VOILA Hotel Rewards has a double elite nights promotion through December 31, 2011. Five nights earns mid-tier Orion status and ten nights will lift you to top-tier Centaurus status. Registration is required for double elite nights.

Voila Hotel Rewards Double Elite Qualification promotion registration link.

VOILA Hotel Rewards is a U.S. based loyalty program for about 200 small chain independent hotels located primarily outside the USA. I wrote a Loyalty Traveler description of Voila Hotel Rewards last January when the program announced the signing of the two formerly Starwood W Hotels in New York City, now operating as St. Giles Hotel.

Voila Hotel Rewards Membership Levels and Benefits

Phoenix = base membership level for members with 0 to 9 nights in a 12-month period (free membership).

Orion = 10 nights in 12-month period. Only 5 nights are required with Double Elite Qualification promotion.

• 25% bonus points
• 11am check-in
• 4pm checkout
• complimentary upgrade to next best room
• complimentary fitness center access

Centaurus = 20 nights in 12 consecutive month period. Double elite nights promotion reduces qualification to 10 nights.

• No blackout dates.
• 24-hour guaranteed room availability
• welcome gift
• complimentary access to Executive Lounge at properties with a lounge.

Voila Hotel Rewards has 14 hotel brands.

• HUSA Hoteles – Spain (114 hotels)
• Kayumanis – China (4 hotels)
• St. Giles Hotel – New York (2 hotels, formerly Starwood W brand)
• Amari – Thailand (14 hotels)
• Othon – Brazil (9 hotels)
• Katerina Hotels – Moscow, Russia (2 hotels)
• Nevsky – St. Petersburg, Russia (1 hotel)
• Deville – Brazil (9 hotels)
• Continental Hotels – Romania (9 hotels)
• Coral Hotels – Middle East/Africa (8 hotels)
• Great Hotel Rewards – Iceland/Korea (2 hotels)
• Swiss-Belhotel – Indonesia/China/Middle East/Sydney (26 hotels)
• Lucerna Hotels – Mexico (5 hotels)
• The Dragon – Hangzhou, China (1 hotel)

Voila Hotel Rewards is structured like a typical hotel loyalty program for earning points at 10 base points per US$1 and 25% or 50% elite member bonus points for the two elite levels.

Points have a set cash value for redemption in the range of $7.50 to slightly less than $10 per 1,000 points.

For example, a hotel takes 15,000 points for a room rate of $100 to $149 and 20,000 points for a room rate of $150 to $199. Voila Hotel Rewards Redemption Chart.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Top elite Centaurus status in Voila Hotel Rewards offers complimentary upgrades and lounge access. That sounds like a good deal for 10 hotel nights if your travels take you to places with Voila Hotel Rewards member hotels.

New Members earn 1,000 Voila points upon free enrollment.

Update March 31: The 50% off hotel reward nights has been extended to April 30, 2011. (See comments for this post for announcement from Peter Gorla).

Voila Hotel Rewards has a new promotion for earning up to a maximum 10,000 bonus points for hotel stays from February 25 through May 31, 2011. Registration is required. There are 191 hotels globally participating in this promotion.

New enrollees in Voila Hotel Rewards will receive 1,000 bonus points upon registration in hotel loyalty program.

Voila Rewards normal earn rate is 10 points per US$1. The maximum 10,000 points bonus is equivalent to base points earned from $1,000 in hotel spend.

Earn 2,500 points for every stay of two nights or more.

• Stay 2 nights and earn 2,500 points
• Stay 4 nights and earn 5,000 points
• Stay 6 nights and earn 7,500 points
• Stay 8 nights and earn 10,000 points.

The wording for this promotion is not really clear. The promotion terms state bonus points are only for stays of two nights or more. What is unclear is if stays are cumulative? For example, if I stay two nights at Hotel A and then complete a three night stay at Hotel B and then another three night stay at Hotel C, then I have stayed 8 nights total. But it does not appear to me that the stays are cumulative. I think these three stays for 8 nights earn 3 x 2,500 points for 7,500 total bonus points. (See update below for clarification from Peter Gorla, Voila VP)

I have asked and I am waiting for clarification from Voila Rewards. The one rule that is clear is the maximum bonus per member is 10,000 points for the promotion period.

Update March 10: Peter Gorla, Vice President Voila Marketing, responded in the comments of this post that nights stayed during the promotion period are cumulative. This changes my example given above to 8 nights over 3 hotel stays earns 10,000 bonus points.

50% off Reward Nights

A second promotion of Voila Hotel Rewards offers a 50% discount on reward nights through March 31.

Voila Hotel Rewards are a monetary based redemption system. Points have a set range of value for redeeming free nights. This opportunity in March doubles the value of your points for free nights.

Voila Hotel Rewards Redemption Chart

Link: http://www.vhr.com/default.aspx?p=79

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Voila Hotel member The York Hotel in Sydney, Australia has its room rate posted as AUD$325.81 per night for March 15-17, 2011. The normal rate shown for this redemption should be 35,000 points for a room rate between $300 and $349.

The Voila Hotel Rewards website shows the hotel costs 15,750 points for each free night for a room that is US$330.22.

31,500 Voila points = US$660.

The value of Voila points is $20.95 per 1,000 points in this example.

Extrapolate this value to the promotion earning opportunity for 10,000 bonus points on 8 nights and the 10,000 bonus points are valued around US$210.

Several Voila hotel members I checked in Spain have room rates under $80 per night. Four stays of two nights could be achieved for about $650 in Spain.

$650 x 10 points/$1 = 6,500 Voila Rewards base points.

Four 2-night stays by May 31 earns 10,000 bonus points.

16,500 Voila Rewards points has a redemption value of $330 in the Australia hotel example.

Bottom line: The combination of the Voila Hotel Rewards bonus points promotion and discounted reward redemption makes a 50% rebate possible on hotel stays while these promotions overlap. Even members who are spending an average of $160 per night for Voila Hotel stays can expect to see up to 25% rebate in redemption value during the discounted reward promotion through March 31.

Of course the redemption discount ending March 31 while the earning bonus goes through May 31, 2011 creates time period difficulties for members who do not currently have a high points balance to tap for discounted rewards.

From my Loyalty Traveler analysis I see good potential value in Voila Hotel Rewards for members in Europe and other global regions where most of the hotels are located. Voila just recently signed its first two hotels in the U.S.

While you may not be able to earn points in time for this month’s discounted rewards, I see good potential for high value in Voila Hotel Rewards points in the future.

Related post: Loyalty Traveler review of Voila Hotel Rewards (Jan 11, 2011)

Stay tuned next week when I will post a special offer from Stash Hotel Rewards, a U.S. based  hotel loyalty program that is rapidly expanding its network of independent and boutique hotel members across the U.S.

Share the Love is an essay contest from Stash Hotel Rewards for a two-night free stay (Fri Feb 11 – Sun Feb 13) at any of 46 hotels around the U.S.  

Contest link.

Simply tell Stash Hotel Rewards why you want to stay at any one of the 46 participating hotels to enter the Share the Love contest for a Valentine’s weekend getaway.

And the cool feature of this contest is you can enter an essay for as many hotels as you choose to increase your odds of winning a free hotel stay. There are 46 hotels offering this essay prize getaway, so up to 46 Stash Rewards prize winners. Or more to the point, you have the opportunity to try and win a free weekend by entering an essay with several different hotels in a specific location like Florida, New York, D.C. or San Francisco Bay Area or all 46 hotels if you choose.

Contest Deadline: 11:59pm eastern, Thursday, January 27.

Winners will be notified by February 1.

Stash Rewards “Share the Love” Contest Participating Hotels:

You need to be a loyalty member of Stash Hotel Rewards or join to enter the essay contest. One unique feature of Stash Rewards is your email address is your account number. You just need to remember the email account you used for Stash Rewards signup when booking hotel reservations.

This Valentine’s Essay Contest is a high value, good odds offer for Stash Rewards members and a clever enrollment scheme for the loyalty program.

Contest Rules link.

About Stash Hotel Rewards

Stash Hotel Rewards is a hotel loyalty program launched in 2010 as a marketing program alliance for upscale and boutique independent hotels in the U.S.

Member hotels in Stash Rewards are distinctive properties for their location, are rated 3.5 star or above and typically rank high in TripAdvisor reviews.  Jeff Low, Stash Rewards CEO presented data at industry conferences showing hotel members of Stash Rewards have a higher aggregate rating on TripAdvisor.com for hotels in their location than the properties of other hotel loyalty programs like Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors and IHG Priority Club.

Another feature Jeff Low likes to point out for Stash Rewards is their hotel loyalty program does not offer cookie-cutter hotel properties.

Sometimes I think the curse for some big chain travelers is the only way to remember what town you are in when sitting in your hotel room is to look out the window of the Aloft or Hyatt Place or Hilton Garden Inn.

That was then and this is now

Loyalty Traveler posted a review of the Stash Rewards program in May 2010. At that time I applauded the concept of an independent hotels loyalty program, while pointing out the limited rebate value for the published earn and burn rates for the program and the limited number of hotel properties. Press releases anticipated a rapid acquisition of hotel partnerships from the 65 hotels in May 2010 to an estimated 200 by year-end 2010.

Eight months later I am taking another look to see where Stash Hotel Rewards has been and where they are now.

Stash Hotel Rewards still offers a limited number of properties with about 80 hotels currently online. The good news is 28 additional properties are already listed on the Stash Rewards hotel list for going live in Winter 2011.

I am feeling a little more inspired about Stash Rewards these days, particularly since learning the program recently signed two of my hometown’s leading properties. Monterey Plaza Resort & Spa has lovely ocean views from Cannery Row and Casa Munras, a recently remodeled property and Larkspur brand hotel, is situated in the center of Monterey’s business and historical district.

Monterey Plaza Hotel (spa pools are located on top floor glass-walled deck)

View from spa tub deck of Monterey Plaza Hotel

Stash Rewards Earn Rate for Points

Stash Rewards has a points earn rate of 5 points per dollar in room rate. The earn rate by itself does not tell much about a loyalty program. The more important factor is the value of points when used for free nights.

There are currently promotional earning bonuses available through Stash Rewards at select hotels:

• Buena Vista Suites, Orlando, FL = 1,000 bonus points per reservation ($200 base points value).
• Caribe Royale, Orlando, FL = 2,000 bonus points per reservation ($400 base points value).
• Hotel Andra, Seattle, WA = double points (10 points per $1)

When I show ($200 base points value), that means a stay at this hotel will earn a bonus equivalent to the points earned for $200 in hotel spend. If your paid stay is $300, then with the 1,000 points reservation bonus you will earn the equivalent in points for $500 in hotel spend.

Taking advantage of booking bonuses and points promotions is a way to improve the earn rate of Stash Rewards. This is particularly important in a program that does not offer elite membership for frequent guests like most loyalty programs where elite members earn bonus points for hotel spend

Stash Rewards Burn Rate for Points

Redeeming points for hotel rewards is where Stash Rewards breaks away from the traditional model of hotel loyalty programs. Most programs use a fixed pricing model for rewards. Stash Rewards uses dynamic reward pricing.

For example, Crowne Plaza free nights are always 25,000 Priority Club points or Starwood Preferred Guest category 4 hotels are 10,000 points per night or HHonors category 6 hotels are 40,000 points per night. The cost of a free night is fixed regardless of the room rate for that night.

Fixed price rewards have a leverage advantage in that a Crowne Plaza might be $300 for a night and available for 25,000 points. On the other hand, the Crowne Plaza San Francisco Airport is typically less than $80 per night on Fridays and Saturdays, but you still need 25,000 points for a free night. Fixed price rewards can be gamed for great value, but sometimes you get poor value when you burn points for a low room rate night.

Stash Hotel Rewards uses dynamic pricing for reward nights. The advantage of this model is the ability to pay far fewer points for a hotel night when rates are low such as a resort hotel in an off-season location.

The disadvantage of this model is the relatively fixed rate value for points.

For example, Stash Hotel Rewards points are generally worth a little more than 1 cent each or about $10 per 1,000 points. For example, a $100 hotel room may require 10,000 Stash Rewards points.  Dynamic pricing of reward nights with a fixed redemption burn rate means the $300 room will likely require 30,000 points.

There are hotel reward night promotions like Hotel Sierra Richmond West where 9,989 points buys a $180 room after tax. This increases the value of points from the usual $10 per 1,000 points to around $18 per 1,000 points.

Suites on Points is a Stash Rewards Competitive Advantage

One of the best features of Stash Rewards that comes with dynamic redemption is the ability to book higher category rooms, like suites, using points. Most hotel loyalty programs only allow points to be used for a standard room category.

Upgrades on reward nights require additional points with Marriott Rewards (5,000 to 15,000 points per night) and Starwood Preferred Guest (double points for the hotel category).

Hyatt Gold Passport offers suite upgrades using points, however, points upgrades are allowed only for paid stays and not reward nights. Gold Passport Diamond elite suite upgrade certificates also apply only to paid stays.

Programs like Priority Club and HHonors do not even offer suites for points.

Elite status is the primary route to an upgrade with most major hotel loyalty programs.

Stash Rewards dynamic pricing allows the hotel to charge the number of points appropriate for the published room rate. The burn rate is fixed whether redeeming points for a $100 room night or a $300 room night. The $300 room will cost 3x points of the $100 room. The hotel can open inventory to all room categories to guests using Stash Rewards points since there is no leverage to the burn rate.

San Francisco Case Study:

Hotel Abri, Union Square, San Francisco (Larkspur Hotels)

Saturday, January 29

Deluxe Queen = 9,697 points  ($129; $149.19 after tax = $15.38/1000 points)

Deluxe King = 10,825 points ($144; $166.54 after tax = $15.38/1000 points )

Urban Suite = 13,080 points ($174; $201.23 after tax = $15.38/1000 points)

Oasis Suite = 15,937 points ($211.50; $244.60 after tax = $15.35/1000 points) 

Hotel Abri shows how dynamic pricing of reward nights allows the member to choose any category of room using points. The fixed burn rate of $15.38 per 1,000 Stash Rewards points shows that the redemption rate does not vary regardless of room type booked with points. 

The room rate after tax is used to calculate the redemption rate for Stash Rewards points. No tax is paid on hotel reward nights so that means the rate after tax is the total money saved by using points.

Ranking the Earn/Burn Rate for Stash Hotel Rewards

A common comparison method for hotel loyalty programs is to compare points earned for a paid night to the burn rate for that same hotel using points for a free night. The rate before tax is used to calculate earn rate since points are not awarded for hotel taxes and fees.

Hotel Abri Oasis Suite = $211.50 x 5 points/$1 = 1,057 points.

15,937 burn rate/1,057 points earn rate = 15 paid nights to earn one free night or about a 6.7% Stash Rewards loyalty program rebate on hotel spend.

Stash Rewards has a fair earn/burn value in this example.

An example of a great earn/burn value is a loyalty promotion like Marriott Rewards Megabonus offer for one free category 1-4 hotel night after two stays. That has potential to earn a free hotel night after just two nights and potentially can be a 100% rebate.

Stash Rewards base earn/burn rate is comparable to major programs, however, the lack of elite bonus points and limited promotions means Stash Rewards will unlikely have many high-value rebates comparable to offers like Marriott Rewards stay twice and earn a free night.

Stash Hotel Rewards Case Study 2:

The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, Manitou Springs, Colorado

This AAA 4-diamond property was listed on Travel + Leisure’s 100 Top Hotels of the World.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 (Hotel tax = 10.8%)

Studio Room = 7,130 points ($84.15; $93.24 after tax = $13.07/1,000 points)

Junior Suite = 10,731 points ($109.65; $121.49 after tax = $11.32/1,000 points)

Deluxe Suite = 12,891 points ($152.15; $168.58 after tax = $13.07/1,000 points)

Celebrity Suite = 15,052 points (rate not shown on hotel website)

Premier Celebrity Suite = 17,213 points (rate not shown on hotel website)

Cliff House Deluxe Suite Earn/Burn Rate

$152.15 x 5 points/$1 = 760 points

12,891 points/760 points = 17 nights to earn a free night or about a 5.9% Stash Rewards loyalty program rebate.

Conclusion:

Basically promotional offers for earning bonus points or redeeming points at a higher value rate are the ways to get more value from your hotel earn and burn in Stash Hotel Rewards.

Without promotional offers the program works out to about a 5% to 7% rebate value for Stash Hotel Rewards points. You need to spend about $2,000 at member hotels to earn a $100 to $140 room night credit.

The ability to earn Stash Rewards points at independent hotels and redeem points for high category rooms, including suites is a very attractive loyalty program  feature.

Stash Hotel Rewards has made some program improvements in the past eight months.

Stash Hotel Rewards is growing and offers travelers the ability to earn points at independent properties around the U.S. that previously had no other loyalty program option.  Stash Rewards earn and burn rate is not as lucrative as most major hotel programs (high potential for 20%+ rebate on hotel spend with major loyalty programs), but some Stash Rewards rebate (5 to 7% on hotel spend) is certainly better than no rebate when staying at these hotels.

The ability to redeem points for any room at the hotel is a feature that trumps the free night rewards of many major hotel loyalty programs.

Voila Hotel Rewards started in 2008 as a loyalty program for independent hotels around the world. Today the program announced the addition of its first two US properties with St. Giles New York hotels The Court and The Tuscany. These two hotels were formerly Starwood W Hotels until April 2010.

St. Giles New York - The Court and The Tuscany

Loyalty Traveler surveyed the Voila Rewards hotel loyalty program.

Voila Hotel Rewards overview

Voila Hotel Rewards is affiliated with about 200 hotels in 12 brands. Almost 50% of the hotels, 114 hotels, are in Spain and part of the Barcelona-based Husa Hotels brand. 

Voila Rewards profile states “the world’s number one loyalty program that unites a network of more than 250 four- and five-star independent hotels and luxury brands.” However, my tally below shows only 177 hotels listed on the vhr.com website. Some of the discrepancy appears to be with the number of hotels listed for a chain like Husa with 145 properties, but only 114 listed on the Voila website. 

The two New York properties are not listed on the Voila Rewards website yet and I found no reference to Voila Rewards on the St. Giles New York website either. Today’s press release for the Voila Rewards -St. Giles New York partnership appears to precede any website updates. 

There is also a message on a FlyerTalk post from Voila Rewards stating 10 new hotels in Brazil and 10 hotels in Thailand will be participating in the Voila Hotel Rewards program over the next two months.

Voila Rewards Hotel Brands

• Husa Hoteles (Spain) – 114 hotels
• Swiss-Belhotel – 25 hotels (primarily Indonesia with other hotels in Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, China and Australia.)
• Continental Hotels (Romania) – 9 hotels
• The Dragon Hotel (Hangzhou, China) – 1 hotel
• Kayumanis (Bali, Indonesia) – 4 hotels
• Katerina Hotels (Moscow, Russia) – 2 hotels
• Nevsky Hotels (St. Petersburg, Russia) – 1 hotel
• Coral Hotels (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Syria) – 8 hotels
• Great Hotels Rewards (Seoul, Korea and Reykjavik, Iceland) – 2 hotels
• Lucerna (Mexico) – 5 hotels
• Charming Hotels (Portugal) – 4 hotels
• St. Giles New York (NY, USA) – 2 hotels (The Court and The Tuscany)

Voila Rewards Enrollment Bonus 1,000 points

Voila Rewards currently has a membership enrollment bonus offer of 1,000 points.

Earning Voila Rewards Points

Voila Rewards is set up in a traditional loyalty program format for earning points. The program offers bonus points promotions and elite member levels. Eligible bookings consist of reservations made through Voila Rewards site, Voila Rewards participating hotels’ websites or directly with the hotel.

Voila Rewards uses 10 base points earned per US$1 in hotel spend. This is interesting that a predominantly foreign hotels loyalty program uses the US$1 for its earning standard.

The unknown aspect from my analysis viewpoint is the currency exchange consumer fairness at hotels calculating US dollars from Euros or Indonesia Rupiahs or China Yuan. Hotels are not generally known for consumer friendly exchange rates.

I guess the positive aspect of this is the US dollar exchange rate means hotels paid in foreign currencies converted to US dollars earn more points as the room rate rises in US dollars compared to other currencies with the currency market fluctuation trend of the past two years.

Voila Rewards Membership Levels

Phoenix members are entry level with 0 to 9 nights in a calendar year.

• Earn 10 Voila Rewards points per US$1
• Make online reservations for all Voila properties.
• Purchase points
• Transfer points to family member
• Complimentary weekday newspaper
• Exclusive members-only offers

Orion membership = 10 nights in a consecutive 12-month period. This means the Voila Rewards program does not work on a calendar year for earning elite status.  The norm for the majority hotel loyalty programs is calendar year. Orion members earn 25% bonus points or 12.5 points per US$1.

In addition to benefits mentioned above, Orion members receive:

• Earn 25% elite bonus points
• 11am check-in and 4:00pm check-out
• One category room upgrade
• Complimentary fitness center access 

Centaurus membership = 20 nights in a consecutive 12-month period. Centaurus members receive 50% elite bonus points or 15 points per US$1.

In addition to benefits mentioned above, Centaurus members receive:

• Earn 50% elite bonus points
• No black-out dates for rewards
• 24-hour guaranteed room availability
• Special welcome amenity
• Complimentary access to Executive Lounge (select hotels)

Redeeming Voila Points

The points redemption side is where Voila Rewards differs from most U.S. based hotel loyalty programs. Voila points have a fixed value range of $6.67 to $10.00 per 1,000 points.

• 5,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $49 and below
• 7,500 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $50 – $74

• 10,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $75 – $99

• 15,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $100 – $149
• 20,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $150 – $199
• 25,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $200 – $249
• 30,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $250 – $299
• 35,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $300 – $349
• 40,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $350 – $399
• 50,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $400 – $499
• 60,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $500 – $599
• 70,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $600 – $699
• 85,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $700 – $849
• 100,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $850 – $999
• 125,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $1,000 – $1,249
• 150,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $1,250 – $1,499
• 175,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $1,500 – $1,749
• 200,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $1,750 – $1,999
• 250,000 VOILÀ Points for any room reward redemption $2,000 and above  

The limiting issue with Voila Rewards is the fixed rate for redemption. Compare Voila Rewards to Marriott with 10 points per $1 in hotel spend. Marriott Category 4 hotel reward at 20,000 points is earned at same rate as Voila Rewards 20,000 points redeemable for $150 to $199 hotel room. This is a redemption value of $7.50 to $9.95 per 1,000 points.

The difference between Marriott Rewards redemptions and Voila Rewards means I can’t ever get more than $10.00 per 1,000 Voila points, whereas I might be able to spend 30,000 Marriott Rewards points for a $400 Ritz-Carlton hotel room night for a redemption value of $13.33/1000 points. I can’t get more than a $299 room night with Voila Rewards with 30,000 points.

Bottom line is 6.67% to 9.95% return on points is a decent redemption value comparable to most hotel loyalty programs and even better than some major programs when points are used for hotel stays

Voila Rewards Earning Equations Promotion

Promotions are the only aspect of Voila Rewards where there is currently any leverage opportunity for the frequent guest to improve the rebate value on hotel spend.

Voila Rewards offers a fixed rate of 10 points per US$1 in hotel spend at member hotels.

Earning Equations is the current Voila Rewards promotion from Nov 15, 2010 through February 15, 2011.

• 2x points for 1-9 nights
• 3x points for 10+ nights
• 4x points for 10+ nights and two different hotel brands

Earning Equations Promotion registration required.

Spain is an obvious place for taking advantage of this promotion with numerous hotels across the country in the Husa Hoteles brand. Assume 12 nights at US$70 average room rate.

$840 x 30 points/$1 = 25,200 Voila Rewards points. 12 nights also earns Orion membership and a 25% elite bonus on last three nights for another 525 points. [LT note: I assume 3x points applies retroactively to all hotel nights, but I did not locate fine print terms and conditions for this promotion offer.]

25,000 points is worth $200 to $249 room credit. This is a rebate value of 23 to 30% on $840 in hotel spend at low cost hotels for a redemption credit good for an upper upscale hotel night.

Design a Loyalty Promotion for Voila Rewards and win 25,000 points and top elite status

Voila Rewards was sighted on my Loyalty Traveler radar this past week prior to the press announcement of the partnership with the St. Giles two New York properties.  A post by FlyerTalk new member MD VOILA Hotel Rewards requested input from the FlyerTalk community to help design Voila Rewards next monthly global promotion.

Check out the FlyerTalk thread and send an email to Voila Rewards describing your dream promotion. If your idea is selected you will be credited with 25,000 points ($249 value) and Centaurus elite membership.

Loyalty Traveler Final Notes on Voila Rewards:

The addition of St. Giles New York The Court and The Tuscany properties to Voila Rewards is a major foothold in the USA. Voila Rewards is a program best suited for travelers in Spain, Romania, Russia, Indonesia including Bali and the Middle East and a few other select locations. A well-organized loyalty program structure and continued growth in partner hotels make this a program to consider if your travels take you to Spain, Indonesia or Romania where your options might be limited with other major hotel loyalty programs. The earn and burn rate for Voila Rewards hotels is a decent rebate with loyalty points.

All this analysis is solely based on the program structure. Anecdotal evidence on hotel benefits from Voila Rewards members is needed to make a better evaluation of the program from the service level aspect.

Voila Rewards expansion in the USA faces competition from Stash Hotel Rewards, another independent hotels loyalty start-up  growing its partner hotels in the USA. Loyalty Traveler will follow up soon with a profile of Stash Hotel Rewards that I see just landed a couple of nice properties in Monterey for its loyalty program.