Starwood Hotels released its 2011 Q-4 financial report for investors February 2. My interest is seeing the number of hotels in each Starwood brand and the average rates globally. Starwood Hotels has grown to 1,090 hotels worldwide.

Aloft brand has the lowest average rates at just over $100 and Four Points hotels are slightly more at $114 average daily rate.

Sheraton still squeaks in at under $150 ADR as a hotel brand. Westin and Le Meridien still come in under $200 per night.

W Hotels, Luxury Collection and St. Regis are in the $300 range.

The hotels in the lowest priced brands of Four Points and Aloft are concentrated in the USA making North America average room rates lower than other regions. Latin America has seen the highest rate increase of almost 10%.

Europe had no rate growth in 2011 and this is primarily due to the stronger US dollar in the region. This is good news for American travelers since Starwood Hotels in Europe already had the highest average daily rates at over $200 per night.

Westin Charlotte Facebook wall posted an offer for 250 Starpoints by signing up for Charlotte Insider eClub by February 1.

This offer is listed on the Westin Charlotte Facebook wall. There is no place to insert your SPG number when signing up for the Westin Charlotte Insiders email list. Westin Charlotte states SPG members will be contacted for their SPG membership number February 1 and 250 points will be awarded by March 1.

The Westin Charlotte Good question!  We will be sending out an email to request everyone’s SPG number on February 1st at the end of the contest.  Thank you for being a fan of The Westin Charlotte on facebook!

DealsWeLike posted this last night and One Mile at a Time picked up the offer too. Sign up fast since this offer may get pulled early once they realize on Monday morning that BoardingArea readers have created 8,000 new email subscribers and the hotel needs to pay out 2,000,000 points.

Starwood Preferred Guest launches its “Better by the Night” 2012-Q1 promotion on January 9 with double points for two night stays and triple points for longer stays through April 8, 2012. There are no bonus points for one night stays. There is no limit to bonus points members may earn with this offer.

Registration is required by March 15, 2012.

Loyalty Traveler Update Dec 29, 2011 9:45am Pacific time: SPG is screwing around with this promotion since it first appeared five days ago. The links were all working this morning when I posted this article and the links are now all dead. This has happened before during the last few days and I thought SPG finally had their promotion ducks all in a row when I decided to post this offer today. I registered for the offer today. SPG apparently is still not ready for members to see this offer as posted in this FlyerTalk thread December 27  by Starwood Lurker, the official SPG voice. Seems odd to me that all the promotion pages were up this morning two days after Starwood Lurker’s post, however, the links may not be live again until January 9, 2012.

Registration confirmation page for SPG 2012 Q-1 promotion.

This promotion is valid for about 70% of Starwood Hotels worldwide with all Asia-Pacific hotels opting out of this offer. About 50 hotels in the USA are not participating, so check the hotel exclusion list carefully when planning your stays so you are not surprised when your $1,000 3-night stay does not earn an anticipated 4,000 extra bonus points with the triple points offer. Germany, Italy and Greece have many nonparticipating Starwood Hotels. Link to hotels excluded from this offer.

Read More…

Germany has 18 Starwood Hotels participating in a winter season bonus points promotion for stays November 15 to January 31, 2012.

• 500 bonus points for 2 night stay.
• 750 bonus points for 3 night stay.
• 1,000 bonus points for 4 night stay.
• 1,500 bonus points for 5 or more nights stay.
• Consecutive nights at same hotel required for bonus points.

SPG Promotion registration is required by January 29.

Participating Starwood Hotels

• The Westin Grand, Berlin
• Sheraton Essen Hotel
• The Westin Leipzig
• The Westin Bellevue, Dresden
• Le Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt
• Sheraton Düsseldorf Airport Hotel
• Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel & Confernece Center
• Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel
• Sheraton Offenbach Hotel
• The Westin Grand Frankfurt
• Le Méridien Stuttgart
• Le Méridien München
• Sheraton München Arabellapark Hotel
• Sheraton München Westpark
• Sheraton München Airport Hotel
• The Westin Grand München
• Four Points by Sheraton München Olympiapark
• Four Points by Sheraton München Central

Starwood Hotels Bonus Points in Germany 15 November - 31 January, 2012.

Most major hotel loyalty programs sell hotel points to frequent guest members. Occasionally you will find hotels where it is simply cheaper to buy the points and redeem a points reward for a hotel stay than pay the published rate.

Loyalty Traveler researched the major hotel programs for points purchase rules. There are eight hotel loyalty programs allowing the purchase of hotel points and I will compare and contrast the features of six different programs with some tables. (Choice Privileges sells up to 20,000 points per year. Best Western Rewards allows members to buy points at $10 per 1,000 points. I left these two programs out of this analysis).

Hotel Programs selling hotel points

• Best Western Rewards
• Club Carlson
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton HHonors
• Hyatt Gold Passport
• InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Priority Club Rewards
• Marriott Rewards
• Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)

Accor A|Club and Wyndham Rewards do not sell hotel loyalty points to members through their websites.

There are limitations to buying points explained in this post and there are some disadvantages like reward stays do not count for promotions in most cases and reward stays do not qualify for elite status credit with most programs. Hilton, Choice and Starwood do count reward stays for calendar year elite qualifying stays and nights.

Background

Last week Club Carlson announced it launched the option for members to buy Club Carlson hotel points. Looking over the cost of hotel points in Club Carlson revealed a good purchase rate for consumers in my opinion. As I created a table for Club Carlson hotel reward categories I thought about the relationship between the cost of points and hotel categories across different programs.

There are several factors that come into play when evaluating the value of buying hotel points.

Hotel rates are dynamic. A hotel that may have room rates at $150 one night might charge $400 the next night. Rates fluctuate and change depending on day of week, holidays, conferences and many other factors. Hotel programs factor the cost of points and price points high enough that it is typically not cost efficient or even allowed by program rules to buy points for repeatedly redeeming hotel rewards stays using purchased points.

Hotel Reward Rates are mostly a fixed standard reward cost. Major hotel loyalty programs group hotels into categories for redemption purposes.

• Hyatt has six categories, from 5,000 points to 22,000 points per night.
• Hilton has seven categories and higher end Waldorf Astoria hotels from 7,500 to 80,000 points per night.
• SPG has seven categories and higher reward rate hotels in category 7 from 2,000 to 70,000+per night.
• Marriott has eight categories in Marriott brands and five tiers in Ritz-Carlton from 7,500 to 70,000 points per night.
• Club Carlson has six categories of rewards from 9,000 to 50,000 points per night.
• IHG Priority Club groups award level by hotel brand with some brands having tiered levels from 10,000 to 40,000 points per night.

Hilton HHonors Premium Room Rewards are a major move into dynamic reward price for hotel rewards. The cost for these new HHonors rewards are tied to the published room rate for the stay. Unfortunately the exchange rate for points-to-cash-savings is not that good for many HHonors Premium Rewards. Redemption value tends to be $3 to $6 per 1,000 points. The 30% rebate on Premium rewards booked by January 31, 2012 is a major promotion offer for better redemption rate for Premium Room rewards for Points & Money and Premium Room reward hotel stays.

Discount Hotel Rewards – Fewer Points

Most hotel loyalty programs offer some discount reward rates for selected hotels.

• Club Carlson Points + Cash
• Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards (Dec. 5 – I do not see any PS dates listed after Dec 2011)
• HHonors Points & Money and
• HHonors Premium Room Rewards for more points.
• HHonors VIP Rewards (15% to 25% discount)
• IHG Priority Club Rewards PointBreaks
• IHG Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights (Loyalty Traveler Dec 1 post)
• IHG Priority Club Points & Cash
• Marriott Rewards 5th night free
• Marriott Rewards PointSavers (reward cost is one category less and 5th night free applies to PointSavers too)
• Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Package
• SPG Cash & Points
• SPG 5th Night Free
• SPG Nights and Flights
• SPG 50% off rack rate (1,000 points = $35)

The fact that hotel published room rates are dynamic pricing and reward redemption rates are fixed pricing means there are nights with opportunities to get better value by redeeming hotel points than paying the published rate. Hotel room rates change rate nightly, yet the cost for a free night using points remains the same. You may be able to book the hotel for less money buying points and redeeming an award night at a hotel when hotel rates are high.

Cost to Buy Points for Reward Nights Tables

The tables below show the cost of buying points for a hotel night at the different category levels in each hotel loyalty program selling points (except Choice Privileges).

Loyalty Traveler’s Summary of Hotel Loyalty Program Rules to Buy, Receive and Transfer Points

Buy Points

Each program shows the Calendar Year Maximum Purchase Limit and Cost to Buy Points

Club Carlson = 40,000 points ($7 per 1,000 points).

Hilton HHonors = 40,000 points ($10 per 1,000 points) NOTE: member may buy unlimited points for immediate reward stay redemption at time of booking.

Hyatt Gold Passport = 40,000 points ($24 per 1,000 points).

IHG Priority Club Rewards = 50,000 points ($11.50 per 1,000 points).

Marriott Rewards = 50,000 points is maximum one member may earn with purchased and gifted points. ($12.50 per 1,000 points).

Starwood Preferred Guest = 20,000 points is maximum one member may earn with purchased and gifted points. ($35 per 1,000 points. Current sale is 20% discount through Dec 31, 2011 $28 per 1,000 points).

Receive Points (gifted)

Club Carlson = 40,000 points (buy and receive combined in one account for calendar year limit)

Hilton HHonors = member may receive unlimited points transferred from any other member at rate of $25 per 10,000 points.

Hyatt Gold Passport = 40,000 points, member may receive maximum 40,000 points as gift and buy 40,000 points for self.)

IHG Priority Club Rewards = 50,000 points, member may receive maximum 50,000 points as gift and buy 50,000 points for self.)

Marriott Rewards = 50,000 points (Buy and receive combined in one account for calendar year limit)

Starwood Preferred Guest = 20,000 points (Buy and receive combined in one account for calendar year limit)

Hyatt and IHG Priority Club are only two hotel programs allowing a member to buy maximum annual limit of points for own account and also receive maximum annual limit as a gift from another member.

Transfer Points

Club Carlson =  unlimited and free through Member Services.

Hilton HHonors = any member is allowed to transfer points to another member for a fee, $25 per 10,000 points, except any single member is allowed free transfers for additional points gifted and transferred after 200,000 points ($500 in fees) in a calendar year. Point transfers must be in 10,000 point blocks.

Hyatt Gold Passport = may transfer between any two members the minimum points needed for a reward
redemption. Two members must sign transfer request.

IHG Priority Club Rewards = 50,000 points in a calendar year at $5.00 per 1,000 points.

Marriott Rewards = may transfer between two spouses/domestic partners the minimum points needed for a reward redemption, rounded to nearest 1,000 points.

Starwood Preferred Guest = free transfer between members with same residential address for at least 30 days. SVO Vacation members may transfer points between accounts regardless of address.

There is more variability in rules for the “point transfer between members” aspect of hotel programs. Club Carlson has liberal policy of free transfers between any two members. SPG has a less restrictive policy than most programs if you share the same address. Hyatt is a fair policy allowing any two members to transfer the minimum points needed for a reward stay. Marriott Rewards terms state transfers are limited to spouses/domestic partners and only the minimum level for a reward redemption. Priority Club has the most restrictive policy with a relatively high fee and an annual transfer limit any member may give or receive.

Hilton HHonors appears to have a restrictive policy in charging a $25 fee for transferring 10,000 points. The advantage to HHonors is the rule allowing a member to receive unlimited points and for a member to gift/transfer unlimited points. Basically a person with 1,000,000 HHonors points can transfer them all to someone else for $500. That would be a lucky recipient.

A more commonly useful strategy is crowdsourcing a network of friends to score a nice HHonors getaway. Set up a gift registry with HHonors for something like a college graduation present or wedding honeymoon and gifts of 10,000 HHonors points can be transferred for $25. Get a response from 20 to 50 HHonors members and that HHonors account can be filled with 200,000 to 500,000 points for $500 to $1,250 distributed among a large group of people. Your friends and family don’t have to think too hard about a gift and a week of free hotel rooms is a nice gift to receive.

This kind of opportunity is only matched by Club Carlson and they currently allow you to do it for free.

Part Two of this study into buying and transferring hotel points will look at real examples of how to apply these points purchase and transfer rules to hotel stay rewards.

Starwood Preferred Guest has a promotion specific to Asia Pacific hotels for one free weekend night after staying 5 nights and a second free night after 9 nights from November 29, 2011 through March 15, 2012 when stay is paid with a MasterCard. The nights are cumulative during the promotion period so can be done in one hotel stay or nine hotel stays. Maximum two free nights may be earned per member.

The nice thing about a steady travel partner is doubling up on these bonuses. I can earn two free nights and my wife can earn two free nights and then redeem all free nights on a single hotel stay of four nights.

This offer is available to all SPG members globally and requires promotion registration.

SPG Members must register for this promotion at http://www.spg.com/mastercard2days or by calling the nearest Customer Contact Center and saying “I want to register for 2 days of Happy!” requesting Registration Code “4MC” no later than March 15, 2012.

Twice as many hotels to earn free nights than burn free nights.

The particpating properties is an interesting aspect of the offer. There are about 220 Starwood Hotels in Asia Pacific for earning the free nights, but fewer than 90 hotels for redeeming the free nights. Granted that Four Points and Aloft may not be where you want to spend free nights when you can stay at the Westin Tokyo or Le Meriden Koh Samui Resort & Spa, but if you find yourself with a free night credit about to expire and the Four Points is the only thing around…

Redeeming Free Nights

Contact SPG customer service and mention Award ID 4MCFN.

• Free night valid at participating hotels Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
• Redeemable between January 1, 2012 and April 10, 2012.
• Free night may not be transferred to any other SPG member.

Participating Starwood Hotels for Redeeming Free Nights

1. The Westin Sydney
2. The Westin Melbourne
3. The Westin Hefei Baohe
4. The Westin Fuzhou Minjiang
5. The Westin Xiamen – Opening Soon
6. The Westin Pazhou
7. The Westin Shenzhen Nanshan
8. The Westin Wuhan Wuchang
9. The Westin Nanjing
10. The Westin Xian – Opening Soon
11. The Westin Tianjin
12. The Westin Ningbo – Opening Soon
13. The Westin Nine Dragon Hill Resort, Zhejiang – Opening Soon
14. The Westin Wenzhou – Opening Soon
15. The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
16. The Westin Mumbai Garden City
17. The Westin Nagoya Castle
18. The Westin Awaji Island Resort and Conference Center
19. The Westin Miyako, Kyoto
20. The Westin Sendai
21. The Westin Osaka
22. The Westin Tokyo
23. The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
24. The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket
25. Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel
26. Sheraton Chongqing Hotel
27. Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel
28. Sheraton Guangzhou Huadu Resort – Opening Soon
29. Sheraton Bailuhu Resort, Huizhou – Opening Soon
30. Sheraton Qingyuan Lion Lake Resort – Opening Soon
31. Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel
32. Sheraton Sanya Haitang Bay Resort – Opening Soon
33. Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort
34. Sheraton Daqing Hotel – Opening Soon
35. Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
36. Sheraton Hohhot Hotel
37. Sheraton Changzhou Wujin Hotel
38. Sheraton Changzhou Xinbei Hotel – Opening Soon
39. Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel
40. Sheraton Wuxi Binhu Hotel
41. Sheraton Zhenjiang Hotel
42. Sheraton Jinzhou Hotel
43. Sheraton Xian North City Hotel – Opening Soon
44. Sheraton Yantai Golden Beach Resort – Opening Soon
45. Sheraton Shanghai Hongkou Hotel
46. Sheraton Tianjin Binhai Hotel
47. Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort – Opening Soon
48. Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort
49. Sheraton Wenzhou Hotel
50. Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway
51. Sheraton Udaipur Palace Resort & Spa
52. Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
53. Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel
54. Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
55. Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
56. Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
57. Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort
58. Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Osaka
59. Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Tokyo
60. Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel
61. Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa
62. Sheraton Towers Singapore
63. Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel
64. Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel, Taiwan
65. Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
66. Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa
67. Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort
68. Sheraton Pattaya Resort
69. Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers
70. Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa
71. W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak
72. W Taipei
73. The St. Regis Shenzhen – Opening Soon
74. The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
75. The St. Regis Tianjin
76. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort
77. The St. Regis Osaka
78. The St. Regis Bangkok
79. Le Méridien Xiamen
80. Le Royal Méridien Shanghai
81. Le Méridien Coimbatore
82. Le Méridien Taipei
83. Le Méridien Bangkok
84. Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Méridien Hotel
85. Le Méridien Chiang Mai
86. Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, Thailand
87. Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
88. Le Méridien Koh Samui Resort & Spa
89. Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort

Participating Starwood Hotels for earning free nights

1. The Westin Resort, Guam
2. The Westin Sydney
3. The Westin Melbourne
4. The Westin Dhaka
5. The Westin Hefei Baohe
6. The Westin Beijing Chaoyang
7. The Westin Beijing Financial Street
8. The Westin Fuzhou Minjiang
9. The Westin Guangzhou
10. The Westin Pazhou
11. The Westin Shenzhen Nanshan
12. The Westin Wuhan Wuchang
13. The Westin Nanjing
14. The Westin Resort, Macau
15. The Westin Xian – Opening Soon
16. The Westin Bund Center, Shanghai
17. The Westin Tianjin
18. The Westin Ningbo – Opening Soon
19. The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa, Fiji
20. The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace
21. The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
22. The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa
23. The Westin Mumbai Garden City
24. The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
25. The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali
26. The Westin Nagoya Castle
27. The Westin Awaji Island Resort and Conference Center
28. The Westin Miyako, Kyoto
29. The Westin Sendai
30. The Westin Osaka
31. The Westin Tokyo
32. The Westin Kuala Lumpur
33. The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
34. The Westin Chosun, Busan
35. The Westin Chosun, Seoul
36. The Westin Taipei
37. The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
38. The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket
39. Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort
40. Sheraton on the Park
41. Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa Gold Coast
42. Sheraton Noosa Resort & Spa
43. Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort
44. Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel
45. The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing
46. Sheraton Chongqing Hotel
47. Sheraton Xiamen Hotel
48. Sheraton Dongguan Hotel
49. Sheraton Shunde Hotel
50. Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel
51. Sheraton Guangzhou Huadu Resort – Opening Soon
52. Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort
53. Sheraton Qingyuan Lion Lake Resort – Opening Soon
54. Sheraton Dameisha Resort, Shenzhen
55. Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel
56. Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel
57. Sheraton Guilin Hotel
58. Sheraton Guiyang Hotel
59. Sheraton Haikou Resort
60. Sheraton Sanya Resort
61. Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort
62. Sheraton Daqing Hotel - Opening Soon
63. Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
64. Sheraton Changsha Hotel
65. Sheraton Hohhot Hotel
66. Sheraton Changzhou Wujin Hotel
67. Sheraton Changzhou Xinbei Hotel – Opening Soon
68. Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel
69. Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel & Towers
70. Sheraton Wuxi Binhu Hotel
71. Sheraton Zhenjiang Hotel
72. Sheraton Jinzhou Hotel
73. Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel
74. Sheraton Xian Hotel
75. Sheraton Xian North City Hotel – Opening Soon
76. Sheraton Jinan Hotel
77. Sheraton Shanghai Hongkou Hotel
78. Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao Hotel
79. Sheraton Shanghai Pudong Hotel & Residences
80. Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel
81. Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort
82. Sheraton Tianjin Binhai Hotel
83. Sheraton Tianjin Hotel
84. Sheraton Urumqi Hotel
85. Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort – Opening Soon
86. Sheraton Ningbo Hotel
87. Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort
88. Sheraton Wenzhou Hotel
89. Sheraton Zhoushan Hotel
90. Sheraton Denarau Villas
91. Sheraton Fiji Resort
92. Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway
93. Sheraton New Delhi Hotel
94. Sheraton Rajputana Palace Hotel, Jaipur
95. Sheraton Udaipur Palace Resort & Spa
96. Sheraton Park Hotel & Towers, Chennai
97. Sheraton Surabaya Hotel & Towers
98. Sheraton Bandara Hotel
99. Sheraton Media Hotel & Towers
100. Sheraton Lampung Hotel
101. Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers
102. Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort
103. Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta Resort and Spa
104. Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
105. Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel
106. Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
107. Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
108. Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
109. Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort
110. Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Osaka
111. Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Tokyo
112. Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel
113. Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort
114. Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa
115. Sheraton Towers Singapore
116. Sheraton Incheon Hotel
117. Sheraton Grande Walkerhill
118. Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel
119. Sheraton Taipei Hotel
120. Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel, Taiwan
121. Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
122. Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa
123. Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort
124. Sheraton Pattaya Resort
125. Sheraton Hanoi Hotel
126. Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers
127. Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa
128. W Hong Kong
129. W Retreat & Spa Bali - Seminyak
130. W Retreat & Spa - Maldives
131. W Seoul – Walkerhill
132. W Taipei
133. W Retreat Koh Samui
134. The St. Regis Beijing
135. The St. Regis Shenzhen - Opening Soon
136. The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
137. The St. Regis Shanghai
138. The St. Regis Tianjin
139. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort
140. The St. Regis Bali Resort
141. The St. Regis Osaka
142. The St. Regis Singapore
143. The St. Regis Bangkok
144. Le Méridien Angkor
145. Le Méridien Chongqing, Nan’an
146. Le Méridien Xiamen
147. Le Méridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa
148. Le Méridien Cyberport
149. Le Méridien Qingdao
150. Le Méridien She Shan Shanghai
151. Le Royal Méridien Shanghai
152. Le Méridien Ahmedabad
153. Le Méridien Bangalore
154. Le Méridien Kochi
155. Le Méridien Pune
156. Le Méridien New Delhi
157. Le Méridien Jaipur
158. Le Royal Méridien Chennai
159. Le Méridien Coimbatore
160. Le Méridien Jakarta
161. Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu
162. Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur
163. Le Méridien Ile des Pins
164. Le Méridien Nouméa
165. Le Méridien Taipei
166. Le Méridien Bangkok
167. Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Méridien Hotel
168. Le Méridien Chiang Mai
169. Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, Thailand
170. Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
171. Le Méridien Koh Samui Resort & Spa
172. Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort
173. The Astor Hotel, Tianjin
174. ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad
175. ITC Windsor, Bengaluru
176. ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru
177. ITC Grand Central, Mumbai
178. ITC Maratha, Mumbai
179. ITC Maurya, New Delhi
180. ITC Grand Chola, Chennai - Opening Soon
181. ITC Mughal, Agra
182. ITC Sonar, Kolkata
183. The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali
184. The Andaman, Langkawi
185. Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
186. The Naka Island, Phuket
187. Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Darling Harbour
188. Four Points by Sheraton Geelong
189. Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel and Serviced Apartments
190. Four Points by Sheraton Guangzhou, Dongpu
191. Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen
192. Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort – Opening Soon
193. Four Points by Sheraton Lianyungang
194. Four Points by Sheraton Taicang
195. Four Points by Sheraton Yangzhou, Hanjiang – Opening Soon
196. Four Points by Sheraton Qingdao, Chengyang
197. Four Points by Sheraton Tai’an
198. Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning
199. Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Pudong
200. Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa
201. Four Points by Sheraton Hangzhou, Binjiang
202. Four Points by Sheraton Visakhapatnam
203. Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi
204. Four Points by Sheraton Pune, Nagar Road
205. Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square
206. Four Points by Sheraton Kuching
207. Four Points by Sheraton Langkawi Resort
208. Four Points by Sheraton Chung Ho, Taipei
209. Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok, Sukhumvit 15
210. Aloft Beijing, Haidian
211. Aloft Nanhai, Foshan
212. Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie
213. Aloft Haiyang
214. Aloft Bengaluru Whitefield
215. Aloft Chennai, OMR – IT Expressway
216. Aloft Coimbatore Singanallur
217. Aloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11 - Opening Soon

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

This is a good value promotion offer if you have a MasterCard and find yourself in Asia Pacific. Many of these hotels for earning free nights have daily rates under $75 per night meaning the cost of earning two free nights could be under US$700. And if you are ultimately being reimbursed and not paying the hotel bill then price is not so important. Nine nights over the course of 14 weeks should be an easy bonus to earn.

Redemption properties include only two category 6 hotels with the W Retreat & Spa Bali, Seminyak and Westin Tokyo.

Assorted Category 5 hotels like Westin Sydney and Westin Melbourne in Australia and St. Regis Lhasa, Nepal or St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort are redemption options. Thailand has seven Le Meridien hotels and resorts. Most of the hotel redemption choices for free nights are SPG category-4 properties. You can value these free nights at 10,000 points per night and “good for you” if you redeem for a higher hotel. This offer looks to be the equivalent of earning 2,000 bonus SPG points for every eligible night. Keep that in mind when you are comparing rates and other promotion offers.

Of course we can all try and redeem at the W Retreat Bali.

SPG-MasterCard Two Days of Happy Earn Nov 29-March 15 / Burn Jan 1-April 10, 2012

Starwood Preferred Guest has two Cyber Monday Advance Sales for SPG members at participating Starwood Resorts and Hotels. One offer is advertised as 50% off every other night on Suites and Upgraded Rooms - promo code S2S. So this is actually a 25% discount if you stay an even number of nights; or lesser discount if you stay an odd number of nights.

The other CyberMonday offer is 15% to 35% off Standard Room rates for each night at select hotels – promo code CYBERLTO. The offers are shown below followed by the list of participating hotels.

50% off Premium Rooms and Suites – Promotion Code S2S

Book by Sunday November 27 for stays from December 1 through April 30, 2012. Discount applies to every 2nd night.

Book online and use promotion code S2S for this offer or book by phone at 866-716-8147.

15% to 35% off standard rooms – Promotion Code CYBERLTO

This offer is up to 35% off Best Available Rate and may be booked through December 2, 2011 for stays from December 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012.

This deal brought the rate of Westin Verasa Napa down to $129 if you want to wake up Christmas day in wine country.

Participating Starwood Hotels for S2S Suite Discount – Book by November 27., 2011

Arizona

The Phoenician, Scottsdale

The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician

W Scottsdale

The Westin Phoenix Downtown

Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

California

The US GRANT, San Diego

SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

W San Francisco

The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites

The Westin Verasa Napa

The Westin San Francisco Market Street

The Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth

The Westin St. Francis

Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa

Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina

Sheraton Suites San Diego at Symphony Hall

Colorado

The St. Regis Aspen Resort

District of Colombia

The Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row, Washington D.C.

W Washington D.C.

Florida

W Fort Lauderdale

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood

Walt Disney World Swan

Walt Disney World Dolphin

Hawaii

The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Sheraton Kauai Resort

Illinois

W Chicago – Lakeshore

Louisiana

Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

Massachussetts

Sheraton Boston Hotel

Michigan

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

Minnesota

Hotel Ivy, Minneapolis

W Minneapolis – The Foshay

Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis

New Jersey

Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel

New York

The Chatwal, New York City

Sheraton Brooklyn

Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers

Pennsylvania

Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel

Texas

W Austin

Sheraton Suites Market Center

Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio

Sheraton Suites Houston Near The Galleria

The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio

The Westin Houston, Memorial City

The Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio

Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

Virginia

The Westin Reston Heights

Caribbean

The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

W Retreat & Spa – Vieques Island

The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba

The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel and Casino

Canada

W Montreal

Le Meridien Versailles

Le Meridien King Edward

The Westin Grand, Vancouver

The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa, Victoria

The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain

Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel

Mexico

Le Meridien Cancun Resort & Spa

The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas, Cancun

The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos

The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun

The Westin Santa Fe, Mexico City

Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center

Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf and Spa Resort, Los Cabos

Sheraton Miramar Hotel & Convention Center

Sheraton Ambassador Hotel

South America

Park Tower, Buenos Aires, Argentina

W Santiago, Chile

Sheraton Colonia Golf & Spa Resort, Uruguay

Sheraton Mendoza Hotel, Argentina

Sheraton Salta Hotel, Argentina

Sheraton Panama Hotel & Convention Center

Sheraton Porto Alegre Hotel

Sheraton Montevideo Hotel, Urguguay

Sheraton Libertador Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sheraton Lima Hotel & Convention Center, Peru

Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center

Four Points by Sheraton Santiago

Four Points by Sheraton Montevideo

Participating Hotels for CYBERLTO 15%-35% off Standard Rooms – Book by Dec 2, 2011.

You must go through a 4-step tedious dropdown menu to see participating hotels for this offer.

Starwood Preferred Guest is once again selling points at a 20% discount from November 1 to December 30, 2011 making the cost to buy 1,000 points $28 rather than $35. SPG members are allowed to receive a maximum 20,000 points per calendar year from purchased points or gifted points. SPG has offered this discount the past two years in the last quarter of the calendar year.

$28 per 1,000 points is a good value for many hotel rewards where the cost to buy points is lower than the room rate. Reward nights using points cover the room rate and tax. Some hotels have resort fees which are not included in a points reward.

I find SPG Category 4 hotels with Cash & Points availability typically very useful when rates are high. At this purchase price the cost of 4,000 points is $112 + $60 Cash for a reward night. Even with tax added to the $60, the total cost for a reward night is about $180 for many Starwood hotels that can easily be $300 per night. The savings is much smaller if there are only standard rewards at 10,000 points since you pay $280 to buy 10,000 points.

Starwood Preferred Guest now counts award nights for SPG elite qualification so Cash & Points stays are even more valuable awards.

In January 2012 you are eligible to buy another 20,000 points, but you might want to wait until Q4 2012 since this offer looks to be an annual sale offer.

I was surprised at how sparse SPG Cash & Points  award availability is for hotels in California when I looked for a good example of hotel rate savings.

Here is one example:

Four Points Los Angeles Westside Nov. 9, 2011 is $170 all-in AAA rate.

Four Points Los Angeles Westside, SPG category 2 award at $30 and 1,600 points.

• Buy 2,000 points = $56
• Cash & Points cash portion = $30
• 12% hotel tax on $30 + 0.05% California tourism tax = $3.62
• $89.62 Cash & Points rate when buying SPG points vs. $170.48 for AAA rate.

Buy Starpoints link.

Buy Starpoints Frequently Asked Questions.

Just saw this post from Starwood Lurker II on FlyerTalk posted about 60 hours ago suggesting SPG members should sign up now for an SPG elite status Platinum challenge of 15 nights in 90 days. Apparently the challenge will be more restrictive beginning next Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

Update Oct. 26: See comments section below for Stay Challenge changes reported as

• 18 paid nights required during three calendar months time frame.
• 90 days with any start time changed to three calendar months beginning on first day of month and ending last day of month. Example: February 1 – April 30, 2012.

Starwood Lurker posted on FlyerTalk Post #118 October 6, 2011 that only paid nights count in a Stay Challenge. Award nights or Cash & Points nights do not count as eligible nights for SPG Elite Stay Challenge, despite these now counting as eligible elite qualifying nights when earning SPG elite by standard qualification requirement of 25 stays or 50 nights.

[back to original text of post]

There are no details as to the changes, but suffice to say that when a Starwood Lurker speaks on FlyerTalk, members should listen.

If you have been thinking about taking on an elite status challenge for SPG Platinum with 15 nights in 90 days, then you need to try and enroll now.

SPG stopped instant elite status matches April 1, 2011 and replaced them with the 15 nights in 90 days for members accepted into the elite challenge.

Here is the post by Starwood Lurker on March 31, 2011:

Policy Change Related to Status Match Requests – Beginning April 1, 2011

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The folks at SPG want to give advance notice to the Flyertalk community that there will soon be a change in policy regarding status match requests from competing frequent stay programs. Starwood Preferred Guest is evolving its policy on status matches to Platinum to a Stay Challenge format beginning April 1, 2011.Any contacts regarding a Stay Challenge offer will be done via email to the Platinum Concierge department. Any member wishing to apply for a Stay Challenge beginning April 1, 2011 can contact them at platinum.liaison@starwoodhotels.comin order to request consideration.Members will be advised on the full requirements of their Stay Challenge and then contacted to advise if the Stay Challenge has been met. Should a member not successfully complete a Stay Challenge, they may request another once the original Challenge has expired.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media
Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

While not mentioned in the post the Stay Challenge requirements for SPG Platinum are widely reported as 15 nights in 90 days.

Apparently something different will go into effect on Tuesday November 1, 2011.

Apply now for an SPG Elite Stay Challenge if you want to get in before the changes.

FlyerTalk thread: Policy Change Related to Status Match Requests – Beginning April 1, 2011

Loyalty traveler post: Stay Challenges replace elite matches for Starwood and Hyatt (April 3, 2011)

Starwood Lurker on FlyerTalk posted last month hotel rates where the third night is free are considered revenue nights and count as three elite qualification nights. These are rates like Z3H and Z3R and the SPG American Express Sheraton 3rd night free special card member rate.

This is one of those finer points and deep questions for SPG elite members clarified.

Starwood Hotels launched a new feature this week on its hotel websites with a tab for hotel reviews.

The upper right tab “Reviews” takes you to the message:

Write a Review

If you’ve stayed with us in the past 18 months and would like to write a review for this hotel, please sign in below or enter your reservation confirmation number and last name.

I checked more than a dozen hotels in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London, but I was unable to locate any hotel reviews published since this new feature launched two days ago.

Here is your chance to be the first and make an impression – good, bad or mixed about a Starwood Hotel where you stayed and have something to say.

Message at bottom right "Write the first review".

I gave the “Write a Review” page a try while writing this piece. I kind of like the idea of writing the first hotel review for a Starwood Hotel on the hotel property’s webpage.

You must log into your SPG account to start the review process.

Step 1 – Your Hotel Rating asks you to rate the hotel in several categories:

Starwood asks guest to rate the hotel in these categories.

Step 2 Your Review

Guests are asked not to state room rate paid or give personally identifiable information. Guests are also reminded to keep the review focused on the hotel.

Steps 3 asks the month of your hotel stay and one aspect of the hotel guests should know.

Step 4 – Personal Information

I blacked out my nickname since the Starwood site remembered me from my first review when I made a screenshot of this step. My nickname is not LoyaltyTraveler or LT. The site asks if you traveled for business, leisure, your elite level, location, age and frequency of travel.

You can also check a box for an email notice when your review is posted on the Starwood hotel site.

Step 5 – Submit additional SPG feedback to customer service.

This page asks you to rate your likelihood of recommending SPG to another. Finding brand advocates is all the hotel industry rage in loyalty programs these days.

I submitted my review and received a “Thank You for your review” confirmation.

Followed by the notice that reviews for a specific hotel will not be posted on the site until there are at least five reviews submitted for the hotel.

So get writing SPG members.

I’ll follow up with a date when my review is finally posted. I am curious to see if it gets posted in 2011.