Many frequent guests save their hotel points for week-long vacation stays. Carlson goldpoints plus, Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest offer discounted award nights on multi-night stays, but the terms vary between programs. Certain programs offer bigger discounts and the amount of the discount off per night rates depends on your length of stay.

Carlson Gold Points gives a 10% point discount off the per night award rate for every additional night of a hotel stay award. A category 6 hotel at 60,000 points per night for the first night of an award stay will cost 54,000 points for every additional night. The longer your stay the closer you come to an overall 10% point savings on the award.

10% Award Night Discount for every additional night of an award stay with Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus.
Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees, Paris France, Goldpoints plus category 6 (60,000 points first night; 54,000 additional nights)
Hotel Stay	1 Night	2 Nights	3 Nights	4 Nights	5 Nights
Award Cost	60,000	114,000	168,000	222,000	276,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	0%	5.0%	6.67%	7.5%	8.0%
Hotel Stay	6 Nights	7 Nights	8 Nights	9 Nights	10 nights
Award Cost	330,000	384,000	438,000	492,000	546,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	8.33%	8.57%	8.75%	8.89%	9.0%

 

Goldpoints Plus has the competitive advantage of being the only hotel loyalty program to offer a discount on two and three night award stays, but the trade-off is a lower overall discount compared to Hilton four night or longer stays or to Marriott or Starwood for stays of five nights or longer.

But also remember that IHG Priority Club, Hyatt Gold Passport, Best Western, Choice, and Wyndham do not offer any discounts for multi-night award stays. Goldpoints plus offers a step in the right direction for guests staying multiple nights on an award.

Marriott Rewards had a progressive discount until the 2009 program changes to a simple 5^th night free award program. The former award table priced hotel stays with each additional award night up to seven nights receiving a greater discount on the per night rate. A seven night category-7 hotel award was discounted 39% on the per night rate. This was Marriott rewards most distinctive hotel loyalty program competitive advantage. This feature was changed in 2009, although Marriott Rewards still offers a progressive discount for Ritz-Carlton award stays.

Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) currently offer 5^th night free awards. This is a nice 20% discount if you have a five night hotel planned. Stay one to four nights and you receive no award stay discount. The full per night right means a four night award stay is the same cost as a five night stay.

The 5^th night free award structure offers a maximum savings of 20% if your hotel stay is 5 or 10 nights. The overall savings is less when your hotel stay is six to nine nights, which is typical for a weekend to weekend vacation that can run from Friday night of one week through Saturday night of the following week and require a nine night hotel stay or an extra day off work.

The table below shows how the overall 20% discount for a five night stay (or multiple of 5 nights) drops for stays longer than 5 nights.

5th Night Free Award is a Maximum 20% Discount. Discount is less for six to nine night hotel stay. (applies to Marriott and SPG)
Marriott Rewards – Courtyard Key West Waterfront, Category 6 Hotel Award (30,000 points)
Hotel Stay	1 Night	2 Nights	3 Nights	4 Nights	5 Nights
Award Cost	30,000	60,000	90,000	120,000	120,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	0%	0%	0%	0%	20%
Hotel Stay	6 Nights	7 Nights	8 Nights	9 Nights	10 nights
Award Cost	150,000	180,000	210,000	240,000	240,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	16.67%	14.29%	12.5%	11.11%	20%

 

The overall discount percentages are the same regardless of hotel award category and these same discount percentages shown for Marriott award stays apply to Starwood Hotel awards using 5^th night free. A category 3 Starwood hotel at 7,000 points per night will be an overall discount of 12.5% on the points required for an eight night hotel stay award.

Hilton HHonors has the competitive advantage on multi-night award stay discount

Hilton HHonors actually made an enhancement to its hotel awards when it started offering four and five night VIP awards at a discount. Prior to the January 15, 2010 change, Hilton only offered a discount on award points for elite members when a stay was six nights or longer. American Express HHonors card members had a four and five night AXON award option, but these awards were not offered through Hilton HHonors.

The 2010 HHonors award structure has a set discount rate for stays of four nights or longer. A four night award will save 15% points on the per night rate. The VIP 5 night award offers a 20% discount on the per night rate. Six nights or longer and the discount is 25%.

HHonors offers the frequent guest a competitive advantage for stays of six nights to nine nights with a 25% discount whereas Carlson awards are discounted just 8 to 9% , and the Starwood or Marriott discount drops from a 20% discount on five nights to 16.7% for six nights and only 11.1% for a nine night hotel stay award.

Hilton HHonors VIP awards
Hilton Garden Inn Monterey, California (Category 6 = 40,000 points)
Hotel Stay	1 Night	2 Nights	3 Nights	4 Nights	5 Nights
Award Cost	40,000	80,000	120,000	136,000	160,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	0%	0%	0%	15%	20%
Hotel Stay	6 Nights	7 Nights	8 Nights	9 Nights	10 nights
Award Cost	180,000	210,000	240,000	270,000	300,000
Overall Discount on per night rate	25%	25%	25%	25%	25%

The category shift in HHonors last Friday is a difficult systemwide, global change to analyze. I decided to restrict my initial observations to my local area of the San Francisco Bay region as a way to take a manageable approach to the changes.

For many travelers the choice of a major hotel program comes down to Marriott or Hilton. Both hotel chains have a large number of upper upscale hotel properties and a geographically diverse availability of hotels in the USA.

I have analyzed the hotel category placement for three areas of the San Francisco Bay region to take a closer look at how the redemption levels for free nights using hotel points compare between these major hotel loyalty programs.

1.       Downtown San Francisco

2.       San Francisco Airport (10 miles south of downtown San Francisco)

3.       Pleasanton/Livermore/San Ramon (30 miles east of San Francisco in corporate headquarters region)

Each of these three locations tend to have high room rates Sunday through Thursday and significantly lower room rates on Friday and Saturday.

 

 

The tables show the room rate for Wednesday, January 20 (high rates) and Friday, January 22 (low rates). Downtown San Franciso is the only region of the three areas where the low room rates  for January weekends might show a high degree of variance to be significantly higher priced room rates during summer tourist season (July-October).

The Hilton HHonors category changes can be viewed in two ways. Hilton HHonors management has told members the changes are overdue after 6 years of only slight changes to the hotel categories and reward redemption levels. The member redeeming points in 2010 will generally see a 20% to 25% increase in the cost of a free night.

The change in VIP awards allows elite HHonors members to now redeem 4-night and 5-night reward stays at a reduced rate to the nightly cost. Previously these reduced rate VIP rewards were only available beginning with 6-night stays. This is a significant improvement to the HHonors program.

Another way to look at the HHonors program hotel category changes is to compare HHonors to its closest competitor – Marriott Rewards.

I say Marriott Rewards is HHonors closest competitor based on the two hotel chains similar number of properties, a comparable geographic distribution of hotels, and similar market segments within their hotel brands ranging from midscale to upper upscale hotels around the USA and globally.

In a Loyalty Traveler post last month I compared hotels for free nights using points across five hotel chains in New York City. In that post I estimated the relative value of hotel points for Hilton HHonors at US$6 to $9 per 1,000 points redeemed for free nights. I estimated Marriott Rewards at $7 to $10 per 1,000 points.

In general, Hilton HHonors members can earn more points per $1 in hotel spend with 15 points per $1 when choosing Points & Points “Double Dipping” earning preference. HHonors members choosing Points & Miles will earn miles, but then points are earned at the same rate as Marriott Rewards members, 10 points per $1 spent.  Hilton HHonors has the advantage over Marriott Rewards in that all Hilton brands earn 10 base points per $1, whereas Marriott Rewards offers 10 points per $1 for most of its hotel brands, but only 5 points per $1 for Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites hotel stays.

The ability to earn points within either program is dependent on other earning variables like the member’s hotel stay pattern (multi-night stays v. single night stays), hotel brands, elite status, loyalty program promotions, and whether the member uses the hotel program co-branded credit card.

The ability to earn points is complex. The redemption of points is less complex. Basically, the comparison of points redemption just looks at the hotel location and hotel category within the loyalty program redemption chart.

Here are three charts showing the hotel reward category for Marriott Rewards hotels and Hilton HHonors hotels in three San Francisco area locations based on the distance from a central location

• San Francisco Downtown,

• San Francisco Airport, 

• Cities in vicinity of Pleasanton, California, the corporate headquarters corridor, located 30 miles east of San Francisco.

As Loyalty Traveler I have an axiom: Hotel points only have potential value until redeemed.

The potential value I placed on Hilton HHonors points last month in my New York City analysis was a redemption value of $6 to $9 per 1,000 points. This meant I expect to save between $180 and $270 for a hotel room if I redeem 30,000 points for a free night at a HHonors hotel.

In light of the 2010 changes in hotel categories I may have to reduce this redemption value to $4 to $7.

If you get a higher value than $9 per 1,000 points, then that is a good value for your points with Hilton HHonors and Marriott Rewards. Redeeming points for less than $6 per 1,000 points is not a good use of points, and cash is preferable for room payment. Save hotel points for when a better value is possible.

The $6 to $10 range is what you should look for when redeeming your hotel points and the higher redemption value, the better. Keep in mind that free nights using points also covers local hotel taxes for the room rate in most cases. In San Francisco this saves an additional 15%+ on the nightly room rate. A $200 hotel room redeemed for  points in San Francisco actually saves $231  with the room tax also covered by the points reward stay.

 

This chart shows yellow for room rates and a points redemption value in the range of $6 to $10. Blue shows a range of $3 to $6 and I would consider this to be a low redemption value. In most cases the value of Hilton HHonors points falls in the blue value more often than Marriott hotels in San Francisco. Can you earn points at twice the rate of Marriott Rewards as a Hilton HHonors? Many of the Marriott Hotels have a redemption value twice as high as Hilton HHonors options. These charts favor Marriott Rewards value in all three locations.

Red room rate blocks are a redemption value less than $3 per 1,000 points. I may have to adjust my assessment of Hilton HHonors points valuation. For several years I anticipated getting $10 per 1,000 points value for my HHonors points. I consider it an extremely poor value to redeem HHonors points at less than $3 per 1,000 points. Several Hilton blocks show red for San Francisco over this next week in these tables.

The most striking feature to me of the San Francisco Airport (SFO) hotels is the Hilton San Francisco Airport. This hotel was a Sheraton for the past decade until August 2009. The Sheraton SFO was a SPG Category 1 hotel until it increased to SPG Category 2 in 2006. In August 2009 the property rebranded to the Hilton SFO and is now a high level Category 5 property at 35,000 points per night.

Marriott Rewards offers high value for weekday reward nights. Hilton is less than 50% of the value for these East Bay hotels. Again I ask, can you earn points at twice the rate with Hilton HHonors compared to Marriott Rewards?

I think it  unlikely without significant cobranded credit card spending with the HHonors credit card.

My conclusion is HHonors has severely devalued its hotel redemption, i.e. the value of HHonors points. I don’t think I should have to change my redemption value scale. I urge HHonors members to look for redemption values in the $6 to $10 per 1,000 points spent range. Your hotel reward stay options may make that goal a bit harder to find. 

 

USA Today’s Barbara DeLollis, writer of the Hotel Check-In column, published an interview November 24 discussing the Hilton HHonors loyalty program changes with Jeff Diskin, Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing, Hilton Hotels Corporation.

She asked Mr. Diskin for a response to members who are upset over the coming changes. I particularly like this quote, “We offer one of the fastest if not the fastest track to elite-level status in the industry and members can earn more points faster with Hilton.”

As an aside, let me start out by telling you a comment made in a travel track forum at Blog World Expo 2009 by a hotel industry person when asked what hotel marketing people look for when deciding whether to work with a travel blogger. He said he looks for multi-paragraph comments in response to blog posts. I chuckled when I heard that standard.

I comment frequently on other people’s blogs and I often feel like I am hijacking a blog since I am one of the few people I ever see writing a lengthy comment. I hijacked Barb DeLollis’ blog with two lengthy analyses of Hilton HHonors that are probably longer than the entire Jeff Diskin interview. And I cut out several points I wanted to make.

I suggest you read the Jeff Diskin HHonors interview in USA Today.

And then read my analysis of certain comments made with regard to a comparative analysis of HHonors to the other major loyalty programs of Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest.

Hilton Hotels has a good product on par with the other major hotel loyalty programs.  There are many facets to the HHonors loyalty program and things like Miles & Points, discounts on award stays of 6 nights or more, and the ability to convert airline miles into HHonors points are admirable attributes benefitting members.

My concern is that Hilton HHonors is pushing the bar higher towards a devaluation of points across hotel loyalty programs. These changes push Hilton farther outside the norm with regard to other hotel loyalty programs.  At the upper end hotels, currently Category 5 and 6, and soon to be Categories 6 and 7,  the Hilton HHonors program is still competitive with regard to hotel free nights using points, but the Hilton chain is allocating a much larger proportion of their hotels to the upper tier categories relative to the other four hotel chains’ loyalty programs. Starwood Preferred Guest is really a poor value at the high end Category 6 and 7 hotels in terms of how much spending is required to earn a free night, but a relatively small number of hotels are in the top two categories. I would argue the quality of a Starwood Category 6 hotel is much higher than a Hilton Category 6 – soon to be Category 7 property.

I think Hilton HHonors is not as good a value as the other hotel chains at the mid-level and low-level category hotels. Increasing PointStretcher award availability would go a long way to improving that aspect of the program. The past several years have seen hotels available for PointStretcher awards, a 40% discount using points for a free night, dwindle down to no hotels at all for the last six months of 2009.

The primary objection to the Hilton HHonors changes, in my opinion, is not the addition of a new higher category 7 to the Hilton HHonors reward table. The hint from HHonors representatives that the changes will result in a large scale shift of hotels upward within the new categories is the truly objectionable aspect of the changes if they turn out to be true.

The distribution of hotels within the hotel categories is the primary concern around the proposed restructuring of HHonors category changes.

Basically the hotel chain is renumbering categories from the current HHonors system of Opportunity at the lowest end, along with Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.  HHonors Category 6 is currently populated by some of the high end Hilton and Conrad hotels. Waldorf-Astoria Collection is a separate high end category within the HHonors program.

Hilton HHonors will still have the same number of hotel categories in 2010. There is no change in the points required for Category 3, 4, 5, and 6 hotels in 2010. The change we are awaiting is what proportion of hotels will be moved from their current category placement to a higher category.

Essentially, the HHonors hotel category labeled Opportunity is becoming Category 1 in the new 2010 system and these hotels will remain at 7,500 points for a free night. Currently, there are only 1% of the 3,300 Hilton Hotels in the Opportunity category and these hotels will likely be almost the same set of hotels in the new HHonors Category 1.

The real impact of the changes becomes apparent when looking at the current Category 1 to Category 5 hotels.

Here is a breakdown of 2009 Hilton HHonors hotels by category which is not precise, but probably accurate to 1 or 2% based on my Loyalty Traveler research. Hilton HHonors website makes it difficult to quickly determine what hotels are in each category. Hyatt, Starwood, and Marriott provide lists of hotels in each hotel reward category. Hilton requires a search by country. I attempted to update my Hilton spreadsheet last December, but stopped after two weeks due to time constraints. FlyerTalk member BlondeBomber has tracked Hilton Hotels category placement over several years and I used his spreadsheet for a quick estimate of how many hotels are located in each Hilton HHonors reward category.

 

 

Here are my comments I posted on USA Today in response to the Barbara DeLollis’ Hotel Check-In interview with Jeff Diskin, along with additional tables I made showing comparisons of the hotel programs.

November 28 comment by Ric Garrido:

My readers at Loyalty traveler know I am a numbers person. There are some numerical errors in this piece.

Hilton, Marriott, and IHG award 10 base points per $1 spent at hotels. Starwood awards 2 base points per $1 hotel spend and Hyatt awards 5 points per $1 hotel spend. The article should state 2 and 5 points rather than $2 and $5.

In that same paragraph I understand the calculations used for the comparison of money spent to earn a free night. Apparently Mr. Diskin is comparing earning for highest elite members. These dollar amount calculations equate to the estimated earning for Hilton HHonors Diamond (28 stays or 60 nights in calendar year), Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond (25 stays or 50 nights), Marriott Rewards Platinum (75 nights), IHG Platinum (50 nights or 60,000 points earned), and Starwood Platinum (25 stays or 50 nights). [Note: SPG does not appear to be calculated correctly]

Hilton HHonors is based on a member choosing a “points & points” earning preference instead of “points & miles”. HHonors member earns 10 base points per $1 in hotel spending + 5 Diamond elite bonus points + 5 points per $1 for “points & points” for a total of 20 points per $1.

HHonors Diamond member = 20 points per $1 (Category 7 hotel = 50,000 points)
Marriott Rewards Platinum member = 15 points per $1 (Category 8 hotel = 40,000 points)
Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond = 6.5 points per $1 (category 5 hotel = 18,000 points)
IHG Priority Club Platinum = 15 points per $1 (InterContinental high tier = 40,000 points)
Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum = 3 points per $1 (Category 7 = 30,000 points)

The money spent to earn a free night in each chain:
HHonors 50,000/20 = $2,500
Marriott 40,000/15 = $2,667
IHG 40,000/15 = $2,667
Hyatt 18,000/6.5 = $2,769
SPG 30,000/3 = $10,000

The $4,000 for Starwood spending used in the article comparison looks incorrect to me. $4,000 would be correct for a Category 5 free night at a Starwood hotel, but the highest category hotel was used for the other 4 chains.

SPG always looks very bad in these comparisons, but SPG loyalty program members know most of the points earned are from promotions and elite bonuses rather than base hotel spending. Hilton is opposite in that most points are earned from base hotel spending.

As an SPG Platinum on a $100 stay I earn far more than 300 points. I typically receive 500 bonus points for a platinum amenity and almost always at least 1,000 points for a promotional bonus. 1,800 points for a $100 stay is far more earning power than indicated from a comparison of base spending.

The main point I make when evaluating hotel claims for the best earning potential is the “promotions make all the difference”.

The points earning potential of Hilton HHonors looks highly favorable when only base spending is compared. Hilton HHonors lags behind the other four chains compared here when it comes to points earning potential and free night offers through promotions.

IHG, Hyatt, Starwood and Marriott all ran earn a free night promotions in 2009 which made a free night possible for under $250 in total hotel spending with the other chains.

Where was Hilton?

 

November 29 comment by Ric Garrido

Here are some other relevant points to the HHonors changes and your article.

Mr. Diskin rationalizes the HHonors increase in points due to hotel rates increasing 30% over the past few years. The logic here is that Hilton HHonors is playing catch-up to changes other hotel chain loyalty programs have already made.

Here is my analysis comparing Hilton HHonors to other hotel loyalty programs.

A shift of almost all hotels upward in the categories, which I believe is what Hilton representatives implied might happen with the changes, will mean only 1% of hotels will be the same price in 2010 for a free night. Only the bottom level of hotels in the Hilton chain, the current Opportunity Category hotels moving to Category 1 level hotels in 2010 will be available at the same cost as 2009. Hilton’s other 3,300 or so hotels, around 98% of the global properties will increase in points for a free night in 2010 if Hilton HHonors increases the hotel category across the system for hotel rewards.

On average the increase is 20% across the 3,300 hotel chain based on the points needed to spend one free night at every Hilton-brand property in the world in 2009 compared to 2010 if all hotels move up one category in the 2010 realignment.

Hotel Competitive Sets

The other side of this argument is the issue of ‘hotel competitive sets” within any specific location. Mr. Diskin claims Hilton HHonors will still require the least spending to earn a free night at a top level Category 7 hotel even after the 25% increase next year compared to spending for a free night in the top hotel level for other major hotel chains. That argument is essentially correct, however, the comparison disregards the issue of a comparable competitive hotel set for most locations.

A hotel competitive set must be used when comparing hotel reward nights across different hotel chains. Comparing a Hampton Inn to an InterContinental or JW Marriott is not really meaningful since they are different market segments and different price segments.

Mr. Diskin uses the highest tier hotels in each chain as a competitive set to make his point that Hilton requires less spending for a free night. But aside from a few locations in the world like New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Sydney, and Rome, the competitive set is not going to be based on the highest category hotels for most cities.

I’ll show the concept of a hotel competitive set using San Francisco hotels.

San Francisco has several hotel brands from each major hotel chain within close proximity of each other and also close in price. Hilton operates the Hilton Union Square and Hilton Financial District.

A competitive set of comparable hotels in the Central Business District of San Francisco to the two Hilton Hotels are Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Marriott Marquis, Marriott Union Square, Starwood Westin St. Francis, Starwood Westin Market Street, Starwood Luxury Collection Palace Hotel, Starwood Le Meridien, InterContinental San Francisco, and InterContinental Mark Hopkins.

Using the same variables from the article for hotel spending the comparison works out like this if the two San Francisco Hilton Hotels go from their current Category 6 to the new Category 7 for free nights:

Hilton Union Square, 50,000 points = $2,500
Hilton Financial District (Category 6 in 2009) Cat 7 = $2,500

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Category 4 = 15,000 points = $2,307
Grand Hyatt San Francisco Category 3 = 12,000 points = $1,846

Marriott Marquis, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
Renaissance Stanford Court, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
JW Marriott San Francisco, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
Marriott Union Square, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000

Starwood Westin St. Francis, Category 4 = 10,000 points = $3,333
Starwood Westin Market Street, Category 4 = 10,000 points = $3,333
Starwood Luxury Collection Palace Hotel, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000
Starwood Le Meridien, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000
Starwood W Hotel, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000

InterContinental San Francisco, 40,000 points = $2,667
InterContinental Mark Hopkins, 40,000 points = $2,667

 

The amount of spending to earn a free night using points at a San Francisco hotel will be less for Hyatt and Marriott than Hilton within this comparable competitive set. And there is a good argument to be made that the JW Marriott may be in a higher level hotel set for San Francisco.

In my opinion, based on detailed analysis of hotel loyalty program promotion bonuses over the past few years, Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest, and IHG Priority Club allow a loyalty program member the ability to earn promotional bonuses at a much higher percentage to base spending than is typical with Hilton HHonors, thereby reducing the total spending required to earn a free hotel night from those chains.

There is one other point to make regarding the highest categories for the different hotel chains.

Hilton HHonors currently has over 100 hotels in the highest Category 6 level. Assuming most of these current HHonors category 6 hotels are recategorized in the new HHonors category 7, a comparison across chains may look like this in 2010.

Hilton Category 7 = 100 hotels worldwide
Hilton Category 6 = 200 hotels

Marriott Category 8 = 12 hotels worldwide
Marriott Category 7 = 19 hotels worldwide

Starwood Category 7 = 16 hotels worldwide
Starwood Category 6 = 45 hotels worldwide

Hyatt Hotels Category 5 = 25 hotels worldwide

Marriott is the hotel chain most comparable to Hilton. The data shows Hilton will have 6x as many hotels in its two highest categories compared to Marriott.

Loyalty rewards and elite status can be earned at a quicker pace if you have a loyalty program branded credit card to accompany your hotel stays with Marriott or Hilton. I rarely write about credit cards, but I took a look at the current offers recently when comparing Marriott Rewards and Hilton HHonors.

Heavy spenders may favor the Hilton Surpass American Express card for its instant Diamond elite membership offer if you are in a position to spend $40,000 per year.

Marriott Rewards Premier VISA Credit Card from Chase offers 15 nights toward elite status conferring instant Silver elite and reducing the annual elite qualification threshold for Marriott Rewards Gold to 35 nights and Platinum to 60 nights. This card is only available to US residents in the 50 states and District of Columbia.

One feature of the Hilton-branded American Express card is access to discount 4-night awards for 125,000 points at Category 5 hotels (AXON5) and 145,000 points at Category 6 hotels (AXON6). These American Express award offers will likely be amended for January 2010 since the current American Express member awards for Category 5 and 6 hotels will actually be offered at a lower rate to all HHonors members in the new HHonors Rewards chart in 2010. It seems HHonors and American Express will likely offer a discounted AXON6 and AXON 7 reward in 2010.

Here is a table of the features for Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase Bank and the Hilton Surpass from American Express. While Hilton has a larger sign-up bonus and better earning on hotel and everyday spending, Marriott Rewards offers a free night every year of membership that equates to a 25,000 points annual bonus.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

In Part 2 of the hotel mega-chain comparisons I look at elite membership in Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and IC Ambassador, and Marriott Rewards.

Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards were all rated by WebFlyer.com in 2007 and side-by-side ratings can be viewed here. The interesting statistic for me are the high ratings Marriott Rewards members give to their program. Marriott’s ratings far surpass member ratings for the other two programs with about 500 voting participants in each loyalty group. But two years is a long time in loyalty programs and changes have been made in each program since then.

Marriott Rewards restructured their strongest competitive advantage in 2009 with the change in reward tables from a per night discount for any multiple night stay  to a basic 5th night free redemption program.   

Hilton HHonors has the highly popular Points & Miles earning preference for members to accrue both hotel loyalty points and airline miles with a hotel stay.

Priority Club is the program for promotion junkies into amassing points. The ability to earn 30 points per $1 spent on hotel stays is likely and even 50 points per $1 is reported by some promotion savvy members.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler blog post from February 2009 with a comparison of elite levels in Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Starwood, along with a list of reasons FlyerTalk members state they like Hilton HHonors or Marriott Rewards.

This post focuses more on published elite member benefits. Marriott Rewards has a table comparing the benefits of their different Rewards elite levels.

Marriott Rewards Silver Elite = 10 nights in a calendar year to qualify

• 20% elite bonus points

• 10% discount on Friday or Saturday nights at Courtyard and SpringHill Suites (AAA should be just as good or better rate)

• 10% discount at Marriott-operated gift shops

• Elite-only rewards and special offers

• Late check out 

 

 

Hilton HHonors Silver VIP = 10 nights or 4 stays in a calendar year to qualify

• 15% elite bonus points

• Benefits

• complimentary fitness center/health club access (Marriott makes no reference to this type of benefit)

• access to VIP reward multi-night stay discounts using points

 

IHG Priority Club Gold = $50 or 15 nights or earn 20,000 points in a calendar year or join Ambassador Club ($150)

• 10% Bonus Points

 

Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport

 

 

 

 

 

Marriott Rewards Gold Elite = 50 nights in a calendar year to qualify

• 25% elite bonus points (10 base points per US$1 + 2.5 points elite bonus for 12.5 points per $1) 

• Room upgrade 

• Lounge access at Marriott, JW Marriott, and Renaissance hotels with lounges and complimentary breakfast.  

• Complimentary breakfast Mon-Fri at Marriott and Renaissance hotels without a lounge. 

• Free local phone and 15 pages FAX at Courtyard, SPringHill Suites, and Fairfield Inn 

• Room type guarantee in USA (Gold members are eligible to receive the Room Type Guarantee at any Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn or Suite, SpringHill Suite or TownePlace Suite property located in North America.)

 

 

 

 

Hilton Gold VIP = 16 stays, 36 nights, or 60,000 base points earned in calendar year.

 

5 published routes to Gold elite qualification. (Hilton has easier qualification than Marriott Rewards gold elite.)

1.       New first-year Surpass credit card member receives one year complimentary Gold elite)

2.       60,000 base points = $6,000 Hilton hotel stay spend which may be easier qualification bar than $20,000 in credit card spend for some members or stays and nights.

3.       16 Hilton brand hotel stays. HHonors counts award stays towards elite qualification.

4.       36 nights

5.       Hilton also runs periodic promotions for Gold elite typically with 4 stays in 90 days.

 

HHonors Gold VIP members earn 25% elite bonus points. A person selecting Points & Points earning preference receives 10 points per US$1 + 5 points (Points & Points bonus) + 2.5 points Gold elite bonus for 17.5 points per $1.

 

 

HHonors elite benefits vary with brands: Conrad, Hilton, Doubletree

 

• Room upgrade

• Complimentary continental breakfast for member and one guest, even if not provided lounge access for stay.

• Complimentary internet

• If upgraded to Executive Floor room, lounge access guaranteed [lounge access is not guaranteed for Gold member who does not get upgraded to Executive Floor; hotel’s discretion.]

• 1,000 bonus points

 

Embassy Suites Benefits:

500 bonus points or complimentary internet or choice of sodas, fruit, water

 

Hampton Inn Benefits: 250 points and two bottles of water

 

Hilton Garden Inn Benefits: 750 points and full American breakfast for member and one registered guest.

 

Hilton Grand Vacations benefits: two bottles of water per stay and 1,000 bonus points

 

Waldorf Astoria Collection benefits: one category room upgrade and either 1,000 bonus points or free movie. Two bottles of water per stay. Welcome beverage for member and guest. Late checkout.

 

 

IHG Platinum Elite = 50 nights per calendar year or earn 60,000 points

• 50% elite bonus points (10 base points per US$1 + 5 elite points for 15 points per $1.

• Complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability)

• Guaranteed room availability (72 hours in advance)

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Marriott Platinum = 75 nights

• 50% elite bonus points (10 base points + 5 elite points per US$1 = 15 points per $1)

• Platinum Arrival Gift bonus points = 500 points at Marriott, Renaissance, Marriott Vacation Clubs

• 250 points at Courtyard outside US

• 200 points in USA at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites

• (Members earning miles will not earn platinum amenity points) 

• Room type guarantee worldwide

• “Platinum members are eligible to receive the Room Type Guarantee at any Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suite, SpringHill Suites or TownePlace Suites property worldwide.”

• 48 hour reservation guarantee

 

 

 

HHonors Diamond VIP = 60 nights or 28 stays or 100,000 base points or HHonors American Express Surpass $40,000 per year credit card spend.

 

• 50% bonus points (Points & Points 10 base points + 5 Points & Points bonus + 5 elite points = 20 points per $1. Points & Miles earns 15 points per $1 + variable or fixed miles.)

• Guaranteed reservation when made by midnight hotel local time 48 hours before day of arrival. (check Marriott)

• Complimentary continental breakfast for elite member and one guest each morning of stay.

• Lounge access is guaranteed for Diamond member even if not upgraded to Executive Floor.

 

 

Hilton HHonors Executive Lounge Access Policy

If you select a space-available room upgrade as your on-property VIP benefit, the following policy will apply effective August 15, 2008, at all Hilton®, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts and Doubletree® hotels:

If you are a Gold VIP, you’ll be given access to the Executive Floor lounge when you receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor. If an Executive Floor room upgrade is unavailable, you’ll still receive daily complimentary Continental breakfast in lieu of lounge access.

If you are a Diamond VIP, you’ll enjoy access to the Executive Floor lounge, even if you don’t receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor, including daily complimentary Continental breakfast.

At hotels without Executive Floor lounges, Gold and Diamond VIPs will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for themselves and up to one additional registered hotel guest each day. If breakfast is included in the room rate, you’ll receive an alternate welcome amenity that varies by hotel.

Hilton Executive Lounge policy: http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/gold.do

 

 

InterContinental Ambassador $150 annual fee (also confers Priority Club Gold elite membership).

Benefits at InterContinental Hotel brand:

 

• Guaranteed room upgrade

• Fresh fruit and mineral water

• Certificate for complimentary weekend night on two-night stay

• 4pm late checkout

• Complimentary pay TV film per stay

• Earn 20,000 bonus points every 15 nights at InterContinental Hotels in calendar year.

 

InterContinental Royal Ambassador – by invitation only for top 1% of Ambassador members offers expanded benefits considered by many frequent guests to be the best hotel loyalty program elite status. FlyerTalk members state minimum criteria appears to be at least 50 IHG brand hotel nights and 3 different InterContinental Hotel stays per year.

 

 

Loyalty Traveler’s take on InterContinental Ambassador: Buy your way to elite recognition for a small fee that is rebated with a single certificate for a free weekend night. Most InterContinental Hotels are over $150 per night and the free night can be worth over $300 in many locations. This is a great deal for anyone planning any stays at an InterContinental Hotel.

 

 

This is simply an overview of elite membership and by no means a comprehensive or thorough analysis.  Please comment if there are other aspects, benefits, or limitations of elite membership with these programs. I will edit the post to include or clarify items I neglected to mention. The goal here is to have a quick one-post comparison for Loyalty travelers.

 

Bottom line for loyalty travelers is the program that best meets your needs will depend on your hotel preferences, travel spending pattern, and benefits most desired for your stays.

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Hilton HHonors is changing the hotel redemption categories and HHonors elite member VIP Reward Tables January 15, 2010.

Discussion on FlyerTalk over the past two weeks with input from HHonors Representative regarding the impending HHonors changes suggests the Hilton HHonors category changes may indeed be across the board with most Hilton brand hotels being repositioned one category level higher for 2010.

Loyalty Traveler blog posted a table October 13 showing HHonors elite member VIP Reward changes by hotel category for 2010 compared to 2009. Today I saw some posts on FlyerTalk saying the tables I created were misleading.

Upon re-reading the FlyerTalk quote I responded to with a link to the Loyalty Traveler  tables  of October 13 I realize this is not the information the original poster was seeking. The comments inspired me to create another table showing the changes in the points required for VIP Rewards in 2010 combining the impact of both the HHonors free nights redemption with the new Category 7 along with what looks to be a massive shift of hotels across the chain one category level higher for 2010.

This table shows the effect when the hotel stay you enjoyed in summer 2009 using a Category 5 hotel VIP reward in 2009 requires a Category 6 hotel VIP reward in 2010 using the new HHonors free nights tables. The combined effect of a new 50,000 points per night Category 7 hotel along with a category level increase for virtually all hotels creates a 20 to 28% differential in the overall cost in points for many HHonors elite member VIP Rewards in 2010.

HHonors Representative said in this FlyerTalk post the category levels of hotels for 2010 will be released in about two months.

I created this speculative table for today’s post to show the points cost changes in 2010 for HHonors elite member VIP rewards if a hotel increases by one category.

The table displayed in this post shows points needed for a VIP Reward in 2009 compared to the points needed for the new VIP Rewards in 2010 with the assumption that a hotel will be one category level higher for free nights using points for 2010 reward stay of 6 to 14 nights in the new Category 1 through 7 redemption table.

For example, a 6-night HHonors VIP reward at a Category 5 hotel in 2009 is 150,000 points. The same hotel, if increased to Category 6 redemption level for 2010 will cost 180,000 points for the same 6-night HHonors VIP reward; a 20% increase in points for the same hotel in 2010.

The decision on hotel category placement is not finalized yet. “HHonors Representative” posting on FlyerTalk stated the 2010 hotel category placement will be released in late-December or early January. FlyerTalk threads like this will get some attention and perhaps lead to more favorable distribution of hotels in the new Category 1 to 7 scheme than just an across the chain category increase for 2010.

How does the 2010 HHonors VIP Redemption Chart compare to the Current HHonors VIP Rewards chart?

October 26 Update: I linked to this post in a FlyerTalk thread. There was criticism that this post was misleading and wrong. This table is simply showing the change in points for a HHonors VIP Reward based on any specific HHonors hotel redemption category.

This table does not take into account that most hotels in the HHonors chain will likely increase by one category level in placement of hotels for the 2010 HHonors categories 1 to 7.

It may very well be that every Category 4 hotel in 2009 will be a Category 5 hotel in 2010. A Category 5 HHonors 4-night VIP reward at 119,000 points in 2010 will not be a 15% reduction in points for a specific hotel that was a Category 4 hotel in 2009. The 2009 HHonors category 4 hotel requiring 120,000 points for a 4-night stay in 2009 that becomes a 2010 HHonors category 5 hotel will require <1% fewer points in 2010.

A Category 5 hotel requiring 150,000 points in 2009 for a 6-night VIP reward will cost 180,000 points for a 6-night HHonors VIP reward in 2010 if it is redesignated a Category 6 hotel. This is a 20% increase.

This table is accurate for the points changes shown between 2009 and 2010 VIP rewards within any particular HHonors category. This table does not address the variable of hotels changing categories for 2010. HHonors plans to release the annual placement of hotels in HHonors redemption categories in late December or early January.

 October 26 Loyalty Traveler post “HHonors Members Angry Over Category Step Up” shows the effect on VIP rewards for hotels increasing by one category level in 2010.

HHonors VIP Comparison of 4-Night, 5-night, and 6-Night Awards in 2009 and 2010 for Category 3 to Category 7 Hotels
HHonors VIP Rewards	4 nights @ Category 3 hotel	5 nights @ Category 3 hotel	6 nights @ Category 3 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	100,000	125,000	150,000
2010 VIP Rewards	102,000 2% more	120,000 4% less	135,000 10% less
HHonors VIP Rewards	4 nights @ Category 4 hotel	5 nights @ Category 4 hotel	6 nights @ Category 4 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	120,000	150,000	150,000
2010 VIP Rewards	102,000 (15% less)	120,000 (20% less)	135,000 (10% less)
	4 nights @ Category 5 hotel	5 nights @ Category 5 hotel	6 nights @ Category 5 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	140,000  (HHonors American Express members AXON5 award is 125,000 points)	150,000	150,000
2010 VIP Rewards	119,000 (15% less)	140,000 (7% less)	157.500 (5% more)
	4 nights @ Category 6 hotel	5 nights @ Category 6 hotel	6 nights @ Category 6 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	160,000   (HHonors American Express members AXON6 award is 145,000 points)	175,000	175,000
2010 VIP Rewards	136,000 (15% less)	160,000 (9% less)	180,000 (3% more)
Category 7 (assume Category 6 hotels moving up)	4 nights @ Category 7 hotel	5 nights @ Category 7 hotel	6 nights @ Category 7 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards (based on 2009 Category 6 hotels)	160,000	175,000	175,000
2010 VIP Rewards	170,000  (6% more)	200,000 (14% more)	225,000 (29% more)
HHonors VIP Comparison of 7-Night, 8-night, and 9-Night Awards in 2009 and 2010 for Category 3 to Category 7 Hotels
HHonors VIP Rewards	7 nights @ Category 3 hotel	8 nights @ Category 3 hotel	9 nights @ Category 3 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	155,000	175,000	195,000
2010 VIP Rewards	157,500 (<2% more)	180,000 (3% more)	202,500 (4% more)
HHonors VIP Rewards	7 nights @ Category 4 hotel	8 nights @ Category 4 hotel	9 nights @ Category 4 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	155,000	175,000	195,000
2010 VIP Rewards	157,500 (<2% more)	180,000 (3% more)	202,500 (4% more)
	7 nights @ Category 5 hotel	8 nights @ Category 5 hotel	9 nights @ Category 5 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	175,000	200,000	225,000
2010 VIP Rewards	183,750 (5% more)	210,000 (5% more)	236,250 (5% more)
	7 nights @ Category 6 hotel	8 nights @ Category 6 hotel	9 nights @ Category 6 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards	205,000	235,000	265,000
2010 VIP Rewards	210,000 (2% more)	240,000 (2% more)	270,000 (<2% more)
Category 7 (assume Category 6 hotels moving up)	7 nights @ Category 7 hotel	8 nights @ Category 7 hotel	9 nights @ Category 7 hotel
2009 VIP Rewards (based on 2009 Category 6 hotels)	205,000	235,000	265,000
2010 VIP Rewards	262,500 (28% more)	300,000 (28% more)	337,500 (27% more)

 

 

 

 

 

Hilton HHonors has released a change in the category structure for HHonors free night redemption using points and a restructured VIP Reward Table for January 15, 2010.

 

The positive change in the hotel VIP rewards is the opportunity to redeem for 4 and 5 night awards at a discount. This is a huge change and benefits many members who seldom had the opportunity to redeem hotel stays of 6 or more nights. 

The HHonors VIP four night reward stay is a competitive advantage against Starwood and Marriott’s 5th night free awards. Currently, 4 night HHonors award stays are available at a 15,000 points discount to HHonors American Express card members as the AXON5 award for Category 5 hotels (125,000 points) and AXON6 award for Category 6 hotels (145,000 points).

 

VIP Rewards are available to all HHonors elite members (Silver VIP requires 4 stays in a calendar year.)

 

How does the 2010 HHonors VIP Redemption Chart compare to the Current HHonors VIP Rewards chart?

HHonors VIP Rewards as of October 13, 2009

 

 

 

 

Currently, Category 5 hotels are 150,000 points for 6 nights and the VIP reward saves nearly 29% on the single night rate of 35,000 points. One issue with HHonors is there is currently no discount on points for stays of fewer than 6 nights unless you are an American Express card member eligible for AXON 4 night reward stays. And PointStretcher discount awards disappeared this summer.

 

Marriott went the other way in 2009 with the 5th night free redemption change. Previously Marriott Rewards offered a discount on points per night for any multi-night stay beginning with a 2-night reward stay with increasing savings for up to a 40% discount for 7 night award stays. Now there is only a discount on points with a 5 night or longer stay. The cost increased for almost all hotel rewards booked with Marriott Rewards points in 2009. The changes reduced the potential value of many members’ points who favored Marriott hotel stays of 2 to 4 or 6 to 7 nights.

 

I created comparative graphs of the Hilton HHonors category distribution and Marriott Rewards distribution in October 2008. I was wrong in my prediction last year that Marriott Rewards would see a major category shift in 2009. I based my prediction on the higher proportion of HHonors hotels in higher categories compared to Marriott. Fortunately for consumers the Marriott category shift did not happen to create a double hit devaluing members’ points in 2009.  

Hilton HHonors Rewards Chart (per night), current for October 13, 2009

 

There will be a category shift of some properties currently in Category 6 into the new Category 7 redemption.

What remains to be seen is how widespread is the shift from other lower categories to higher categories, e.g. how many Category 3 hotels will move to Category 4 and how many category 4 hotels will move up to Category 5?

This could be a small movement across the 3,200 properties with only a few luxury and really high-demand hotels shifting to the new category 7. Minor shuffling among the other redemption categories could leave most of the 3,200 Hilton brand hotels in their current 2009 category. Some hotels may even move down a redemption category.

On the other hand, the new Category 7 could be accompanied by a wide scale shift upwards in redemption hotel category among the 3,200 hotels, perhaps even involving 25% or more of the properties.

During the years from 2003 to 2007 there was a large shift of hotels upward that created a significant reduction in the overall proportion of hotels in the lower categories of HHonors. Currently, the lower HHonors redemption categories of Opportunity and category 1 are pretty vacant while the categories of 2 and 3 are stuffed.

 

 

 

The 2010 changes could see system-wide recategorization of the 3,200 hotels and may provide a major redistribution of hotels among the 7 hotel categories.

Unfortunately, I predict there will be a shift upwards for a large number of Category 2 and 3 hotels.

Take this Hawaii Dollar and break it in the sand. Just step on it and let it snap like a beautiful sand dollar shell cracking under the feet of unobservant tourists. Crumble Hilton HHonors Hawaii Dollars into tiny grains since using this option for spending your HHonors points has as much appeal as a sand dollar in 100 little pieces you don’t want to bother keeping in your pocket.

Every couple of weeks I look for some new promotion to generate a spark of interest from this loyalty traveler and I just find Hilton HHonors in the dark.

One of Hilton HHonors options for redeeming points is an exchange of 25,000 Hilton points for 50 Hawaii Dollars. Two Hilton Resorts in Hawaii accept Hawaii Dollars for restaurant and spa purchases. Hawaii Dollars are accepted at Bali by the Sea® or Donatoni’s, or the Mandara Spa or Kohala Sports Club & Spa at two Hilton Hotel Hawaii Resorts. Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii’s Big Island or Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa on Oahu are the only two places you can spend Hawaii Dollars.

25,000 points is almost sufficient for a free night on a 6-night VIP 175,000 points award for Hawaii. Trading 25,000 points for $50 is the type of exchange rate you expect when using a traveler’s check or cash at a foreign hotel desk to exchange money.

Hawaii is still the USA right? Obama’s birther controversy has had me wondering lately whether Hawaii might be a foreign land.

Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes best for all concerned

Rumor has it that Blackstone Group is going to break up and sell off the Hilton chain to recoup much of the $US 26 billion investment the company sunk into the Hilton portfolio a couple of years ago.

I hope so.

The Hilton HHonors loyalty program has been gutted over the past few years. I know Hilton is still an extremely popular hotel chain, but I don’t think the hotel loyalty program is the primary incentive feeding Hilton loyalists or else they do not know there are greener pastures in the field of hotel loyalty programs.

Sure, there are good features of Hilton HHonors. Double dipping for points and miles creates a frequent flyer account boost without even flying. Or earning 50% extra points by double dipping with points and points gets a member to a hotel award faster than otherwise expected. But promotions like 10,000 points after five stays as the feature summer bonus are lame.

And not just Hilton, but all the hotel chains are relying heavily on credit card brand incentives this promotion season. VISA (Hilton, Marriott) or MasterCard (Hyatt) just to earn hotel stay bonuses is not a good strategy for incentivizing hotel loyalty when the country is reeling from a mountain of debt and consumers are curtailing spending and staying away from hotels altogether.

Are credit card purchases of hotel loyalty program points part of the US economic stimulus program? The people who rely on credit cards for earning frequent flier miles and frequent guest points are not the population segment holding back economic recovery in the USA. Credit card incentives just serve to fragment among the various hotel chains the smaller pool of travelers still traveling.

 

 

 

 

Hilton Hotels is discounting Bed & Breakfast rates on multi-night stays for hotels outside of the Americas through August 31.

Offer: Book a nonrefundable minimum two nights for hotel stays from June 26 through August 31 and receive the second night free. For stays of three or more nights receive 50% off the nightly “Bed and Breakfast” rate for each extra night. Breakfast for two (kids 12 or younger eat free) and late 6 pm checkout.

The rates show up on regular searches for all the hotels I checked so there is no need to insert special rate code. Here is a link showing sample hotel rates at participating hotels in various regions.

Timeframe: Book by August 17 for stays through August 31, 2009.

Location: Hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Pacific are participating. This offer does not apply to North America, South America, Central America, and Caribbean.

Loyalty traveler Analysis of Promotion Value:

I checked two hotels for rate comparisons: Amsterdam Hilton and Trianon Palace Versailles, Waldorf-Astoria Collection (rebranded from Westin Hotels in past year).

Amsterdam Hilton, Amsterdam, Netherlands showed a good rate savings, 149.50€ per night for a 2-night, Tuesday and Wednesday nights stay, July 21-23 with the 2-for-1 rate including breakfast. The next lowest rate available was a nonrefundable advanced purchase rate at 239€ per night.

June 24 exchange rate of 1€ = $1.40USD.

Amsterdam Hilton 2-for-1 B&B rate = $419 for 2 nights = $210 per night including breakfast.

I recall the breakfast buffet being about $30 per person at the Amsterdam Hilton several years ago. And I paid around $160 for the Amsterdam Hilton on Priceline in summer 2006.  

This is a decent deal for Amsterdam, but there may be better deals at other hotels. Then again, Amsterdam and Paris have held up better than most European cities for maintaining hotel rates in this global recession.

Waldorf Astoria Collection Trianon Palace, Versailles, France

July 21-23 with 2-for-1 B&B rate = 139.50€ per night for King Classic Guest Room.

Rate exchange works out to about $195 per night for the lowest priced room. Otherwise the low rate is $159€ per night or $222 per night for an advance purchase nonrefundable reservation without breakfast.

2-for-1 sales are excellent time to buy up in room size

The lowest priced room at the Trianon Palace Hotel is the Classic room with a size of 215 to 269 square feet. That is a small room.

The advantage of 2-for-1 sales is the ability to buy up in room size at relatively low rates compared to average rates for the larger rooms.

Trianon Palace room descriptions and nightly room rates using 2-4-1 Bed & Breakfast offer:

Classic Guest Room = 20-25 square meters; 215-269 square feet (This is smaller than average size room which is about 325 square feet for USA) 139.50-164.50€ ($195-$230USD) depending on view.

King Deluxe Park View = 30-40 square meters; 332-430 square feet. (This should be a comfortable size room on par with typical US room size at upscale hotels). 189.50-204.50€ ($265-$286USD) depending on view

King Junior Suite = 57 square meters; 613 square feet (This is a large room that should feel quite spacious.) 324.50€ ($455USD) per night. Double the price for more than double the room.

While $450 per night may be well beyond the price range you have set for your travel, the point I am making is the savings on a high category room type may be a savings of hundreds of dollars per night compared with a savings of $30 to $50 per night on the lowest category room with this 2-for-1 Hilton offer.

These 2-for-1 sales are often the route to incredible savings on high category rooms. And if you are high elite Hilton Diamond you are more likely to receive a really high value upgrade when booking a higher category room type. Book a junior suite and your upgrade to a full suite is much more likely and typically a much greater value.

For example, last month I paid $30 more than the lowest rate to book a junior suite at the Le Meridien San Francisco during a sale offer and I was upgraded to a full suite that would have cost triple the rate I paid.

Trophy Travel: Amsterdam Hilton, John & Yoko Suite, 885€/night using the 2-for-1 B&B rate July 21-23, 2009.