January 2013 has seen hotel loyalty program changes growing faster than hotel construction. The managers must be working late nights.

Wyndham Rewards changed from 4 to 7 reward categories for their brands. Kind of a shock to see a hotel award night rise from 16,000 points to 45,000 points with no warning. So far it looks like New York City hotels are the first awards to hit new high tiers.

Priority Club drops chain brand award tiers on January 18, 2013 for a nine (9) category award system at 5,000 point increments from 10,000 to 50,000 points per award night. Is this going to be a bad points devaluation? January 18 we will see.

Loads of new promotions with Q-1 2013 offers out from all the major chains.

January 2013 hotel loyalty promotions

Le Club Accorhotels - Read More…

Everyone has heard of Hollywood. But where do you go in Hollywood to see stars and stuff?

Last April I attended a party at H&H, Hollywood and Highland Center while attending the U.S. Travel International PowWow. I loaded on a bus in downtown Los Angeles, the area of historic downtown with City Hall, the convention center and LA Live Entertainment Center for a crosstown traffic trip to see stars and bars in Hollywood.

Arriving at Hollywood & Highland Center I walked off the bus onto a red carpet. H&H was home of the 2012 Academy Awards. There was a small crowd of 30 to 50 gawkers across the street, behind a police barricade, snapping photos of the U.S. Travel PowWow tourism delegates.

The biggest stars I saw that night in front of Hollywood & Highland were already flattened on the ground before the party got started. Read More…

One of the Daily Getaways offers for Friday April 27 is two nights at Loews Hotels for $350 ($315 with Amex). There are five hotels for this offer:

• Loews Miami Beach Resort, Miami Beach, FL
• Loews Don Cesar Resort, St. Pete Beach, FL
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando^®
• Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado Bay, CA
• Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, AZ

There are only 20 packages available in this sale and the hotel stay certificate must be used by November 30, 2012.

Universal Express Unlimited ($89 value per day)

Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando offers a special advantage for people interested in visiting the Universal Orlando theme parks with on-site hotel benefits. I certainly would like to visit the Harry Potter park.

Guests at Loews Royal Pacific Resort get complimentary access to Universal Express Unlimited which bypasses the regular lines to fast-track your way on to rides at the theme parks. TripAdvisor reviews for the hotel state this can save a couple of hours in your vacation day riding the rides rather than standing in the lines while visiting the parks.

Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man one hour before the theme park opens (valid theme park admission required) before nearly all other guests.

Priority seating at select restaurants throughout both theme parks and enjoy first available seating at select Universal Orlando and CityWalk restaurants.

TripAdvisor.com reviews indicate the rooms are nothing special at the Loews Royal Pacific, but plenty of people rave about the great value of early park admission and express lines for rides.

The extra time enjoying the park and bypassing long lines when you are spending what turns out to be hundreds of dollars for a visit to Universal Orlando might warrant buying one of the 20 packages for this Daily Getaways Loews offer.

I don’t often write about family travel, but I think this Loews offer is an incredible deal for Universal Orlando. Especially since most dates I checked show the Loews Royal Pacific hotel with rates in the $250 to $300+ per night range.

There are three other packages for Loews in Friday’s Daily Getaways.

Two nights for $275 ($247.50) at these Loews Hotels (16 available)

• Loews Annapolis Hotel
• Loews Atlanta Hotel
• Loews Denver Hotel
• Loews New Orleans Hotel
• Loews Philadelphia Hotel
• Loews Regency Hotel
• Loews Santa Monica Hotel
• Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Nashville
• Loews Hôtel Le Concorde – Quebec City, Canada
• Loews Hôtel Vogue – Montreal, Canada

2-nights at Loews Miami Beach in Suite = $1,110 ($999 with Amex) – 5 available.

2-nights in Grand King Suite Loews Santa Monica = $1,110 ($999 with Amex) – 5 available.

The suites are geared for a totally different kind of vacation than family travel.

The Loews Hotel offers in the past, as with Omni Hotels on Daily Getaways have tended not to sell out. Still, if Universal Orlando is in your plans for 2012, be ready at 1pm Eastern Friday to try and score one of the 20 certificates for sale that you can use for two nights at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando.

Lake Las Vegas, about 20 miles from the Las Vegas Strip outside the suburb of Henderson, Nevada has a new Starwood Resort today with The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa.

The hotel has actually been around since 1999, first as the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort. Since 2006 the property has been the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort.

The Westin Lake Las Vegas enters SPG as a category 3 hotel.

Rates tonight are $179. There is a grand opening special stating rates from $125, but I did not see any rates lower than $161 for dates I checked in April and May. I didn’t find any availability for $125 per night before June 1.

I expect some good deals that will be significantly lower than $179 after the initial rebranding launch. Cash & Points stays at $45 and 2,800 points are also a good option, but again no availability today until June.

Lake Las Vegas: a man-made resort folly.

The economic recession that has resulted in 1 out of every 9 homes in Las Vegas in foreclosure also impacted the region’s hotels. The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas went bankrupt, closed down in May 2010 and reopened February 2011 as Ravella at Lake Las Vegas, a Dolce conference center resort.

Loews Lake Las Vegas defaulted on a $117 million mortgage in 2009 and was placed in receivership. Pyramid Hotel Group has been managing the hotel since it defaulted and also manages the Westin Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa since the previous owners turned over the keys last year in bankruptcy.

Westin Las Vegas Hotel was seized by lenders after defaulting on a $160 million mortgage. I have to wonder if Starwood will drop Westin Las Vegas Hotel since it is generally not a highly rated hotel by SPG members. There are very few suites and I have never had anything more than a standard size room in several stays. The hotel is a couple blocks off the strip and kind of a letdown when there are so many great values in the major casino hotels for the same rate as the Westin.

I really enjoy the family environment around Lake Las Vegas and the Ravella property and now the Westin Lake Las Vegas. I think this is a great addition for Starwood Hotels.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler post from August 2009 on Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort. I also did a piece on Ravella Lake Las Vegas in June 2011 when there was a $59 rate. This piece has links to two other posts with photos of the former Ritz-Carlton property.

Las Vegas Sun (March 28) -

Loews hotel at Lake Las Vegas switching to Westin brand.

The interesting facet of the luxury segment is just seven luxury hotel brands are ranked in the North America survey. There is no rank for Park Hyatt, Starwood brands St. Regis, Luxury Collection and Le Meridien, Accor’s Sofitel, and Hilton’s Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria Collection brand. There truly are not many luxury properties in the US with the major hotel chains.

JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index - Luxury Segment

JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study link.

JD Power Luxury Segment Satisfaction link.

The JD Power luxury segment chart led me to estimate the number of properties for each luxury hotel brand. The result shows luxury hotel brands are a small population in the overall hotel market in North America.  

Here are 15 luxury hotel brands ranked by number of properties in North America. The number of hotels was estimated by a simple count and may include some hotels scheduled to open this year. Links to property locations are included for each brand.

Ritz Carlton (Marriott Rewards redemption) = about 45 hotels in US, Mexico and Caribbean. Hotel Locations.

Four Seasons (no published loyalty program) = about 35 hotels in North America. Four Seasons  Hotel Locations. 

InterContinental Hotels (IHG Priority Club and Ambassador Club) has about 37 hotels in North America. InterContinental Hotel locations. 

Fairmont (Fairmont President’s Club) about 30 hotels.  Fairmont Hotel locations.

W Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) has about 20 hotels in North America. W Hotel locations.

JW Marriott (Marriott Rewards) 19 hotels in North America. JW Marriott hotel locations.

Loews (You First) has hotels in 17 cities. Loews hotel locations.

Waldorf-Astoria Collection (Hilton HHonors) 17 Hotels in North America. Several of these properties opened in the past year. I suspect WAC brand will be included in the JD Power luxury list for 2011. Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotel locations.

The Luxury Collection (Starwood Preferred Guest) 18 Properties, although three properties are in one location at The Phoenician Scottsdale. The Luxury Collection Hotel locations.

Millennium Hotels (M&C Loyalty Club) = 13 hotels in North America. Millennium Hotel locations. This brand is prevalent in New Zealand/Australia. 

Le Meridien (Starwood Preferred Guest) = 10 hotels in North America Le Meridien Hotel locations. 

St. Regis (Starwood Preferred Guest) = 8 hotels in North America.  St. Regis Hotel locations. 

Sofitel (Accor A-Club)= 9 hotels in North America.  Sofitel Hotel locations.

Park Hyatt (Hyatt Gold Passport) has only 5 North America locations. Park Hyatt Hotel locations.

Conrad Hotels (Hilton HHonors) has 5 hotels in North America. Conrad Hotel locations.

Globally the largest luxury brands in this selection are InterContinental Hotels (about 175 hotels), Le Meridien (about 100 hotels) and Sofitel (131 hotels). These brands have the vast majority of their hotels outside North America. These three brands, two of which do not rank in the JD Power luxury hotel brands for North America, surpass Ritz-Carlton (80 hotels) or Four Seasons (85 hotels) global portfolio in number of hotels.

Ritz-Carlton is a Marriott brand that partially participates in Marriott Rewards. You do not earn Marriott points for paid stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels, but you can use points for free nights at Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Marriott changed their award chart this past year to go to a 5^th night free redemption program for all their hotel brands, except Ritz-Carlton hotel awards are still progressively discounted for longer stays. The longer you stay the less Marriott points per night needed. A Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton Hotel costs 45,000 points for a one night stay, but only 25,000 points per night at 175,000 points for a seven night stay. This is a substantial savings on a seven night points stay at a Ritz-Carlton.  

One of the best values in the Marriott Rewards points catalog is PointSavers discounts for Ritz-Carlton stays.

Noticeably absent from the JD Power list of North America luxury brands is Hilton Worldwide’s Waldorf Astoria Collection. The rapid expansion of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection this past year now places the brand at 24 hotels globally with 17 in North America. These numbers will likely place Hilton’s luxury brand on the JD Power list in the next year or two. Conrad Hotels are still limited to just five locations in North America and 19 hotels worldwide.

InterContinental, W Hotels, and Loews are rated two JDPower circles. I am not too familiar with Loews having only been to two locations. I really like the Loews Lake Las Vegas (formerly a Park Hyatt), but I wonder if that property will survive with the closing of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas a few months ago?

W Hotels are trendy but not what I consider a luxury hotel brand in terms of service and facilities. I like the hotels for their ambience, but the typically small room size is a big detractor for the typically high price. When I am paying for a luxury hotel I want at least 500+ square feet of room space to lounge around in and the typical W Hotel room is well short of that size.

InterContinental Hotels are a better loyalty program value if you buy in to Ambassador membership for the extra benefits. The annual rate for new members increased in July to $200 or 32,000 Priority Club points.

Fairmont Hotels are great if you travel across Canada and the west coast. Fairmont President’s Club only requires ten stays for top elite membership with some nice benefits. You should sign up for FPC membership just to receive the monthly special rate offers even if you are not positioned for earning elite status.  There are some high value rate discounts for loyalty members sent each month in email.

Loyalty Traveler related post: August 10 Overview of JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Upscale Hotel Brand Ratings (Aug 11, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Brand Ratings (Aug 13, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Brands (August 15, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

Discover America has a batch of fixed price hotel offers from Gaylord Resorts, Loews Hotels and Resorts, and Omni Hotels available for purchase through June 30, 2010. Daily Getaways offered a variety of hotel loyalty points last month with great bargains on points purchases with SPG, Hyatt, Priority Club and other hotel points programs. Here is the link listing 16 hotel discount rate offers available through tomorrow, June 30 for stays later in 2010 or even 2011 for some hotels.

Gaylord Resorts

Gaylord Resorts are convention size hotels located in Orlando, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Nashville. These hotels are fully-equipped environments with restaurants, pools, activity centers, and plenty of entertainment within the hotel resort. I stayed at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando last March for three nights and I was impressed with the array of services and activities including miniature golf course, two pool complexes, fitness center with yoga room, alligator park, and beautifully landscaped interior atrium gardens. The hotel had free shuttle service to the Disney parks.

There are two-night weekend stay packages offered at each Gaylord Resort location. Stays must be completed by November 13 for Orlando, Dallas, and D.C.

The Gaylord Opryland Hotel was devastated by the recent Nashville floods and is undergoing extensive renovation repairs for the next six months. The Gaylord Opryland two night package is valid for a hotel stay anytime in 2011.

Gaylord Texan – two nights $229 (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night check-in)

Gaylord Palms, Orlando – two nights $259 (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night check-in)

Gaylord National, Washington, D.C. – two nights $299 (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night check-in)

Gaylord Opryland, Nashville – two nights $229 (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night check-in)

Loews Hotels and Resorts

There are 19  Loews Hotels and Resorts in the USA and Canada.  There are five offers from Loews for hotel suites for stays through November 15, 2010.

Loews Miami Beach – Beachfront Suite one night $350

Loews Regency New York – Suite one night $350

Loews Santa Monica – Luxury Suite one night $500

Loews One Night in a Suite at your Choice of Nine Hotels, $200

• Loews Atlanta Hotel
• Loews Annapolis Hotel
• The Madison, a Loews Hotel – Washington, D.C.
• Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Nashville
• Loews New Orleans Hotel
• Loews Denver Hotel
• Loews Philadelphia Hotel
• Loews Hôtel Le Concorde – Quebec City, Canada
• Loews Hôtel Vogue – Montreal, Canada 

Loew’s One Night in a Suite at your choice of Six hotels, $300

• Loews Coronado Bay Resort (San Diego)
• Loews Ventana Canyon Resort (Tucson)
• Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort
• Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando^®
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando^®
• The Don CeSar, a Loews Hotel (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Omni Hotels and Resorts

There are three tiers of two-night weekend hotel stays available for Omni Hotels through the Discover America site.

Omni Weekend Getaway for $175 – two nights through December 30. Participating Hotels.

Omni Weekend Escape for $250 – two nights through December 30 at these participating Omni Hotels.

Omni Luxury Weekend for $350 – two nights through December 30 at these participating Omni Hotels.

Any one of these Discover America deals will likely be a big savings on the regular room rates for these upper-upscale and luxury class hotels.

There are other package offers available through the DiscoverAmerica site, but these hotel deals look to be the best value opportunities.

Remember – these deals are scheduled to end after tomorrow on June 30.

Gaylord Palms, Orlando

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort is about 20 miles east of the major action on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel décor is bright, airy, and the loudest noises you are likely to hear will come from kids screaming and laughing out of fun, joy, and excitement at the pools, ping pong tables, and the lake beach rather than the typical clink, clang, and ring of slot machines in Las Vegas.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort white sand beach

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort struck me as a family fun destination in a desert oasis perched on the edge of a private lake on the outskirts of Henderson, Nevada. This hotel used to be the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas and possibly familiar to many movie watchers as the Las Vegas location for the 2001 movie America’s Sweethearts with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Billy Crystal.

Link to Resort Overview page for Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort Terrace Fountain

The hotel was designed with a Moroccan theme. This lobby invites one to sit and lounge in the cool open space with plenty of comfortable cushion chairs and couches when the outside temperature can peel your skin in the sun before you can finish a round of golf. 

Loews lake Las Vegas Resort Arabesque Lounge in lobby

There are nearly 500 rooms and close to 50 suites at the resort.  This hotel is one of my favorite locations in the Las Vegas Valley. You will be hard pressed to find a better value for a resort getaway if you desire sun and relaxation and don’t mind the absence of gambling facilities.

The website has a page for room category comparisons. http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/Lake-Las-Vegas-Resort/Rooms/Compare.aspx

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lounge beds on terrace

The primary difference for most of the standard rooms at 392 square feet (a comfortable size) is the view from three locations within the hotel.

Superior rooms will be located on the side of the resort facing away from the Lake. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $93 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $139 per night.

Deluxe rooms face the pool side or may have a partial lake view. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $106 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $159 per night.

Loews Lake Las Vegas upper pool

Luxury rooms have the nicest view in the standard room size category and look upon Lake Las Vegas.  Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $106 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $159 per night.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lower pool

Grand Luxury King at 524 square feet provides ample space for feeling a bit more resort like. I feel like I’ve scored a decent upgrade when I have a room over 500 square feet. That makes the hotel room feel spacious enough for an extended hotel stay. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $126 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $189 per night.

An Executive Suite at 792 square feet is when the going is good and the relaxing in your room is truly a comfort. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate Luxury King Suite $289 per night Aug 25-27.

Moving above this size of room will rapidly increase the cost of your stay.

Grand King Suite at 1,188 square feet is $489 per night with “Taking Care of Business” Instant Gold Elite rate Aug 25-27.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort terrace and lake view

Loews You First Hotel Loyalty Program Instant Gold Elite Offer

One of the real values of booking a room at this hotel for a quick stay over the next week is the ability to receive instant Gold elite status in Loews “You First” hotel loyalty program for stays by August 30, 2009. Even a one night stay qualifies for this offer.

One of the benefits of Gold elite membership, normally requiring 5 stays in a calendar year, is a complimentary room upgrade. Book the Luxury room and you may find yourself in the Grand Luxury King. Book the Grand Luxury and you may receive an Executive Suite. Upgrades may be confirmed at time of booking and Gold members can buy a suite upgrade for $50 per night, if available.

Loews You First Gold members also receive complimentary late checkout, complimentary internet and free fitness center access.

Loews You First Elite Level benefits: https://www.loewshotels.com/en/YouFirst/Benefits.aspx

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort terrace fireplace

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort website link for hotel virtual tour: http://www.loewshotels.com/Content/en/Hotels/Lake-Las-Vegas-Resort/PhotoGallery/virtualtour.html

Dozens of children were playing in the activity pools outside.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lower activity pool and slide

One lone woman sat reading a book in the quiet spacious lobby on a Saturday morning. The pool is off to the side and the beach loaded with toddlers sits below the lobby level. The view from the lobby was an uninterrupted-by-people vista and unobtrusively tranquil with glittering sunlight reflecting off the lake surface.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lobby

Boats are available for rent and the roads are fairly wide and quiet of heavy traffic in the Lake Las Vegas community if you want to try a bike ride.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort boat dock

Self-parking is free at the resort and just 50 yards from the entrance. (I clocked myself at 25 minutes to go from my room at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip directly to my car in the self-park lot and directly back to the room).

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort entry drive; self-park lot on left

The hotel shuttle will take guests to MonteLago Village about a mile away where the MonteLago Casino and Ritz Carlton Hotel are located.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort upper pool and spa tub