20
May
Club Carlson announced last week that a major hotel reward category reassignment will occur May 31, 2012. The full list of 264 hotels changing reward category and organized by geographic location with state and country has been published.
137 hotels going up in reward category. Read More…
The 117 hotels dropping reward category April 30, 2012 are mostly from the two mid-tier HHonors categories 3 and 4. 49 category-4 hotels currently at 30,000 points per reward night will drop to category-3 at 25,000 points per reward night. Another 47 hotels will drop from category 3 to category-2. These new category-2 hotels will require only 50% points at 12,500 points per standard reward night in May 2012 compared to the reward rate now. Read More…
Hilton HHonors is bumping 330 hotels up one hotel reward category on April 30, 2012. One of the biggest impacts for members is going to be the change of 38 hotels rising from category 2 to category 3 which doubles the points required for a standard reward from 12,500 points per night to 25,000 points per night.
In all fairness to Hilton HHonors, 47 hotels are dropping down to category 2 from category 3 and will be half the points from April 30. Also, 49 hotels are dropping from category 4 to category 3, however, 77 hotels are rising from category 3 to category 4.
This post shows the current category 2 hotels rising to category 3 hotel rewards on April 30 by location. All but two of these hotels are located in the USA. Read More…
Hilton HHonors is moving 330 hotels up one reward category on April 30, 2012. Hilton HHonors published a hotel list but there is no country, state or city information included on the list. I have made tables showing the hotels going up to Hilton HHonors rewards category 6 and 7 and hotels rising to HHonors category 5 on April 30 in these two linked posts.
Hilton HHonors released its list of hotels changing reward category on April 30, 2012. There are 330 hotels going up one category level. There are 117 hotels moving down one category.
HHonors has seven categories of hotels used to designate the hotel reward level for all Hilton brand hotels except Waldorf Astoria Hotels.
Category 6 and 7 hotels will receive 123 new hotels into the ranks of the top tiers. Only three hotels will drop in category with the Hilton Beverly Hills dropping to category 6 from category 7. Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing in Branson, Missouri drops from category 6 to category 5 as does Hilton Mumbai International Airport India.
Marriott Rewards posted its hotel category reassignments for 2012. While my primary complaint about reward nights hotel category transparency for consumers has been addressed with a complete list of hotels going up and down being posted, my other pet peeve is posting a list by hotel brand rather than geographic location.
Here is a geographic quiz to illustrate the issue with no city, state and country being used to organize the Marriott brand hotels for the reward category changes. The answers are at the end of this post.
1. What state has the Courtyard Tyler?
2. What state has the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe?
3. Where will you fly to stay at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel & Casino?
4. Is Courtyard Panama City Metro Mall within a day’s drive of Atlanta?
5. Where will I find the Denia Marriott La Sella Golf Resort & Spa?
Here is a table of the Marriott properties going down in category organized by geographic location. There are five times as many hotels going up than down. The other list will take a little longer for me to organize.
There do not seem to be many patterns or trends to point out except that the Caribbean appears to be dropping. The most overpriced hotel region of the world five years ago seems to be suffering some travel reward drops. The four Aruba hotels are currently already listed at the lower reward category level. These hotels were the same ones that rose to category 8 in March 2011. That level did not last too long.
There are no other hotels in the top four categories dropping a level.
Japan and Egypt are probably a symptom of disaster and revolution that keeps many people from wanting to redeem points for travel in those countries over the past year.
Answers to Marriott Rewards geoquiz:
1. What state has the Courtyard Tyler? Texas.
2. What state has the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe? New Jersey.
3. Where will you fly to stay at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel & Casino? Dominican Republic.
4. Is Courtyard Panama City Metro Mall within a day’s drive of Atlanta? Panama City in Panama is longer than a day’s drive and you will might want a vehicle with a winch. That Darien Gap is a tough haul if you want to go past Panama on the Pan-American Highway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap
5. Where will I find the Denia Marriott La Sella Golf Resort & Spa? Spain.
Marriott Rewards this morning released the full list of hotel category reassignments effective Thursday, March 15, 2012.
Reservations can be made using the current reward category rates until March 14, 2012. Reward reservations you already have at a hotel that will be dropping in category can be adjusted downward after March 15 to the lower rate by calling Marriott Rewards Customer Support at 801-468-4000.
The full list of hotel category changes with explanations and a category distribution graphic is available through the link in this FlyerTalk post. The hotel reward category distribution shows a competitive edge for Marriott Rewards with the high proportion of hotels in the lower four of eight reward categories.
On a personal note:
The past three years I have mounted social media attacks primarily on Marriott Rewards and Hilton HHonors each February and March when the announcement was made that hotel reward categories were being changed, yet these programs refused to release the full list of hotels changing categories prior to the changes taking effect.
Big thumbs up to Marriott Rewards for changing to a fully transparent announcement. Many of us using hotel loyalty programs take our loyalty as a serious investment in our travel budgeting for hotel stays. This is a consumer friendly move by Marriott Rewards. Thank you.
I will follow up this post in the next day or two with a detailed analysis of the Marriott Rewards hotel category reassignment changes.
Marriott Rewards announced it will raise the hotel reward category at 350 hotels and lower the category for 100 hotels on March 8. Members can make reservations at the lower reward level for hotels moving up by ordering certificates before March 8. Members can receive an adjustment in points for existing reservations after March 8 for hotels moving down.
Marriott Rewards has only released the names of 50 hotels changing category in current categories 5 through 8. Of these 50 hotels, 31 are increasing in category and 19 are decreasing in reward category. The other 400 hotels changing category are currently in category 1 through 4.
Marriott Rewards has not posted a complete list at this time of the 450 hotels changing reward category on March 8, 2011. Last year Marriott Rewards never posted the complete hotel list prior to the 2010 category changes taking effect.
Loyalty Traveler excoriated Marriott Rewards for its lack of transparency last March when it chose not to publish the full list of category changes prior to the new reward category levels taking effect. Obviously my rants had no effect as Marriott Rewards has chosen to follow a similar strategy again for 2011.
The hotel reward costs what it costs, so what’s the big deal about an incomplete list of changes?
Marriott Rewards has announced it will change the hotel reward category assignment at 450 hotels. The 350 hotels moving up in category represent 10% of Marriott’s global hotel portfolio which was 3,507 hotels as of December 31, 2010.
The changes released in Marriott’s advance notice to members of Marriott Insiders and FlyerTalk include only 31 hotels of the 350 hotels increasing reward category March 8. That is less than 9% of the hotels revealed that will cost more points as of March 8.
There will be an increase in points needed for a reward night at 319 other Marriott brand hotels on March 8. Making a reservation at the lower reward level is rather difficult when members do not know the names of these 319 hotels.
Marriott Rewards Free Night Certificates Often Restricted to Category 4 and Lower
Currently Marriott Rewards offers MegaBonus 2011 for a free night certificate after two hotel stays. The free night certificates earned from the MegaBonus promotion are only valid at Marriott Rewards category 1 to 4 hotels. New members of Marriott Rewards Visa card also receive a free night certificate restricted for use at Category 1 to 4 hotel rewards.
Marriott Rewards members holding these types of free night certificates do not have a list of the hotels that will be increasing to category 5 on March 8. The reassignment of hotels to category 5 hotel rewards will likely make dozens of Marriott hotels ineligible for free nights as of March 8, even though these hotels are currently eligible with a Category 4 free night certificate earned from credit card membership or MegaBonus.
At least this year I am seeing numerous requests to Marriott Rewards from members seeking the full list of hotel reward category changes before the changes go into effect. More voices calling for transparency create a louder voice.
Will Marriott Rewards listen to their members’ voice before March 8?
Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Changes taking effect March 8, 2011 (the incomplete official list).
Update: February 28, 2010
Here is Marriott’s official response to members’ request for a complete list of hotel reward category changes before the changes go into effect on March 8, 2011.
“The entire list is considered proprietary.”
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15948807-post43.html
Flyertalk.com post on February 28 by Marriott Concierge
Update Wednesday, March 2: Marriott posted today on FlyerTalk the full list of properties changing categories on March 8.
InsideFlyer has a free web access article on Hotel Loyalty Elite Comparisons across more than 25 loyalty programs. February’s issue features part one of the article and March will feature part two as the cover story. I am not the writer of this article, although I did provide some comments for the rough draft. This article motivated me to expand my loyalty program coverage as I recognized some great benefits in programs I rarely evaluate. I encourage you to look over the charts and information in the Hotel Loyalty Elite Comparisons.
I have been writing a monthly column for Randy Petersen’s InsideFlyer magazine for nearly two years. My column is always original content that has not appeared on this Loyalty Traveler blog. My monthly column is also a free web access feature of InsideFlyer. I have links to all my InsideFlyer columns on the Ric Garrido page of my blog.
Categorically speaking, I am predicting two steps up and one step back.
I am sharing my latest InsideFlyer column at the end of this post. The start of the 2011 year saw the return of Starwood Preferred Guest peak season hotel reward dates for category 5, 6 and 7 hotels after a two year absence. My column addresses the return of SPG peak season awards.
February and March are the months when we typically see hotel categories adjusted for the calendar year. Considering Marriott and Hilton raised category levels in 2010 for many of their upper end hotels in the midst of a two year recession does not bode well for this year’s hotel reward category changes.
Starwood made no attempt to lower hotel reward category levels last year; a move to be expected after several consecutive years of rapid rises from 2003 to 2008 attributed to rising average room rates. For some reason when room rates plummeted in 2009, the SPG hotel award category assignments did not follow suit. Granted there was an overall downward movement in SPG category assignment in 2009, but that was a small concession from SPG not repeated again in 2010. Here is my March 2010 article on Hilton HHonors hotel category shift and my April 2010 InsideFlyer column regarding hotel category assignments for 2010 with particular focus on SPG.
So what do the next two months have in store for hotel category shift?
Yesterday, the Washington Post ran an article citing positive economic indicators as a sign that hotel rates will climb in 2011. Higher rates are anticipated to rise disproportionately for business travelers relative to leisure travelers.
What I think this means is the leisure traveler is going to be screwed if needing a city center hotel during midweek business days or weekend conventions. We find ourselves back in 2007 mode where business travelers are gouged and leisure travelers are shut out with high prices for big city midweek hotels.
Fortunately there will still be opportunities for the flexible traveler who goes where the deals are located. And loyalty programs become even more vital in stretching your hotel dollars.
February 2011 InsideFlyer magazine Loyalty Traveler column:
Scaling Peaks of High Category Hotel Awards
SPG reinstituted peak season dates for Starwood Preferred Guest hotel rewards at 65 percent of its category 5, 6 and 7 hotels for 2011 and 2012. Over 100 Starwood hotels have peak season dates. Some hotels like the category 5 Westin Verasa Napa and Four Points Manhattan Chelsea have four months of 2011 peak season dates at 16,000 points per night.
Peak season dates master list: https://spgpromos.com/highseason
Earning Free Award Nights
SPG is an outlier among hotel programs for the amount of hotel spend needed for a free night at a high category hotel–even without peak season rates. SPG altered its hotel award structure over the past decade, adding category 6 and category 7 hotel award levels. A similar pattern of new higher category awards played out across the hotel loyalty world in the past few years including Marriott category 8, Hyatt category 6, Hilton category 7 and Priority Club tiers for Holiday Inn and InterContinental brands.
The structure for earning points is the most stable aspect of hotel loyalty schemes. Base points are loyalty points earned per dollar of hotel spend before any promotion or elite bonuses. The base points earn rate for SPG is 2 points/$1. Hyatt uses 5 points/$1. The standard for most major hotel programs is 10 points/$1.
Scaling High Category Awards
An interesting pattern emerges when base points earned per dollar are correlated to the cost of award nights at various category levels in different hotel programs. The amount of hotel spend needed to earn sufficient points for a free night at the highest award levels is similar across hotel programs–except Starwood Hotels.
Marriott Rewards highest category 8 hotel nights are 40,000 points. Earning 40,000 base points requires $4,000 in hotel spend. Priority Club top-tier InterContinental Hotels at 40,000 points take $4,000 in base spend. Lower earning brands at 5 points/$1 are ignored in this analysis. Hyatt Gold Passport category 6 awards at 22,000 points per night equate to $4,400. Hilton HHonors category 7 hotels at 50,000 points range from $3,334 in hotel spend for Points & Points earners to $5,000 for Points & Miles earners.
In contrast, earning 12,000 base points for a SPG category 5 standard hotel award requires $6,000 in spend or $8,000 for peak season nights. Starwood Preferred Guest is an outlier in this award pattern at the category 5 level, let alone SPG category 6 and 7 awards requiring 20,000 and 30,000 points for a standard free night. This correlates to $10,000 or $15,000 in hotel base spend.
HHonors and Marriott Rewards also have higher cost award nights for some Waldorf Astoria and Ritz-Carlton properties.
A Competitive Set Comparison of Marriott and Starwood
A debatable argument is SPG program high category hotels are higher quality hotels than other chains.
Hotels in a specific location and similar hotel market segment are in the same competitive set. Hotels in different chains but the same competitive set tend to have room rates on any given day within about 10 percent of each other.
St. Regis New York and Ritz-Carlton Central Park are two New York City luxury hotels in the same competitive set. Both hotels had an identical room rate of $895 per night for June 7, 2011 when I checked.
St. Regis New York is a category 7 SPG award hotel at 30,000 points for a standard free night. SPG members need $15,000 in hotel spend to earn 30,000 base points. Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park is the highest tier 5 hotel award at 70,000 points for a free night. Marriott Rewards members need $7,000 in hotel spend to earn 70,000 base points. Marriott Rewards members earn two free nights for the same level of spend the SPG member earns one night at the St. Regis. And this is without peak season rates at the St. Regis raising the price to 35,000 points per night for part of December 2011.
Comparing award nights using base points value ignores key points-earning components for loyalty members: elite bonuses, promotions and co-branded credit cards. SPG has a slight advantage at the Gold level with 50 percent elite bonus points. Other programs offer 10 to 25 percent bonus at mid-level elite. SPG’s elite advantage is lost at the SPG Platinum level where most programs match 50 percent elite bonus points for top-tier elites.
SPG needs high-value promotions to compensate for an uncompetitive award scheme at high category hotels. Bridging the hotel spend gap of $4,000 to $7,000 to earn the highest awards in most programs with $6,000 to $17,500 for SPG awards necessitates better promotions than double points on stays. Otherwise, high category SPG hotel awards are geared more for high-spend SPG credit card points earners than frequent guests.
