Next weekend is the first full weekend for March and that means Priority Club 50% discount Last Minute Reward Nights  are back for 84 hotels globally. These half price reward nights are only available for Friday, March 2, Saturday March 3 and Sunday March 4. Bookings must be completed by Thursday March 1.

Two properties that catch my attention are the InterContinental Chicago and InterContinental Park Lane London each at 25,000 points per night.

Holiday Inn CHIANGMAI

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GUADALAJARA EXPO

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites AKRON REGIONAL AIRPORT AREA

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CHESTERFIELD – SELFRIDGE AREA

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CLAYPOOL HILL (RICHLANDS AREA)

5,000 pts.

Candlewood Suites CHICAGO-WAUKEGAN

7,500 pts.

Read More…

The new list of Priority Club PointBreaks Reward hotels posted today. These are hotels available for 5,000 points per night. Hotels are available until the allocated reward nights are booked and then the hotel drops off the list.

Priority Club members can buy points for $11.50 to $13.50 per 1,000 points. 5,000 points is $67.50 and the rate drops to $57.50 per PointBreaks night if you buy 26,000 or more points at a time. Members can buy up to 50,000 points in a calendar year.

Hopefully you already have points in your account. The availability of the Holiday Inn Express in Fortuna, California has me thinking about a coastal road trip north into Humboldt County this winter.

The selection is primarily in the USA this round with few hotels elsewhere in the world.

InterContinental Tahiti at 5,000 points per night is a deal if you can find a reservation and swing the airfare. Hint: Look in Asia.

Read More…

PriorityClubRepresentative posted the official link for the Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles promotion from January 23-April 30, 2012. The promotion code 6673 is a different code than originally published in my January 13 Loyalty Traveler post.  I registered last week using the 2837 code and the new promotion registration page comes back with the message I am already registered for the offer.

The other piece of official news from the FlyerTalk thread is PriorityClubRepresentative states the X stays, for Y points promotion is stackable with this double points or double miles promotion.

Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles (Code 6673 registration page)

• Begins with second eligible IHG brand stay at any Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo, except for Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites earn double points or double miles beginning with first stay.
• No retroactive credit for hotel stays prior to promotion registration date.
• Promotion earns 20 points per dollar at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo.
• InterContinental Hotels will change earning rate during this promotion when IC hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America (about 50 hotels) begin earning 10 points per dollar on February 15, 2012. All other InterContinental Hotels worldwide (about 120 hotels) will maintain earning rate of 2,000 points per stay regardless of hotel spend. Double points will be either 4,000 points per stay or 20 points per dollar depending on date of stay and location.
• Staybridge and Candlewood brands earn 10 points per dollar with double points.
• Link to standard earn rates for IHG brands.

Earning Double Miles with Priority Club

Priority Club has over 40 airline partners for earning miles. There are many earning structures depending on airline and hotel brand. The miles earning rates are shown here.

The US-based airlines of Alaska, American, Delta, United and US Airways earn miles at these rates:

• 2 miles per $1 spend at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and beginning February 15, 2012 at InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America. Double miles = 4 miles/$1.
• 1 mile per $1 spend at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. Double miles = 2 miles/$1.
• 500 miles per stay at InterContinental Hotels. Double miles = 1,000 miles/stay for all InterContinental Hotels worldwide prior to February 15, 2012. InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Central America change to 2 miles/$1 February 15, 2012. There will be no change in miles earning rate for InterContinental Hotels in other regions.

Priority Club Double Points is stackable with quarterly stay bonus points offer.

*** InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards – Priority Club members may register for one of the quarterly stay promotions running January 1-March 31, 2012. You can only register for one offer so pick the target you are most likely to reach. Stay 3 nights = 5,000 bonus points. Stay 7 nights = 10,000 bonus points. Stay 15 nights = 15,000 bonus points.

Over the next few weeks I will compare aspects of different hotel loyalty programs. While it is easy to look at the different websites and compare member benefits, the proportion of hotel brands and their market segment as a proportion of hotels participating in a hotel loyalty program tends not to be as well known.

Hotel Chain Scales are used by hotel industry analysts at STR.com to segment hotel brands into luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy categories.

The largest hotel loyalty programs for the US are Hilton, Marriott and IHG in terms of the size and broad range of hotels in different market segments. Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges and Best Western Rewards are comparable megachain hotels, but there are far fewer hotels in the upscale to luxury segments in these three brands. Starwood (1,100 hotels) and Hyatt (500 hotels) have a high proportion of upscale to luxury hotel brands in their portfolios, however, the number of hotels are far fewer in these chains and not as useful for travelers needing wide geographic coverage.

 

Hotel Brands and Market Segments

What is a luxury hotel or an upper-upscale hotel?

Price is generally the defining line between hotel market segments. I do not work in the hotel industry and I am an amateur analyst interpreting numbers from hotel industry data. STRGlobal.com provides industry data reports and I gather statistical data about the hotel industry regularly from the free data provided online.

STR has a list of hotel brands in different chain scale segments based on the average room rate data for thousands of hotels worldwide.

This post uses the 2011 STR US Chain Scales  along with the latest hotel properties data for each brand from the hotel chain’s websites to compare market segments for hotel brands of Hilton, IHG and Marriott.

Basically I want to see how the hotels in Hilton, IHG and Marriott segment out in each chain and compare to each other when looking at the number of luxury, upscale and midscale hotels in each hotel loyalty program.

Hilton Worldwide Hotel Brands with Market Segment and Number of Hotels

• Hilton Worldwide has 3,712 hotels in this list, but this is only an estimate. New hotels open every few days.The percentage of hotels in each brand is listed in ( ).
• Conrad Hotels (luxury) = 18 hotels (<1%).
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts (luxury) = 23 hotels (<1%).
• Hilton Hotels and Resorts (upper upscale) = 540 hotels (15%) in 78 countries including 70 Resorts.
• Embassy Suites (upper upscale) = 201 hotels (5%) with 193 in US and 8 international.
• Hilton Grand Vacations (upper upscale) = 50 properties (1%).
• DoubleTree by Hilton (upscale) = 250 hotels (7%) in 17 countries.
• Homewood Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 309 hotels (8%) in North America.
• Hilton Garden Inn (upscale) = 515 hotels (14%) with 130 in development.
• Hampton Inn (upper midscale) = 1,800 hotels (48%) with more than 1,700 in US and growing international expansion recently.
• Home2 Suites (upper midscale – extended stay) = 6 hotels (<1%).

 

Marriott International Hotel Brands with Market Segment and Number of Hotels

• 3,747 properties in 13 brands in 72 countries. This total does not include Marriott Executive Apartments which earn Marriott Rewards points, but are extended stay contracted properties and not a typical hotel stay.
• Ritz-Carlton (luxury) = 81 hotels (2%).
• JW Marriott (luxury) = 62 hotels (2%).
• Marriott Hotels & Resorts (upper upscale) = 521 hotels (14%).
• Renaissance (upper upscale) = 160 hotels (4%).
• Autograph Collection (upper upscale) = 29 hotels (<1%).
• Marriott Vacation Club (upper upscale) = 59 properties (2%).
• Marriott Conference Centers (upper upscale) = 7 hotels (<1%).
• Courtyard (upscale) = 926 hotels (25%).
• AC Hotels (upscale) = 82 hotels mostly in Spain (2%).
• SpringHill Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 299 hotels (8%).
• Residence Inn (upscale – extended stay) = 627 hotels (17%).
• Fairfield Inn (upper midscale) = 689 hotels (18%).
• TownePlace Suites (upper midscale – extended stay)= 205 hotels (5%).

InterContinental Hotels Group

• 4,452 hotels (as of September 2011)
• InterContinental Hotels (luxury) = 171 hotels (4%).
• Crowne Plaza (upscale) =  401 hotels (9%).
• Hotel Indigo (upscale) =  38 hotels (<1%).
• Staybridge Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 195 hotels (4%).
• Holiday Inn (upper midscale) = 1,238 hotels (28%).
• Holiday Inn Express (upper midscale) = 2,103 hotels (47%) with 1,866 in Americas.
• Candlewood Suites (midscale) = 300 hotels (7%).
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations = 6 properties (<1%).

I have some issue with the broad segmentation of Crowne Plaza and DoubleTree as Upscale rather than Upper Upscale for some locations and Holiday Inn as Upper Midscale for some locations where the Holiday Inn is more upscale.  Keep in mind in the real world of travel there will be some Crowne Plaza and DoubleTree hotels that will be just as nice or better than the nearby Marriott, Hilton or Embassy Suites.

How the hotel chains stack up when brands are compared by market segment.

Luxury market segment

• IHG = 171 hotels (InterContinental)
• Marriott = 143 hotels (Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott)
• Hilton = 41 hotels (Conrad, Waldorf Astoria)

Upper Upscale market segment

• Hilton = 791 hotels (Hilton, Embassy Suites, Hilton Grand Vacations)
• Marriott = 776 hotels (Marriott, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club)
• IHG = 0 hotels (based on STR chain scale rankings, but in reality many Crowne Plaza hotels are upper upscale).

Upscale market segment

• Marriott = 1,934 hotels (Courtyard, Residence Inn, AC Hotels)
• Hilton = 1,074 (Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, DoubleTree)
• IHG = 634 hotels (Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites)

Upper Midscale market segment

• IHG = 3,341 hotels (Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express)
• Hilton = 1,806 (Hampton Inn)
• Marriott = 894 (Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites)

Midscale market segment

• IHG = 300 (Candlewood Suites)

The key point here is to consider what market segment you desire for your travels. IHG Priority Club will tend to be lower room rates, but Priority Club does not offer frequent guest elite members the level of defined benefits provided by Hilton HHonors or Marriott Rewards to their md-tier and top-tier elite members.

Another point to add is the practice of placing branded hotels in the same chain adjacent to each other. This is really common with Marriott where Courtyard and Residence Inn are literally adjacent hotels in many places. I have seen three Marriott properties in the same location in places. Geographic coverage is not as extensive as you might think when all the locations with multiple properties are considered. On the other hand, the placement of hotels in the same chain next to each other makes hotel hopping for loyalty promotion stay credit an easy task when you want to earn free Marriott MegaBonus nights.

Comparison of hotel loyalty program benefits across these hotel brands will be discussed in future posts.

Launching a double points promotion five days after devaluing Priority Club points with new higher reward tiers is not the strategy I would have applied to appease consumers. Priority Club Rewards promotion of double points or double miles is almost as repetitive as Marriott Rewards MegaBonus.  This identical offer ran from May 16 to August 15, 2011.

The new double points or miles Priority Club promotion applies to stays from January 23 to April 30, 2012. The main thing to know is registration is required before your stays. There will be no double credit for stays made during the promotion period before promotion registration. SPG is generous in this aspect of promotions in that eligible stays usually receive retroactive credit as long as the SPG member registers by the promotion deadline.

The disappointing aspect of this Priority Club promotion is the registration page is not fully ready even though this offer has been blogged about since the beginning of the week.

This registration page looks all good until you click the registration link to be met with a page requiring a promotion code to be entered. I have stated several times over the past couple of months that my pet peeve is having a promotion announced, and in this case a registration page available to members, before the promotion registration links are ready.

[ Update Jan 18 2:54pm Pacific Time: The Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles Registration Links in this post changed to registration link posted by PriorityClubRepresentative on FlyerTalk today, the company representative.

Update Friday, Jan 13 - 9:37am Pacific time: Priority Club has changed the promotion registration webpage in the past hour and code 2837 no longer seems to work. I assume they are getting the page redesigned for automatic registration with no need to enter a promotion code.]

BarbiJKM posted code 2837 yesterday on FlyerTalk that appears to work. When I registered using 2837 I received this confirmation message.

 

Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles (registration page)

• Begins with second eligible IHG brand stay at any Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo, except for Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites earn double points or double miles beginning with first stay.
• No retroactive credit for hotel stays prior to promotion registration date.
• Promotion earns 20 points per dollar at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo.
• InterContinental Hotels will change earning rate during this promotion when IC hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America (about 50 hotels) begin earning 10 points per dollar on February 15, 2012. All other InterContinental Hotels worldwide (about 120 hotels) will maintain earning rate of 2,000 points per stay regardless of hotel spend. Double points will be either 4,000 points per stay or 20 points per dollar depending on date of stay and location.
• Staybridge and Candlewood brands earn 10 points per dollar with double points.
• Link to standard earn rates for IHG brands.

Earning Double Miles with Priority Club

Priority Club has over 40 airline partners for earning miles. There are many earning structures depending on airline and hotel brand. The miles earning rates are shown here.

The US-based airlines of Alaska, American, Delta, United and US Airways earn miles at these rates:

• 2 miles per $1 spend at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and beginning February 15, 2012 at InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America. Double miles = 4 miles/$1.
• 1 mile per $1 spend at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. Double miles = 2 miles/$1.
• 500 miles per stay at InterContinental Hotels. Double miles = 1,000 miles/stay for all InterContinental Hotels worldwide prior to February 15, 2012. InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Central America change to 2 miles/$1 February 15, 2012. There will be no change in miles earning rate for InterContinental Hotels in other regions.

Priority Club Double Points is stackable with quarterly stay bonus points offer.

*** InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards – Priority Club members may register for one of the quarterly stay promotions running January 1-March 31, 2012. You can only register for one offer so pick the target you are most likely to reach. Stay 3 nights = 5,000 bonus points. Stay 7 nights = 10,000 bonus points. Stay 15 nights = 15,000 bonus points.

Priority Club is spreading word through social media that reward nights will increase at 25% of IHG hotels globally on January 18, 2012 when new tiers are added across all IHG brands. This amounts to around 1,125 hotels increasing in reward cost by 5,000 to 10,000 points per night, assuming 4,500 IHG hotels worldwide.

Priority Club reward nights will cost less for 20% or about 900 IHG hotels globally.

Click on image for full size view. This chart is located on PriorityClub.com.

 

60 Days from January 18 to book or rebook at best reward redemption level

Don Berg, IHG VP for Priority Club stated to me in an interview today that members will have two months to book hotel rewards through customer service at the lower points level for reservations up to 360 days from booking date.

FlyerTalk and blogosphere comments indicate IHG customer service agents aren’t really up on the changes yet as news of the impending tier addition and IHG hotels shift spread rapidly across social media channels today.

 

Loyalty Traveler Analysis (based on pure statistical guesses and no detailed knowledge of actual changes other than 25% hotels going up and 20% going down.)

Every IHG brand has a new higher tier as seen in the chart.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express add a new 20,000 point reward tier. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels already had a 25,000 point hotel reward for about 1,000 hotels globally and 70 % of the 3,300 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels are currently 15,000 points (60%) or 10,000 points (10%).

[update Jan 3 2:25pm Pacific - the original post read 90% of these two brands were at 10K or 15K. This data was corrected from 90% to 70% based on the Priority Club Reward tier categories compiled by ChongCao on this website.]

I expect 80% or more of the 2,000 hotels changing reward tier up or down will be in these two brands. Four reward tiers will allow easier shifts for Priority Club hotel rewards for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels based on revenue and reward demand.

InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo will likely see a shift upwards in most high occupancy metropolitan areas. Perhaps 25% or more of hotels will increase by 10,000 points per night and that is about 150 hotels in these three brands.

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites will likely change upward for high revenue locations and affects about 120 hotels of 500 or so if reward nights increase by 25% more points.

Any techie care to produce a list of current Priority Club Reward levels before January 18?

Update Jan 3 2012 - ChongcCao has a UK website updated in August and November 2011 showing Priority Club reward tiers in 2011 for Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and InterContinental hotels and tier changes from 2010 levels.

Frustrating to me is Priority Club Rewards does not have lists of hotels at the different reward tiers on the Priority Club website. I asked Don Berg, VP IHG Priority Club loyalty program, why Priority Club has no list of reward tiers for its hotels? Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood publish the reward cost of all their hotels in easy to search lists. He said Priority Club research indicates the general Priority Club member does not have a need for a master list showing the reward cost of hotels.

Priority Club requires the member to look up a destination like Paris, France or Lubbock, Texas and see hotels and their reward cost.

My January 18th question is “Did the hotel reward tier go up or down?”

The need for a master list to me is to make use of the 60-day window for booking rewards at the lower level. There are no master lists of Priority Club reward tiers to know if a hotel went up or down when the new tiers are added January 18. We can tell which hotels increased to 35,000 or 50,000 points with several of the brands. The changes will be easily detected with Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Hotel Indigo.

What about the midscale traveler’s needs?

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels is where I think more than 80% of the 2,000 hotels shifting tiers will occur. On January 18 how will you know if that 20,000 point hotel reward was 10,000 or 15,000 or 25,000 points before?

You will only know the January 18 reward rates and not the previous reward rates when you look up Lubbock, Texas or Key West, Florida. How will you even know to call and book the lower rate during the 60-day grace period after the tier changes at those 800+ Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels that go up in reward cost on January 18?

The following data is an addition to the original post based on data from ChongCao’s census of IHG hotels at different Priority Club reward tiers.

2011 reward tier data for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels prior to January 18, 2012 changes.

InterContinental Hotels (ChongCao hotel tier list for 169 properties)

• 30,000 points = 99 hotels
• 40,000 points = 70 hotels

USA – Holiday Inn  (671 hotels) (ChongCao reward tier hotel list.)

• 10,000 points = 27   (4.0%)
• 15,000 points = 372  (55.4%)
• 25,000 points = 272  (40.5%)

USA – Holiday Inn  Express (1,731 hotels)   ChongCao 25K reward tier hotel list

• 10,000 points = 212   (12.2%)  ChongCao 10K and 15K reward tier hotel list
• 15,000 points = 1,107 (64.0%)
• 25,000 points = 412  (23.8%)

 

International – Holiday Inn  (549 hotels) (ChongCao reward tier hotel list.)

• 10,000 points = 35  (6.4%)
• 15,000 points = 309  (56.3%)
• 25,000 points = 205  (37.3%)

International - Holiday Inn  Express (367 hotels)

• 10,000 points = 57   (15.5%)
• 15,000 points = 216 (58.9%)
• 25,000 points = 94  (25.6%)

Related link FlyerTalk ChongCao – Master List of 10K and 25K Holiday Inn /Holiday Inn Express List
2011/2012  (Nov 9, 2011)

Priority Club posted new lists of PointBreaks hotels for reward nights at only 5,000 points available for stays to January 31, 2012. These are some of the highest reward night values available to members with the cost of 5,000 points being equivalent to about $30 for a hotel night. InterContinental O’Hare Chicago is the only IC in USA on list. There are several airport hotels to keep in mind if winter travels have you stuck on the ground.

Guaranteed the InterContinental Santiago Chile will be a significant savings at 5,000 points compared to the published hotel rate. These hotels drop off the list once allocated rooms are booked so booking sooner is always your best bet.

Oceania tends to have scant participation in PointBreaks this past year.

United States

ALABAMA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES HUNTSVILLE

ARKANSAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES ROGERS/BENTONVILLE

CALIFORNIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL FULLERTON

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SACRAMENTO NORTHEAST

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SAN JOSE-SILICON VALLEY

HOLIDAY INN FRESNO-AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SAN JOSE-INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

COLORADO

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DENVER/DTC

CONNECTICUT

CANDLEWOOD SUITES WINDSOR LOCKS BRADLEY ARPT

FLORIDA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL TAMPA EAST

HOLIDAY INN PORT ST. LUCIE

GEORGIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL ATLANTA PERIMETER GALLERIA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES ALPHARETTA-NORTH POINT

ILLINOIS

HOLIDAY INN CHICAGO-WILLOWBROOK-HINSDALE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ROLLING MDWS-SCHAUMBURG AREA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SPRINGFIELD

INTERCONTINENTAL CHICAGO O’HARE

INDIANA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES INDIANAPOLIS-FISHERS

KANSAS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL KANSAS CITY – OVERLAND PARK

LOUISIANA

HOLIDAY INN MORGAN CITY

MASSACHUSETTS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL BOSTON – NEWTON

MICHIGAN

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DETROIT-AUBURN HILLS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DETROIT-SOUTHFIELD

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL DETROIT- NOVI

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DETROIT – NOVI

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DETROIT-AUBURN HILLS

MISSOURI

CANDLEWOOD SUITES ST. LOUIS

MISSISSIPPI

CANDLEWOOD SUITES FLOWOOD, MS

NORTH CAROLINA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES RALEIGH CRABTREE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HICKORY

NEW JERSEY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SECAUCUS-MEADOWLANDS

STAYBRIDGE SUITES PARSIPPANY

STAYBRIDGE SUITES PRINCETON SOUTH BRUNSWICK

NEW YORK

HOLIDAY INN BUFFALO-AMHERST

HOLIDAY INN LONG ISLAND-ISLIP AIRPORT

OHIO

CANDLEWOOD SUITES COLUMBUS AIRPORT

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL CLEVELAND AIRPORT

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL COLUMBUS NORTH

PENNSYLVANIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HARRISBURG-HERSHEY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL READING

SOUTH CAROLINA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL GREENVILLE-I-385-ROPER MTN RD

TENNESSEE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN UNIVERSITY

TEXAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DALLAS-BY THE GALLERIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HOUSTON NEAR RELIANT – MEDICAL

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HOUSTON-DOWNTOWN

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT

HOTEL INDIGO HOUSTON AT THE GALLERIA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DALLAS-LAS COLINAS AREA

VIRGINIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL RICHMOND WEST

HOLIDAY INN RICHMOND SOUTH-BELLS ROAD

STAYBRIDGE SUITES HERNDON-DULLES

WISCONSIN

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MADISON

 

CANADA

ALBERTA
HOLIDAY INN CALGARY-AIRPORT

ONTARIO
HOLIDAY INN MISSISSAUGA TORONTO WEST
STAYBRIDGE SUITES GUELPH

QUEBEC
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MONTREAL AIRPORT
HOLIDAY INN POINTE-CLAIRE MONTREAL AIRPORT

Europe

BELARUS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MINSK

FRANCE

HOLIDAY INN STRASBOURG CITY CENTRE

GERMANY

HOLIDAY INN BERLIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN NÜRNBERG CITY CENTRE

ITALY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MILAN – MALPENSA AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN ROME – AURELIA

KAZAKHSTAN

INTERCONTINENTAL ALMATY

RUSSIA

HOLIDAY INN MOSCOW – VINOGRADOVO

SLOVAKIA

HOLIDAY INN ZILINA

SPAIN

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID – ALCOBENDAS

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID-SAN SEBASTIAN D/L REYES

TURKEY

HOLIDAY INN ISTANBUL AIRPORT

UNITED KINGDOM

HOLIDAY INN AYLESBURY

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BRADFORD CITY CENTRE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL LIVERPOOL -JOHN LENNON AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN LONDON – BRENT CROSS

HOLIDAY INN LONDON – SHEPPERTON

HOLIDAY INN MAIDENHEAD/WINDSOR

 

Central & South America

ARGENTINA

INTERCONTINENTAL MENDOZA

CHILE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ANTOFAGASTA

INTERCONTINENTAL SANTIAGO

COLOMBIA

INTERCONTINENTAL MEDELLIN

EL SALVADOR

INTERCONTINENTAL REAL SAN SALVADOR

GUATEMALA

HOLIDAY INN GUATEMALA

 

MEXICO

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL VILLAHERMOSA, TAB.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CIUDAD JUAREZ

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MORELIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MERIDA

HOLIDAY INN MORELIA

 

ASIA

CHINA-PEOPLES REPUBLIC
INTERCONTINENTAL BEIJING BEICHEN
HOLIDAY INN BEIJING DESHENGMEN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BEIJING MINZUYUAN
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL BEIJING PARKVIEW WUZHOU
INTERCONTINENTAL DALIAN
INTERCONTINENTAL HUIZHOU RESORT
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL NANJING HOTEL & SUITES
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SHANGHAI FUDAN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SHANGHAI JINQIAO
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SHANGHAI PUDONG
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SHANGHAI WUJIAOCHANG

JAPAN
HOLIDAY INN – ANA SENDAI

VIETNAM
INTERCONTINENTAL HANOI WESTLAKE

OCEANIA – no properties

AFRICA – no properties

Middle East 

EGYPT
INTERCONTINENTAL TABA HEIGHTS

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
HOLIDAY INN DUBAI – DOWNTOWN DUBAI

Last Minute Reward Nights offer a 50% discount on the standard cost of a Priority Club free night reward. A participating Crowne Plaza hotel normally 25,000 points per night is 12,500 points this weekend for Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday night. There are only 86 hotels on this month’s list.

Priority Club introduced Last Minute Reward Nights in 2011 with the stated intention of expanding these rewards to more dates. For now these discount rewards have only been offered on the first full weekend of each month. Hopefully they will be exapnded soon to other weekends in the month.

You need to use the geographic search feature to easily locate a hotel since the master list is only sorted by either cost in points or hotel brand without a state or country description. This has been my complaint since the program launched, but Priority Club has not added geographic data to the main list. There is a country and state search tool on the left side of the page.

This week’s hotels offering Last Minute Reward Nights

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CENTURY CITY CHENGDU 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CITYSTARS CAIRO 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts FOSHAN 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts MENDOZA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts MIRAMAR PANAMA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRESIDENTE MEXICO CITY 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRESIDENTE PUEBLA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts RESORT JIUZHAI PARADISE 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SHANGHAI PUXI 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SHENZHEN 15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza DETROIT- NOVI 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza HOUSTON NEAR RELIANT – MEDICAL 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza MANAMA (BAHRAIN) 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza MOSCOW – WORLD TRADE CENTRE 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza SHENZHEN 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHICAGO-TINLEY PARK-CONV CTR 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DUMFRIES – QUANTICO CENTER 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CORYDON 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DURHAM 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ELMIRA-HORSEHEADS 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express FREDERICK-FSK MALL(I270/RT 85) 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express JACKSONVILLE BEACH 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MYRTLE BEACH-BROADWAY@THE BCH 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NEWPORT 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NORTHAMPTON M1, JCT.15  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites EXP-MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MONTREAL CENTRE-VILLE DOWNTOWN  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites OMAHA WEST  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ORANGEBURG  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites BOSTON-PEABODY  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn PARIS – MONTMARTRE  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn STEAMBOAT SPRINGS  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn WOKING  12,500 pts.

StayBridge Suites CALGARY AIRPORT   10,000 pts.

Staybridge Suites CRANBURY-SOUTH BRUNSWICK   10,000 pts.

Candlewood Suites CHICAGO/LIBERTYVILLE  7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites DETROIT-WARREN   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites EMPORIA   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites JACKSONVILLE   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites ORLANDO   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites WASHINGTON-DULLES HERNDON   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ALLENTOWN-I-78 (LEHIGH VALLEY)   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHENGDU CENTURY CITY-WEST   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DENVER LAKEWOOD   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DARTFORD BRIDGE    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DERBY – PRIDE PARK   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT   7,500 pts

Holiday Inn Express GAS CITY   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GUADALAJARA EXPO   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express KANSAS CITY-BONNER SPRINGS   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LONDON -CHINGFORD-NTH CIRCULAR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MEMPHIS MEDICAL CENTER MIDTOWN   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MILTON KEYNES    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PLYMOUTH   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express TORONTO-NORTH YORK   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ANN ARBOR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CANYON    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CLAYPOOL HILL (RICHLANDS AREA)   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites COURTENAY COMOX VALLEY SW    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites FLORENCE I-95 & I-20 CIVIC CTR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites GREENVILLE    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MONTROSE-TOWNSEND    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MOREHEAD CITY    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ORLANDO-OCOEE EAST    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PHENIX CITY-COLUMBUS    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PLYMOUTH    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PROVIDENCE-WOONSOCKET    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites SOUTHFIELD – DETROIT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn GENT – EXPO   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites GRAND JUNCTION-AIRPORT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn MOBILE-DWTN/HIST. DISTRICT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn MORGANTOWN/PA TURNPIKE EX 298   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ROANOKE – VALLEY VIEW    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ROCK ISLAND – QUAD CITIES   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ST. PAUL-I-94-EAST (3M AREA)    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Select CLINTON   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn TIMONIUM   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HENDERSON   5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express KRAKOW    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LEVELLAND    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LIVINGSTON    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LOS ALAMOS ENTRADA PARK    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MAGNOLIA-LAKE COLUMBIA    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites NORTH LITTLE ROCK    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites MANSFIELD-CONFERENCE CTR   5,000 pts.

The first full weekend in October brings the latest round of Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights available at 50% points for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday October 7-9, 2011. Bookings must be completed by Thursday for these promotional reward rates.

82 hotels are listed at the time of this post.

Five InterContinental hotels including Chicago O’Hare and Houston Near the Galleria are on the list. Twelve Crowne Plaza Hotels made the list.

The list can be searched by country and state on the Last Minute Reward Nights page for easier sorting.

Hotel List for Last Minute Reward Nights October 7-9, 2011

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Dubai – Festival City

20,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Tequendama  Bogota

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CHICAGO O’HARE

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Cairo Semiramis

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts HOUSTON NEAR THE GALLERIA

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Rio

15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts ACAPULCO

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Asuncion

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts City Centre Changsha

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts EDMONTON-CHATEAU LACOMBE

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Foshan

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts GREENVILLE-I-385-ROPER MTN RD

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts International Airport Beijing

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts JACKSONVILLE-RIVERFRONT

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Jerusalem

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Managua

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts San Marcos Golf Resort

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Shanghai

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Bedford

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENSBORO-(I-40 @ WENDOVER)

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Hemel Hempstead

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MILWAUKEE-NEW BERLIN

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MINNEAPOLIS AIRPORT-MALL AREA

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MT. HOLLY-NJ TNPK EXIT 5

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PADUCAH

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PALM DESERT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RATON

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RICHMOND NORTHWEST I-64

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SIOUX FALLS AT EMPIRE MALL

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Swindon – West M4, Jct.16

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WALTERBORO I-95

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Basingstoke

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Bern – Westside

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts CHARLESTON AIRPORT & CONV CTR

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts CHARLOTTE-AIRPORT CONF CTR

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Frankfurt Airport – North

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Kingston-Waterfront

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Laramie

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts MILWAUKEE AIRPORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts SEATTLE-SEATAC INTL AIRPORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Resort Yalong Bay Sanya

12,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites EASTCHASE PARK

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Expres MEBANE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BAY CITY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Oldbury M5, Jct.2

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CHICAGO-ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express COLORADO SPRINGS (AIRPORT)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DAYTON-HUBER HEIGHTS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DENVER – AURORA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GIRONA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENSBORO – AIRPORT AREA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HALIFAX-BEDFORD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HENDERSON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LE MARS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NASHVILLE-HENDERSONVILLE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SAN DIEGO OTAY MESA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SANDY – SOUTH SALT LAKE CITY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ST. PETERSBURG NORTH (I-275)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Shanghai Zhabei

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express TAMPA -USF-BUSCH GARDENS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express VENICE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WILSON I-95

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts ATLANTA-PERIMETER/DUNWOODY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts COLORADO SPRINGS (AIRPORT)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Chiangmai

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts DENVER EAST – STAPLETON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Hangzhou Xiaoshan

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts LISBON – CONTINENTAL

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts ORANGE PARK – WELLS RD.

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts PUEBLO

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts QUINCY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts SHREVEPORT WEST

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts St.Petersburg-Moskovskye V.

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BROOKSVILLE WEST

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DECATUR

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express EASTLAND

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG (DUNCAN)

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ROSEVILLE-ST. PAUL

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SIMPSONVILLE

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WILSON-DOWNTOWN

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts WARREN

5,000 pts.

Priority Club’s “Up to 4x More” promotion started this week and runs from September 15 through December 31, 2011. The basic offer allows points earners to receive 500 bonus points per night and miles earners to receive 100 bonus miles per night for up to 40 nights during the 15 week promotion period. The maximum bonus is 80,000 points or 16,000 miles during the promotion. Bonus points or miles are in addition to regular earning for Priority Club stays.

Registration Page for ‘Up to 4x More’ 80,000 Points Fall Promotion.

Registration Page for ‘Up to 4x More’ 16,000 Miles Fall Promotion.

• No retroactive bonus points or miles are permitted for stays completed before promotion registration.
• Only one room per member per night will count for this promotion.

Up to 4x More refers to the ability to double, triple or quadruple the nightly bonus points or miles with stays in two, three or four different IHG brands during the promotion.

• Bonus Level 1 = 500 points or 100 miles per night, up to 40 nights from September 15-December 31.
• Bonus Level 2 = 1,000 points or 200 miles per night with stays in two different IHG brands.
• Bonus Level 3 = 1,500 points or 300 miles per night with stays in three different IHG brands.
• Bonus Level 4 = 2,000 points or 400 miles per night with stays in four different IHG brands.

Priority Club members registered for the promotion earn 500 bonus points or 100 bonus miles per night for stays through December 31, 2011. In January 2012 the number of different brands stayed will determine the multiplier and bonus points or miles will post in January.

Priority Club represents eight IHG brands:

• InterContinental Hotels – luxury hotel market segment
• Crowne Plaza – upscale hotel market segment
• Hotel Indigo – upscale hotel market segment
• Holiday Inn – upper midscale hotel market segment
• Holiday Inn Express – upper midscale hotel market segment
• Staybridge Suites – upscale extended stay hotel market segment
• Candlewood Suites – midscale extended stay hotel market segment
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations are six U.S. timeshare resort destinations. (The link web page states this is newest IHG brand.)

Market segment classification is based on 2011 STR U.S. Hotel Chain Scale.

The Priority Club Rewards Elite Qualification Factor

Priority Club Rewards counts all points earned as elite qualifying points with very few exceptions like points purchased for a Points + Cash reward. The ‘Up to 4x More’ bonus points multiplier happens in January 2012 and provides an elite status jumpstart for Priority Club members when these bonus points post in January. This is one reason to go for points rather than miles since the bonus miles for different brand stays posting in January will do nothing for Priority Club elite status qualification.

Brand multiplier bonus points posting in January 2012 count for 2012 Priority Club elite qualification.

20,000 points earns Gold elite for 2012 and 2013. Stay 14 nights in four different IHG brands and you earn 21,000 Brand Multiplier bonus points in Janary 2012 and two years of Gold elite. Max out this promotion for 40 nights with four different brand stays and the January 2012 posting of Brand Multiplier Bonus Points for 60,000 points earns Platinum elite for 2012 and 2013.

Earning Points at IHG brands

IHG Priority Club Rewards has three different earning rates for points depending on IHG hotel brand.

• InterContinental Hotels = 2,000 points per stay.
• Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Club Vacations earn 10 points per US$1.
• Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites earn 5 points per US$1.

Participating Airlines for Miles Earners

Miles earning base rates vary between hotel brand and airline partner. Check the Priority Club link for miles earning structure. International airlines tend to have a higher earning base rate for members spending less than $250 per hotel stay.

• American Airlines
• Aeromexico
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• AIR MILES Reward Program
• AirTran
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta
• Lanchile
• United Airlines
• US Airways
• Varig Brasil
• Asia Pacific Airlines
• Air China
• Air New Zealand – Airpoints
• All Nippon Airways
• Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)
• Asiana Airlines
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• China Southern
• Eva Air
• Hainan Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• Jet Airways
• Korean Airways
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas Airways Limited
• Singapore Airlines
• Thai Airways International

Europe, Middle East and Africa airline partners are not participating in Up to 4x More promotion.