The common method used to compare different hotel loyalty programs is to compare the cost of a hotel reward with the cost to earn base points.

For example:

• Hyatt Regency Miami –  Jan 19, 2011 = $329/night
• Gold Passport category 3 reward night = 12,000 points

$329/night earns 1,645 base points with Gold Passport. A member needs 7.3 nights paying $329 per night to earn one free night at this hotel. This is the method used by NerdWallet.com in its hotel loyalty program comparison.

But this method is not practical for me since I would never pay $329 for a room I can get for 12,000 points. Creating averages is useful for hotel program comparison, but my objective with hotel loyalty programs is to be better than average.  

Loyalty Traveler looks at this Hyatt Regency Miami room rate and calculates 12,000 Gold Passport points saves $329. Getting $27.42 value for every 1,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points is an excellent redemption opportunity.  

• Four Points Miami Beach -  Jan 19, 2011 = $199/night
• Starwood Preferred Guest category 4 reward night = 10,000 points

$199/night earns 398 base points with SPG. A member need 25.1 nights paying $199 per night to earn a free night at this hotel.

Remember this is just one points value for one hotel on one particular night. Other hotels will give a different value.

Some comparative analyses use this method and calculate the rate for earning a free night across hundreds of hotels and then develop an average for that program. Nerdwallet came up with a value of 13 Hyatt nights being the average for earning a free night and 22 Starwood nights to earn one free night.

The basic problem with the average number of paid nights to earn a free night methodology is any one hotel loyalty program member will have a unique set of hotels with different values than those used by NerdWallet or any other random sample.

For example: Hyatt Regency Santa Clara California for 12/30 has a room rate of $79. This Gold Passport category 2 hotel is 8,000 points for a free night.  $79 hotel rate earns 395 base points. This hotel takes 20.3 nights to earn a free night (8,000/395).

Averaging the Hyatt Miami (7.3 nights) and Hyatt Santa Clara (20.3 nights) gives 13.8 nights I need to stay at Hyatt hotels to earn a free night.  Whether this is an accurate estimate for any specific member’s hotel stay pattern is questionable, but at least this is a method for evaluating the rate at which a free night is earned in a specific hotel loyalty program and the numbers for different hotel loyalty programs can be compared to each other.

 

Promotions Make All the Difference

The limitation of the NerdWallet.com method shown for nights needed to earn a free night is the promotion factor is excluded. Promotions make all the difference in the ability to earn free nights with less spend.

Base points equivalent value (BPEV)

Hyatt Gold Passport Reward nights = 5 points per dollar base points earn rate.

• Hyatt category 1 = 5,000 points (equal to base points earned for $1,000 hotel spend)
• Hyatt category 2 = 8,000 points ($1,600)
• Hyatt category 3 = 12,000 points ($2,400)
• Hyatt category 4 = 15,000 points ($3,000)
• Hyatt category 5 = 18,000 points ($3,600)
• Hyatt category 6 = 22,000 points ($4,400)

Hyatt hotel rewards show how much hotel spend is needed to earn a free night using the base points earn rate as a monetary scale equivalent to a free reward night. Hotel program comparisons have used this method of comparison for several years.

Hotel loyalty member’s objective is reducing the spend amount to earn a free night.

Earning 15,000 Gold Passport points will take $3,000 in hotel spend if only 5 points per dollar are earned for all hotel stays. Ways to improve the earn rate are:

• Hyatt Gold Passport promotions
• Hyatt Gold Passport elite status for elite bonus points (Platinum = 15%; Diamond = 30%)
• Hyatt Gold Passport G bonus for specific hotel stays
• Hyatt Gold Passport Visa Credit Card

Hotel loyalty promotions are perpetual bonuses that can be maximized by planning hotel stays for that purpose.  Promotions alter the entire base points equivalent value methodology for comparing hotel loyalty programs due to the ability to earn far more than base points for hotel spend.

Evaluating promotion bonuses is not easy.

How do I compare a promotion bonus of 25,000 Hilton HHonors points after 4 hotel stays to 4x points for a 4-night stay?

How do I compare 500 bonus points per night for a three night weekend Starwood stay to Marriott Rewards free night after two stays?

Base Points Equivalent Value (BPEV)

As Loyalty Traveler I have analyzed hotel promotions for several years. One of the primary difficulties is finding an objective way to compare different hotel promotions.

I am commonly asked by hotel travelers, “What is the best promotion right now?”

Elite status, single night or multiple night stays, location are all factors to be considered. But is there a way to objectively compare the potential value of different promotions and rank them to each other?

The central idea for Base Points Equivalent Value is calculate the promotion bonus points and correlate the promotion bonus to a monetary scale using base points earn rate for the specific hotel loyalty program.

The rest of this post shows how to make these comparisons.

 

2011 Q1 Hotel Loyalty Promotions

I will compare Q1 2011 promotions from Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hilton HHonors using BPEV methodology.

Hilton HHonors – 2x base points for two-night stays; 3x base points for three-night stays; 4x base points for four night or longer stays. No bonus points earning limit. Loyalty Traveler HHonors promotion analysis (12-28-10).

Marriott Rewards – one free night at category 1 to 4 hotel after two stays. Two free nights earning limit. Loyalty Traveler Marriott promotion analysis (12-27-10).

Starwood Preferred Guest – 2x base points + 500 points per night Thursday through Sunday nights. Loyalty Traveler SPG promotion analysis (12-15-10).

Stay Patterns (assume all hotel rates are $100 per night)

I use a hypothetical room rate of $100 per night for each hotel stay pattern to compare all programs on the same hotel spend. The base points equivalent value shown only applies to the promotion bonus and ignores the base points and elite bonus points normally earned for the hotel spend level. 

Hotel Stay Pattern 1:

1 night + 1 night + 1 night + 1 night  ($400 total hotel spend)

• Marriott = $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• SPG = $1,200 Base Points Equivalent Value
• Hilton HHonors = $0 Base Points Equivalent Value.

 

Hilton = 0 bonus points. There is no bonus for one night stays.

Hilton HHonors = $0 Base Points Equivalent Value.

Marriott = 2 free nights. Equivalent to 40,000 points.

Marriott = $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.

SPG assume all Friday and Saturday nights = 400 bonus points (double points x $400) + 2,000 bonus points (500 points per weekend night x 4 nights) = 2,400 points

SPG = $1,200 Base Points Equivalent Value

The promotion bonus for the member with four one night stays has no promotion bonus value for Hilton HHonors where the bonus only kicks in with a two night or longer hotel stay.

SPG earns 2,400 bonus points in this example which is equivalent to the points earned for $1,200 in hotel spend. SPG has a BPEV equal to $1,200 for this hotel stay pattern including four weekend nights.

Marriott Rewards earns two free nights after four stays and the BPEV is a high $4,000. A Marriott Rewards member would need to spend $4,000 to earn 40,000 points without any promotion or elite bonuses.

 

Hotel Stay Pattern 2: 

1 night ($100) + 1 night ($100) + 2 nights ($200) + 2 nights ($200) for $600 total hotel spend.

• Marriott = $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• Hilton = $400 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• SPG = $300 Base Points Equivalent Value.

Hilton earns no bonus points for the two 1-night stays and double points for two two-night stays.

1 night ($100) 0 bonus points + 1 night ($100) 0 bonus points + 2 nights ($200) 2,000 bonus points + 2 nights ($200) 2,000 bonus points = 4,000 bonus points.

 (0 + 0 + 2,000 + 2,000) = 4,000 bonus points.

$400 Base Points Equivalent Value.

Marriott Rewards = 2 free nights with four separate hotel stays. Spending an additional $200 over the four one-night stays earns no additional promotion bonus. Two nights for a category 4 hotel reward is equivalent to 40,000 points. $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.

SPG assume all Monday to Wednesday nights for SPG = 600 bonus points (double points) = $300 Base Points Equivalent Value.

SPG double base points is a low value bonus unless combined with a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night.  

Hotel Stay Pattern 3: 

2 nights ($200) + 2 nights ($200) + 3 nights ($300) for $700 hotel spend.

• SPG: $2,100 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• Marriott Rewards: $2,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• Hilton HHonors: $1,000 Base Points Equivalent Value. 

 

Hilton HHonors: BPEV = $1,000.

2 nights ($200) 2,000 bonus points + 2 nights ($200) 2,000 bonus points + 3 nights ($300) 6,000 bonus points = 10,000 bonus points.

 

Marriott Rewards: $2,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.

1 free night at category 4 hotel earned for two stays and equivalent to 20,000 points.

 

SPG: $2,100 Base Points Equivalent Value.

Assume all weekend nights. SPG = 700 bonus points ($700 double points) + 3,500 bonus points (7 x 500 points weekend night). 4,200 bonus points.

Hotel Stay Pattern 4: Average $200 per night room rate

3 nights ($600) +  3 nights ($600) + 4 nights ($800) + 4 nights ($800) for $2,800 hotel spend.

 

• Hilton HHonors: $7,200 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• Marriott Rewards: $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.
• SPG: $1,900 Base Points Equivalent Value.

 

Hilton HHonors: BPEV = $7,200.

3 nights ($600) 12,000 bonus points + 3 nights ($600) 12,000 bonus points + 4 nights ($800) 24,000 bonus points + 4 nights ($800) 24,000 points = 72,000 bonus points.

 

Marriott Rewards: $4,000 Base Points Equivalent Value.

2 free nights at category 4 hotels is equivalent to 40,000 points.

 

SPG: $1,900 Base Points Equivalent Value.

Assume Monday through Wednesday and Monday through Thursday stays.

SPG = 2,800 bonus points ($2,800 double points) + 1,000 bonus points (2 x 500 points Thursday nights) = 3,800 bonus points.

The Value of Promotion Bonus Points 

Base Points Equivalent Value is simply a scale for objective comparisons of hotel loyalty promotions, but you still need a way to compare the relative value of the bonus points earned. 

A Loyalty Traveler cardinal rule is hotel points have no value until redeemed.

Commonly used redemption valuations for hotel program points are based on a variety of models. The simplest way to value points is a comparison of hotel reward cost divided by room rate.  

For example: Hyatt Regency Miami with a $329 room rate is 12,000 points for a reward night.

1,000 Hyatt points are worth $27.42 in redemption value for this hotel night.

Repeat this calculation for thousands of hotels in a hotel loyalty program and you will likely find a range of redemption value centered around the ranges shown below. Most reward night redemptions will fall into these value ranges.

Common Redemption Value Range for 1,000 Hotel Points 

• Hilton HHonors = $3 to $7 per 1,000 points.
• Hyatt Gold Passport = $12 to $20 per 1,000 points.
• IHG Priority Club = $5 to $10 per 1,000 points.
• Marriott Rewards = $7 to $11 per 1,000 points.
• SPG = $23 to $35 per 1,000 points.  

The ability to go lower than $4 per 1,000 points is easy with Hilton where finding $100 room nights costing 50,000 points is not too difficult ($2 per 1,000 points redemption value.)

Starwood redemption opportunities in the $60 per 1,000 points range is possible when redeeming Cash & Points for a $300 room night at a category 4 hotel for $60 + 4,000 points.

4,000 points saves $240 cash and the SPG redemption value is $60 per 1,000 points. 

I can calculate the rebate value using redemption value estimates for each of the stay patterns shown previously as a function of total hotel spend.

Hotel Stay Pattern 1: Total Hotel Spend = $400 on four 1-night stays. 

Hilton HHonors = No bonus for one-night stays = $0 promotion value rebate. (0% rebate value) 

Marriott Rewards = 40,000 points bonus = $280 to $440 in rebate value. Actual value is more likely closer to $280 since free hotel nights limited to category 4 hotel reward.

$280 points redemption value/$400 hotel spend = 70% bonus points rebate value.

SPG = 2,400 bonus points = $55.20 to $84 redemption value for promotion bonus points = 14% to 21% rebate value.

Hotel Stay Pattern 2: 

Total Hotel Spend = $600 for 1 night ($100) + 1 night ($100) + 2 nights ($200) + 2 nights ($200). 

Hilton HHonors = 4,000 bonus points = $16 to 24 promotion value rebate = 3% to 4% rebate on $600 spend.

Marriott Rewards = two category 4 nights is equivalent to 40,000 bonus points.  $280 points redemption value/$600 hotel spend = 47% points rebate value on $600 hotel spend. 

SPG = 600 bonus points = $13.80 to $21 redemption value for bonus points earned from $600 in spend = 2% to 4% rebate value on $600 hotel spend.

Hotel Stay Pattern 3:

Total hotel spend = $700 with 3 stays for 2 nights ($200) + 2 nights ($200) + 3 nights ($300)

Hilton HHonors = 10,000 bonus points = $40 to $60 promotion value rebate = 4% to 6% rebate on $700 spend.

Marriott Rewards = one category 4 night is equivalent to 20,000 bonus points.  $140 points redemption value/$700 hotel spend = 20% points rebate value on $700 hotel spend.

SPG = 4,200 bonus points = $96.60 to $147 redemption value for bonus points earned from $700 in spend. 14% to 21% bonus points rebate value on $700 hotel spend.

 

Hotel Stay Pattern 4:

Total hotel spend = $2,800 with 4 stays for 3 nights ($600) + 3 nights ($600) + 4 nights ($800) + 4 nights ($800). 

Hilton HHonors = 72,000 bonus points = $288 to $432 promotion value rebate = 10% to 15% rebate on $2,800 spend. 

Marriott Rewards = two category 4 nights is equivalent to 40,000 bonus points.  $240 points redemption value/$2,800 hotel spend = 9% points rebate value on $2,800 hotel spend.

SPG = 3,800 bonus points = $87.40 to $133 redemption value for bonus points earned from $2,800 in spend. 2% to 5% bonus points rebate value on $2,800 hotel spend.

Conclusion:

This post shows mathematical models for evaluating hotel loyalty promotions. The hotel stay patterns I used in these examples illustrate the variability in earning promotion bonus points dependent on the specific hotel stay pattern and hotel spend. Hilton, Marriott and SPG each show the best promotion value  for at least one of the hotel stay patterns.

Determining the best hotel promotion depends on your hotel stay pattern. Comparing promotions to each other is complicated even when excluding factors like hotel brand preferences and elite status benefits.

My overall opinion of the three 2011 Q1 hotel loyalty offers from Hilton, Marriott and Starwood indicate the value of these first quarter promotions is relatively low compared to many promotions in 2010.

The hotel loyalty program member wants promotion value to be more than 20%.

For example: The free night for every two stays like Priority Club had for the end of 2010 makes a 100% promotion rebate possible. I spend $80 per night at two Holiday Inn hotels and use my free night earned for a $200 InterContinental Hotel night. My promotion bonus rebate value is equivalent to 125% of my total hotel spend. This far exceeds the 2% to 21% promotion rebate value shown for Hilton and SPG with these 2011 Q1 offers.

Free nights are high value promotions and Marriott Rewards promotion rebate value shows the high value of free nights compared to bonus points offers from SPG and Hilton.

Free night offers were uncommon prior to 2009, except for the recurring Hyatt Gold Passport free nights.

Loyalty Traveler does not expect free nights to continue at the pace they were offered these past two years, however, promotion bonuses that have less than 10% rebate value are the kinds of offers that make Expedia package deals look better than hotel loyalty programs.

Hopefully these models shown here will help readers evaluate the promotion value for your own hotel stay pattern.

The best hotel loyalty promotion for Q1 2011 really depends on your specific hotel stay pattern.

And we wait to see what Hyatt, Priority Club and Goldpoints Plus roll out for Q1 2011.

Related Post:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/12/29/base-points-equivalent-value-method-for-hotel-program-comparisons/ (Dec 29, 2010)

One of the most stable aspects of the major hotel loyalty programs like Starwood Preferred Guest, Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Hilton HHonors and Marriott Rewards is the rate for earning base points per US dollar in hotel spend.  

The cost of hotel reward nights changes every year for most programs, but the rate for earning base points in each hotel loyalty program has not changed in a decade.

Base Points Equivalent Value

Base points earn rate provides a stable scale specific to each hotel program. I call this scale the “Base Points Equivalent Value” or BPEV and I will show how to apply this scale for program comparisons and hotel loyalty promotion value analysis.

This first post shows how base points equivalent value correlates fairly well to the cost of hotel reward nights using points across hotel loyalty programs with the notable exception of high category Starwood Hotels being outliers.

In other words, $4,000 in hotel spend will earn sufficient base points for one free night in the highest category hotel reward in most hotel programs. The level of hotel spend to earn a free night is similar across different programs from the low to high range of hotel reward categories using base points equivalent value.

The low end category hotel rewards typically require $1,000 in hotel spend using base points equivalent value. The high-end category hotels for IHG, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt are all in the $4,000 range.

Hotel Spend Base Points Earning Rate

Assume $100 hotel spend for one hotel room stay.

• Hilton HHonors = 10 base points per $1 = 1,000 base points
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 5 base points per $1 = 500 base points
• *InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club = 10 base points per $1 = 1,000 base points
• *Marriott Rewards = 10 base points per $1 = 1,000 base points
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 2 base points per $1 = 200 base points

* Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club have a lower rate of earning base points, 5 points per dollar, for stays at some of their extended stay hotel brands like Residence Inn (MR), TownePlace Suites (MR), Staybridge Suites (IHG) and Candlewood Suites (IHG). InterContinental Hotels brand earn a set 2,000 base points per stay, regardless of hotel spend.

Most hotel programs use 10 base points per $1 including Wyndham Rewards, Best Western Rewards and Choice Privileges.

SPG, Hilton and Hyatt always give a set rate of base points per dollar, regardless of hotel brand.

Hyatt Gold Passport Reward nights = 5 points per dollar base points earn rate.

• Hyatt category 1 = 5,000 points (equal to base points earned for $1,000 hotel spend)
• Hyatt category 2 = 8,000 points ($1,600)
• Hyatt Category 3 = 12,000 points ($2,400)
• Hyatt Category 4 = 15,000 points ($3,000)
• Hyatt Category 5 = 18,000 points ($3,600)
• Hyatt category 6 = 22,000 points ($4,400) 

 

Marriott Rewards = Earn 10 base points per dollar at all hotel brands, except 5 base points/$1 for Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites.

• Marriott category 1 = 7,500 points (equal to base points earned for $750 hotel spend)
• Marriott category 2 = 10,000 points ($1,000)
• Marriott Category 3 = 15,000 points ($1,500)
• Marriott Category 4 = 20,000 points ($2,000)
• Marriott Category 5 = 25,000 points ($2,500)
• Marriott category 6 = 30,000 points ($3,000)
• Marriott category 7 = 35,000 points ($3,500)
• Marriott category 8 = 40,000 points ($4,000)

The hotel spend values shown double in cost if all Residence Inn hotel nights.

Hilton HHonors = 10 base points per dollar for Points & Miles earners.

• Hilton HHonors category 1 = 7,500 points (equal to base points earned for $750 hotel spend)
• Hilton HHonors category 2 = 12,500 points ($1,250)
• Hilton HHonors Category 3 = 25,000 points ($2,500)
• Hilton HHonors Category 4 = 30,000 points ($3,000)
• Hilton HHonors Category 5 = 35,000 points ($3,500)
• Hilton HHonors category 6 = 40,000 points ($4,000)
• Hilton HHonors category 7 = 50,000 points ($5,000)

Hilton HHonors = 15 points/$1 for Points & Points earners (10 base points + 5 bonus points per dollar).

• Hilton HHonors category 1 = 7,500 points (equal to base points earned for $500 hotel spend)
• Hilton HHonors category 2 = 12,500 points ($833)
• Hilton HHonors Category 3 = 25,000 points ($1,667)
• Hilton HHonors Category 4 = 30,000 points ($2,000)
• Hilton HHonors Category 5 = 35,000 points ($2,333)
• Hilton HHonors category 6 = 40,000 points ($2,667)
• Hilton HHonors category 7 = 50,000 points ($3,333)

 

Starwood Preferred Guest = 2 base points per dollar hotel spend.

• SPG category 1 = 2,000 points (Fri/Sat = $1,000) or 3,000 points (Sun-Thu = $1,500)
• SPG category 2 = 3,000 points (Fri/Sat = $1,500) or 4,000 points (Sun-Thu = $2,000)
• SPG Category 3 = 7,000 points ($3,500)
• SPG Category 4 = 10,000 points ($5,000)
• SPG Category 5 = 12,000 points ($6,000); peak season 16,000 points ($8,000)
• SPG category 6 = 20,000 points ($10,000); peak season 25,000 points ($12,500)
• SPG category 7 = 30,000 points ($15,000); peak season 35,000 points ($17,500) 

The Starwood Preferred Guest table illustrates the common complaint about SPG with extraordinarily high redemption cost for high category hotels. The high cost of reward nights for category 5, 6 and 7 hotels are outliers among the average cost of $4,000 to $5,000 in base spend to earn a free night at the highest category hotels. The high cost of high-end hotel rewards necessitates high value promotions as an essential component for making SPG competitive to other programs.

 

IHG Priority Club = 10 points per dollar, except Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites 5 points/$1

• Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express = 10,000 points ($1,000); 15,000 points ($1,500); 25,000 points ($2,500)
• Candlewood Suites = 15,000 points ($1,500)
• Staybridge Suites = 20,000 points ($2,000)
• Crowne Plaza / Hotel Indigo = 25,000 points ($2,500)
• InterContinental Hotels = 30,000 points ($3,000) or 40,000 points ($4,000)

Base points equivalent value shown will be higher if hotel stay pattern includes Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites earning just 5 base points per dollar. IHG’s Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites make up a much smaller overall percentage of IHG hotels compared to Marriott Rewards Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites for Marriott among the hotel brands offering lower base point earn rates.

 

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

The main thing to remember is the hotel spend values shown above are the maximum hotel spend needed to earn a free night for the hotel category reward. As a loyalty program member and consumer my goal is to reduce the $3,500 in hotel spend needed for a Marriott Rewards category 7 hotel reward night by as much as possible.

The two primary ways to earn points at a better rate are promotions and hotel loyalty elite status. The combination of base points from hotel spend, bonus points from loyalty promotions and bonus points for elite level membership lower the hotel spend needed for a reward night using points.

For example: I am a Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum member. Last month I stayed at the Sheraton Sunnyvale on a $79 room rate. I received $79 x 2 base points + $79 x 1 elite bonus point + 500 platinum amenity bonus points = 737 points (plus complimentary breakfast at the hotel restaurant Faz).

$79 hotel spend = 737 points without any other promotions. The cost shown in the chart above at $5,000 in hotel spend to earn a free hotel night at a category 4 Starwood Hotel is greatly reduced to just $1,075 at the rate I earned points for the Sheraton Sunnyvale hotel stay. The chart is showing hotel spend amounts using only base points equivalent value. Real travel at Starwood Hotels earns bonus points for elite status and promotions. I actually earned 9.3 points per $1 in hotel spend just for elite status.

The 2011 Q1 weekend nights promotion offers double points every night and 500 points per night for Thursday through Sunday nights. An $80 rate on a Friday night as a general SPG member earns 740 points ($80 x 2 base points/$1 + 80 bonus points (double points) + 500 points (Friday night).

SPG Platinum elite member on an $80 hotel rate earns 1,320 points ( 740 points  + 500 points platinum amenity + 80 points elite bonus).

The cost to earn a Starwood category4 hotel reward night at 10,000 points has decreased from the $5,000 base points spend level shown in the table above to just a little over $600 in Starwood hotel spend.  

Base Points Equivalent Value Hotel Reward  Category Comparisons

Hilton HHonors has the best earn rate for top end hotel reward nights of these five major hotel loyalty rewards programs. HHonors points & points earner will earn top reward category 7 hotel free night after just $3,333 in hotel spend. 

Starwood Preferred Guest category 5 hotel is a similar market segment hotel to Hilton HHonors category 7 hotel in many major cities like San Francisco where the W San Francisco is category 5 and Hilton San Francisco is category 7. Peak season SPG category 5 hotel night can take $8,000 in hotel spend to earn 16,000 points. This is more than double the hotel spend for a similar hotel market segment reward with Hilton HHonors.

The Starwood Preferred Guest member needs high value promotions to earn comparatively more bonus points with SPG to be competitive with the base points advantage the Hilton HHonors member earns with Hilton stays.

SPG is sometimes a competitive loyalty rewards program on the basis of reward nights, even for high category hotel rewards.

Promotions offering 500 to 1,000 Starpoints per night are high value offers for SPG members. 1,000 bonus SPG points is a $500 base points equivalent value compared to 1,000 bonus HHonors points being just a $100 base points equivalent value. Hilton HHonors has to offer 2,500 to 5,000 bonus points per night to match the SPG rate for the typical promotion bonus.

The Promotion Variable — How Much is this Hotel Loyalty Promotion Worth?  

Hotel loyalty programs roll out new promotion offers every few months to reward members.  25,000 points after four stays, a free night after three stays, or quadruple bonus points for Sunday stays are examples of some of the promotions this past year. 

One of the main questions I ask myself as Loyalty Traveler is “How can I compare the value of two different promotions objectively within a program like Hilton HHonors or between different programs like Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott Rewards?”

Calculating base points earned correlated to hotel spend is much easier than calculating promotion bonus points earned based on hotel spend. There is a wide variability in promotion bonuses earned among loyalty members of the same program due to different hotel stay patterns resulting in highly variable points earning.

My next Loyalty Traveler post will compare Q1 2011 promotions from Hilton, Marriott and SPG using the base points equivalent value method and a variety of hotel stay patterns.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/12/30/comparing-2011-q1-hotel-loyalty-promotions-using-base-points-equivalent-value/

This piece requires some reader feedback to determine if there is a systemic problem with Gold Passport base point earnings or just my account posting incorrectly.

I have stayed at four different Hyatt Hotels in the past month. Looking over my account I notice that the base points posted for each hotel stay is slightly less than the expected 5 points per dollar awarded for base room rate I paid.  

My base points posted for my last four hotel stays are 4.85% less than what I calculate I should have received for the room rate I paid using the 5 base points per dollar earn rate for Hyatt Gold Passport.

I have questioned Hyatt Gold Passport about this issue twice. The response I received is the hotel is responsible for keying in the room rate used to calculate base points.

I can understand one hotel incorrectly keying in a room rate, but to have all four hotels I stayed at this past month incorrectly key in the room rate is highly unusual.

 

A discrepancy almost too small to detect with the naked eye

The difference in base points posted and what I estimate should have been posted is so small that it could easily go undetected. My account has been corrected after going through each hotel stay folio with a Gold Passport Diamond member customer service representative.

But I sure would like to know how widespread this issue is for Hyatt Gold Passport members. That is why I want you to check your accounts and provide some feedback.

Here are my actual numbers from my last four Hyatt hotel stays over the past month.

2,866 base points actually posted and I estimate 146 missing points for $602.80 in hotel rate base spend that should have earned 3,012 base points. I rounded down in all calculations and I am only considering the room rate before tax.

My account was short-changed 146 base points from 4 hotel stays on $602.80 in spend. Basically I was shorted $29 worth of base points which also affects my 30% Gold Passport elite bonus points by another 43 points. Missing 189 points after $600 in hotel spend is such a small discrepancy that I might have easily overlooked the difference.  

Overall, this is a 4.8% short-change in base points earned for my four hotel stays.

The reason I noticed the base points discrepancy is I did not receive 5,000 bonus points for two of my hotel stays booked with the Hyatt 5000GP rate for two-night stays in participating California hotels. The base points discrepancy caught my attention as I looked over the different hotel stay folios from the past month.

My real question for readers is “How widespread are these discrepancies between room rate paid and base points earned?”

 

15 Million Points would be a Big-Change Discrepancy

Multiply my short-changed account of 146 points on $602 in hotel spend by 100,000 Gold Passport members. Assume a nearly 5% shortfall in base points per person and you have a cumulative 15 million missing points from Gold Passport members’ accounts.

Now that would be a serious issue to be redressed for Hyatt Gold Passport members .

I am reminded of the movie “Office Space” where the software engineers who are about to be fired plant a virus in the computer system to siphon a fraction of a cent from each transaction and end up embezzling a large amount of money.

Please comment Hyatt Gold Passport members  so we can all see if base points short-changing is a common occurrence.

Is base points short-changing an anomaly specific to my Hyatt Gold Passport account or do others see a base points discrepancy with Hyatt Gold Passport earning on recent stays?

Hotel loyalty promotions had a shot of steroids in 2009 as the stock market withered and hotel occupancy plummeted just as many newly-built upper-upscale and luxury hotels opened their doors and tens of thousands of new hotel rooms flooded the market.

The hotel industry could not pull hotel supply off the market and store buildings in the Mojave Desert in the way airlines did with their aircraft to boost plane occupancy.

The Promotion Variable Part 1 showed how hotel programs generally are compared using hotel reward nights. This is relatively easy since hotel programs have a set earn rate for base points dependent on hotel spend.

Spend $500 at Starwood hotels and you earn 1,000 base points (2 points/$1) and possibly another 500 elite bonus points (Gold and Platinum members earn 1 bonus points per $1).

There is still a problem though since different members in the same hotel program may be earning hotel points at vastly different rates even with the same hotel spend.

For example:

Loyalty Traveler’s Equivalent Base Points methodology for Hotel Loyalty Promotions

The promotion variable also has a significant effect on the number of points earned over the course of the year regardless of hotel program. The limited time offer for promotion bonuses combined with the individual member’s travel pattern makes calculating the value of promotions difficult when comparing hotel loyalty programs.

I think the same logic that allows a comparison of hotel rewards across programs using an equivalent base points earn value can also be applied to hotel loyalty promotion value.

Important: The values shown below are only a scale and do not have the real world cash value shown.  In other words, Hyatt $500 per night does not mean the promotion has an actual $500 per night cash value. Promotion values shown in the chart are equivalent base points values.

Promotion Values are equivalent to the amount of base points a loyalty program member would earn if paying for hotel rooms. This is a scale to compare hotel loyalty promotions in different programs by equating promotion value to the hotel program’s own base earn rate for loyalty points.

Hyatt promotion value of $600 per night shown in 2009 Q-2 column is a better promotion value than Hyatt 2009 Q-1 $500 per night promotion since the bonus points earned during the Q-2 promotion are equivalent to the number of base points earned after $600 in hotel spend. Hyatt $500 per night value is a better promotion than Priority Club $100 per night value based on each program’s  own established rate for earning base points on hotel spend.

Higher promotion values are the same as more points per dollar.

2009 Q-1 Hotel Promotions

Hyatt Gold Passport – Up to 20,000 bonus points (Jan 9 – April 30, 2009)

• Stay 2 nights = 2,000 bonus points
• Stay 4 nights = 4,000 bonus points (6,000 total)
• Stay 6 nights = 6,000 bonus points (12,000 total)
• Stay 8 nights = 8,000 bonus points (20,000 total)

Applying Loyalty Traveler equivalent base points value methodology to this Hyatt promotion.

Step 1: The maximum potential bonus is 20,000 points after 8 nights.

Step 2: Hyatt Gold Passport member earns 5 base points per dollar.

Step 3: 20,000 points is equivalent to base points earned after $4,000 in hotel spend.

Step 4: A member maximizing this offer for 20,000 points after 8 nights earns the equivalent of $4,000 in base points or $500 in base points for each night. This is the value shown in the table above for Hyatt Q1-2009.

Starwood Preferred Guest – 500 bonus points per night and an additional 5,000 bonus points after 10 nights. (Jan 7 – April 30, 2010)

Step 1: Maximum bonus potential is 10,000 points after 10 nights.

Step 2: SPG member earns 2 base points per dollar.

Step 3: 10,000 bonus points is equivalent to base points earned after $5,000 in hotel spend.

Step 4: Promotion potential is 1,000 bonus points per night equivalent to $500 in base points per night as shown in table above.

 

Marriott MegaBonus = 2,500 bonus points per stay beginning 2^nd stay, up to 25,000 bonus points. (Feb 1- April 30, 2009)

Step 1: Maximum bonus potential is 25,000 points after 11 stays.

Step 2: Marriott rewards member earns 10 base points per dollar (except for Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites).

Step 3: 25,000 bonus points is equivalent to base points earned after $2,500 in hotel spend.

Step 4: Promotion potential is 2,272 bonus points per stay equivalent to $227 in base points per stay as shown in table above.

 

IHG Priority Club = 3,000 bonus points or 1,000 miles every 3^rd stay, up to 30,000 bonus points or 10,000 bonus miles. (Jan 12 – April 30, 2009)

Step 1: Maximum bonus potential is 30,000 points after 30 stays.

Step 2: Priority Club member earns 10 base points per dollar (except for Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites = 5 points per $1).

Step 3: 30,000 bonus points is equivalent to base points earned after $3,000 in hotel spend.

Step 4: Promotion potential is 1,000 bonus points per stay equivalent to $100 in base points per stay as shown in table above.

 

Then the hotel promotion world lit up in April 2009

2009 started out with basic hotel loyalty program promotions and the economy spiraled down hitting a low point in March 2009 when the stock market crashed. Hotel loyalty promotions came out hard in the second quarter of 2009.

Hyatt in April 2009 announced its program changes for no blackout dates on hotel rewards; elimination of peak date rewards, complimentary internet and the unprecedented complimentary confirmed suite upgrades for Gold Passport Diamond members.

Suddenly Hyatt Gold Passport offered Diamond elite members four complimentary suite upgrades good for up to 7 nights per stay. SPG had been recognized as the program offering generous complimentary suite upgrades to its Platinum elite members. Complimentary upgrades are generally not confirmed with SPG and anecdotal evidence indicated extended stays decreased the probability of getting upgraded to a suite.

How did SPG respond to Hyatt’s chess move?

Starwood Preferred Guest launched their biggest loyalty promotion in years.

This was the first time Starwood Preferred Guest opened up redemption at Category-6 reward hotels in a general member promotion for a free night after two stays.

Starwood Preferred Guest – Free weekend night every two stays, up to category-6 hotel reward. (May 1 – July 31, 2009) Redeem free nights by September 30.

Step 1: Maximum bonus potential is 20,000 points after 2 stays if free night used at category-6 hotel.

Step 2: SPG member earns 2 base points per dollar.

Step 3: 20,000 bonus points is equivalent to base points earned after $10,000 in hotel spend.

Step 4: Promotion potential is 10,000 bonus points per stay equivalent to $5,000 in base points per stay as shown in table above.

Free Nights – The New Norm

InterContinental Hotels Group quickly followed Starwood’s lead.

The features of the IHG Priority Club and SPG free night promotions were different. Priority Club stated no base or bonus points earned if choosing free nights and there was a four free nights earning limit during the 14 week promotion that was extended into mid-August 2009.

On the upside was no free night hotel restrictions in the IHG chain (SPG did not include category 7 hotels). Any day of the week and half of 2009 allowed for free nights with Priority Club.

Marriott Rewards launched a free night promotion for summer 2009.

3 stays = 1 free night at category-1 to category-4 hotel (earn June 1-August 31, 2009; redeem by Dec 31, 2009)

The one night limit and the limited category-1 to category-4 hotels restricted use of the free night reward for any high-end hotels in the Marriott chain in categories 5 to 8.

Hyatt Gold Passport’s 2009 Q-2 promotion was miles based and illustrates another angle for evaluating hotel loyalty promotions offering bonus miles.

The value of miles is evaluated based on the hotel program’s points-to-miles exchange rates.

Comparing Hotel Loyalty Program Promotions

Hotel loyalty program promotions can be compared using equivalent base points math scale. This works as shown for promotions which are based on a specific number of hotel nights or hotel stays.

The last example shows how this method can be applied to hotel program bonus miles promotions.

The Promotion Variable in Hotel Loyalty Programs Part 3 will show how to evaluate promotions where the member earns double and triple base points with hotel spend.

Related Posts:

The Promotion Variable in Hotel Loyalty Programs – Part 1 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/11/08/the-promotion-variable-in-hotel-loyalty-programs-part-1/

The Promotion Variable Part 3 – Hilton HHonors 2009-10 case study

The value of a point is generally used in reference to redeeming points for free hotel nights. I will show how to compare point value when redeeming  for hotel reward nights across programs (part 1) and then apply a similar methodology to show how to compare earning value from promotions across hotel loyalty programs (part 2). A case study of Hilton HHonors promotion offers in 2009 and 2010 is Part 3 to illustrate the promotion variable in practice through one major hotel loyalty program.

San Francisco Hotel Reward Comparison Across Hotel Loyalty Programs

Fisherman’s Wharf is a good place for cross program comparison due to an abundance of hotels from many different hotel chains that are all quite similar in hotel market segment and hotel size.

It is an easy calculation to take the room rate and divide by the number of points required for a free night at each hotel in each hotel loyalty program. The next step though requires a way to correlate the values to each other since these programs have different earn rates.

For example, Sheraton is part of Starwood Preferred Guest and SPG members earn 2 base points per dollar in hotel spend. It could take $5,000 in hotel spend to earn 10,000 SPG points.

But in real travel it takes far less than $5,000 in Starwood Hotels spend to earn 10,000 points due to promotion bonuses and the ability to earn far more than 2 points per dollar during your hotel stays.  

The earning side of the equation is the part of hotel loyalty programs that needs better quantification. 

I have made claims that Hilton HHonors is at a competitive disadvantage in terms of earning points for free nights. 2010 has been a great year for HHonors promotions, however, this program has been promotion weak for many years prior to 2010. 

But how can I prove my claim in numbers to illustrate that HHonors has been promotion weak relative to other programs?

Marriott Rewards members earn 10 points per dollar in hotel spend, except when staying at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites the earning rate drops to 5 points per dollar.

Earning variations make it more difficult to compare  Hilton HHonors where hotel stays at any brand earn 10 points per dollar in hotel spend, but some members earn Points & Miles (10 points per dollar + airline miles) and other members have an earning preference of Points & Points (15 points per dollar) to a program like Marriott Rewards where members earn fewer points per dollar at some brands.

Equivalent Base Points Value – Methodology

I wrote a feature article for the April 2010 InsideFlyer magazine comparing hotel loyalty programs. One of my primary objectives was to come up with a way of comparing hotel reward value across programs that avoided the need to correlate hotel categories from one program to another.

For example in the slide showing San Francisco hotel categories you see Hilton Fisherman’s Wharf is a top-level category-7 hotel at 50,000 points for an HHonors reward night.

Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf is a mid-tier category 3 hotel reward night at 12,000 points (note: Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf  became a Gold Passport Category-4 hotel in June 2010 realignment of hotel rewards across six categories.)

Can I say a Hyatt Category-3 or Category-4 hotel is equivalent to a Hilton HHonors Category-3 or Category-4 hotel or a Category-7 hotel?

I wanted to avoid the “matching hotel reward categories” trap which is taken by most analyses comparing the value of hotel points in different programs.

Equivalent Base Points value seemed a step in the right direction for an authentic comparison of hotel loyalty program reward night value.

 

Hotel Loyalty Program Base Points Earn Rates per US$1 hotel spend

• Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus = 20 base points per $1 (Country Inn and Park Inn = 15 points per $1)
• Hilton HHonors = 10 base points per $1 (15 points for Points & Points earners)
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 5 base points per $1
• InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club = 10 base points per $1                                                                                    (IHG brands Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites = 5 points per $1)
• Marriott Rewards = 10 points per $1 (Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites = 5 points per $1)
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 2 points per $1

Since all base points earning programs use a fixed number of points per $1, I placed all these programs on an equivalent base points scale as shown in the slide below with a factor adjustment. This scale allowed me to compare the reward value of hotels in different programs by comparing the hotels using an equivalent base points value.

This is a basic methodology that can be refined for goldpoints plus, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards to create a personal travel factor that is better aligned with your proportion of hotel spend occurring at the lower earning hotel brands. Hilton HHonors Points & Miles earners do not need an adjustment factor when earning 10 points per $1, but Hilton HHonors Points & Points earners adjust the earning rate by 1.5 to account for 15 points per dollar earned.

For example, the Marriott Rewards members with 50% annual hotel spend in Residence Inn will need to adjust the factor to account for average 7.5 base points per $1 rather than 10 points per $1 by Marriott Rewards member staying only in Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard brands.

NerdWallet.com Methodology

To my surprise this summer I learned that the credit card rewards comparison and analysis online site NerdWallet.com had developed a similar methodology to Loyalty Traveler for evaluating the value of hotel points for co-branded hotel credit cards around the same time in early 2010.

Loyalty Traveler set point value in terms of a cash equivalent value.

NerdWallet.com took a more elegant approach in setting reward value in terms of the number of paid hotel nights needed to earn a free night at that hotel. This methodology basically calculates the number of points a member earns from a paid stay (base points earn rate and elite bonuses if applicable) and divides that into the reward night cost in points. The result is the number of nights you need to pay at a hotel to earn a free night in its loyalty program for that same hotel.

Here is how the NerdWallet.com methodology looks when applied to the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf hotels shown previously.

NerdWallet.com did this for many hotels in different brands and locations for each hotel loyalty program. They gathered a large sample of hotels which is what I actually advocated doing in my InsideFlyer article.

This methodology is quite similar to what I did in my InsideFlyer article but labeled in a different way. So I was confused when I saw the NerdWallet.com chart “The Value of Loyalty / Nights Required to Earn a Free Night” showing Marriott Rewards to be a very easy program for earning a free night (10 paid nights) and Priority Club being one of the hardest programs to earn a free night (25 paid nights).

Marriott Rewards did not surprise me since the program has a high proportion of hotels in its lowest reward categories. Much higher proportion than say Hilton or SPG.

The part I couldn’t believe was Priority Club ranking so low. I know from hundreds of anecdotes and my personal experience that in real travel Priority Club members are racking up free nights insanely fast. 

Well, I was thrilled when Tim Chen, founder of NerdWallet.com responded to me personally to explain how their methodology created the Hotel Program Comparison chart.

And a couple of weeks later I really thought about the NerdWallet.com methodology as I studied Tim’s email and then I felt rather foolish when I realized NerdWallet.com had developed what appears to me to be a nearly identical mathematical construct for analyzing hotel reward value across programs. Their methodology also relies on equivalent base points value.

The next hurdle

There is still a problem with equivalent base points methodology because it relies too much on the free night redemption side of the process without accurately measuring the earning side of the equation.

Priority Club numbers are based on members earning 10 base points per dollar and whatever elite bonus points.  Just like in my charts above for San Francisco the Priority Club hotel reward nights are not that great a value.

Loyalty traveler is fond of stating “Promotions make all the difference!”

And Priority Club has been the most clever hotel loyalty program in 2010 with its promotion activity.

I have seen numerous examples of members earning 30 to 50 points per dollar in hotel spend with Priority Club and my personal experiences match that. Comparing programs using just base points earning shortchanges the hotel programs where the majority of points earned are not base points earned from hotel spend.

Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest and  Priority Club are three programs where promotion bonus points will likely far exceed base points.

Promotions make all the difference when comparing the earn and burn value of points across hotel loyalty programs.

So how can promotions be factored into the equation?

I developed a basic Loyalty Traveler method for comparing hotel promotions across hotel loyalty programs using equivalent base points methodology.  

The Promotion Variable in Hotel Loyalty Programs – Part Two

The Promotion Variable Part 3 – Hilton HHonors 2009-2010 Case Study

 

Hotels call it “revenue management” and we frequent guests call it the “room rate”. I started this article in response to a New York Times Practical Traveler article “Hotels: Fewer Deals but Low Rates” published this week. My initial reaction was to think 2010 actually has better hotel loyalty program promotion deals than last year. I realized Susan Stellin’s piece barely addressed loyalty programs until the last paragraph. And then only to give a general pitch for signing up to the hotel’s loyalty program for potential benefits.

Her focus was finding rate deals. Opaque sites and HotelChatter.com.

If Twitter is your idea of the best way to plan a hotel stay, then perhaps you need a better self-directed strategy for checking hotel rates and finding deals on your own. Sure there are good deals on Twitter. I found free rooms several times at the Westin Bonaventure during their Twitter campaign this past year, but using loyalty programs affords some of the best summer deals you can get in years.

My focus is actually finding the low rates on my own while planning to earn a high value loyalty program rebate with every hotel stay. For this article I use Starwood and San Francisco, but these tactics work for any hotel loyalty program and destination.

There are free night credits with two, three, or four stays with a variety of hotel loyalty programs for stays from June through August.

Since I couldn’t leave a comment about considering the rebate value on hotel stays this summer using free night hotel loyalty program promotions on the NYT piece (I did not see a comment section on the page), I decided to follow up on the article’s idea of finding low rates.

I looked locally at Starwood Hotels

• to see how rates look for this Fourth of July holiday weekend.
• I also analyzed 2010 rates to 2009 rates to see how the hotel rates changed in the San Francisco Bay Area for this Fourth of July holiday weekend compared to last year’s weekend rates.
• I also show how big a savings AAA rates are for hotels with 20% rate discounts potentially buying back the cost of your auto club membership with one weekend. (I just renewed AAA for $130).

 

Practical Advice for finding low rates while using hotel loyalty programs

Here are ways I check hotel rates when planning to earn lots of free nights through promotions like Starwood’s Stay 3 and earn one free night. I also check rates when planning a multiple night trip to see if there are good discounts on two or three night stays.

The table belows shows room rates for 21 San Francisco Bay Area hotels in the Starwood Hotels loyalty program.

Multi-night Discounts

• 9 of 21 hotels in the sample offer a rate break for a two or three night stay (Friday July 2, Saturday July 3, and Sunday July 4).
• Two of the 9 hotels only discount on a three night stay.
• Special offer rates on the hotel’s individual website or Starwood’s three nights for the price of two special rate were not searched for this article. Those would be the next rates to check.

It seems reasonable for a hotel to discount when guests stay multiple nights.

However, 5 of the 21 hotels actually charge a higher rate for a two or three night stay over the holiday weekend compared to the single night rate. Sheraton Sonoma revealed the highest multi-night boost with the three night, Fri-Mon weekend stay, costing $537 + tax compared to the individual nightly rate of just $468 + tax. The extra $69 for staying three nights is a 15% mark-up over the single night rate.

[lower rates for multi-night stays are coded in green]

[higher rates for multi-night stays are coded in yellow]

Finding AAA Rates on Starwood Hotels websites

Starwood Hotels website is a pain because you can’t do a search of AAA rates as a group of hotels. Every hotel has to be checked individually. That is a lot of wasted time for the frequent guest. Unfortunately the time is worthwhile to check AAA rates due to potentially high discounts, sometimes 20%+ off the lowest published rate visible when conducting a general rate search on Starwood sites.

The AAA rates for Friday July 2, 2010 shows 15 of 21 San Francisco Bay Area Starwood Hotels have lower rates using AAA. Five hotels have a lower published rate than AAA.

21 San Francisco Bay Area Starwood Hotels

• 5 hotels AAA savings 15% to 20%
• 4 hotels AAA savings 11% to 14%
• 6 hotels AAA savings 2% to 6%
• 1 hotel has same published rate as AAA rate
• 5 hotels lower published rate available than AAA rate, but generally prepaid, nonrefundable

 

As a consumer you should decide if it is worth two or three hours of your time to conduct a rate analysis. A few hours can save several hundred dollars as you stumble upon the right mix of lower rate hotel dates, AAA rates, loyalty program options, and hotel special offers at hotels.

Testing the Low Rates Claim for July 4, 2010

The problem with knowing if hotel rates are going up or down is you have to follow them closely and collect data. Hotels pay data collection businesses for rate information and analysis on their hotel competition’s rates.

As a consumer you can create your own hotel rate analysis.

I made a spreadsheet for room rates at San Francisco Starwood Hotels last year when I was hotel hopping for free nights during the two stays for one night promotion from May to July 2009. Last year’s room rate data collected on June 6, 2009 reveals year-to-year changes for this summer’s Fourth of July weekend at this set of Starwood Hotels in San Francisco.

In general rates are substantially higher for July 4, 2010 weekend than one year ago in San Francisco. Although some hotels in San Francisco like The Palace, Westin Market Street, and St. Regis (AAA rate)  are actually less than one year ago.

[lower rates for AAA rate compared to lowest published rate are coded in green]

[higher rates for AAA rate compared to lowest published rate are coded in yellow]

For this same time period in 2010 as when I checked rates about four weeks before Fourth of July holiday in 2009, hotels in San Francisco city appear to be pushing the rate envelope. I’ll try and remember to check back in next week and see if the Starwood Hotels envelope is a little too stuffed for San Francisco tourism economy this summer. That will be indicated by a room rate price drop next week.

A price increase could mean leisure travel is hopping again or hoteliers are ecstatically optimistic.

20,000 teachers in California are out of a job this month as the school year ends. I hope the tourists are coming from other places.

A reader’s comment the other day asked if I would give a simple points value for the different hotel chains. I quickly made an educated assessment off the top of my head.  

Hilton $6-9/1,000 points
Hyatt $15-$20/1,000 points
IHG Priority Club $7-$10/1,000 points
Marriott Rewards $7-10/1,000 points
Starwood Preferred Guest $35-$50/1,000 points

The comment had me thinking this past week about a method for making an accurate and precise calculation. I do not have the advanced mathematical tools to create a sophisticated analysis. Here is a great business idea for a fellow entrepreneur. Create computer programs that can evaluate high value redemptions for points and provide a list of hotels with great value for points.

My Loyalty Traveler corollary applies for this analysis:

“Points only have potential value until they are redeemed.”

Location is the key component of any program assessment when comparing one hotel chain to another. You have a good idea of the value of Starpoints or HHonors points if those are the points currency you frequently work with for your hotel stays. When it comes to comparing hotel programs and the value of points, then location comes into play along with other factors.

1.       Location – the objective variable. Look at the hotels in a particular city and compare points cost to rates for specific dates. That is what I have done for this assessment and in tribute to the Colbert Show I have titled this piece “Better Know a City”.

2.       Potential to earn points in the hotel loyalty program. This is the subjective variable and is related to the promotions offered, hotel stay pattern, elite status, and credit card earning.

My subjective evaluation of points earning ranking:

a.       IHG Priority Club

b.      Starwood/Hyatt

c.       Hilton/Marriott

Better Know a City – New York City

NYC is the most expensive hotel city in the US and therefore the hotel categories are also high for the different chains.

I picked a 3-night stay for Monday through Wednesday nights, April 5-8, 2010.

This is a date far enough in the future that awards were available 49 of 50 hotels in the city of New York and rates have probably not been discounted yet. Hotels typically begin heavy discounting within a few weeks of a stay date when occupancy is too low.

As will be seen from this analysis, the typically high hotel category placement for New York City hotels gives IHG Priority Club a competitive advantage in a hotel loyalty program comparison.

Priority Club bases the cost of a free night on hotel brand rather than hotel category. For this reason the cost in points for a free night at the Candlewood Suites in New York City is the same 15,000 points as a free night at the Candlewood Suites in Flowood, Mississippi.

Here are some observations on free night award searches across hotel loyalty programs:

 

1.       Starwood Hotels is the easiest program to check award availability compared to cash price. The initial search results for a location show the cash room rate, free night availability, and Cash & Points, if available. The search results also show the hotel category level for points. A member must be logged in as a member to check award availability with the other hotel chains.

 

2.       Hilton and Marriott require a check of the hotel’s homepage to see Hotel Category level. Hyatt requires a check of hotel category through Gold Passport award chart links.

 

 

3.       Marriott Rewards design is a mess. Has it always been this way?

I searched New York, New York and up to 92 hotels were displayed. I saw no function on the webpage to narrow this list down to just NYC downtown hotels.

 

Hilton and Starwood both offer a function to limit the geographic search to within a few miles of the location desired. Marriott Rewards did not even show a New York City hotel on page 1 of the search results.

 

I ended up searching by Category. The problem here is only one category could be searched at a time. I had to check Category 8, then Category 7, then Category 6, each time starting the search from scratch with New York City and filtering the 90+ hotel list down to the desired hotels so I would see only NYC listings.

 

New York City Results:

 

 

Hyatt Gold Passport  

Redemption value $20.02 for 2 hotels;

range $19.21 to $20.83

The best deal is Grand Hyatt New York, a Category 4 hotel at 15,000 points per night.

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest  

Redemption value $22.14 per 1,000 points for 9 hotels;

range $14.40 – $34.92

Starwood Preferred Guest in New York City

 

SPG typically is a poor value for points when redeeming high category hotel properties. An unexpected result in this study was the relatively good redemption value for the Category 7, St. Regis New York. At $845 per night or 30,000 points, the points value of $28.16/1,000 points actually came out as one of the best deals for the SPG member in New York City. But seriously, $845 per night? That is some Wall Street level cash to spend for a hotel night.

 

4 of 9 Starwood hotels had a redemption value of less than $20 per 1,000 points.  That is a poor value and far below the $40 to $50 per 1,000 points a member can easily receive in many locations. I’d spend cash and save my points for another day.

 

Hilton HHonors  

Redemption value $6.68 per 1,000 points (17 hotels);

range $4.91-10.98 based on 2009 category levels.

 

If all these properties move up one category in 2010, then the

2010 redemption value = $5.62 per 1,000 points

range will be $3.98-$8.78.

 

The Waldorf=Astoria was the only New York City hotel not available as an award among the 50 hotels searched across the different hotel chains. The hotel was available for Sunday night April 4 at 40,000 points (50,000 points as of January 15, 2010.)

Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square was the only hotel to have a redemption value over $10/1,000 points, however, this hotel was by far the most expensive Hilton brand property in the city for the April dates at $439 per night for this Category 6 hotel. The Waldorf Towers was only $399 for the same dates.

 

Marriott Rewards

Redemption value = $7.54/1,000 points;

range $5.97 to $8.63  (11 hotels)

 

Marriott Rewards in New York City

 

 

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club

Redemption value = $9.96/1,000 points;

range $7.00 to $17.00  (10 hotels)

IHG Priority Club in New York City

 

Conclusion: My initial off-the-top-of-my-head estimates of points redemption value were within the range I found for New York City with the exception of Starwood Preferred Guest where the value was significantly lower than I estimated.

In my defense, SPG has poor redemption value at most high category hotels. I have repeatedly made this criticism of the program on Loyalty traveler blog. The St. Regis New York at $845 per night is an exception to the rule. This is actually a good use of 30,000 points for a SPG category 7 hotel.

I have never actually redeemed points for any hotel higher than a category 5 in the Starwood hotel chain. My analyses generally conclude a member is better off paying the big bucks for a high category hotel and saving your points for higher value hotel stays at Category 2 to 4 hotels and Cash & Points stays.

As someone who has burned several hundred thousand Starpoints, I typically get around $50 per 1,000 points with my free night redemptions. Cash & Points is usually the high value deal. Unfortunately, there were few offers of Cash & Points rates for the New York City Starwood Hotels so far in advance of the April date.

Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport show high value points redemption opportunities. Points & Cash rates with Priority Club provides even higher value for your points at these hotels.

Hilton and Marriott both showed redemption values in the lower range I initially estimated. Hilton, Marriott, and SPG offer better value when you have a 4 or 5 night stay and receive a discount on points.

IHG Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport are easily the winners for best value in the Better Know a City for your hotel points stays in New York.

Hotel Points Exchange Analysis – Starwood Preferred Guest

One of the benefits of SPG membership is the ability to transfer SPG hotel points, Starpoints, into a variety of airline frequent flier miles.  The ability to transfer Starpoints into airline miles and the multitude of partner awards available through airlines offers lots of little known value opportunities.

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus and Starwood Preferred Guest Partnership

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus is a frequent flier program that is not particularly well known in the USA.  Thai Airways is a Star Alliance member and airline partner with United Airlines and US Airways.  Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is a popular hotel frequent guest loyalty program in the USA.  Thai Airways is an airline exchange partner with SPG on a 1:1 rate meaning 20,000 Starpoints can be exchanged into 20,000 Thai Airways miles and SPG throws in an extra 25% bonus on 20,000 Starpoints transfers for a total 25,000 Thai Royal Orchid Plus miles.

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus frequent flier program offers hotel awards for air miles redemption.  There are two kinds of hotel awards:  Asia Pacific and International Hotel Awards. 

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Asia Pacific Hotel Awards

1 night = 12,000 miles

2 consecutive nights = 22,000 miles

3 consecutive nights = 32,000 miles.

There are over 100 hotels in Thailand and the Asia Pacific region available for these awards.  Click here for a list of participating hotels.

Inside the Numbers for Thai AIrways Asia Pacific Hotel Awards:

Sheraton Noosa Beach, Queensland, Australia is a basic beach resort hotel in an exceptional beach location.  My wife and I loved this place when we vacationed there in 2003.  The beautiful beach across from the hotel was a great place to swim even in the middle of Australia winter.  And I have never been to another beach where so many children were learning to surf.

Child surfers, Noosa Beach, Queensland, Australia

In 2003, during our stay, the Sheraton Noosa was designated SPG Category 3 meaning a free night was 7,000 points.  Currently, the Sheraton Noosa is a Category 5 hotel in 2008 meaning a free night is 12,000 points in low season; 16,000 points in peak season for a free night.

Sheraton Noosa river view room, Queensland, Australia

Two nights at the Sheraton Noosa will cost 24,000 Starpoints through SPG award redemption. 

Two nights at the Sheraton Noosa will cost 22,000 miles through Thai Airways. 

Exchange rate favors 20,000 Starpoints exchanged into 25,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles and the SPG/Royal Orchid member will save 4,000 Starpoints by booking the Sheraton Noosa with Thai Airway miles and still have 3,000 Thai Airways miles left over.

A 3-night stay at Sheraton Noosa will be 36,000 Starpoints through the Starwood Preferred Guest regular award redemption process. 

Prawns were $1USD each in the Noosa fish market.  A cheap seafood feast.  Seafood was inexpensive in Australia and outrageously expensive in New Zealand.

As an alternative, the SPG member could exchange 27,000 Starpoints for 32,000 Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus miles and redeem the miles for a 3-night stay at Sheraton Noosa and save 9,000 Starpoints.  (Remember 20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 Thai miles + 7,000 Starpoints = 7,000 Thai miles; 27,000 Starpoints exchanges into 32,000 Thai Airways miles).

 Sheraton Noosa, pool view room, Queensland, Australia

Rasa Sentosa Resort, Singapore is located at the Sentosa beach and resort recreational area of Singapore.   A sample date I checked showed hotel rates around $200USD per night.

Sentosa Island Resort, Singapore

December 7-10, 2008

Rasa Sentosa = $280 SGD/night (+ 17.7% tax) ($191USD +17.7%)

Sheraton Towers, SPG Category 4 = $320 SGD/night or 10,000 points/night (no SPG Cash & Points option shown for this date).

St. Regis, Singapore, SPG Category 6 = $480 SGD/night or 25,000 points/night (no SPG Cash & Points option shown for this date).

Starwood had two Le Meridien properties in Singapore and both have rebranded in past two years.

Sheraton Towers lobby, Singapore

Sheraton Towers is a great business hotel near Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore, however the Rasa Sentosa is a beach resort hotel.

3 nights = 30,000 points or about $780 cash for Sheraton Towers.

27,000 Starpoints will exchange for a 3-night stay at Rasa Sentosa and provide a great alternative to travelers wanting a stay at Singapore’s beach resort park rather than in the downtown shopping district.

Singapore’s 17.7% tax and service fee for hotel stays will likely be charged on the Rasa Sentosa stay and add about $100USD to the bill, whereas the SPG award stay for the Sheraton Towers will not incur the high taxes and fees, but that is a tradeoff for the flexibility of being able to use your Starpoints for different hotel brands with the Thai Airways hotel award.

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Hotel Awards International Collection

The second type of hotel award available through Thai Royal Orchid Plus is the International Collection hotel award.  The International Collection hotel awards cost more miles per night and there are 3 hotel levels for these awards.  Many of the 35 or so hotels participating in this award option fall in the luxury hotel segment with numerous properties in the Sofitel and Langham Hotel brands.

Level 1 Hotel for 1 Night = 14,000 miles

Level 2 Hotel for 1 Night = 24,000 miles

Level 3 Hotel for 1 Night = 43,000 miles

 

Inside the Numbers:

The Langham Melbourne is a Level 2 International Collection hotel award option costing 24,000 Thai miles per night.  This will require 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 Thai Royal Orchid Plus miles.

Langham Hotel Melbourne was the Sheraton Towers Southgate when I stayed there in 2003

December 9-11, 2008 for two nights at the Langham Hotel Melbourne, Australia will run $340AUD/night or about $245USD/night.  As an aside note, the Langham Melbourne was the Sheraton Towers Southgate, part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection brand, when I stayed there in 2003.  The full corner suite I received there is still one of the nicest hotel rooms I have ever had.

20,000 Starpoints for a $250 per night room is not a good deal in my opinion.  The Westin Melbourne, a block from the Langham Melbourne Hotel, is a SPG Category 5 hotel costing 12,000 points per night or 16,000 points in peak season.  Using your starpoints for The Langham Melbourne could be an alternative to the Westin Melbourne if for some reason the Westin was unavailable.

Suite at Sheraton Towers Southgate 2003, now The Langham Hotel, Melbourne, Australia

Most of the hotels available as International Collection hotel awards are in the Level 2 category. 

Exchanging 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 Thai Royal Orchid Plus miles would only be a good exchange if the hotel you want is running rates of $400+ per night. 

 

Changes are Coming to Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Hotel Awards

Sofitel is the luxury brand of European based Accor hotels.  The Sofitel properties comprise the bulk of the International Collection Hotel awards participating hotels.  Reservations are only being accepted for Sofitel Hotels until May 31, 2009.

Starwood Hotel bookings using Royal Orchid Asia Pacific Hotel Awards are only being accepted through December 31, 2008.

Loyalty traveler suggests taking advantage of these awards now if you plan to be in Asia before the end of 2008.  This hotel award option may not be renewed or be as lucrative in 2009. 

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Hotel Award Certificates are valid for one year and can be booked with any hotel in the certificate category you purchase and reservations are relatively easy to make with the hotels.

**********************************************************************

Loyalty Traveler Background on Hotel Points Exchange Analysis

I got into loyalty program exchange rate analysis when I realized back in 1999 that I could exchange 20,000 TWA miles earned from flying to London in the summers of 1997 and 1998 into 40,000 Hilton HHonors points.  In 1999 the cost for a 3-night HHonors award stay was 35,000 points for most upscale HHonors hotels. 

I had spent all my money in late 1999 to plan air trips on the OneWorld Alliance airlines to fly five partner airlines and earn a 100,000 mile bonus with British Airways.  I didn’t like the thought of charging another $1,000+ on credit cards for hotels in Europe and Canada. 

I booked free night awards for the Hilton Barcelona and the Rotterdam Hilton in the Netherlands, and I used Starpoints for a great hotel stay at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.  I had about $2,000 in free hotel stays while flying to Canada, England, the Netherlands, and Spain to earn what ultimately came up to 320,000 airline miles with American Airlines and British Airways. 

These miles allowed Ms. LT and me to fly British Airways First Class from San Francisco to London.  I remember that First Class first trip fondly.  The flight attendant came over to me late in the evening somewhere near the Arctic Circle and told me I should take a seat on the other side of the plane.  For the next hour I watched the sky, my face pressed against the cold window, witnessing the most incredible display of the aurora borealis that I have ever seen. 

Back when British Airways flew the Concorde airliner a ticket was 125,000 miles.  There was an exchange scheme using Starpoints where people were able to book Concorde flights at incredibly low overall prices.  Here is a 2002 FlyerTalk thread about this Concorde award scheme.  My thought at the time was “I don’t want to cross the Atlantic in 4 hours when I can spend fewer miles and spend 11 hours in First Class on British Airways.”

British Airways 747, First Class seating are front windows of plane below cockpit

 

Bill Marriott (of Marriott Hotels) wrote a blog post last week, “Weathering Turbulent Times” in which he states “business outside of North America is terrific – and that’s where over 60% of our new full-service hotels will be built.”  I frequently see articles about large international contracts for new hotels in India, China, and Russia.  Several reports have come out about hotels relying on their international sectors to maintain profitability.  Hotel rates rising 20-40% year-to-year in India and the Middle East over the past few years has made these locations some of the most expensive in the world for lodging.

I wanted a chart to track the proportion of international properties in each hotel chain.  My experience has been the most consistent upgrades occur when staying at international hotels as a high elite member of a hotel loyalty program.  The best value for free room stays using points also tends to be for international properties. And now it looks like the growth of the major hotel loyalty program member hotels will be outside the USA for the next few years.

So how are different hotel companies positioned in their international portfolio? 

This is really an important consideration in choosing your hotel loyalty program if you want to travel the world and take advantage of your frequent guest opportunities for free stays in expensive places.

 

USA Hotels and International Hotels (percentage of total hotels) in major hotel corporations:      

Best Western 2,400 hotels in USA, 1,800 international (43% international)

Starwood Hotels 520 hotels in USA; 340 international (40% international)

Carlson Hotels 700 hotels in USA; 250 international (36% international)

Hyatt Hotels 320 hotels in USA; 120 international (27% international)

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,100 hotels in USA, 900 international (23%)

Choice Hotels 4,770 hotels in USA, 830 international (15% international)

Hilton Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Marriott Hotels Corporation 2,600 hotels in USA; 400 international (13% international)

Wyndham Hotels  6,130 hotels in USA,  370 international (6% international) 

(While Wyndham Hotels has the lowest percentage of hotels in international locations, the company also operates the profitable time share RCI and a rental system in Europe which generates most company revenue and has strong international component.  These vacation rentals are not included in hotel properties.)

Hilton and Marriott have big plans for abroad.  Hyatt and Starwood look well-positioned for expansion.  Best Western is a program that will benefit you in a multitude of places with 1,800 hotels outside the USA.

 Source data for hotel numbers, geographic locations, and hotel brands:

Best Western: 4,200 hotels  (1,805 hotels outside North America or 43% international)

            2,395 North America

            1,312 Europe

            75 Asia/Middle East

            265 Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific

            43 South/Central America

            6 Africa

Choice Hotels: 5,600 + hotels  (830 outside North America)  14.8%

Choice Hotels International Properties: (Source from December 2007, page 30)

            Canada 273 Hotels

            Mexico 17

            Central America 13

            Brazil 48

            Europe 441

            India 25

            Australia/New Zealand 261

            China 2

            Japan 42

            832 hotels outside North America

          1,100+ international hotels 

Choice Hotels by Brand  

          549 Comfort Inn/Comfort Suites

            378 Quality Inns

            118 Clarion

            16 Sleep Inn

 

Hilton Hotels Corporation: 3,000 hotels  (about 400 international properties)

13.3% international

Hilton Hotels By Brand

            Hilton 505 hotels

            Conrad 15

            Doubletree 189

            Embassy Suites 190

            Hampton Inn 1,511 (99% of Hampton Inns are in USA)

            Hilton Garden Inn 362

            Homewood Suites 223

            Waldorf=Astoria 5

 

Hyatt Hotels  435 hotels, 117 international hotels)  27% international

USA 318 hotels

Canada 4 hotels

Mexico 6 hotels

Asia   52 hotels

Europe 28 hotels

South America 4 hotels

Caribbbean 3 hotels

Australia/New Zealand 9 hotels

Africa/Middle East 11 hotels 

Summerfield Suites, 30 hotels in USA

Hyatt Place, 111 hotels in USA)

InterContinental Hotels Group – 4,000+ hotels  (About 900 international hotels)

22.5% international

InterContinental Hotels 153 properties (USA 21, Canada 3, Mexico 10)

            Americas 52 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 64 hotels

            Asia Pacific 37 hotels

Crowne Plaza 308 hotels

            Americas 176 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 76 hotels

            Asia Pacific 56 hotels

Holiday Inn 1,369 hotels

          Americas 946 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 328 hotels

            Asia Pacific 95 hotels

Hotel Indigo 14 hotels

            Americas 14 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 1 hotel (opening London Summer 2008)

Holiday Inn Express 1,819 hotels

            Americas 1,619 hotels

            Europe, Middle East, Africa 188 hotels

            Asia Pacific 12 hotels

Staybridge Suites  130 hotels

            Americas 130 hotels

Candlewood Suites 169 hotels

            Americas 169 hotels

 

Marriott Hotels Corporation 

3,000 Hotels  (400 international hotels) (13.3%)

Marriott Hotels ,  521 hotels = 343 USA, 178 International

JW Marriott, 39 hotels = 16 USA, 23 International

Renaissance Hotels, 143 hotels = 75 USA, 68 international

Courtyard by Marriott, 770 hotels = 697 USA, 73 international

Residence Inn by Marriott,  547 hotels = 529 USA, 18 international

Fairfield Inn, 535 hotels = 527 USA, 8 international

TownePlace Suites, 145 hotels in USA

SpringHill Suites, 187 hotels = 186 USA, 1 international

Ritz-Carlton Hotels  68 hotels = 36 USA, 32 international

Starwood Hotels, 860 Hotels 

600 North America, 260 international hotels (30%)

USA 517

Canada 51 hotels

Mexico 23 hotels

Caribbean 9 hotels

South America  36 hotels

Europe  74 hotels

Africa 40 hotels

Middle East 58 hotels

Asia Pacific 151 open (36 hotels scheduled to open in next 18 months)

 

Wyndham Hotels, Howard Johnson and Ramada are primary international chains.

6,550 franchised hotels  (About 370 international hotels, 6% of total hotels)

Europe 212 hotels

Middle East 13 hotels

Africa 10 hotels

Asia Pacific 133 hotels

 

Club Regency, Hyatt Regency on the Embarcadero
San Francisco

I have qualified for Hyatt Diamond Status

This past weekend I completed my 25th eligible stay for Diamond elite Hyatt Gold Passport status. Plus, I saw Bruce Springsteen put on another high energy show Saturday night in San Jose (tickets I won from KFOG 104.5 driving home from my first Hyatt stay of 2008 on March 14th.) With the luck of the drive home to Monterey, I won another radio call-in and picked up two free tickets for Crowded House at the Fillmore San Francisco in May. An added benefit of my Hyatt hotel runs is $400 in concert tickets for a couple of phone call-ins while driving on the freeway.

And I have already booked my first Hyatt Gold Passport free stay award with a $302 value on a Category-2/8,000 points free night at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix later this month.

My Hyatt Diamond elite hotel run took advantage of the “Stays Count Double” promotion that ran from January 1-March 31, 2008.

The research question I have posed is “What added value to hotel stays can be expected based on Hyatt Gold Passport diamond elite membership?”

Hypothesis: The Hyatt Gold Passport elite diamond member can expect to receive about $100 in added value per night stayed with Hyatt through benefits of diamond membership including bonus points and complimentary hotel room upgrades and amenities.

Assumption: Added value will primarily be through stays at full-service Hyatt hotels. Lesser added value will result for stays at Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites locations (I base this hypothesis on the data and my hotel experiences over several years with Hilton HHonors Diamond and Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum membership.)

The simple design of the experiment is using myself as a sample guest starting with no status in Hyatt Gold Passport. I registered for the “Stays Count Double” promotion and booked my first stay of 2008 on March 14th. The 12th hotel stay on March 30 was the last eligible hotel stay I completed for “Stays Count Double” and I finished the promotion with 24 hotel stays. My 25th and diamond elite qualifying stay occurred April 5, 2008. My diamond membership elite status will last through February 2010. I have a minimum stay objective of 20 Hyatt stays by February 2010, with the likely possibility of having 50 to 80 nights at Hyatt during that time period.

Research data: The research plan is to tabulate the cost of attaining Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite status with “Stays Count Double” and compare to the added value received for my Hyatt hotel stays. I will have the benefits of Diamond status from April 2008 through February 2010.

Hyatt Diamond cost: $1,345 + 14% tax
(taxes ranged from 10% to 15% depending on location) =
$1,533 after taxes for 13 stays or about $118 total per Hyatt hotel stay.

Friday, March 14 Hyatt Place Fremont $71 (Stay 1 = 2)
Sunday, March 16 Hyatt Place Fremont $89 (Stay 2 = 4)
Wednesday, March 19 Hyatt Regency San Francisco $143.10 (Stay 3 = 6)
Thursday, March 20 Grand Hyatt San Francisco $152.10 (Stay 4 =
Friday, March 21 Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport $89.00 (Stay 5 = 10)
Saturday, March 22 Hyatt Regency Santa Clara $89.00 (Stay 6 = 12)
Sunday, March 23 Hyatt Place Fremont $89.00 (Stay 7 = 14)
Wednesday, March 26 Hyatt Regency Vineyard Creek, $125.00 (Stay 8 = 16) Santa Rosa
Thursday, March 27 Hyatt Regency San Francisco $179.00 (Stay 9 = 18)
Friday, March 28 Hyatt Place Fremont $71.00 (Stay 10 = 20)
Saturday, March 29 Summerfield Suites Belmont $98.00 (Stay 11 = 22)
Sunday, March 30 Hyatt Place Fremont $79.00 (Stay 12 = 24)
Saturday, April 5 Hyatt Place Fremont $71.00 (Stay 25)

(Stay 13 on April 5, after the end of the “Stays Count Double” promotion was my 25th and Diamond elite qualifying stay with Hyatt Gold Passport. Future stays will bring a 30% points bonus and complimentary upgrade to Regency Club room when staying at participating Hyatt properties.)

Total cost = $1,345 in base room charges +14% tax = $1,533 for Hyatt Diamond membership

Hotel Points earned: 8,288 points earned for base room charges and platinum elite bonus.

Booking Bonuses: 5,000 bonus points pending for booking reservations using bonus points links on Hyatt Gold Passport website. (Grand Hyatt San Francisco 2,000 points/stay; Hyatt Regency San Francisco 1,000 points x 2 stays; Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport 1,000 points/stay).

Hyatt Platinum Extras awards are earned for every third stay. I have received two Platinum Extras awards to date and I redeemed these for 1,000 bonus points each. Platinum Extras Award already posted to my account for Stays 3 and 6. I anticipate receiving at least one more Platinum Extras award for Stay 9 that I can redeem for 1,500 points. I don’t know how Gold Passport will calculate the Platinum Extras awards for “Stays Count Double”. I may also receive a Platinum Extras award for Stay 12 (1,500 points), Stays 15 and 18 (2,000 points each), and Stays 21 and 24 (2,500 points).

I may receive as many as 15,500 points to my account through Platinum Extras awards.

Total Points Earned: 8,288 Hotel stay points, + 5,000 Gold Passport Hotel Bonus promotion points + 15,500 Platinum Extras award points (pending) = 28,788 points.

28,788 points are worth about $575 for the Gold Passport points at 2 cents/point base value when purchased.

I have already made a room reservation for the Hyatt Regency Phoenix for 8,000 points ($269 AAA rate was lowest available + 12.5% tax = $302) with an added value of $302 for a basic room. This value will increase if I receive some type of diamond membership amenity at the hotel. My award stay for the Hyatt Phoenix has a value of $302/8,000 points = 3.78 cents/point.

If I can use the other points for similar high value hotel stays, the potential value of the 28,788 points approaches $1,100.

Total points earning of about 29,000 points for my 13 Hyatt stays. Carefully selected redemption opportunities can make these 29,000 points worth around $1,000. And complimentary upgrades on future stays should quickly recoup my investment for Hyatt Gold Passport diamond status.

Loyalty Traveler knows and shows loyalty has privileges.