Priority Club has a limited time offer for 7,500 bonus points when booking Spring Break hotel stays for a minimum 2 nights at more than 100 hotels in Florida, California, Texas and other locations.

Priority Club Rewards Spring Break promotion web link. Rate Code = ISGSB

The Spring Break promotion page lists these destinations:

• San Diego, California (22 hotels)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
• Miami, Florida (27 hotels)
• Orlando, Florida (28 hotels)
• Panama City, Florida
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• South Padre Island, Texas
• San Jose, Costa Rica
• Cancun, Mexico
• Los Cabos, Mexico

Terms and Conditions

• Requires stay of two or more consecutive nights.
• Cancellation policies are liberal, generally day before arrival with no penalty.
• Rates are higher than advance purchase and Best Flexible; generally $10 to $30 per night more.
• 7,500 points per stay.
• Available for stays through May 15, 2011

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Panama City, Florida Holiday Inn Select

Wed Mar 16 – Fri Mar 18, 2011 (2 double beds)

Spring Break Rate $119/night = $253.48 (after tax)

• Cancel up to 6pm Mar 16 with no penalty. 

Best Flexible Rate $109/night = $232.18 (after tax)

• Cancel up to 6pm Mar 16 with no penalty. 

Discount Rate $95.99/night = $204.46 after tax

• Cancellation will be charged first night rate.  

Advance Purchase $92.99/night = $198.06 after tax.

• Cancellation forfeits entire prepaid room deposit.  

AAA rate $92.99/night = $198.06

• Cancel up to 6pm Mar 16 with no penalty. 

This Spring Break offer for 7,500 bonus points will cost $55 more than the AAA rate for a two-night stay at the Panama City Holiday Inn Select with the same cancellation policies.

You can save $55 now and simply buy 10,000 points for $60 when you book your next reward stay.  

7,500 bonus points is only a good deal if you would otherwise book the Best Flexible Rate and you do not qualify for AAA rate and you need bonus points now.

I do not recommend this Spring Break promotional offer for most guests since the rates are higher.

Keep in mind that when you redeem points for a free hotel stay, there is usually the option of Points & Cash whereby you can pay $60 and reduce the reward cost by 10,000 points for your hotel stay.

The ability to buy 10,000 points for $60 makes paying more than $45 extra to earn 7,500 Priority Club points not such a good deal.

The primary advantage to paying a higher rate to earn Priority Club bonus points is the fact that these bonus points count for elite qualification. Priority Club Gold elite is reached by earning 20,000 points in a calendar year and Platinum elite takes 60,000 points. If you need points for elite status then paying $45 for 7,500 points is a fair exchange.

But, if you already have Priority Club elite status and you do not need points to earn elite status, then save your money. This deal is really only a good deal if you do not have many Priority Club points and you need more points for a planned redemption.  

For example if you only have 10,000 Priority Club points, then you can’t afford a free Crowne Plaza reward night for 25,000 points, even with the option to buy 10,000 points.

Account Balance = 8,788 points. Book the Spring Break package for $253.48 and you earn $119 x 2 nights x 10 points/$1 = 2,380 points + 7,500 Spring Break bonus. Earning 9,880 points now opens up the possibility of booking a Crowne Plaza 25,000 points hotel reward night with 18,668 points.

You can book a Crowne Plaza using Points & Cash with 15,000 points + $60 to purchase the remaining 10,000 points.

The majority of IHG hotels cost 15,000 points for a free night at a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express (popular locations require 25,000 points, but the vast majority of hotels in the chain are 15,000 points per reward night).

A person with no Priority Club points can book the Spring Break 7,500 bonus points offer and have enough points after the stay to book a Points & Cash night at any of nearly 2,000 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels for 5,000 points + $60.

Holiday Inn Orlando Convention Center (Wed March 2- Friday March 4, 2011)

Spring Break Rate = $79/night = $182.76 after tax

Advance Purchase = $56/night = $131.00 after tax

AAA rate = $63/night = $146.76 after tax

7,500 bonus points for $36 over the AAA rate is a good deal and the cost is only $15 over the prepaid, nonrefundable rate. Of course, the prepaid rate is a better deal if the nonrefundable conditions are acceptable for your risk tolerance.

Results from an American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) indicate nearly 40% of hotels are using flash selling like last minute website sales, or Twitter and Facebook specials. I saw some examples of flash selling with Hyatt and Starwood hotels in San Francisco for this weekend.

Here is the AH&LA poll survey question:

Poll: A recent report described that hotels, airlines, and other travel suppliers are increasingly finding success in flash selling, or offering last minute deals in the form of emails or other means to fill unsold capacity – and more customers are purchasing such deals. Is your hotel increasingly using flash selling and has this method improved the filling of unsold capacity?

Results:               

• 61% No flash selling tried;
• 26% Flash selling has boosted last minute sales;
• 13% Flash selling has not significantly boosted last minute sales.

I was finding all kinds of hotel deals on Twitter a few months ago, but then I hit follow on loads of people who were following me and the hotel deals now seem to be lost in the myriad of tweets on my page. I think I need to aggressively unfollow to filter my tweet follows back down to mostly hotels.

The problem I find with Twitter is not enough hashtags, #, are used in tweets to allow good searches. For example, if all hotel deals were labeled #hotel, then it would be easy to search for deals. But with only 140 characters to write for a tweet, labeling with multiple hashtag terms takes up the strictly limited writing space.

Question for the twitterati – I would love to learn about some good resources for tutorials on using Twitter and Facebook. Anyone have sites to share?

Hotel Rates this week in San Francisco

I like the case study method for analyzing hotel rates. I spent the past week studying room rates for San Francisco this weekend. I was struck by the high rates I saw for San Francisco hotels this Friday and Saturday April 23-24 when I started looking last week. The rates were generally low with Hilton and IHG all week, but the rates were quite high for Starwood and Hyatt hotels.

I noticed huge discrepancies between rates displayed on Kayak.com and rates displayed on the hotel websites during the course of the week.

Last Sunday I spotted several lower rates on Kayak.com compared to the Hyatt and Starwood websites. I clicked on several of the lower rates listed on the Kayak.com search results. The rates generally were incorrect on Kayak.com and came out matching the hotel website when I followed through a booking on Orbitz or Expedia.

I happened to find a $45 discrepancy for the Westin Market Street San Francisco between EasyClickTravel.com and Starwood. I applied for a Best Rate Guarantee (BRG). I applied for the wrong night. I resubmitted a second BRG for a different night.

The odd discrepancy was the standard room, called traditional at the Westin Market Street was not showing up on Starwood’s site. A higher category Deluxe room was the lowest room category bookable through Starwood for most of this week. The EasyClickTravel.com room was a standard room.

The responses from Starwood’s Best Rate Guarantee representatives were interesting. My first submitted claim was rejected. The response stated my claim was invalid since EasyClickTravel.com did not have a Deluxe room available on its website and only the Deluxe room was listed on the Starwood site for $143 . The fact that EasyClickTravel.com had a lower $98 standard room did not matter since the lower category rooms were not being sold on Starwood’s sites.

No problem. I had submitted that BRG claim for the wrong date anyway.

But it does bring up a lingering question of logical consequences since I book so many rooms using Best Rate Guarantee claims.

If this were truly a rational reason for rejecting a BRG claim, then what keeps the hotel from moving their lowest room category inventory to online travel agencies and charging more on their own websites for higher category rooms? This seemed to be the case with the Westin Market Street this week when standard rooms were available through several online travel agency sites but not on Starwood’s sites.

Turned out to be a moot point.

Twenty minutes later I received a second email from a different Starwood Best Rate Guarantee specialist who approved the second submitted claim for the night I actually wanted. I got the $98 room and 2,000 points.

Then the hotel rates suddenly dropped yesterday for this Friday and Saturday.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco on Monday $200+; Thursday ($159 AAA with breakfast)

Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Monday $179; Thursday ($116 AAA)

Le Meridien San Francisco on Monday $199; Thursday $109 Starpicks prepaid rate

W San Francisco on Monday $219; Thursday $149 Starpicks prepaid rate

Westin Market Street $159 Monday; $114 Starpicks rate for the “traditional” room. Suddenly Westin Market has traditional rooms for sale after only offering Deluxe rooms all week.

The other interesting fact is the OTAs have not lowered their prices for the weekend.

Orbitz is charging $139 for Westin Market Street – Starwood is $114.

Expedia is charging $189 for W San Francisco – Starwood is $149.

Orbitz is charging $199 for Hyatt Regency San Francisco with a $25 Food & Beverage Credit– Hyatt is $169.15 (AAA with breakfast for two at hotel restaurant).

Orbitz is charging $199.01 for Le Meridien San Francisco – Starwood is $109.

There has been a growing clamor among big-chain hoteliers that online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz are playing too large a role in dictating room rates. I cited an article earlier this week arguing room bookings over the internet through third parties like Expedia, Orbitz, and dozens of other online travel agencies cost hotels about 8 times more than direct booking through hotel websites.

Hotel revenue is the largest proportion of OTA profits for the big companies like Expedia.

Too bad the San Francisco hotels waited so long to drop their rates this week. They would have taken in more money from me, but I already went for the bonus points of a Best Rate Guarantee due to the lower rates with the online travel agencies much of this week.

The point to take away from all this is keep an eye on hotel rates as you go for the free night promotions these next few months. Hotel revenue management tactics mean you will see highly dynamic room pricing. Getting the best room rate deal is really a matter of timing and luck.

Bad news first:  This was not a good deal for 2 of the 4 hotels I checked tonight in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Offer: Get a $20 prepaid MasterCard per stay at any Hyatt Place or Hyatt Summerfield Suites for a hotel stay including at least one night on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between September 21 and November 25, 2009.

Hyatt Place promotion link: http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/place/specials/giftCard.jsp

Hyatt Summerfield Suites promotion link: http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/summerfield/specials/giftCard.jsp

The GFTCRD rate did not show in my searches of Hyatt rates unless the promotional code is entered. The links provided in this post prefill the special rate offer code.

Terms: Must pay Hyatt Daily Rate and use promotion code offer “GFTCRD”. The Hyatt Daily rate is generally a higher rate than the Hyatt.com prepaid, nonrefundable rate or the AAA rate. Only one gift card may be earned per stay regardless of number of rooms booked, but multiple gift cards can be earned for separate stays during the promotional period. The offer says it is not combinable with other promotions, although I doubt this offer would disqualify the Gold Passport member for free nights,  double elite credit, or airline miles.

Loyalty Traveler Promotion Value Key = Variable 1 to 2 out of 5 keys depending on rate differences.

 This deal is no deal unless you can find rates where the promotional rate is not $15 to $20+ more than other available rates.

Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites $20 MasterCard per stay promotion rate analysis

One of the most common hotel loyalty program questions is, “What is the value of a point?”

Typically, I use the cost of points through the hotel program as the value of a point. This is an objective measure since buying points directly from the hotel program is one of the easiest ways to obtain hotel points. The purchase price of hotel points set by the hotel chain is an objective value for hotel points that can be applied across hotel programs.

Starwood hotel points purchased through SPG cost $35 per 1,000 points and there is an annual calendar year purchase limit of 20,000 points ($700). When I calculate the value of points earned from a loyalty promotion, I project the value of the points based on the purchase price from the hotel program.

 Alternatively, I should be able to calculate the value of points I spend at the same ratio of $35 per 1,000 points. If I am getting the value from my points that SPG charges for points, then I consider those spent points as getting excellent value. When calculating the value of SPG bonus point promotions or the value of points earned through a Starwood SPG American Express card, I can estimate the value of my points earned at $35 per 1,000 points.

Unfortunately, the value of my points in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program may not bring a $35 per 1,000 points return on some free hotel night redemptions. The SPG Redemption table shows that the room rate for a SPG Category 3 to 7 hotel reward needs to be an extremely high priced hotel rate to actually get a $35 per 1,000 points redemption value from SPG points. The redemption rate at Category 1 and 2 hotels is much better aligned with actual hotel room rates.

In other words, I am pretty sure I can find a Category 2 hotel on a Friday night where my 3,000 points will save me more than $105 on the published room rate for the Starwood Hotel. Remember that the reward night covers room tax so basically any Category 2 hotel with a room rate over $95 will be $105 after tax and I am receiving excellent value from my points redemption.

Finding a Category 6 hotel charging over $700 per night is going to be a bit more difficult for most SPG members. While spending 20,000 points to avoid spending $500 for a night in a Starwood Category 6 hotel may be considered a favorable exchange by many SPG members, the redemption value of your points will be quite a bit less ($25 per 1,000) than you could probably find by spending points at low category hotels.

SPG Free Night Rewards Quantitative Value Table (based on $35 per 1,000 points Scale)

Sample room rates for Starwood Hotels in New York City

Wednesday, November 18, 2009:

W New York – Times Square (SPG Category 6) = $499 (Best Available Rate) $576.10 after tax

Redemption value: $576 ÷ 20,000 points = $28.80 per 1,000 points.

AAA rate = $474.05 ($547.47 after tax)

Redemption Value for AAA rate : $547.47 ÷ 20,000 points = $27.37 per 1,000 points (Good Redemption Value).

Westin New York at Times Square (SPG Category 5) = $407.55 (AAA rate) or $471.16 after tax.

Redemption Value: $471 ÷ 12,000 points = $39.25 per 1,000 points (Excellent Redemption Value).

Sheraton Manhattan at Times Square (SPG Category 5) = $360.05 (AAA rate) or $416.66 after tax.

Redemption Value: $417 ÷ 12,000 points = $34.75 per 1,000 points (Excellent Redemption Value).

New York City hotels appear to refute my argument that obtaining a redemption value near $35 per 1,000 points is unrealistic. My counterpoint is New York is the highest priced hotel market in the USA. Finding redemption values in the $35 range in other locations may prove more difficult.

Los Angeles, November 18, 2009

SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills (SPG Category 6) = $287.20 (AAA rate) or $327.61 after tax.

Redemption Value: $328 ÷ 20,000 points = $16.40 per 1,000 points.

W Los Angeles – Westwood (SPG Category 5) = $255.20 (AAA rate) or $291.13 after tax

Redemption Value: $291 ÷ 12,000 points = $24.25 per 1,000 points.

Westin Pasadena (SPG Category 4) = $159.20 or $183.19 after tax.

Redemption Value: $183 ÷ 10,000 points = $18.30 per 1,000 points.

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles -LAX Airport (SPG Category 3) = $119.25 (AAA rate) or $136.03 after tax.

Redemption Value: $136 ÷ 7,000 points = $19.43 per 1,000 points.

I think Los Angeles is the more typical redemption value for US hotels using Starwood points. New York City, or major international destinations like London and Paris, or resorts like the Maldives and Bora Bora are going to have skyhigh hotel rates where there may be good redemption value in the range of $35 per 1,000 points at the upper SPG category hotels of 5, 6, and 7.

Most of us will likely find our choice is redeeming 10,000 points to save $200 which may be a desired exchange, but certainly not a high value exchange of SPG points for cash savings.

Table of Qualitative Value for Starwood Preferred Guest Free Night Redemption

My basic question as Loyalty Traveler has been, “What is the value of a SPG point?”

In an article earlier this month, “Hotel Points Exchange Rate Theory”, I argue that hotel points only have potential value until they are actually redeemed for something of tangible value. A hotel room has tangible value and the value has a set dollar amount for the night you buy with your points.

Obviously a person who redeems 12,000 points for the Westin New York Times Square at a redemption rate of $39.25 per 1,000 points gets a better quantitative value than the person who redeems 10,000 points for the Westin Pasadena on the same night for a redemption value of $18.30 per 1,000 points.

In reality you need a hotel where and when you need a hotel and your redemption value will vary. So now my question is how do I compare the qualitative difference between the free night redemption at Westin Times Square, New York and Westin Pasadena?

I have set up a qualitative scale based on quantitative values. My standard of excellence is based on getting an “Excellent” redemption value when a SPG member can realize $35 per 1,000 points spent on a free night. SPG sells points at the rate of $35 per 1,000 points, so any redemption that saves money at a higher rate than $35 per 1,000 points is “excellent” in my opinion. You can simply buy points from SPG and get the room for less money than the room rate being charged (up to your annual 20,000 points purchase limit of course).

The scale drops in incremental levels of ½ a penny per point. In other words, $35 per 1,000 points is an excellent redemption value. When you realize $30 per 1,000 points you have made a “Good” redemption value. $25 per 1,000 points is an “Average” redemption value. $20 per 1,000 points is a “Fair” redemption value. $20 per 1,000 points is a “Poor” redemption value. Less than $20 per 1,000 points is a “Bad” redemption value.

The SPG table looks like this based on a standard where redeeming points for free hotel rooms at a rate greater than $35 per 1,000 points is considered an “excellent” value:

SPG Redemption Value - Qualitative Scale (based on $35 per 1,000 points)

Working from this standard table of qualitative value I can now create tables for any SPG category hotel to show the qualitative value of a hotel free night based on the room rate being charged for the night at that particular hotel.

SPG Redemption Value for Free Nights Using Points

SPG Redemption Value by Hotel Category (based on $35 per 1,000 points being "Excellent")

What I see in these tables is the use of points at a Category 7 hotel is less likely to provide excellent value (Is the room rate > $1,050 per night at the Category 7 hotel?) than a Friday or Saturday night at a Starwood Category 2 hotel where any rate over $105 (after taxes) is going to be an “excellent” redemption value based on the same quantitative-qualitative scale.

I have also ignored peak season rates which were suspended for 2009at the upper end SPG Category 5 to 7 hotels. If reinstated in 2010 there will need to be additional tables to account for Category 5 hotels at 16,000 points, Category 6 at 25,000 points, and Category 7 at 35,000 points. These peak season tables will be less favorable for finding excellent value redemptions.

Conclusion: You will likely pay more points for an equivalent cash savings when redeeming points for a high category hotel with Starwood compared to a low category hotel.

[correction 11:00am Sun, Oct 25 - original post used 70,000 as nightly Category 7 rate for Bora Bora all-suites properties which is incorrect for these uber-category 7 hotels. These Category 7 hotels are available for points on these dates, however, Le Meridien is actually 75,000 points per night or 300,000 points for 5 nights for the lowest category room SPG customer service could find. A different category room in overwater suite is 120,000 points per night or 480,000 points for 5 nights.

The St. Regis Bora Bora is available at 480,000 points for a 5-night stay.

Le Meridien Bora Bora (SPG Category 7 all suites hotel @75,000 points per night) November 16-21, 2009

All rooms are suites and are double points. 75,000 points per night with 5^th night free = 300,000 points for a 5-night stay.

Published rate = 51,000XPF (after tax per night) = about $3,200 for 5 nights.

$3,200 ÷ 300,000 points = $10.67per 1,000 points redemption value. (Bad value on my qualitative scale)

St. Regis Bora Bora (SPG Category 7 all-suites hotel @ 120,000 points per night) November 16-21, 2009

Published rate = 70,000XPF = about $4,850 for 5 nights

$4,850 ÷ 480,000 points = $10.10 per 1,000 points redemption value. (Bad value on my qualitative scale)

On one hand you can just pay the cash for Bora Bora and save your points for higher value redemptions at other Starwood Hotels. On the other hand, blowing 300,000 to 480,000 points for an incredible 5 night hotel stay leaves you with $3,000 to $5,000 to invest in paid Starwood Hotel stays that can earn many of these points back while also earning high elite status.

Figuring the best value for your points is ultimately a personal decision.

Finding a good email hotel rate offer is hard work. I want to rant about the crap offers that regularly come into my email inbox. Most of the hotel special rate offers I analyze are offers I never write about since they are such blatantly poor value for money. Today I will share the latest offers I found in my email inbox from the major hotel chains.

Marketing sales is a science I have not studied from a seller’s perspective. From a consumer perspective as a traveler who will stay in hotels several days over the next month I have to ask the question. Why do hotels regularly send me emails promoting poor value room rate special offers?

The email special rate offers are generally so bad that I tend to go no deeper than skim my hotel email. After many years of email offers from Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG –  I still think I can count the good value offers I’ve received in the past five years in low double digit numbers. My general evaluation of emails from hotel chains is 95% of the time the rate is not a good value compared to what you would find by a simple search for better rates on the hotel’s website.

AAA rates are the first place to start for better value. Special offers on a specific hotel’s website will usually find a better special offer rate than the national or regional rate offers sent from the hotel corporate office to your email box.

I actually just pulled that 95% estimate out of the air. A systematic approach to hotel email analysis would have more consumer validation. So, here are recent package offers I have received from Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, and Starwood in emails this past month.

Hotel Deals for Stupid People

Hilton Hotels Doubletree is first on the rate analysis block since their Doubletree promotion email for the Fall Getaway Package $50 Food & Beverage Credit put me on this rant today.

Hilton's Doubletree Fall Weekend Package

First – the fine print, that tiny font at the bottom of the promotion ad states this offer is only valid with a two-night stay.

Why not put that detail in the clearly visible print?

This promotion made me recall fond memories of a stay at the Doubletree Sonoma in Rohnert Park back in 2001. The hotel upgraded me to a suite with a Jacuzzi tub that took 90 minutes to fill. I paid a $75 room rate. And I was only Hilton HHonors Gold. I wouldn’t mind staying there again.

Rate check: Doubletree Sonoma in Rohnert Park

December 4-6, Friday-Sunday

Fall Weekend Getaway Rate = $154 per night (cancellation policy 24 hours before arrival)

Best Available Unrestricted rate (BAR) = $129 per night (cancellation policy 24 hours before arrival)

Internet nonrefundable rate = $74 per night.

Are you kidding me?

Doubletree is actually running a promotion for a $50 food and beverage credit on a two night stay that has a room rate exactly $50 more than the rate otherwise available for the same room type and same cancellation policy.

Actually the Fall Weekend Getaway rate is even slightly higher since the 14% hotel tax on the $50 Food & Beverage credit is higher than the 9% state sales tax if you just go to the restaurant and pay for the meal.

Better yet for me as a consumer is my option to book a nonrefundable rate and have $150 for dining and beverages anywhere I please over the weekend, including alcohol which is excluded from the $50 F&B credit in the special offer rate.

Hyatt’s Balance Spa Credit Package

Hyatt Spa Package includes breakfast daily, $100 spa credit and 5,000 Gold Passport points. Since Hilton has me thinking about Sonoma County I decided to check this offer for the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa. I checked hotel rates for Monday and Tuesday, November 16-18 since these tend to be the lower rate nights for Sonoma County hotels where Bay Area getaways drive rates up on weekends.

Hyatt Hotels Spa Balance Package

Hyatt’s Balance Spa Package costs $598 for 2 nights and I get $100 spa credit and 5,000 Gold Passport points.

$376 all-in is the Best Available Rate (BAR) for the same room with the same cancellation policy of 24 hours before arrival.

The spa package is an additional $222 for the weekend for a $100 spa credit, breakfast for two, and 5,000 points. Since the spa credit has a $100 value for a guest using the spa, the package differential is the extra $122 for 5,000 points and breakfast for the two mornings. Points are generally worth between 1.5 and 2.5 cents per point when redeeming for a free night meaning the 5,000 points have a potential value in most hotel redemption cases of $75 to $125.

Hyatt’s Balance spa package is a decent value compared to a comparable best available rate (BAR) since it essentially provides complimentary breakfast for the hotel stay considering the equivalent value of the Spa credit and bonus points in this one example.

$320 all in for the same room on the same weekend is for risk takers who are willing to accept the terms of a nonrefundable rate.

In this comparison the difference in rates at $280 less for a two night stay is nearly half-off if you just buy the room and forget the package concept of a $100 spa credit, free breakfast, and 5,000 points.

The question becomes, “Is breakfast for two mornings and 5,000 points worth $180?”

In my opinion the answer is no.

Priority Club Points & Cash for Flights

This was actually a Priority Club marketing person who read this blog and sent me an email to check out the Points & Cash option for flights.

I haven’t evaluated many flights yet.

Priority Club Points & Cash Flight Sample

Monterey, CA – Denver, CO

Fri, Oct 23- Mon, Oct 26

1 Adult Coach Class ticket

83,000 Priority Club Points

Delta/Northwest (2-stops)

Fare on Kayak.com = $289

131,000 Priority Club points

American Airlines (1-stop)

174,000 Priority Club points

United Airlines nonstop

Priority Club Cash & Points rate reduces to $600.60 + 20,000 points.

United.com rate = $590.00 all-in

Redemption rate for Priority Club points is $3.39 per 1,000 points just using points for a United Airlines nonstop flight. Only a stupid person would pay use Priority Club for this ticket and spend 20,000 points + $10 more than a ticket purchased directly from United Airlines.

I like to get a minimum of $10.00 per 1,000 points with my redemptions. My last Priority Club free night redemption was worth over $20 per 1,000 points when I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on a 5,000 points Points Break free night.

Delta Airlines is a $289 fare or 83,000 PC points. The redemption value for the Priority Club member is only $3.48 per 1,000 Priority Club points. This is a poor use of points. You can easily get a redemption value of $15 per 1,000 Priority Club points using your points for hotel redemptions by waiting for better opportunities to spend your points.

Priority Club Points for Flights

Starwood Hotels sent a W Hotels 40% discount offer using promotion code “Daily21”. I checked Scottsdale and the code wasn’t valid for a 4-night stay I tried using November dates.

$203 per night was the lowest rate I saw for the four nights. That is a nonrefundable, no changes rate. AAA quickly lowered the rate to $179 per night. In fact the next higher category room was only $202, one dollar less than the nonrefundable discount rate. And I didn’t even delve into the multi-night discount codes to look for free night rates which would likely take at least another $100 to $200 off a 4-night stay.

W Hotels 40% Discount with DAILY21 code

Marriott Free Night in the Caribbean or Mexico

Sep 7-Dec 12, 2009 Marriott Sand Dollars package (promotion code M11)

-Free night (stay requirements vary by resort)

-Breakfast for two daily

-$100 resort credit per stay

First, I checked Aruba and I didn’t see any information regarding the minimum stay requirement since I couldn’t find this special rate using the link from the email.

I did find a similar rate on the Marriott Aruba special offers page.

Dates checked: Sun, Nov 22 – Fri, Nov 27

Special rate “S29” with free night, breakfast, and $100 per stay resort credit

Lowest S29 special offer rate: $289 per night. With free night this would mean pay 4 nights = $1,156 (before tax).

AAA rate for same room type is $145 per night. 5 nights = $725.

The Free Night + $100 Credit Rate is $431 more (before tax) for a $100 credit and five days of breakfast. $331 is some expensive breakfast tabs over 5 days.

My preference is to book the ocean view room at $220 per night for my stay. $1,100 for five nights. Checking out the ocean view while staying at a resort hotel in Aruba holds a lot more value to me than free breakfast with the S29 rate.

Aruba Marriott Free Night Special Offer Rates

The best hotel email in my inbox lately is from Accor A-Club. I registered Kelley as a new member a couple of weeks ago and she received a 2,000 points registration bonus. Last week Accor A-Club sent Kelley a Happy Birthday email with another 500 points birthday gift. After earning 2,500 loyalty points in September 2009, Kelley is now an A-Club Silver elite member eligible for a 50% elite bonus on her Accor hotel stays.

Happy Birthday from your A|Club team!

This is the ideal opportunity for us to thank you for your loyalty by offering you a birthday bonus of 500 A|Club points !

Maybe you’ll be able to use this exceptional bonus to order an A|Club rewards gift voucher to pay for all or part of your next stay at one of the 2,000 Accor hotels participating in the program, or to convert your points into airline miles to get your free ticket and head off to your dream destination even sooner!

To earn even more points, take advantage of the many promotional A|Club offers listed on
www.a-club.com.

See you soon on www.a-club.com and at the 2,000 participating Accor hotels around the world!

Your A|Club team

Now that is an email with value.

My Loyalty traveler advice is to use online travel agencies (OTAs) for hotel rate comparisons, but always go to the hotel chain’s own websites for booking your hotel stay.  After you have narrowed your hotel selection down based on rates displayed on sites like Expedia, Kayak, and Orbitz, then search the hotel chain’s website for even lower rates. This will often reveal a better rate. Remember to check group rates like AAA and senior discounts which are not shown on the results of an OTA search.

Also, special offer rates through the individual hotel’s website many times will provide an even lower rate than AAA for your dates.

HotelMarketing.com posted an article showing OTAs make the majority of their revenue from hotel industry fees and commissions. Expedia made 60% of its 2008 revenue from hotel bookings compared to just 15% from airline bookings.

The case study shown in the cited article reveals Expedia had a 25% mark-up for hotel fee/commission on a $550 New York 2-night hotel stay. Basically the hotel is paying Expedia quite a chunk of change, $137.50, for a $550 booking.

The deep discounts available on special offer rates through the hotel’s own website are possible because the inventory off-loaded to OTAs is at a substantial discount to the hotel’s own listed rates.

In this case study the $550 booking for a New York hotel shown on Expedia is only generating $412.50 for the hotel while generating $137.50 in revenue for Expedia. This is equivalent to a nightly rate of $206.25 for the hotel.

What does this mean for the hotel guest?

The chances are fairly high that a potential guest looking for rates on the hotel’s own website will find a lower rate somewhere between the $275 shown on Expedia and the $206.25 the hotel has contracted with Expedia to sell the room. A $240 per night rate is a $35 savings for the hotel guest and generates an additional $33.75 for the hotel.

What do you do when you go to the hotel’s own website and you see a $275 rate just like seen on Expedia?

Advice: Go to the hotel’s website and look for AAA rates and special offer rates. You should be able to drop the $275 rate by 10 to 20% with a group discount like AAA or AARP or a hotel special offer rate.

The hotel is giving up 25% of its revenue to sell a room through an OTA, whereas the cost is only a few dollars to sell through its own website. This is the reason hotels require frequent guest members to book through hotel chain branded websites to earn loyalty program benefits. And this is the reason hotel loyalty program benefits can be generous.

A free breakfast, some hotel loyalty points, and a $50 room upgrade make the frequent guest a happy guest and may still bring in more revenue to the hotel than the guest on an OTA booking.

Loyalty travelers are generally happier travelers when it comes to getting good value on hotel bookings.

Loyalty Traveler Case Study: Hotel Rates Comparison between OTAs and Hotel Branded Websites

Chicago, Illinois

Friday night, August 14, 2009

Remember three facts about Online Travel Agency Rates:

1.      OTAs do not display AAA rates which are typically the lowest rate about 50% of the time.

2.      OTAs charge a small fee of $1 to $5 per hotel booking that is disguised in the additional Tax and Fees rate charged by the OTA for the booking.

3.      OTA bookings do not qualify for frequent guest benefits in most cases. Points and benefits earned from a hotel stay booked through the hotel chain’s own website can be a $50 to $100+ value.

The Hyatt Regency Chicago could earn 2,000 Gold Passport points using a G2 booking bonus and earn 2,500 points per stay with the current Gold Passport promotion. Along with base points earned, the frequent guest would earn over 5,000 points for this one night stay at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. 5,000 points is sufficient for a free night at a Category 1 hotel. That is a lot of added-value to forego on an OTA booking.

Saturday is the 103^rd anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I plan to be in the city. My hotel stay plans were not based on the earthquake anniversary. That is just a coincidence.  

My parents are visiting and wanted to spend some time in San Francisco after several years away. My father is a San Francisco native who moved from the Monterey Peninsula in the mid 90s to Las Vegas. This weekend may indicate if he left his heart in San Francisco.

My task was to find two hotel rooms for this weekend.  The week became a study of hotel rates.

Hilton San Francisco was a deal at $95 per night.   The last time I stayed there I did not receive a room upgrade, even as an HHonors Diamond member.  I have no status with HHonors currently. I received a targeted  offer yesterday for Gold status with  4 stays between July 1 and September 30, 2009. I’ll be hoping for $95 rates at the Hilton San Francisco this summer.  

I actually prefer the Hilton Financial District hotel where Chinatown eateries are right outside the door and some of the room views are better. Rates there were $149.

The Fairmont San Francisco at $103 per night was a choice for a historic hotel at a bargain price in a great location.  My reluctance with the Fairmont is its location on the top of steep Nob Hill. My father recently had knee surgery and Nob Hill is a tough walk for the healthy.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco was my hotel preference due to the top floor circular Club lounge with its 360 degree views and food spread throughout the day. I haven’t had chocolate cake since my last visit. The location near the Ferry Building and the Embarcadero shops and restaurants is a prime tourist spot.  The Hyatt Regency has a WOW factor.  Unfortunately rates were oscillating between $199 and $239 per room all week.  This hotel has been $119 on many weekends recently, but not this one.

Calculating BRG Rates

I almost went for a Best Rate Guarantee with GTAHotels.com who had the Hyatt Regency San Francisco hotel at $147 per night last week and then upped the rate to $152 per night this week. 

Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee offers 20% off the competitor’s lower rate and you can make a claim before booking a room.  Hilton, Marriott, and IHG offer Best Rate Guarantees, but only after you book a room.  

$152 x 0.8 = $121.60 gives an estimate of the Best Rate Guarantee price, however, the BRG calculated rate will normally be slightly higher.  OTAs, online travel agencies, make money from both advertising and additional fees.

The fee charged by GTAHotels can be calculated by taking the room rate of $152 x 4 nights x 15.5565% tax and subtract from the total rate shown for the room.

$608 x 1.15565 = $702.64

The GTAHotels.com total rate was listed at $716. 

$716 – $702.64 = $13.36 for four room nights.

GTAHotels add-on fee per room night is$13.36/4 =  $3.34.

The Hyatt BRG 20% discount is not based on the $152 room rate shown. You have to add on the GTAHotels fee and the 20% discount is based on $155.34 per night.

Hyatt BRG for GTAHotels.com $152 rate at Hyatt Regency San Francisco would result in a room rate of $124.28 per night + 15.5565% tax = $143.63/night after tax. The Hyatt rate would be $230 after tax.

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco was available for $75 less than the room rate listed on Hyatt’s website. After tax that would be a $344 savings on four room nights.

I actually filed a BRG claim with Hyatt using ReserveTravel.com as a competitor rate at $137 per night compared to Hyatt at $199. The claim was denied due to ReserveTravel.com being an OTA that does not offer instant online confirmation.

The Palace Hotel, a Starwood Luxury Collection property, has been available as a BRG property for the entire week.  Orbitz had a rate of $119.20 for several days and on Tuesday dropped that rate to $108. Starwood Hotels had the rate at $135 all week.

I filed a BRG claim with Starwood Hotels for The Palace hotel citing Orbitz at $108 compared to $135 on StarwoodHotels.com.  The final rate came out to $100.73 per night. After tax the rate is $13 less per night than the Orbitz rate – a savings of $52 for our two night stay with two rooms.

A person booking the Orbitz rate of $108 without going through a BRG claim would still save $17 per night on the lowest available rate through Starwood Hotels using the Better Tomorrows offer of 50% off the second night.

The BRG claim saves money and qualifies for Starpoints and elite stay and night credit. This is the first time I have taken the 10% discount rather than 2,000 Starpoints.  I would have taken points if it was a one room night stay since 2,000 points are definitely a better value than a $13 savings. Four room nights made the 10% discount a more tangible savings of $52 now rather than 2,000 Starpoints for some future use.

My parents have never stayed in an upscale hotel in downtown San Francisco.  There was never a reason to spend the money. My grandmother owned a house in the city for over sixty years until she died in 1990. I think the historic Palace Hotel is an appropriate hotel for revisiting the city on the 103^rd anniversary of the Great Quake.

Comparison of Various Room Rates on StarwoodHotels.com  for The Palace Hotel, San Francisco

 Orbitz rate was found through Kayak searches.

Hotel Stay: Fri April 17 – Sun Apr 19, two night stay

The Palace, San Francisco, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel

Analysis of Hyatt Hotels Nonrefundable 21% Off Sale, December 1-12, 2008 

Loyalty Traveler Trip Tip: Shop Other Rates Before You Drop a Prepaid Bundle on this sale

The Offer: 21% Off ‘Prevailing Rates’ using offer code LTO107.

Discount rate is eligible for Faster Free Nights promotion.

Requires nonrefundable prepayment for hotel stays booked with this offer.

Blackout Date: 12/31/08

Booking Timeframe: In USA, Canada, Caribbean – Must book by December 12

Park Hyatt hotels worldwide*, Hyatt’s top-tier hotel brand, and Hyatt hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific and Latin America (including Mexico) require 7 days advance booking for stays through January 31, 2009.  The December 12 date is not the timeframe limit for Park Hyatt or Hyatt Hotels in most international regions. 

*Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort, Colorado is an exception and must be booked by December 12.

Hotel Stay Timeframe: Rate applies to stays through February 1, 2009.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Hotel rates are dropping faster than home prices in many locations.  I have family traveling during the December holidays and I focused my searches for the Hyatt 21% LTO107 sale on California and Arizona hotels.

Best hotel rate findings are mixed.  The Hyatt sale is a good deal for some locations and the offer is an opportunity to book a Hyatt hotel at its lowest rate of 2008. 

I also found Hyatt locations where comparable AAA rates are available.  In several searches the prepaid, nonrefundable 21% discount rate saves only $10 to $15 per night compared to a refundable AAA rate.  Paying an extra $30 to $50 for a $600 stay can be a smart insurance policy on unforeseen circumstances that may result in a missed stay and a hefty loss if your vacation plans fall through on a prepaid hotel.

I try to avoid nonrefundable rates at every opportunity.

The problem with buying a nonrefundable rate hotel stay at the present time is hotel rates are dropping.  Hotels are seeing some serious deflation in the past two months.  It is hard to know a good deal unless you are highly informed about the rates for a particular hotel over the past several years.  I have followed San Francisco Bay area hotels for the past five years and I am seeing some hotel rates fall back to 2003 levels.  Other hotel rates are still in the bumped up range from the 2006-2007 huge room rate increases and have not fallen back to the post-9-11 lows of 2002 and 2003.

Some Hyatt Hotels are a good deal at the 21% discount rates, however, they may not necessarily be the best deals of 2008 for that property.  I think the Hyatt rates are likely to be about as low as rates go for December, but I would be reluctant to prepay a resort like Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona  for a late January stay.  Resort properties may be slashing rates for January even more in the coming weeks if the reservations don’t roll in for the major hotel players with deals like this Hyatt Hotels 21% discount promotion.

Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

 Rate Comparisons for Hyatt Hotel Stays in December and January

Hyatt Regency Orange County, Garden Grove, California (near Disneyland).

Fri-Sat night weekend stay for December 26-28, 2008.

A hotel special offer for a full suite or a 2-bedroom kids suite is available through the “Suites on Sale” special hotel offer at only $15 more per night than the 21% nonrefundable rate.  The Suites on Sale rate may be cancelled up to the day before arrival.  That is relatively cheap insurance to protect your vacation money.

The lowest priced one bedroom King room is available as a refundable AAA rate for just $17 more per night than the nonrefundable LTO107 room rate for the 21% discount.  To reiterate, $34 extra for a room rate that may be cancelled up to day before arrival is a good insurance rate to protect your cash from a cancellation of travel plans or a rate drop between now and the hotel stay dates.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco at the Embarcadero

Friday, December 26, 2008

Some of the major cities in the USA and Europe have their lowest rates of the year during the December holiday week when business travel is near non-existent.

The LTO107 discount rate offer of $141 for the night is only slightly lower than the basic AAA rate of $152 that may be cancelled with no charge up to day before arrival.  An extra $20 for the AAA Hot Deal rate of $161 includes breakfast for 2 guests and 25% off valet parking.  The breakfast deal alone is worth at least $40 at the rates charged in the Hyatt Eclipse lobby restaurant.  AAA is a better deal.

A “San Francisco On Sale” special offer rate of $161 includes a $25 food & beverage credit which could be a better deal for someone with Diamond elite status who will receive complimentary Regency Club access for complimentary breakfast.  This special offer rate may be cancelled up to day before arrival.

San Francisco Bay view from Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero

Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Friday-Saturday, January 16-18, 2009

The 21% discount LTO107 rate of $330.22 ($165/night) is the lowest available rate for this hotel.  There are no applicable special offer rates for these dates at this time.

AAA Hot Deal rate is an extra $23 per night and includes breakfast for two each day.  The AAA rate may be cancelled up to two days before arrival making this a comparable rate to the LTO107 with the value-added breakfast component.

The Holiday Sale rate for the Hyatt Mission Bay, San Diego did not appear when searching AAA rates for the two night December 26-27 weekend stay.  By checking both the LTO107 rate and the AAA rate I saw the special Holiday Sale rate with the same cancellation terms as the AAA rate for a savings of $36.  Paying an extra $50 (20%) to avoid the nonrefundable LTO107 rate is a choice that needs to be weighed against the probability of a change in plans for the hotel stay.

San Francisco Bay view from Grand Hyatt

Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

January 16-20, 2009

The LTO107 four night rate for this hotel is $1,061.20.  This nonrefundable, prepaid rate is a $37.50 per night savings on the $1,212 AAA rate which has no value-added component except for a cancellation policy up to 72 hours before arrival.

There is a free night and free one category upgrade hotel special offer at $1,137 for the four night stay.  This rate allows cancellation up to 72 hours before arrival and brings the refundable room rate to just $16 per night more.  The special offer rate at $60 more to protect an $1,100 hotel investment for your vacation may be a wise choice.

At the pace hotel rates are dropping there might even be lower rates that become available for this stay 7 weeks away.

And the best deal of all for the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch may be booking the room through an online third party site.  This hotel stay listed for $969 for the 4-night stay, January 16-20, 2009 through GTAHotels.com link found through Kayak.com. This is $90 less than the Hyatt.com LTO107 rate.  Regency Club is $1,155 total for these dates.

This stay may qualify for Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee which would reduce the $969 rate by an additional 20% and bring the nightly rate down to $776 or $194 per night compared to the $265 per night rate using the LTO107 rate.  Loyalty Traveler has made several successful Best Rate Guarantee claims with Hyatt Hotels and Starwood Hotels based on GTAHotels.com rates.

Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona

Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California 

December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay

The 21% Discount LTO107 rate is not offered at this Hyatt property.  There is a AAA rate of $238.50 which is $50 less than the nonrefundable Hyatt.com rate.  Even better is a hotel special offer rate “Winter Getaway” for $198 for the two night stay.   

Kayak.com showed a rate of $95.09 per night on Hotels.com for this stay.  This could be another Best Rate Guarantee claim that, if successful, would reduce the nightly rate to just $76 per night.  Now that is a hotel bargain you can’t beat for one of San Diego’s top hotels.

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego, California 

December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay

The 21% Discount LTO107 rate of $248.00 for the two-night stay is actually a 40% discount on the prevailing rate of $204 per night.  The AAA rate is $47 more per night and does not include any value-added component except for the more liberal cancellation policy.

Hyatt Mission Bay has a hotel “Holiday Rate” special offer of $149 per night.  The additional $25 per night for a cancellation policy up to day before arrival may be a better choice for some.

Best Western Carmel Bay View, Carmel, California
36,000 points for a free night using points (the highest hotel award category)

Best Western Carmel Bay View Hotel

Best Western Hotels: Brand Overview

Best Western Hotels are a franchise operation organizing 4,200+ hotels in the USA and international make Best Western the largest single hotel brand in the world. (Hotel brand geography: USA 2,200 hotels, Canada 180 hotels, and nearly 2,000 hotels in 80 other countries).

More than 1000 Best Western hotels in the USA and Canada receive a 3-diamond rating. Over 90% of the Best Western properties in Europe receive a 3-star or 4-star rating.

All BW hotels in USA, Canada, and the Caribbean offer free high-speed internet access.

Best Western Gold Crown Club

Gold Crown Club is Best Western’s hotel loyalty program and with hotels in about 80 countries, the Best Western program is truly international in scope.

Earning Points:
Earn 10 points/$1US spent on hotel charges (excluding taxes).
Points do not expire under current program rules.

Gold Crown Club Elite Status:
Gold Elite membership for 10+ nights in a calendar year
Benefits include:
10% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers

Platinum Elite for 15+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
15% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Diamond Elite for 30+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
30% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Hotel Points Redemption:
Gold Crown Club points may be used for a variety of travel-related and travel-unrelated redemption choices.

Hotel Free Nights are available based on 8 categories of hotel redemption levels ranging from 8,000 points for one free night to 36,000 points for one free hotel night at a Best Western.

Best Western Gold Crown Club member must be signed in to account to see the option of “Search by Points” in the “Find a Hotel” tab. The search results will then show the points level for a free night for specific hotels.

Best Western Carmel Bay View Inn is at the 36,000 points level for a free night. This is the highest category level in the program. Wow.

Carmel Best Western TownHouse Lodge
Free Night Using Points = 32,000

A drawback of points redemption is the need for a hotel category voucher, although these can be printed via your online account. The Best Western Carmel Townhouse Lodge takes a 32,000 points voucher for a free night. If you decided you wanted to change to a free night at the Best Western Carmel Bay View the voucher needed is a 36,000 point free night. An interesting feature of the Gold Crown Club program is the ability to redeem points for 4,000 points “level adjustment vouchers”. A person with a 32,000 points voucher and a 4,000 points level adjustment voucher can pay for the 36,000 points free night at the Carmel Bay View using the two combined vouchers.

Best Western’s Preferred AAA Guest Rewards Program

AAA members have the option of joining a subcategory of Gold Crown Club with the immediate beneft of 10% points bonus on hotel stays, in addition to the discounted AAA group room rates.

Ric’s Best Western hotel notes: I stayed in a wonderful Best Western hotel in the Latin Quarter, Paris a few years back. The room was tiny, but clean and on a relatively quiet street at a cost under $60/night.

I recall in the LatinPass 1,000,000 miles run in May 2000 getting unexpectedly stranded in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a night (fortunately after I had completed the 10th LatinPass airlines segment for the 1,000,000 frequent flyer miles bonus). There was a Hilton near the GYE airport for about $200/night. I talked with two young girls working the tourist information booth at the airport (they didn’t even look 18) and they booked me into the Best Western in downtown Guayaquil for $30/night. The room was basic and clean, looked out to the urban center shopping district street from the 3rd floor, and provided a safe environment to lay my head. I think I did use a safety precaution I read from a Robert Young Pelton article about propping a chair against the door jam to deter unexpected openings. The hotel had a restaurant connected to the lobby and I ate a steak dinner and drank beers for about $3. And it remains the only hotel where I was escorted 15 feet to the door of a taxi and protected by a big armed, armed man. I fet like I had ambassador treatment from my Best Western hosts.