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.

 

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:

 

 

Hotel	Date	Room	Price (1GBP=$1.43)	Price per Night  in US $ after tax (15%).
Hotel Indigo London Paddington	4/10-12/09	Standard Room	64.50 GBP	$106
		Executive King	77.50 GBP	$127
Crowne Plaza London – The City	4/10-12/09	Standard Room	52.50 GBP	$86
		Deluxe Room	70 GBP	$115
		Crowne Plaza Club Room	92.50 GBP	$152
		Suite	147.50 GBP	$243
Crowne Plaza London-Shoreditch	4/10-12/09	Standard Room	49.50 GBP	$81
		Club (free breakfast)	54.50 GBP	$90
Crowne Plaza London Docklands	4/10-12/09	Standard Queen	39.50 GBP	$65
		King Executive	54.50 GBP	$90
		Junior Suite	77.00 GBP	$126
		Suite	114.50 GBP	$188
Holiday Inn London Mayfair	4/12-14/09	Standard	67.50 GBP	$111
		King Executive	82.50 GBP	$136
		Suite	175 GBP	$288
Holiday Inn London Oxford Circus	4/12-14/09	Standard Double	55 GBP	$90
		Junior Suite	140 GBP	$230
Holiday Inn London Regent’s Park	4/12-14/09	Standard	49.50 GBP	$81
		Deluxe	65 GBP	$107
Holiday Inn Kensington Forum	4/12-14/09	Standard Room	44.5 GBP	$73
		Executive Room	54.50 GBP	$90
		Suite	79.50 GBP	$131

 

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.

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

 

 

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has some of the best discount rate offers available for the online shopper.  Loyalty Traveler is a true fan of the frequently offered 2 Nights for the Price of 1 special rates; a frequent discount rate for hotels in Europe that can save you hundreds of dollars with one reservation. 

Another special rate is the prepaid (nonrefundable) 25% Off Weekend Bed and Breakfast stays in Europe and the Middle East.  This offer is valid through 2008 primarily for weekend stays on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, however, some locations may offer mid-week special rates.  Terms for this offer. 

My searches showed much lower nightly rates for the 2-for-1 special offer rate than with the 25% B&B link.

Holiday Inn Amsterdam, Netherlands,  Sep 19-21, 2008

79.50€/night or 159€ for the 2-night rate compared to

105€/night using the 25% off rate. 

 

Crowne Plaza – The City, London, UK,  Sep 19-21, 2008

£62.50 / night or £125.00 for 2-night stay using the Pay for 1, Get 2 nights special rate.

£113.00/night using the 25% off B&B rate. 

Priority Club Rewards 

The IHG hotel corporation loyalty program is Priority Club Rewards.  Priority Club was recognized for best award redemption for hotel loyalty programs in the Americas at the 2008 Freddies Awards.  The PointBreaks free nights for 5,000 points per night are one of the highest value hotel opportunities around.  Crowne Plaza free nights at 25,000 points regardless of location makes these hotels one of the best values for a free night in many cities when compared to the redemption rate for a comparable hotel in another loyalty program.  InterContinental Hotels are among the premier hotels for the region in many of their locations and the 30,000 points to 40,000 points per night are highly competitive with the redemption rates for comparable hotels in other programs.

 

About InterContinental Hotels Group

A hotel chain as large as the InterContinental Hotels Group makes Priority Club Rewards a valuable loyalty program investment for some travelers.  The Holiday Inn Express brand (1,700 Hotels) of IHG far surpasses in numbers and locations the entire Starwood Hotels group (about 800 hotels) and Hyatt Hotels group (fewer than 500 hotels).  Priority Club is one to rival Hilton and Marriott for road warriors.  InterContinental Hotels (about 150 hotels) and Crowne Plaza (about 300 hotels) are upscale redemption opportunities and offer a higher level of service than your typical Holiday Inn (1,400 hotels).  IHG’s new brand Hotel Indigo is still limited to a few markets with only 14 properties opened since launching in 2004.  Candlewood Suites (150 hotels) and Staybridge Suites (125 hotels) offer extended stay apartment style lodging.  IHG is a leading player in all market segments of the hotel industry.

 

Priority Club Fall 2008 Promotion for Double Points or Double Miles

Later this week I will write about the upcoming IHG Priority Club Rewards promotion for Double Points or Double Miles.  Registration is required.  The promotion starts September 15, 2008 and runs to December 15, 2008.

Learn more now, if you can’t wait for my post.

 

Holiday Inn Express, Cannery Row, Monterey

IHG 20, 000 bonus points promotion

Offer: Earn up to 20,000 Priority Club Rewards points or 5,000 airline miles.

Details: 2,000 bonus points or 500 airline miles after every 2nd eligible night.
Promotional period: eligible paid stays between May 12 and August 31, 2008 at any IHG hotel worldwide. Registration is required and no retroactive credit will be applied for stays prior to registration.
Earnings preference must be set for miles to earn airline miles.

This Priority Club promotion allows a member to earn on average 1,000 bonus points per night for IHG hotel stays through the summer months. Think of this as a $10/night rebate.

This offer is more favorable to travelers on vacation with multi-night stays because a 4-night stay will earn the 2,000 points bonus twice for 4,000 bonus points. An 8-night stay would earn 8,000 bonus points.

The 4,000 points bonus offer from Jan 14 – April 30, 2008 for every 2nd stay was not as good a bonus for extended hotel stays. The one-night stays were best for maximizing that bonus at the least cost.

Summer travel strategy: Priority Club members can earn points from this bonus, possibly save cash with IHG 2-for-1 offers, and also buy up to 20,000 points for $200 in a calendar year.

Points earned from the 20,000 points bonus opportunity and through purchases, if used for PointBreaks 5,000 points/night awards, may be redeemed for a substantially higher value in the range of $20 to $40 per 1,000 points.

The current set of PointBreaks awards are available through June 9, 2008. A week-long hotel stay in Brno, Czech Republic or Moscow, Russia for 35,000 Priority Club points is a high value opportunity that can be easily secured with points purchases and/or hotel stays. Moscow has the distinction of having the world’s most expensive hotels for 2007 and this deal for the Crowne Plaza Moscow can save well over $1,000 on average hotel rates for a 3-night stay in Russia.

Expect a new batch of PointBreaks hotel offers for summer months to come out around late May-early June. In conjunction with IHG’s 2 nights for the Price of 1 offer for some European hotels, IHG and Priority Club are one of the best ways to cut the cost of European hotel travel. The new set of 2-for-1 hotels should be coming out soon as the current web offer expires on April 30.

Last summer there were incredible savings available with the IHG 2-for-1 offer and the PointBreaks hotels in Europe. These two offers from IHG and Priority Club can easily cut $1,000 off the hotel cost for a 10-day trip out of the country. PointBreaks have more than half the hotel offerings in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to provide some cost relief for USA summer excursions.

April -June 9, 2008
Europe PointBreaks
5,000 points/night

Belgium, Mechelen
Express by Holiday Inn Mechelen City Centre

Czech Republic, Brno
Holiday Inn Brno

France, Toulouse
Crowne Plaza Montauban Toulouse North

Germany, Baden-Baden
Express by Holiday Inn Baden Baden

Germany, Minden
Holiday Inn Minden

Germany, Zwickau
Holiday Inn Zwickau

Italy, Siracusa
Express by Holiday Inn Siracusa-North

Italy, Cosenza
Holiday Inn Cosenza

Italy, Rome-Pomezia
Holiday Inn

Netherlands, Eindhoven
Holiday Inn

Russia, Moscow
Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre

UK, Aylesbury
Holiday Inn Garden Court

UK, Hull
Express by Holiday Inn Hull City Centre

Most websites do not allow you to check for 50% off rack rate deals. Priority Club Rewards website has a reservations page allowing the user to check for Entertainment Card rates online. This is a valued feature since most hotels do not offer an Entertainment Card rate and the user is able to browse quickly through the IHG hotels offering an Entertainment Card rate and quickly compare to the AAA rate.

In general, my experience has been that 50% off rack rate deals do not provide a lower cost room rate than available through hotel website group rates like AAA or special offer rates. The terms usually require a phone reservation and a discount on the rack rate (the highest room rate for that category room).

An exception is the Entertainment Card discount rates available through online reservations at the Priority Club website. These hotel rates may be a good strategy for bringing the cost of a hotel room during weeknight stays back down to a reasonable level. In all cases where an Entertainment Card rate was found, the rate matched or was lower than the AAA rate. In the case of the InterContinental Buckhead hotel in Atlanta, the Entertinment Card rate came in at a whopping $224 per night savings over the AAA rate for the date checked.

The cost of an Entertainment Card membership is only $15 and your membership makes you eligible for the IHG Entertainment Card discount at any participating location in the USA.
Here are some examples of savings:

Hotel Reservation Date Checked: Wednesday, April 30 for 1 night stay.

New York, New York area
Crowne Plaza Secaucus Meadowlands, Secaucus, NJ
$135 Entertainment Card rate
$160 AAA rate
Entertainment Card rate saves $35 on AAA rate

Boston, MA area
Holiday Inn, Boston Logan Airport
$134 Entertainment Card rate
$162 AAA rate
Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate

Atlanta, GA
InterContinental Buckhead
$195 King Deluxe (Entertainment Card rate)
$419 King Deluxe (AAA rate)
$275 Club Level (Entertainment Card rate)
$469 Club Level (AAA)
Entertainment Card rate saves $224 on AAA rate

Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza Minneapolis North
$89 (Entertainment Card rate)
$119 (AAA rate)
Entertainment Card rate saves $30 on AAA rate

Dallas, TX
Crowne Plaza Market Center
$98 (Entertainment Card rate) Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate
$126 (AAA rate)
Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate

Priority Club has one of the best promotions available for travel in Europe with the Stay 2 nights for the Price of 1 Night. This promotion takes rates down to as low as $50/night for some locations and even 5-star properties like the InterContinental Carlton in Cannes can be under $200/night using this promotion.

There is a discussion on FlyerTalk on whether these rates earn points or not. It seems that some members always get points and some members need to request points for the 2-for-1 stay, and some members are refused points for the 2-for-1 stay.

“No Points Given for “2 Nights for the Price of 1” is a good FlyerTalk thread to read regarding IHG 2-for-1 promotional rates in Europe. Regardless of the points situation , this 2-for-1 offer has some incredible deals for hotels in Europe. There are some InterContinental hotels participating in this offer.

One of the more interesting FlyerTalk posts in this thread states that back-to-back 2-for-1 reservations at the same hotel have been honored for an extended discount stay.