in Business Class for $541 and Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand in Business Class for $1,400 all-in.

Let’s assume I can get a great deal for two tickets to Europe or Asia for $600 each. $1,200 in airfare just to get to a foreign airport. The ground transportation tends to be one of the bigger expenses of international travel, aside from the hotels. Germany has Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket discounts that allow a passenger to travel anywhere in the country on regional trains over the weekend at a highly discounted rate (35-37Euros or about $55USD). Little train travel deals like that help the dollar stretch a long way with planning.

Assume gas averages $4.00/gallon this summer. My recent road trip averaged over 27 miles/gal in my Hyundai Sonata with the A/C running. $1,200 in gas will buy 300 gallons and about 8,000 miles of driving. I can cover a lot of road in my car for the cost of two international air tickets.

I love getting out of the USA to gain a different perspective on life and our American lifestyles. Canada may be the best bet for international summer travel savings (although gas will be more than $4.00/gal in Canada). Vancouver, Canada is a little over 1,000 miles by road from Monterey. Considering the cost of auto gas compared to international airfare, I’ll have enough gas money for another 5,000 road trip miles in my car and the ability to easily see dozens of city and resort hotels on the way.

Recent travel articles on the high cost of tavel and domestic agendas:

Ladies Who Launch: Jetsetting around the U.S. of A.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-swift/emladies-who-launchem-jet_b_99409.html

Luxury Travel targets the young and affluent:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2008-05-01-upscales-hotels_N.htm

Jet Set Will Fret over Soaring Fuel Prices:
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=10453

Economy May Aid Florida Tourism:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/01/bz-economy-may-aid-states-tourism/

AOL/Zogby Survey finds Americans plan to spend less in 2008 on vacations:
http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXml/LN783405719.html?nid=3457

Hotel loyalty elite status has the primary benefit of a “room with a view”. Last week I stayed two nights at Westin Hotel resorts and one night at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. A day in Palm Springs and two days in Phoenix gave me time to see about 14 other hotel resort properties in these two winter havens.

The Palm Springs area of Coachella Valley is a string of resort towns built on the valley desert flatland at the base of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. Palm Springs merges into Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and Indian Wells. The valley is a patchwork of long straight roads with frequent and quick-changing traffic lights. I ran more lights in 24 hours trying to drive around the valley towns looking for streets like Frank Sinatra than I have in 24 years. Shopping centers, schools, public parks, and gated communities coexist with golf courses, hotel resorts, and Indian gaming casinos.

The single most prevalent observation I made in Palm Springs was the probability of being booked in a room with an undesirable location within the resort. Paying $300 per night and looking out the room window to someone’s Cadillac in the parking lot is not my idea of resort vacationing. The view of the high mountain peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains towering above the valley with the highest peak at nearly 11,000 feet is an incredible sight and the surrounding mountains are a beautiful view to behold.

San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains form a picturesque backdrop to the resort

My first hotel stay was the Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, about 10 miles from downtown Palm Springs. The hotel portion of the resort is a series of 16 two-story guest buildings. The odd-numbered rooms are ground floor and even-numbered rooms are upstairs. There are no building elevators so top floor rooms are handicap inaccessible.
Adjacent to the Guest Buildings are the Westin Mission Hills Vacation Villas located in 11 buildings to the east of the hotel buildings. The Villas are available for rent and tend to be lower priced than the hotel rooms much of the time, but this portion of the property has limited participation in the Starwood Preferred Guest program and no Starpoints will be awarded.

Fountain outside Guest Building 6, Hibiscus, near Las Brisas main pool.

My room was located above the foilage arch on the second floor of Joshua Building #8.

Golf Course View from my room #814

As a Starwood Preferred Guest platinum elite, at check-in I received a coupon for complimentary drinks for two at the lobby bar. A quick glance at the menu and $12 cocktail prices gave this amenity a $25 added value. I noticed the misspelling “Starwood Preffered” on this coupon. I also received a coupon for 15% off breakfast at the Restaurant Bella Vista, 20% off a spa treatment, and $15 off a Westin Kids Club session.

Mission Hills lobby bar

Outdoor dining at Bella Vista restaurant

About half the buildings are located adjacent to the golf course and the other buildings are situated around the three resort swimming pools. Unfortunately, most of the buildings have about half their rooms facing the resort parking lots. Each ground floor room has a patio and the rooms facing the parking lot tend to have thick bushes surrounding the patio. These rooms would have a bedroom view of a bush with a car just on the other side of the bush. The upstairs rooms have an unobstructed view of the parking lots.

My room faced the golf course and being a second floor room had the attribute of a high sloping ceiling that peaked at about 14 feet. The high ceiling gave the room a feeling of additional space.
A large part of the resort lobby was dedicated to vacation property sales and this seemed to be a common feature of the resorts in this area and Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Sunrise view from my room

The two main pools, Las Brisas and Las Hadas were in good use for the afternoon with the temperature in the mid-90s. La Paloma is a smaller adults only pool to the east of the lobby and this pool was deserted at 5:00pm when I walked by.

Las Brisas pool

All in all, the Westin Mission Hills is a pleasant resort with plenty of water activities, tennis and golf. I must complain about the $20/day resort fee. I just don’t get it when a property charges $260/night and then feels the need to tack on another $20 as a resort fee. Why not just make the price $280/night?

My words of advice are to be sure and secure a golf course or pool view room. Golf course view rooms are likely to be much quieter. I would have a difficult time enjoying myself at this resort when trying to quell the feeling I was ripped off if I were in a room staring out to a bush and the parking lots.

An all too common view for this resort.

Westin Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage (Starwood website hotel page)
Starwood Category 4 hotel; 10,000 points for a free night.
AAA 3-diamond rating
TripAdvisor Reviews #3 of 7 Rancho Mirage hotels Average price $248/night
TripAdvisor photos

I used a Starwood Preferred Guest Cash & Points award for this stay.
$60 + 4,000 Starpoints. The $20 resort fee was added to the rate and my total cost was $87/night.

The lowest available paid rate for my stay would have been $259 +10.07% tax + $20 resort fee = $305/night. (Midweek rates appear to have dropped about $50 night for May bookings. Palm Springs area has peak rates on weekends.)

Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa, Santa Rosa, California

March is my favorite month for California travel.

March is typically when the weather starts hitting the 70s on a regular basis and the hills are still green from the winter California rains. Coastal California receives the vast majority of its rainfall between the months of October and March. The hills start turning brown a few weeks after the last rains and by June most areas have little green color left.

The other day, I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time since 2001. North, past Marin County and into Sonoma County is where the real northern California begins in my opinion. There are many Californias. Life in the OC is an entirely different experience and lifestyle than the Redwood Country California.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

Sonoma County, an area now famous for wines, once had numerous old growth stands of redwood trees. Most were cut down to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. The exclusive Bohemian Club is currently in the process of trying to get around redwood protection legislation to allow logging of the largest remaining stand of privately owned old growth trees remaining in Sonoma County, a 2,700 acre redwood grove on the Russian River watershed basin.

Santa Rosa is 50 miles north of San Francisco and is the last city over 50,000 people heading north on California Highway 101. Oregon is another 300 miles of driving through vineyards and coastal redwoods.

I lived in the northern coastal California town of Eureka from 1996 to 2001 and I frequently drove to San Francisco. Typically, I would drive down to Rohnert Park, about 10 miles south of Santa Rosa and home of Sonoma State University, and stay at the Doubletree Hotel.

Doubletree Sonoma pool, Rohnert Park, California

Doubletree Sonoma Hotel, Rohnert Park, California

The Doubletree Hotel was the best major chain full-service hotel between Eureka and San Francisco back in 2000. And now there are several chain hotels with the Four Points Sheraton in San Rafael, Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma, Marriott Courtyard, Hilton and the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa. Several more Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inns, Holiday Inn Express, and Hampton Inns have also been opened along this stretch of Highway 101 north of San Francisco.

Sheraton Petaluma pool, Petaluma, California

The Hyatt Vineyard Creek hotel has classic Spanish architecture with lots of wrought iron, and a Mediterranean inspired color scheme. The rooms are built around two large courtyards. Think of a figure 8, make it square shaped and you can envision the basic hotel design.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek lobby
I was given a room overlooking the parking lot, but near the creek side for a relatively green view from the window. The preferred rooms have the view facing south and overlook the pool, creek, and gardens.

The garden grounds have several statues and art pieces. A large fountain wall, grass lawn, and vines decorate the hotel area. The outside grounds and pool are unique features of this Hyatt hotel for the Hyatt properties in northern California.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek, Santa Rosa, California sculpture garden

The room facilities:
The room is poorly designed for business work. The desk chair was quite uncomfortable. The cushion sank right down to the wood frame and my legs resting on the hardwood of the seat frame while working at the desk on my computer was a pain I could only stand for about 20 minutes.

The desk is placed next to the TV cabinet and the doors of the cabinet must be open to see TV, however, the TV cabinet doors do not fold back all the way. The cabinet door needs to be closed when working at the desk and this prohibits watching TV while working at the desk because the TV cabinet door was right in my face and in front of the desk lamp when open.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek room decor blocks the work desk

The bedroom seating consisted of two upholstered chairs in the room. These were reasonably comfortable, but my complaint is the plastic wrap the chairs were shipped in was still visible dangling around the legs of the chair. When I initially surveyed the room, the plastic gave the appearance of the chair stuffing coming out the bottom, but I pulled on it and confirmed it was the remnants of the shipping plastic wrap that was never cleanly removed from the chairs.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek room, Santa Rosa, California

Room 316 on top floor of hotel. The room has screened windows.

A distinguishing feature of the hotel room is the 10ft high ceiling. Vertical space gives the room the feeling of a much larger space than your typical 300 sq ft hotel room. Furniture has appearance of old oak in a faux mission decor.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek bedroom

Bathroom: Large wooden sliding door. No curved shower rod. Tub and shower head provided the best water pressure and temperature of any Hyatt hotel shower so far. That was lovely.

The patio rooms offered as a booking option are either on one of the two interior courtyards or there are a few rooms with patios adjacent to pool. Patio courtyard would be fun for group or family event as there are no barriers and rooms quite open. People preferring privacy should not go for these rooms as they are quite exposed to the hotel world.

TV is regular 27 inch Zenith TV.

The hotel has an attached conference center wing which opens onto a courtyard. The hotel is basically two 3-story squares built around two interior courtyards. The conference wing is the east side of the hotel and the main hotel section of guest rooms is the west side.

Room service prices are about the cheapest of any of the Hyatt’s in Bay Area. A breakfast entrée of eggs or an omelette can be purchased for $10 and with room service delivery charges and tax it is still under $15.

Major drawback of room is no mini-fridge. Here we are in the wine country and there is no refrigerator to chill wine and the ice bucket provided is definitely too small to chill a bottle of wine. This is a hotel set up for rest and relaxation and the addition of a mini-fridge would be a great enhancement.

Signage is poor. I could easily have missed the pool if I hadn’t toured the hotel thoroughly. The gardens and riverwalk on the back side are the highlight of the property, but the layout with the large iron gate between the pool and the interior courtyard makes it impossible to even see the garden area from the lobby and spa courtyard. I thought it was a parking lot back there until I exited outside the conference wing to find a beautiful 100 foot long wall fountain, art sculptures and the pool area.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek, fountain, Santa Rosa, California

Outdoor pool is inviting space for lounging. Santa Rosa can reach 100 in summer months and an outdoor pool is a relaxation feature and welcome, especially after a day out in hot sun. Pool is open 7am-10pm and a hot tub is also present. A café is located in pool area.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek pool and pool cafe, Santa Rosa, California

The Brasserie restaurant is open 6:30am-11pm weekdays, 7am-11pm weekends.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek Brasserie Restaurant, Santa Rosa, California

Fitness room seemed small for hotel this size and the color scheme was not soothing, in contrast to the rest of hotel. There are 2 treadmills, 2 stair steppers, 3 bikes, weights and bench, large balls, 2 TVs. It seemed cramped and claustrophobic to me.

The hotel is about to undergo a lobby remodel and one of the main features will be the installation of a bar within the lobby. This work is scheduled to be completed in June 2008.

The Hyatt Vineyard Creek Spa has ten treatment rooms for massage therapy and body treatments. Half-day, 3-hour packages range from $295 to $370 and include facial, massage, and picnic lunch. A la carte massage is about $110-$125 for 50 minutes or $160-$185 for 80 minutes. Manicures $40-$55 for 50 minutes, pedicures $50-$70, and combo for $85-$120.

Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel courtyard, Santa Rosa, California

Needed hotel improvement: There are apparently no service elevators and twice I saw staff pushing a cart of garbage enter an elevator with guests, once with me in the elevator. In my opinion, a hotel of this caliber (AAA 4-diamond rating) should train staff to wait for a vacant elevator before using it with guests to perform maintenance functions.

Marriott Courtyard is located across the street from the Hyatt Vineyard Creek. I was able to see a room and tour the Courtyard hotel and the Hyatt has superior facilities and better room design.

Marriott Courtyard room, Santa Rosa, California

Marriott Courtyard pool, Santa Rosa, California

Hyatt Regency, Denver – lobby

“Now his life is full of wonder
but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down
to bring in a couple more
More people,
more scars upon the land”

-John Denver

Pim and Colorado aligned for a wired less eclipse this past week. Pim is my 10-month old kitten. Colorado is the state. My computer died and the timing was Thursday evening 48 hours before a trip out of state.

An alignment of place and time left me in a brief internet blackout coincidental to this week’s lunar eclipse. The place was Colorado for a 5-day trip. Amazing growth has occurred throughout Denver in the past ten years. The housing tracts are approaching the airport periphery, although the nearest hotels are still miles away from the terminals.

The AC cord had been faulty on my computer for a month and I delayed purchasing a new one since I wasn’t sure if the cord was faulty or something else internal. I now have a new AC cord and a working computer.

Pim is the prime suspect for my computer eclipse. Pim is our adopted kitten, found lost in the street at about 3 weeks old last May. Pim initially fit in the palm of my hand. I typed for a month with the fingers of my right hand while cradling Pim in my left hand for much of the day. When restless and wandering off my lap, Pim frequently came to rest behind the computer where he slept, warmed by the computer fan. And when Pim was falling asleep he tended to play with the computer AC cord.

The computer went dead Thursday afternoon, 48 hours before heading to Colorado. I spent hours transferring files to a backup computer. I forgot the wireless card software.

A piece will appear this weekend on Hilton Pointstretcher awards and their airline miles-to-HHonors points opportunity. For the most part, I remained relatively unconnected to the internet and physically connected to family. Although, there were some business activities.

Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only a Frequent Guest Blogger

Tuesday, I checked out several hotels in the Denver Central Business District. I looked around the Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Hotel Monaco (Kimpton Hotels).

The Hyatt Regency has rooms with gorgeous views of the Rockies and the LODO district of Denver. Lounge on 35th floor provides a great western view of city. A visitor can have a 27th floor dining experience. The restaurant is primarily evening hours service. The Hyatt Regency is the closest hotel to the Denver Convention Center.

I was approached by Marriott Denver hotel security after spending time wandering around the lobby and cafes. My suspicious activity was taking pictures of hotel signs, menus, the lobbies, and hotel maps. The photos are for my websites and memory joggers for my hotel research.

The security officer accepted my business card. I’m a legitimate small business entrepreneur creating public consumer information. Hotel visits are part of my sightseeing plan wherever I go. Real travel is part of my knowledge base to add contextual details to my writing on hotel loyalty programs and how to get good hotel rates through careful navigation of hotel web sites.

I congratulated the Marriott security team on being observant.

Hotel security is certainly a consideration when I travel internationally. One of the primary reasons I like upscale hotels in the major hotel corporate chains is the presence of security in the form of employees, lighting, locks, and video surveillance. I was serious in thanking the Marriott security personnel for questioning me.

I feel more secure sleeping in a Sheraton in Bangkok, a Hilton in Belfast, or a Best Western in Guayaquil, Ecuador with an armed escort to the taxi on the street.

Denver Boutique Luxury

The Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel, is on the block between the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton. Boutique luxury is an apt descriptor. TripAdvisor ranks Hotel Monaco #1 in Denver. The lobby is charming and cozy, while the hotel is located in the heart of downtown. The location and ambience had a welcoming feeling. There is an Aveda shop at the entrance of the hotel.

Hotel Monaco, Denver – lobby

“Added Value” Frequent Guest Loyalty Programs

Kimpton Hotels are some of the most popular hotels in San Francisco. Many of the boutique and independent hotel associations such as Fairmont, Mandarin Oriental, or Leading Hotels of the World operate loyalty programs offering frequent guests added amenities and room upgrades with paid stays. These are what I call “Added Value” frequent guest programs.

The primary feature of Added Value programs is recognition of elite status and associated privileges by the frequency of paid stays. There are no points involved. Basically, the going rate at a luxury boutique hotel may be $300/night and you may get a $150 added value in room upgrades and/or amenities like complimentary breakfast, wine, spa packages, dining packages, and more as a frequent guest perk.

Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, and Starwood operate hotel points loyalty programs which allow any member to accumulate points redeemable for free hotel nights, upgrades, and additional items and services. Hotel points may be earned without ever actually staying at a hotel.

Hilton HHonors provides members multiple avenues for earning hotel points:

• purchases made with a Hilton HHonors co-branded credit card earning HHonors points,
• the transfer of loyalty points from a variety of programs into HHonors points,
• the ability to purchase HHonors points
• the option to exchange airline miles into HHonors points
• Hotel stay activity
• Business Partner activities earning HHonors points

The exchangeability of hotel points to hotel nights, amenities, services, airline miles, and additional items makes Hotel Points frequent guest programs more versatile than Added Value frequent guest programs.

In addition to hotel points, elite status frequent guest members generally earn regular room upgrades and additional amenities in the major hotel points frequent guest programs.

Laurence Geller listed some interesting data points in a blog from Jan 18, 2008. His piece discusses the widening divide between Generations X and Y mass consumers and the truly “super-affluent”. In 2006, the affluent spent on average $2,400 on hotels and resorts, while the super-affluent spent $61,200. He argues new brands will proliferate as today’s luxury brands become commonplace.

St. Regis Hotels are luxury brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Friday morning on CNBC, a news crew reported from the St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, Florida from a CEO conference. The studio reporters were asking about the age of the hotel and the reporter stated it had been open 9 months. I haven’t looked into those facts.

The report got me to thinking about the super-affluent and the merely affluent. For the Loyalty Traveler the travel is reduced to the numbers. I wondered what the rates are at the Fort Lauderdale St. Regis.

Here are the search results for St. Regis, FLL room rates for Monday, 2-18-08

OceanView
$476.10 (AAA rate)
$479 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com)
$509 Special Offer Page “SRSPG”
$529 (Best Available on SPG.com)
$549 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”

Ocean Front
$566.10 (AAA)
$579 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$609 Special Offer “SRSPG”
$649 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”

Pool Terrace
$607 Florida Resident rate
$669 Best Benefits Package special offer “SRSPG”
$689 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$709 Pool Terrace Special Offer AAA rate

[special offers accessed from St. Regis Fort Lauderdale ]  [Loyalty Traveler note:  St. Regis converted to a Ritz-Carlton in summer 2008 a few months after this post]

XRF rate includes complimentary valet parking, two Bloody Mary’s, and complimentary room upgrade to next available room type. In this case, contact hotel and find out a good night for booking with a good upgrade potential.

SRSPG rate includes two Bloody Mary’s, triple Starpoints and complimentary internet access.

The super-affluent spender could be looking at about 2 to 3 months of Pool Terrace living over the course of a year at this hotel and comparable properties. The affluent spender on $2,400 is looking at a long President’s weekend holiday and sitting home the rest of the year.

Starwood Cash & Points Award Savings

While checking St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, I came across an example of where loyalty program membership leads you to a much better booking option than a regular search on the hotel chain primary web site.

Westin Colonnade, Coral Gables, FL
Saturday, Feb 16, 2007
Rate = $429/night

www.starwoodhotels.com web site hotel rate for the Westin Colonnade through a regular search as a hotel guest not participating in Starwood Preferred Guest and not looking for the Starwood Preferred Guest hotel loyalty program site.

Checking http://www.spg.com/ – I have the option of getting a Cash & Points award at the Westin Colonnade, a Category 4 SPG Hotel for $60 and 4,000 Starpoints.

The ability to buy up to 20,000 Starpoints online from SPG at the rate of $35/1,000 points is a strategy to keep in mind if you do not have 4,000 Starpoints. Adding the cost to buy 4,000 Starpoints for $140 and the $60 Cash portion of a Cash & Points award makes a $200 room rate booking possible. The website states purchased Starpoints will be posted to your account within 24 hours.

The corporate-branded hotel websites generally have the lowest rates for their own hotel rooms compared to third-party online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity.

The difficulty for the DIY online hotel reservationist, is the time needed to sift through thousands of pages on the corporate-branded websites to find the lowest rate page. Finding the lowest rate is a matter of knowledge and luck at the time you search.

$485 through Starwood Hotels corporate web site compared to $200 for the SPG member using Cash & Points booking option for a one-night rate at the Westin Colonnade is the differential cost for the guest with a lack of knowledge and time. The Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program gives the member a hotel rate option that is nearly $300 less.

An additional benefit of a Cash & Points stay is the award stay usually does not incur tax. The minor detraction of a Cash & Points award is the hotel stay does not count for elite qualification or promotional offer credit. A Cash & Points award stay also does not earn points for the Cash portion of the award.

Priceline Hotel Bookings

CNBC reported Friday morning Priceline has experienced a surge in bookings. The TV commentator asked, “Does the growth in Priceline indicate a weak economy?”

Priceline is a great resource when hotel room rates are threatening to make your credit card bleed. Last June, I booked the Marriott Key Bridge in Arlington, Virginia for a Sunday night before a Monday afternoon flight to Buenos Aires. I wanted to be in DC, but the major loyalty program hotel rates ranged from $250 to $350/night. I considered renting a car and driving to the Virginia outer suburbs for a $100/night Sheraton rate.

Marriott Key Bridge Hotel, Arlington, Virginia (Priceline.com booking $115)

Instead I paid $115 total for the Marriott and I was a ten minute walk across the bridge into Georgetown. I had an interior pool view room on the third floor while the preferred rooms look out over DC from 6 to 10 stories up.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock ‘n rollers

-david bowie

My post on Monday, Feb 11 with advice to a friend on getting an award ticket with US Airways is already outdated.

US Airways has announced a couple of changes to the Dividend Miles program.
1. Flight Segments will no longer earn 500 miles minimum, but actual miles.
2. Award travel booked online within 14 days of flight departure will have a $50 expedite fee. (The no fee for an award ticket booked online up to 6 hours before flight departure was a major competitive benefit for the Dividend Miles program that is now being eliminated.)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=790437

The flight segment change may not seem like a big deal, however, the 500-mile minimum for miles earned per flight segment has been standard across the major US airline frequent flier programs. Now we wait and see if other airline loyalty programs follow suit.

Let me explain why this is a big impact.

I live in Monterey, California and flights originating at our local Monterey regional airport are predominantly feeder flights to the major hubs of San Francisco and Los Angeles airports.

In practice this is how the change affects a regional flyer like me. Let’s assume I take 10 trips a year to international locations and cross country domestic. Assume all my flights go from Monterey through San Francisco. (In reality, I try and fly through Los Angeles because the flight out of Monterey to LAX is much more reliable. MRY-LAX=266 actual flight miles. I use Great Circle Mapper for quick mileage checks that are usually within 1 or 2 miles of frequent flier program distance calculations in my experience.)

MRY-SFO is 92 flight miles. Under the old US Airways rules, my United flight segment for MRY-SFO would earn 500 minimum base miles. The new rules for tickets purchased on or after March 1, 2008 for flights on or after May 1, 2008 will earn only 92 miles for this flight.

Upper tier elite status earns a 100% flight miles bonus.

Current miles earned for a flight including MRY-SFO segments on outbound and inbound:
MRY-SFO 500 miles x 100% elite bonus = 1,000 miles
SFO-MRY 500 miles x 100% elite bonus = 1,000 miles
______
2,000 miles earned for these two flight segments of a ticket.

As of May 1, 2008
MRY-SFO 92 miles x 100% elite bonus = 184 miles
SFO-MRY 92 miles x 100% elite bonus = 184 miles
______
368 miles earned for these two flight segments of a ticket.

The frequent flier miles earned has been reduced by over 80% on these flight segments.

A frequent flier, with 10 international and domestic tickets that have these Monterey to San Francisco flight segments, will see miles earned over the course of a year reduced from
20,000 miles down to 3,680 miles with the rule change to actual flight miles per segment.

Even if considering miles have a simple value as low as 1 penny each, this means a loss of about $175 in earned mileage per year.

20,000 miles is a good portion of the way to a free ticket.
3,680 miles is a free magazine subscription.

This is a big frequent flier program change.