InterContinental Hotels Group has offered one of the best discounts on hotel rooms in Europe for several years with 2 nights for the price of 1 rates at select hotels. These are prepaid, nonrefundable rates, and most of these rates will not earn Priority Club points, but at these room rate savings the risk can be worthwhile and the lack of points earning justified.

I recall finding a great deal for the InterContinental Carlton Cannes on a 2-for-1 rate a few years back, but these days the 2-for-1 deal is primarily limited to Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and HI Express. I took the 2-for-1 IHG link off my Current Hotel Promotions page this last round since the link I had expired June 30, 2011. A Google search turned up a different link for current IHG discounts at hotels in Europe and the UK.

IHG Green Room Discounts

The Green Room is an IHG site for discount rates at Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in the UK and Europe.

2 Nights for the Price of 1 and 35% off weekends promotional offers are valid for stays through December 31, 2011.

The burbs of London are almost always available for low rates and during holiday periods the rates in Central London typically drop as low as US$100 per night in my 2-for-1 rate analyses of the past several years.

Here is an example of the 2-for-1 rate at the Crowne Plaza Wiesbaden, Germany (aside: I attended 9th grade in Wiesbaden in 1975 at the U.S. Armed Forces High School. A school year wasted or should I say a wasted year of school?)

Crowne Plaza Wiesbaden November 3-5, 2011

2-for-1 rate (tip: click on graphic and image loads in separate webpage as full size image).

The 2-for-1 rate at Crowne Plaza Wiesbaden is 75EUR per night. The rate is prepaid, nonrefundable and no reservation changes allowed.

Compare the 75EUR rate to other rates at the hotel and you see this 2 Nights for the Price of 1 is a pretty good deal.

A rate check of the Crowne Plaza Wiesbaden hotel on the U.S. Priority Club site shows the lowest rate is a 21-day advance purchase, prepaid rate at 111 EUR per night. The cancellation policy refunds 10% of the room rate if you need to cancel or no-show. You will lose 100EUR per night if you cancel this 21-day advance purchase prepaid reservation compared to losing 75EUR per night with the 2-for-1 prepaid rate.

The lowest flexible cancellation rate is 149EUR per night. This rate allows you to cancel up to 6pm day of arrival with no penalty. The 2-for-1 rate is truly a 50% discount compared to the Best Flexible penalty-free cancellation rate.

This is why you Better Know an IHG Rate for Europe. These IHG discount rates can extend your hotel travel budget substantially when touring Europe.

Terms and Conditions for IHG Europe and UK discount rates:

Up to 35% Discount Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st December 2011 at participating IHG hotels in the UK.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights (some hotels may offer limited midweek availability – please check when booking).
• Discount represents a saving against our Best Flexible rate per room, per night for two adults sharing a standard double/twin room (inclusive of VAT). Room only, breakfast not included.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults.
• Offer valid on new bookings only, full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• All bookings are subject to availability of rooms allocated to this offer at participating hotels.
  Rates may vary by date of booking.
• A maximum of 2 rooms can be booked under any one reservation.
• This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

Half price Discount Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st December 2011 at participating IHG hotels in the UK.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights (some hotels may offer limited midweek availability – please check when booking).
• Discount represents a saving against our Best Flexible rate per room, per night for two adults sharing a standard double/twin room (inclusive of VAT) for a minimum of two consecutive nights. Room only, breakfast not included.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults.
• Offer valid on new bookings only, full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• All bookings are subject to availability of rooms allocated to this offer at participating hotels.
  Rates may vary by date of booking.
• A maximum of 2 rooms can be booked under any one reservation.
• This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

2 Nights for the Price of One – Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st December 2011 at participating IHG hotels in the UK & Europe.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability – please check at time of booking.
• 2 for 1 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of two consecutive night stays for the price of one, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max. 2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.
• Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.
• Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.
• All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates. Rates may vary by date of booking. Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.
• Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.

3 nights for the price of 2 Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for breaks and reservations made from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability – please check at time of booking.
• 3 for 2 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of three consecutive night stays with the 3rd night at no charge, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max.2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.
• Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.
• Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.
• All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates. Rates may vary by date of booking. Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.
• Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

IHG Green Room Discount Rates

InterContinental Hotels Group regularly offers 2 nights for the price of 1 night in Europe. The current offer is for hotel stays through June 30, 2011 at participating Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. Most participating hotels offer weekend 2-for-1 rates with many locations also offering weekday 2-for-1 rates. Up to two children under the age of 18 may stay for free when sharing room with 2 adults.

Main restriction with the 2-for-1 rate is it requires full prepayment and there are no cancellations or changes allowed by the rate terms. These rates are deep discount savings, but use it or lose it once you book your 2-for-1 hotel stay.

Priority Club points are generally earned for these stays, but your results may vary depending on the specific property. Priority Club has a strange rule about not awarding points if the rate is more than a 30% discount. This is a loosely enforced rule, but when applied it seems members are out of luck with earning points.

Two other IHG hotel discount deals currently being offered in Europe like “3 nights for price of 2” and “Save up to 35% on Weekend Stays” specifically mention “Priority Club points do not apply” in the terms and conditions. The 2-for-1 offer terms and conditions do not have this “no points” statement.

London can be an incredible deal with these rates where numerous IHG properties generally mean this deal can be found every day of the week.

My observations for this 2-for-1 offer over the past couple of years concludes this is one of the best deals for European hotel stays. I have written posts in the past showing how London could be done for US$100 per night, but don’t even think you will get this kind of deal for London during the days of the Prince’s wedding.

IHG 2 for 1 special offer rate beats Priceline.com for London

April 22-24, 2011 Crowne Plaza Shoreditch, London

BiddingforTravel.com is a forum where people post successful Priceline.com bids. A member of BiddingforTravel.com posted Feb 26 on a successful Priceline.com bid for the Crowne Plaza Shoreditch at USD$110 per night for a three night stay April 22-25. She states the price on IHG website was $125 at the time.  I assume both these rates are room rate only and do not include the UK 20% VAT tax.

April 22-24 using the 2-for-1 IHG special offer rate lowers the price to just USD$89 per night before tax.

The rate using the 2-for-1 special offer gives a two-night rate for the Crowne Plaza Shoreditch hotel at £109  with 20% VAT = £130.80  or USD$106 per night after tax for the same dates as a successful February Priceline.com bid. This is an overall savings of at least $26 less than Priceline.com and $44 less than the IHG room rate listed on February 26.

xe.com currency conversion

IHG 2 nights for Price of One special rate offer.

Totally off this topic:  

I want to turn people on to the Ryan Bingham of hotel travel who is currently staying in 33 hotels in 33 days on the Las Vegas Strip. Here is a link to Paul Carr’s Huffington Post story “The Strip Diary“. The only relation of Paul Carr to this post is Paul is from London.  I’ll be hanging out in Las Vegas most of next week. Maybe I’ll run into Paul!

InterContinental Hotels in Europe offers a “Summer Package” claiming 5^th night free for stays from July 14 to September 11, 2011. My analysis of the “Summer Package” rates indicates the deal is about the same as Advance Purchase rates and 20% off the standard “Best Flexible Rate”. The basic difference is the “Summer Package” rate requires only a one night nonrefundable deposit for your stay compared to a fully prepaid nonrefundable deposit for the entire stay if you book the Advance Purchase rate.

One aspect of this deal that is different from what I frequently see when booking free night deals is the discount rate is already calculated in the ‘European Summer Package’ rate shown on the website.

For example, if the Summer Package rate shows 200EUR per night, then the total for a 5-night stay is 1,000EUR plus tax.

Many free night offers like Marriott’s 3^rd night free in Europe show you the nightly rate and state in the terms that the free night will be credited back to your folio at checkout.

This InterContinental 5^th night free Summer sale does not work like Marriott’s current sale. For example, in the Marriott promotion structure a 200EUR/night rate would be 1,000EUR for five nights and then at checkout the bill reduced by 200EUR. That is not how this offer works when booked. The 5^th night free 20% discount is already calculated at the booking stage for this InterContinental European Summer Sale.

InterContinental Prague, Czech Republic Sun Aug 14 – Fri Aug 19

Best Flexible Rate for King Bed Deluxe Room = 219 EUR/night

Experience Europe Summer Package Rate King Bed Deluxe Room = 175.20 EUR/night

43.80 EUR is a 20% discount on the Best Flexible Rate. This is equivalent to the 5^th night free over a 5-night stay based on the BAR rate. The Summer Package with a one night penalty for cancellation has a less flexible cancellation policy than Best Flexible rate which may be cancelled with no penalty up to day before arrival.

Advance Purchase Rate for King Bed Deluxe Room = 165 EUR/night.

The fully prepaid advance purchase rate is 51EUR less for this 5-night stay, but the guest risks losing the entire room deposit of 825EUR if the reservation is cancelled at any time.

Savings Vary at Different Hotels

Rate checks at InterContinental Berchtesgaden Resort indicate the European Summer Package rate is even lower than the Advance Purchase rate making this rate a good deal for this hotel. Something I have not seen in some time is a rate condition at the Berchtesgaden Resort requiring an extra 40EUR per adult beginning with the second adult in the room.

InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam offers the European Summer Package at the same rate as the Advance Purchase rate.

Loyalty Traveler Conclusion: This rate might be a usable offer for some travelers who are set on staying at a European InterContinental Hotel this summer. In my opinion, this is not a particularly attractive deal. The European Summer Package at 20% off Best Flexible Rate is not much of a discount. I would hold out and wait for a better offer between now and July/August. I think there will be better deals coming.

If there are no better deals, then the advance purchase rate at these hotels will likely not be any higher come June and July. These rates look quite high to me for early bookings for summer travel in Europe.

Discount Rate = Loyalty Traveler 1 to 2 key deal = Not enough savings to get this traveler excited.

Participating InterContinental Hotels in Europe

• AUSTRIA
• InterContinental Vienna
• CYPRUS
• InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel
• CZECH REPUBLIC
• InterContinental Prague
• FRANCE
• InterContinental Carlton Cannes*
• InterContinental Paris – Avenue Marceau*
• InterContinental Paris Le Grand*
• GERMANY
• InterContinental Berchtesgaden Resort
• InterContinental Frankfurt
• InterContinental Hamburg
• GREECE
• Athenaeum InterContinental Athens
• HUNGARY
• InterContinental Budapest
• ITALY
• InterContinental de la Ville Roma
• KAZAKHSTAN
• InterContinental Almaty
• MALTA
• InterContinental Malta
• NETHERLANDS
• InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
• POLAND
• InterContinental Warsaw*
• PORTUGAL
• InterContinental Porto – Palácio das Cardosas*
• ROMANIA
• InterContinental Bucharest
• SPAIN
• InterContinental Madrid
• InterContinental La Torre Golf Resort Murcia
• SWITZERLAND
• InterContinental Geneva*
• UKRAINE
• InterContinental Kiev
• UNITED KINGDOM
• InterContinental London Park Lane
• UZBEKISTAN
• InterContinental Tashkent  

*’Summer Package’ for hotels marked is only bookable for stays between 1 August, 2011 and 4 September, 2011.

Europe, Middle East and Africa Starwood Hotels have an “Earn Your Dreams” promotion running for the next 15 months with double points per stay in a standard room, triple points for a premium room stay, and 3,000 bonus points for a hotel stay in a suite.

This offer requires a package rate booked through this Earn Your Dreams SPG link and a completed stay by December 31, 2011.

• Double Starpoints will be awarded per paid eligible stay on rate code SETPKGBA, triple Starpoints will be awarded per paid eligible stay on rate code SETPKGBB and 3,000 Starpoints will be awarded per paid eligible stay on rate code SETPKGBC and will be awarded for room revenue only. 

Only the room rate earns double or triple  points. No bonus points on incidental spend. Normal Starpoints and elite bonuses apply.

Standard room rates I checked were about 10EUR higher than the lowest rate at some hotels in Germany. The one aspect I like about the suite package rate is the ability to pull up hotel suite rates and descriptions. Getting suites to show up when searching a Starwood Hotel can be difficult in a regular room rate search.  

Starwood has big plans in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East over the next two years with 50 new hotels in the pipeline.  The International Hotels Investment Forum has been taking place in Berlin and Starwood Hotels is publicizing its growth. There are 13 hotels scheduled to open this year with the Sheraton Bratislava being the latest addition for Europe. The Sheraton Batumi in Georgia and the Sheraton Rhodes, Greece are scheduled to open in the next three months. Sheraton Milan Malpensa is slated for summer 2010.

What I have gathered from financial news is banks are reluctant to provide lending for big projects that may fail which indicates to me that the major hotel chains have the branding allure to bring new hotels into the fold. This means that Europe, a place where only 30% of hotels are associated with major hotel brands like Starwood, Marriott, InterContinental Hotels Group, Carlson, Accor, and Hilton will be a place of significant hotel rebranding over the next few years.

Starwood aloft Brussels is scheduled for a summer opening and the brand was recently opened in Abu Dhabi.

Four Points will have two properties in Africa in Lagos, Nigeria and Tripoli, Libya.

Le Meridien is opening a hotel in Oran. I had to Google that one. Oran is in Algeria.

Dubai just recently rebranded the Grosvenor House as a Luxury Collection hotel. 72 degrees right now at 2am in Dubai sounds like a cool time.

The Romanos, another Luxury Collection Hotel, will open in Costa Navarino, Greece in June. A new Westin hotel will open there too. I just recently watched the Daryl Hannah movie “Summer Lovers” for the first time since 1983. Greece in summer 2010…?

W Hotels are slated for Paris, London, St. Petersburg, and Amman.

St. Regis Hotels are planned for Mauritius, Cairo, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. Those locations sound hot. No I mean hot, like walking outside might be uncomfortable. But I have always wanted to see Mauritius.

Source: http://www.hotelworldnetwork.com/development/starwood-add-50-hotels-emea-2012-7562

Broken Pipelines

Hotels refer to projects in the works as the hotel pipeline. When I am trying to count hotels in a hotel chain I find it bothersome that frequently the websites count hotels in the brand that are not actually yet built. Do a search of Starwood Hotels for China and you can get an idea of what I mean. 11 hotels show up for China, but only 52 are actually open to date.

Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) hotel pipeline peaked in the second quarter 2008. In 2009 hotel project cancellations removed a quarter of the pipeline. Europe has about 375 hotel projects underway and about as many still projected for construction. Tough lending standards make it hard to get a hotel project financed. That is why the big hotel companies will see growth over the next few years as the projects seek brand recognition as a key to success. Half the projects that have been cancelled had no hotel brand affiliation. Too many rooms and not enough guests means hotel construction is predicted to taper off after 2011.

Source: http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/452229-EMEA_Pipeline_Off_23_Since_2008_Peak.php?nid=3457&source=title&rid=14105349

Room Rates in Europe

Room rates in Europe did not decline in the past month. Room rates in Europe did decline 7 percent in the past year. The average room rate is 93 pounds or about US$140 per night according to the trivigo Hotel Price Index (tHPI). 34 of 50 European cities have seen rate declines over the past year. London is a bright spot where rates have risen 6% to an average 126.

Hotel Rates:

• UK = 100£ or US$150.00
• London = 100£ or US$189.00
• Geneva = 177£ or US$266.00 (most expensive city in Europe)
• Oslo = 142£ or US$213.00
• Milan = 139£ or US$209.00
• Stockholm = 122£ or US$183.00
• Paris = 120£ or US$180.00
• Copenhagen = 118£ or US$177.00
• Edinburgh = 108£ or US$162.00
• Amsterdam = 106£ or US$159.00
• Vienna = 105£ or US$158.00
• Dublin = 103£ or US$155.00
• Rome = 103£ or US$155.00
• Barcelona = 99£ or US$149.00
• Madrid = 88£ or US$132.00
• Berlin = 86£ or US$129.00
• Athens = 84£ or US$126.00
• Istanbul = 81£ or US$122.00
• Lisbon = 79£ or US$119.00
• Prague = 62£ or US$93.00
• Krakow = 58£ or US$87.00

Source: http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=16375 

Prague was my destination for my last trip to Europe. My wife went to Poland in 2007. Our hotel rooms were certainly priced higher than $87. Praha is on my mind again.

Hradcany Suite, Residence Nosticova, Praha

25,000 points for two IHG hotel stays is for hotels in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East at most IHG brand hotels in participating countries.  InterContinental  Hotels are not included.  USA hotels are not participating in this promotion. This promotion is a great opportunity for someone traveling to Europe, Africa, or the Middle East by the end of April 2009. Registration is required.

This promotion is a great value for new members to try Priority Club, however, the promotion is open to new and existing members. The offer has high leverage value for hotel guests who do not normally stay in Priority Club hotels of Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Expressm Hotel Indigo, and Staybridge Suites brands as the promotion guarantees 25,000 points for two stays by April 30, 2009.

A guest could choose to fulfill the promotion with two one-night stays. 25,000 points earned June 15, 2009 are sufficient for many Priority Club hotels with daily rates of $300 or more.

This offer has more subtle terms and conditions than most hotel loyalty promotions

Stay two times at a participating IHG Priority Club hotel in the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, or Hotel Indigo in Europe, Middle East, or Africa and receive a minimum 25,000 points for the promotional period.  See list below for participating countries.

Important Note About Registering for this Promotion:

Points earned prior to registration for this promotion do not count towards 25,000 point total.  If you are currently registered for the 3,000 points every three nights promotion and earning lots of bonus points from that deal, then do not register for this promotion until your last two stays before April 30, 2009. The fine print states the promotion does not apply retroactively to stays prior to registration.

This promotion will guarantee 25,000 points bonus in your account for two qualifying stays during the promotional period of March 9 to April 30, 2009. Priority Club will issue the difference in points between the total points you earn during the promotional period for stays and bonuses (points are only counted after you register for the promotion) and 25,000 points total for this promotion.

This means the fewer points you earn during the promotional period after registering for this promotion, the greater your bonus points to take you to 25,000 points.

 The promotion is of greatest value to someone who will only have two hotel stays during the promotional period.  Hypothetically, a guest could spend $75US per night and $150 for two stays. The member would earn 1,500 points for the two stays. This promotion will earn an additional 23,500 points to the Priority Club member’s account on June 15, 2009.  The member can then redeem a free night at most IHG brand hotels.

On the other hand — A frequent guest signed up for the 3,000 points every 3 nights promotion and this 25,000 points for two stays promotion who spends $75 per night for 9 nights during the promotion period will earn $675 x 10 points/$1 = 6,750 base points + 9,000 bonus points for the every third night promotion = 15,750 points.

This frequent guest will only earn an additional 9,250 bonus points on June 15, 2009 to bring the member’s account total for the promotion period to 25,000 points. This is why a member should wait until the last two stays to register to minimize the points counted towards the 25,000 point total.

A Priority Club member who stays 15 nights at $100 per night by April 30, 2009 would earn 15,000 base points and 15,000 bonus points for 3,000 points every 3 nights. This member does not earn any bonus points for the two stays promotion since the member earns 30,000 points from the other promotions. This member can still benefit by waiting until the last two stays before April 30, 2009 to register for this 25,000 point promotion and increase the earning from this separate bonus offer.

Priority Club does a great job with their table showing different stay patterns and points earned on the promotion page.  They did much of my job for me in analyzing this promotion in an easy to read table.

Important points to remember for this promotion:

1.    A stay is defined as one night or consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of frequency of check-in/out.

2.    A stay is qualified when paying qualifying room rates, which include most business and leisure rates.

3.    No retroactive points or miles will be awarded for stays prior to promotion registration.

4.    You must have recorded a preference to earn Priority Club Points in your Member Profile to participate. Priority Club members with a preference to earn Miles are not eligible for this Holiday Nights promotion.

5.    No retroactive points will be awarded for stays which awarded Miles during the promotional period, regardless of registration for the promotion. The calculation of the additional points required to receive the minimum of 25,000 points will include all points earned from all hotel stay-related activities between the promotional dates only.

6.    All points will be credited to the member’s accounts by 15 June 2009. The free night will only be available to take after the points have been credited into the members account on 15 June 2009.

Promotion Terms and Conditions link.

Registering for this promotion automatically registers you for the 3,000 points after 3 nights promotion.

Pay attention to participating countries for this 25,000 point bonus. This offer is not valid for USA hotels or for hotels in several European countries.

Western Europe

·         UK,

·         Germany,

·         France,

·         Belgium,

·         Netherlands,

·         Italy,

·         Spain,

·         Switzerland,

Middle East/Africa

·         Bahrain

·         Egypt

·         Ghana

·         Jordan

·         Kenya

·         Kuwait

·         Lebanon

·         Mozambique

·         Oman

·         Saudi Arabia

·         South Africa

·         Tanzania

·         UAE

·         Yemen

·         Zambia

·         Zimbabwe

Example fulfillment of promotion:

Holiday Inn Cannes Le Cannet, France 90 EUR April 13, 2009

Holiday Inn Nice Port St. Laurent Resort 105EUR April 16, 2009

Spend about $275USD for two nights and you earn points sufficient for a free night at about 4,000 IHG Priority Club hotels around the world.  Your points will be worth more than $275 per night at some hotels. 

Say you spend $550 for four nights. Redeem your free night next summer at a $300 per night hotel and you get a better than 50% rebate on your international travel, as long as you are in one of the participating countries before the end of April to take advantage of this 25,000 bonus points promotion.

Part three of Europe Vacation Planning is a look at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) properties around London for April 10-18, 2009 room rate deals. Hotel search strategies I am using to find low cost, upscale hotel lodging for London is applicable to much of Europe.

European Vacation Travel Planning Part 1 is an example of the low airfare deals to Europe currently available in this tough economic climate.  Europe is cheap right now.

London Calling, but can I afford the charges? Europe Travel Planning Part 2 is about finding a hotel with Starwood Preferred Guest hotel options. Starwood options are upper upscale hotels at a total cost of about $1,500 for 8 paid nights. SPG Cash & Points awards could bring the total cost for 8 nights to $600 and 30,000 Starpoints. 30,000 starpoints in lieu of $900 is a fair exchange, however, paid nights would also earn thousands of Starpoints and receive elite credit to my account. I like to receive at least 3.5 cents per Starpoint redeemed and the Starwood hotels plan using 30,000 points does not achieve that objective.

Part 3 Planning a London Vacation: The IHG Factor in London

There are loads of InterContinental Hotel Group hotels, 60 or so in the greater London area. With a dozen or so properties in the central London tourist area, there are plenty of options to consider.

First, I checked for IHG PointBreaks hotel award for 5,000 points per night.  These are basically $60US room rates if you are around a participating hotel.  You can buy 40,000 points for $460 from Priority Club. There is one participating Holiday Inn at Stevenage, about 13 miles east of Luton Airport, north of London. Stevenage sounds like a nice place to visit for a boring sod like me.  No Pointbreaks properties in London.

Next, I checked www.frequentflyerbonuses.com for Priority Club links and that site showed me a 2 nights for Price of 1 link for Europe hotels.  The promotion states for two night stays through March 31, 2009 and for mostly Friday to Sunday stays, however, over the past two years this “2 nights for the price of 1” offer typically allows mid-week bookings at many hotels and allows bookings for dates past the stated deadline.

I have followed Europe hotel rates through this IHG promotion for the past couple years and this most recent survey of London hotels just has me saying WOW!

Rates are so incredibly low for London hotels.

Per night rate using 2 Nights for Price of 1 booking link for London:

There are actually Holiday Inn Express hotels in the greater London area for under $35 per night using the 2-for-1 reservation link.  Holiday Inn Slough-Windsor has rates at 21GBP.  I’m thinking Ricky Gervais and The Office.

I’ll take a hotel in central London please.  I still remember being 14 in 1974 and commuting an hour each way by train to travel from the campground in north London where our family slept to the city center during our week in and around the city.

From my travel experience, the rule of thumb I developed is get as close to the city center or in the vicinity of places you want to see.  Travel is costing you money and spending your time transiting from the place you sleep to the place you want to see can be a lot of wasted time.

Hotel Recommendations Anyone?

I am not IHG Priority Club elite and aside from the Crowne Plaza St. James where I stayed for my honeymoon in 1989, before it was a Crowne Plaza, I am not familiar with the IHG properties in London.

TripAdvisor was too daunting.  I searched and there are over 1,000 hotels in the database for London.

I quickly moved on to FlyerTalk where I could get the IHG experts’ opinions on the benefits of particular hotels.

Within 30 minutes I found a consensus for the InterContinental as the top choice for London. Crowne Plaza The City seems to be a popular choice.  The main complaint is the closure of the Tube station by the hotel this month for two years means a five to ten minute walk to the next station.

Crowne Plaza-The City has standard rooms for $86 and a Club room for $152 per night. TripAdvisor.com shows the Crowne Plaza-The City as having a $362 average rate. The hotel has an overall four star customer rating with 123 reviews. 80% of the TripAdvisor reviews are at least a 4 and mostly 5 star ratings.

The Holiday Inn Kensington Forum also is a popular choice for one of the best IHG hotels and the 2-for-1 offer has standard rooms for $73 or even a suite for $131 per night. TripAdvisor has 440 reviews for Holiday Inn Kensington Forum and mostly 4 and 5 star ratings, but more 4 star than 5 star.  Average price is listed at $209.

Crowne Plaza Shoreditch at $90 per night including Club lounge access with free breakfast sounds like a great deal. According to FlyerTalk posters this hotel would put me in the clubbing district. There was also the comment the club lounge is closed on weekends and guests receive vouchers for a much better breakfast at the hotel restaurant. That sounds good to me.  Looking for breakfast on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday holidays is not as easy as you might think in a major city like London.

TripAdvisor.com gave Crowne Plaza Shoreditch the highest popularity rating (#71 of 1,169 London hotels) of the three hotels.  Guests have supplied 153 hotel reviews, although the Crowne Plaza-The City has overall higher guest rating. Average price is listed at $205.

Conclusion

IHG can place me in central London for under $100 per night with a choice of hotels.  I can even book a suite at a popular hotel like the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum for $130 per night. A Crowne Plaza Club Room in central London (CP-The City) for $150 per night can easily save $50 a day or more in breakfast, snacks, and drinks for a couple.

My initial budget allows about $900 for my hotel and transportation for the week.  The closer I am to the central London sites, the less I spend on transportation around London. 

The IHG “Stay 2 Nights, Pay 1” special rates allow me to stay in central London hotels for under $600 for eight nights.  Counting on an elite status upgrade with Starwood or Hyatt is not so important when I can just pay for a suite.

Priority Club’s current 3,000 points for 3 nights along with the regular base points earned for $500+ in room spending for IHG stays will add another $100 value to the paid rooms through points received. 

Another advantage of the IHG plan for this April trip to London is my Starwood points can be saved for another vacation destination where there may not be such a good alternative like the IHG 2-nights-for-1 rates.

Note on IHG 2 for 1 London rates: Rates vary depending on the dates selected for two day stays.  I only included a sample of the rates for comparative purposes.  Rates during the April 10-18 period vary by as much as $50 per night or more depending on the dates selected.

Hilton HHonors hooked up with Miles & More to offer two-night hotel stays in Europe at select hotels.  Loyalty Traveler looked into the value of a miles-for-hotel-stay exchange.

There are several categories of hotels grouped within mileage redemption opportunities.

36,000 miles from Miles & More is sufficient for a weekend stay at these Hilton hotel properties:

·         Hilton Innsbruck

·         Hilton Vienna Danube

·         Hilton Nuremberg

·         Hilton Paris Orly

47,000 miles for a weekend at these properties:

·         Barcelona

·         Bonn

·         Bremen

·         Brussels City

·         Budapest West End

·         Dresden

·         Istanbul (Park)

·         London Docklands

·         London Olympia

·         Paris CDG Airport

·         Rotterdam

·         Valencia

67,000 miles for a weekend at these properties:

·         Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

·         Barcelona Diagonal Mar

·         Berlin

·         Brussels

·         Budapest Castle Hill

·         Evian

·         Helsinki

·         Istanbul

·         Cologne (Köln)

·         London (Kensington, Metropole, Hyde Park)

·         Milan

·         Munich

·         Paris La Defense

·         Prague

·         Stockholm

·         Vilamoura, Portugal

·         Vienna

100,000 miles for a weekend at these properties:

·         Amsterdam

·         Athens

·         Bucharest

·         Florence

·         Paris

·         Prague (Old Town)

126,000 miles for a weekend at these properties:

·         Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf-Astoria Collection Hotel

·         Paris Arc de Triomphe

·         Venice Molino Stucky

There may be some reasonable value exchanges in the 47,000 to 67,000 mile categories, however, the exchange is generally a quite poor use of miles.

Value Example:

Hilton Molino Stucky Venice is an HHonors Category 6 hotel requiring 40,000 HHonors points per night.  A VIP-elite 6-night award stay is 175,000 points through HHonors. 

A two-night hotel weekend award stay for arrival on Friday or Saturday night through Miles & More awards requires 126,000 miles. 

April 17-19, 2009 weekend rates for Friday and Saturday night

Rome Cavalieri 222.50EUR/night  60,000 HHonors points per night

Paris Arc de Triomphe 295EUR/night or 40,000 HHonors points per night

Hilton Molino Stucky Venice, Italy 295EUR/night or 40,000 HHonors points per night

A Hilton Hotel weekend award for 126,000 miles may be worth as little as $600 and perhaps as much as $1,200.

And it is not simply a poor rate of exchange between Miles & More with Hilton Hotels. 

Other hotel brand redemption options are no better value:

InterContinental Hotel 2-night Weekend Stay = 89,000 miles

·         Berlin

·         Düsseldorf

·         Frankfurt/Main

·         Hamburg

·         Cologne

Le Meridien (Starwood) Hotels 2-night Weekend Stay = 118,000 miles

·         Algarve

·         Barcelona

·         Paris

·         Vienna

Hyatt Hotels 2-night Weekend Stay = 139,000 miles

·         Dubai

·         Hong Kong

·         London (2 hotels)

·         Madrid

·         Milan

·         Moscow

·         Paris

·         Tokyo (2 hotels)

·         Zurich

There is not much value in redeeming Miles & More miles for hotel awards with properties participating in the major hotel chain loyalty programs like Hilton, Starwood, or Hyatt.

I have advice for all of you Miles & More members and other frequent flyers who are willing to waste a large chunk of miles on low value redemptions.

Please visit the Coupon Connection at FlyerTalk and offer to trade your miles.  There are plenty of honest travelers looking for ways to get airline tickets in the Star Alliance who will give you an exchange much closer to fair value.

Miles & More will take a person roundtrip from North America to Australia, Asia, or the Middle East in Business Class for only 120,000 miles.  These are $4,000 to $10,000 flight awards.   

Trade 120,000 Miles & More miles for 175,000 Hilton HHonors points and let someone supply you with a six night hotel vacation at the Venice Hilton or the Paris Hilton Arc de Triomphe.

Trade 120,000 Miles& More miles for 120,000 American AAdvantage miles.  You don’t actually have to transfer miles to each other’s account.  Simply redeem awards for each other from your own accounts.

120,000 AAdvantage miles  can be exchanged through Hilton HHonors for 240,000 HHonors points.  As long as the account holder is a Silver VIP, requiring only four stays in a year or HHonors credit card membership, a VIP hotel stay award at a Category 6 hotel is only 235,000 points for 8 nights.

Don’t redeem your miles with Miles & More for poor value awards.  Take advantage of social networks and find someone seeking a fair travel exchange.  Rather than a simple weekend hotel getaway, your 126,000 miles can be exchanged for six to eight (6 to 8) Hilton Hotel nights at a Category 6 property if you put a little effort into getting fair value for your miles.

Remember we are fellow travelers on this globe.  Don’t waste the value of your travel miles by trading them back to the company for a low value item.  Share your wealth with a new found friend who can give you a fair value trade of a different airline flight or hotel stay option. 

In these economic times we need to retain whatever value we can in the assets we have.

Marriott Rewards has hotel redemption offers exclusively for elite members.  The changes to Marriott Rewards is prompting many elite members with 150,000 points or more to take advantage of high value elite redemptions with regional hotel sampler rewards before the 2009 calendar date change.

Marriott Rewards elite members (Silver, Gold, Platinum) have the option to purchase 7-night multiple hotel stay Sampler rewards called Hawaii Hopper or Europe Hopper for 150,000 points.  These Marriott Rewards hotel redemption certificates are issued as three paper certificates for 2-night, 2-night, and 3-night combination of hotels and are valid for 12-months from issue date for any participating Marriott hotel within the Marriott-defined region of Europe or Hawaii.  There are also Sampler Rewards for Florida and UK/Ireland. 

Marriott Rewards elite members have the opportunity to redeem Europe or Hawaii Hopper awards under the 2008 award rules and benefit from the “No Blackouts” rules changes in effect January 15, 2009.  The Hopper does not require advance reservations and is valid for any Marriott Rewards category of hotel redemption, including the soon to be Category 8 hotels. 

The Marriott Rewards member can order these certificates (Europe Hopper must be ordered by December 31; Hawaii by January 14, 2009) before the 2009 change at the low rate of 21,429 points per night.  2009 per night redemption rates will be 30,000 for a Category 6 hotel; 35,000 points for Category 7; and 40,000 points for Category 8 hotels with a 5^th night free on longer hotel stays.

There are 14 Marriott Hotels listed for the new Category 8 redemption level beginning January 15, 2009.  Nine of these hotels are in Europe (none in Hawaii):

List of Category 8 Hotels: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/lra-faq.mi#question16

Category 8 Hotels in Europe

• Paris Marriott Hotel Champs Elysees
• Renaissance Paris Vendome
• JW Marriott Capri Tiberio Palace Resort & Spa
• Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora
• London Marriott Hotel County Hall
• London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
• London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
• London Marriott Hotel Park Lane
• Renaissance Chancery Court London

Marriott Rewards Elite:  Europe Hopper 7-Night Reward  

Elite members of Marriott Rewards can redeem 150,000 points for a Europe Hopper 7-night award with three paper certificates issued for 2-, 2-, and 3-night hotel stays at any participating Marriott in Europe.  (Russia and Turkey are not participating hotels for this award.)  The value of this redemption is the savings in Marriott Rewards points for hotels in 2009 by having Europe Hopper certificates once the hotels in London, Paris, and Rome are established in a new redemption Category 8 hotel for 40,000 points per night. 

The Europe Hopper award must be ordered by December 31, 2008 and the award will be valid for 12 months for any European participating hotel, according to posts by Marriott Concierge (Marriott Rewards representative) on FlyerTalk.  Current Category 7 hotels joining the new Category 8 will still be available for new reservations after January 15, 2009, if using the Europe Hopper certificates.  Beginning January 15, when the new Marriott Rewards rules take effect, the cost for a Category 8 hotel night using points will be 40,000 points.  The new 5^th night free option will mean 7 nights at category 8 hotels will cost 240,000 points. 

Redeeming 150,000 points now for 2009 Europe hotel stays can potentially save 90,000 Marriott Rewards points on a trip including Marriott Hotels in London, Paris, or Rome.  Any combination of Category 6, 7, or 8 hotel redemptions using the Europe Hopper certificates will save points compared to the upcoming 2009 redemption changes for standard awards and 5^th night free.

A shout-out to FlyerTalk member GrizShel who put together a detailed FlyerTalk thread to assist Marriott Rewards members with consolidated information from a Marriott Hotels representative and included analysis on the Marriott Rewards changes that will impact members hotel redemptions in 2009.  This thread also contains useful information about redeeming for Marriott Rewards Air and Hotel Packages before January 15, 2009.

Credit Card Fast-Track to Marriott Rewards Status

Marriott low level elite starts at Silver based on 10 nights of Marriott hotel brand stays in a calendar year.  The Marriott Rewards Visa Signature credit card gives Silver Elite membership through an annual 10 nights credit towards Marriott Rewards elite status as long as you maintain card membership in good standing.

Upscale Your European Stays with Discount Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Hotels

InterContinental Hotels Group has updated its ongoing offer for a second night free or 2-nights-for-the-Price-of-1-night  promotional offer. The reservation period is for stays between December 12, 2008 and March 31, 2009 for these discount rates.

Note: This rate needs to be searched through the InterContinental Hotels Group “2 Nights for the Price of 1” promotion page. 

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/exclusive

These rates do not show up in a regular search through Priority Club or IHG hotel-branded websites.  You must search through the dedicated webpage for this offer and the rate plan should show Rate Preference “Exclusive 2 for 1”. See screenshot below.

Crowne Plaza Bridal Suite, Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dec 25-27, 2009

Amsterdam City Center Crowne Plaza hotel with a 2-for-1 nightly rate as low as 62.50€ for December 25-27, 2008.  The two night total is 131.25€ after tax, or $166.40USD.   

$83 per night for City Centre Amsterdam is back to 2002 Priceline rates for this expensive European city.

My favorite find for the IHG 2-for-1 special is the Bridal Suite at the Crowne Plaza Amsterdam over the Christmas Holidays.  That will tell her you love her.  I’m sure there are many other hidden jewels in the European IHG world awaiting the 2-for-1 traveler.

The bridal suite is available for the two night Christmas Holiday (Christmas lasts two days in Amsterdam) for 187.50€ per night.  A two night stay after tax is 393.75€ or $499.20USD. 

The bridal suite is 309.50€ per night to reserve through the regular IHG website reservations for these dates.

This deal could be one of the best $500 memories you ever bought.

London, United Kingdom

London Mayfair Holiday Inn

Fri-Sun Jan 23-25, 2009. 

2-for-1 rate for a King Executive NonSmoking Room comes out to £201.25 or $298.40USD at today’s exchange rate after tax for two nights.  This is a couple of room categories above the cheapest standard room type at a rate of under $150 per night in central London. The regular booking channels for IHG reservations show an advance purchase, nonrefundable rate for King Executive NS Room at £301.88 or $447.61USD. 

The 2-for-1 IHG rate saves $150 on this two night London hotel stay at the Holiday Inn Mayfair in an upscale room category for this hotel.

London The City – Crowne Plaza

Fri-Sun Jan 23, 25, 2009

2-for-1 rate for a Deluxe Room is £70.00 per night.  After tax the two night rate is £161.00 or $239USD.  A city center hotel room for almost any major city in the world at $120 per night all in is a reasonable deal.  For London – this is a great deal. 

The Deluxe room is not even the lowest category style room at The London City Crowne Plaza.  A regular search finds the lowest rate for a Standard room at £79.00 per night.  The Deluxe room available for £70.00 through the 2-for-1 promo rate is £105.00 if you search London, The City Crowne Plaza through the regular IHG website reservation links.  The 2-for-1 offer gives you a better room category – a hotel upsale – at a lower price than otherwise available for the lowest room category at the hotel. 

The 2-for-1 rate for a one bedroom suite with hotel club lounge access is £147.50 per night.  After tax, your two day room total for an upscale London suite at The City Crowne Plaza is £339.25 or $503.02.  A suite in central London with Club lounge access for $250 per night is a good deal.

London Crowne Plaza Docklands

Sun-Tue Jan 25-27, 2009

2-for-1 rate = £54.50 per night or £125.35 ($185.86USD )for a Queen Bed room.  Americans fret about the price of visiting Europe and here is a deal for urban London in an upscale Crowne Plaza for under $90USD per night during the business week.  New York City isn’t offering rates like this.

A full two room suite with balcony at the London Crowne Plaza Docklands will run a total of £297.85 ($441.63) for two nights.  A full size suite in London for under $225USD per night is a great deal for this winter travel season.

The benefit of using this deal in London is a variety of IHG hotels offer 2-for-1 rates and most of the participating hotels in London offer the deal every night of the week.  You can stay in central London at 4 different hotels over 8 nights at these bargain rates.

Geneva, Switzerland – No special rates found in my searches

Paris, France – No City Center Special Rates Found

Berlin, Germany – No City Center Special Rates Found.  Holiday Inn Express at Schonefeld Airport (Schonefeld Airport is scheduled to become Berlin’s primary airport in 2011) is only 29.50€ ($37.40USD, tax included) per night for Jan 23-25.  This is one cheap hotel room.

Munich, Germany (These are the biggest discounts on the regular rates I found in my searches)

Holiday Inn Munich, Effnerstrasse

Sun-Tue, January 25-27, 2009

47.00€/night Standard Room ($59.60 USD tax included)

Regular nonrefundable advance purchase rate is 86.50€ ($110USD)

Holiday Inn City Centre, Hochstrasse

Sun-Tue, January 25-27, 2009

2-for-1 rate = 67.50€/night Standard Room ($85.58 USD, tax included)

Regular nonrefundable advance purchase rate is 115.00€ ($146USD)

2-for-1 rate = 107.50€/night Queen Bed Junior Suite ($136.29USD, tax included)

Regular nonrefundable advance purchase rate is 183.00€ ($232USD)

Budapest, Hungary – InterContinental Budapest, Jan 25-27, 2009

2-for-1 rate is 54.50€ ($69.10USD) for a standard room.  The regular nonrefundable advance purchase rate is 82.00€ ($104USD) for a standard room. 

An upgraded room with a view of Castle Hill and the Danube is 74.50€ ($94.45) using the 2-for-1 rate.  The regular nonrefundable advance purchase rate is 112.00€ ($142USD) for the Danube/Castle Hill view. 

One rate qualifier for this hotel is the 2-for-1 rate costs an additional 40€ ($50.72) for a second person in the room.

IHG “2 NIGHTS FOR THE PRICE OF 1”

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) 2 for 1 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of two consecutive night stays for the price of one, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max.2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.

2) Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability – please check at time of booking.

3) Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.

4) Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.

5) Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.

6) Offer applicable for bookings and stays made from 12th December 2008 up to 31st March 2009.

7) Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.

All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates.

9) Rates may vary by date of booking.

10) Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.

11) A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.

12) Offer only available at participating hotels in the UK & Europe

Hilton Rome Cavalieri Rebranded as Waldorf=Astoria

Waldorf=Astoria Collection, The Cavalieri, Rome, Italy  (photo courtesy of Hilton)

The Rome Cavalieri has been the premier European hotel property of Hilton International for years.  This hotel was one of the few HHonors Category 6 hotels when I started looking in 2000 for wonderful Hilton Hotels to spend my points.  Unfortunately my plans to Italy were canceled twice and I have never made it to Rome to visit this prestigious hotel.

Rome Cavalieri Free Nights Using Points

Don’t Delay and Book Today while you can still get a free night at the Rome Cavalieri for 40,000 points or even better, a VIP-only GLONP2 6-night reward for 175,000 points. 

I was able to find availability for a 175,000 points, six-night GLONP2 on my first selection of dates for November 13-19, 2008 when I called HHonors reservations today.

Stays at the Waldorf=Astoria Cavalieri beginning after February 28, 2009 will require 60,000 points per free night or a VIP-Only Waldorf=Astoria Collection award will cost 265,000 points for a 6-night stay. 

The HHonors redemption level increases to 60,000 points per night from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.  This Loyalty Traveler does not expect to see the redemption rate drop back to 40,000 points per night again. [link here for Rome Cavalieri redemption chart]

Get more value out of your Hilton HHonors points and plan that Italian getaway.

You don’t really want to spend $400 for a paid night, do you?

November 17-20, 2008 Monday to Thursday stay:  $1,200USD for the 3-night stay

Nonrefundable internet rate = 275€/night (tax included) or about $400USD per night.

There is a long-running FlyerTalk thread on the Rome Cavalieri.  This link goes to page 77 of this discussion with comments about the hotel from September 2008.

Hilton links:

Waldorf=Astoria Collection Rome Cavalieri home

Links to HHonors information at top right of Rome Cavalieri home page or use links below and navigate from the benefits page to pages showing Colosseo lounge and free night redemption levels:

Rome Cavalieri HHonors benefits selection

Rome Cavalieri Colosseo Lounge

News Story on Rome Cavalieri rebranding from Hotels’ Daily News Service