1
May
The teasers are over and the Starwood Preferred Guest “Nice Choice” promotion for summer travel has been announced for three months of earning bonuses. SPG members need to choose their earning period from three choices and you have until June 30, 2012 to register. My suggestion is do not register yet if you are unsure of which offer best matches your travel plans. Read More…
Starwood Preferred Guest is promoting its SPG.com/moments experiences with a month of April Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes for 9 Grand Prize winners who will have a choice of a music experience at one of nine Starwood Hotels brands in various locations around the globe.
One entry is earned by registering for the sweepstakes. An additional entry is earned for every hotel night booked and stayed in a Starwood Hotel April 3-30. Drawing is around May 4, 2012. Read More…
Starwood Preferred Guest launched a new feature last week for member discounts of 10% to 20% at more than 500 participating Starwood Hotel restaurants and bars globally. Starwood Hotels has offered Starpoints for hotel dining spend the past several years, even when not a registered hotel guest.
Link: Starwood Restaurants and Bars Read More…
Starwood Preferred Guest announced hotel category changes for reward nights effective March 1, 2012. The net effect is something like 138 hotels will drop in category level while 183 hotels rise in category level.
Update March 15, 2012: The tables here were based on the initial February 16 release of SPG category changes in a pdf. I copied those changes into a spreadsheet. Several of the hotels showing category changes in these tables were removed from the final change list. Starwood Lurker on FlyerTalk stated March 2 that the initial pdf was outdated.
Here are a few of the hotels originally listed that did not change category and some new hotels that did change category since the February 16 list was published.
[original Feb 21 post content continues below]
The numbers shown in this post may be off by a couple of hotels compared to the Starwood pdf. There are some hotels listed on the Starwood pdf of category changes that are no longer in the system (Syria) or exiting the Starwood family soon (Le Meridien Cancun). Four Points Seattle is shown as a change rising from category 2 to category 3, yet that hotel already is listed as category 3 on the SPG site.
The bad news is the hotels going up are concentrated in the upper tiers while hotels going down are primarily in lower tiers. This means that many resorts and high priced urban hotels will cost more points while many Sheraton and Four Points hotels already in the lower tiers will cost even less as of March 1.
SPG Birth Year rates are probably one of the lesser known rate discounts with the potential to cut your Starwood Hotel stay rate in half. The basic deal is you pay a generally higher than Best Flexible rate for the first night, then pay your birth year for the second night, and third night at some hotels. I was born in 1960 so my rate is $60 per night for the second and third nights. Even better is the flexible cancellation policy for these rates. Many hotels allow day before arrival or day of arrival cancellation with no penalty.
I have been writing about the birth year rate offer since 2009 and SPG has extended this offer for stays through 2012 at participating hotels.
Some changes I noticed in my recent review of these rates:
Starwood Starpicks offer discount rates over the next six weeks at select properties. The discount is typically 20% to 33% off the Best Flexible Rate. AAA and senior discounts are generally 10% off Best Flexible Rate.
Some hotels only offer Starpicks rates for weekends and other hotels offer discount rates seven days a week. Main point to know is these hotel rates are prepaid and nonrefundable. You can’t change the reservation or cancel. You lose the entire stay deposit if you need to change or cancel the hotel reservation.
The Starpicks list looks unusually large this week. January is the slowest period of the year in many places. My search of hotels in California and British Columbia show some good deal low rates at several hotels.
The format has changed and I do not see a webpage with a full list of hotels like in past weeks.
Sample of Starwood Starpicks hotels:
Paris – Le Meridien Etoile 149 EUR
Paris – Westin Vendome 272 EUR
Vancouver – Westin Bayshore 129 CAD
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.
Participating Starwood Hotels for Redeeming Free Nights
Participating Starwood Hotels for earning free nights
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
This week’s Starwood Starpicks offers are available until Friday. I must state I am not impressed by the rates I see in San Francisco, Boston, and Amsterdam. Fresno Four Points at $79 looks reasonable, but my two stays there this year were both disrupted by late night partiers.
Westin Market Street at $299 for a Friday night makes me cringe. San Francisco has priced me out of the market this year. I miss the $99 weekend rates I periodically enjoyed the past three years from late-2008 through 2010. Those are just a memory in 2011 for the city that has seen the highest hotel room rate increases in the U.S. in 2011. I have primarily been burning through loyalty points this year when I go to urban hotels.
Take a look and perhaps something here works for you. Just remember to compare rates. W Boston was only $4 a night more ($263 vs. $259) for a flexible cancellation AAA rate compared to the prepaid, nonrefundable Starpicks rate.
Starpicks Hotel List and Availability Calendar links. Use this link to access availability calendars for Starpicks dates. The links below take you only to the hotel’s webpage.
Starpicks Hotels for Bookings by Friday October 28, 2011.
Belgium
Brussels Le Méridien Brussels
Brussels Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel
Brussels Sheraton Brussels Hotel
Canada
British Columbia
Vancouver The Westin Grand, Vancouver
Ontario
Toronto Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
Quebec
Dorval Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel
Montreal Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel
France
Paris Le Méridien Etoile
Mexico
Baja California Sur
Los Cabos Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, Los Cabos
Netherlands
Amsterdam Hotel Pulitzer, Amsterdam
Amsterdam Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
The Hague Hotel Des Indes, The Hague
Portugal
Portimão Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort
United Kingdom
England
West Drayton Sheraton Heathrow Hotel
United States
Arizona
Phoenix Aloft Phoenix-Airport
Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel
Scottsdale Sheraton Desert Oasis Villas, Scottsdale
California
Fresno Four Points by Sheraton Fresno
Garden Grove Sheraton Garden Grove – Anaheim South Hotel
Rancho Cucamonga Four Points by Sheraton Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga
San Francisco The Westin San Francisco Market Street
San Francisco The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square
San Francisco W San Francisco
Florida
Fort Lauderdale The Westin Fort Lauderdale
Lake Mary The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North
Orlando Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City
Georgia
Atlanta Sheraton Suites Galleria-Atlanta
Atlanta The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta
Atlanta W Atlanta – Downtown
Hawaii
Honolulu The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki
Maui The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali
Illinois
Chicago Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
Chicago The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile
Chicago The Westin Chicago River North
Indiana
Indianapolis The Westin Indianapolis
Massachusetts
Boston W Boston
Springfield Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel
Minnesota
Edina The Westin Edina Galleria
Minneapolis Le Méridien Chambers Minneapolis
Minnetonka Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel
Woodbury Sheraton St. Paul Woodbury Hotel
Nebraska
Omaha Sheraton Omaha Hotel
New York
Hauppauge Sheraton Long Island Hotel
New York The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel
North Carolina
Charlotte The Westin Charlotte
Puerto Rico
San Juan Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino
Tennessee
Nashville Sheraton Music City Hotel
Texas
Houston Sheraton Houston West Hotel
Houston The Westin Houston, Memorial City
San Antonio Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown by the Riverwalk
Virginia
Falls Church The Westin Tysons Corner
Washington
Bellevue Sheraton Bellevue Hotel
Seattle Sheraton Seattle Hotel
Starwood Starpicks offer rate discounts up to 40% for upcoming weekends with some hotels offering discount rates every day of the week over the next three to six weeks. The real value I see with Starpicks is for hotels with typically high weekday rates that are discounted to a set Starpicks rate regardless of the day of week. These rates can save quite a bit on a hotel for a Thursday or Sunday night when rates tend to be higher than Friday or Saturday.
These rates are available for booking until Friday, October 14, 2011.
Starwood Starpicks Hotels for week of October 11-October 14 bookings for stays in October and November.
Note: Use the link at the beginning of the post to see availability calendars. The hotels listed below are the participating hotels, but you need to go to the main page to view calendar of available Starpicks dates.
Aruba
Palm Beach The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba
Bahamas
Nassau Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort
Canada
Ontario
Mississauga Four Points by Sheraton Mississauga Meadowvale
Toronto Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport
China
Shandong
Qingdao Four Points by Sheraton Qingdao, Chengyang
France
Paris Le Méridien Etoile
Japan
Osaka The St. Regis Osaka
Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu
Mexico
Baja California Sur
Los Cabos Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, Los Cabos
Netherlands
Amsterdam Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
The Hague Hotel Des Indes, The Hague
South Africa
Cape Town The Westin Cape Town
United Kingdom
England
West Drayton Sheraton Heathrow Hotel
United States
Arizona
Phoenix Aloft Phoenix-Airport
Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel
Scottsdale W Scottsdale
Tempe Aloft Tempe
California
Bakersfield Four Points by Sheraton Bakersfield
Fresno Four Points by Sheraton Fresno
Pleasanton Four Points by Sheraton Pleasanton
Rancho Cucamonga Four Points by Sheraton Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga
San Diego Four Points by Sheraton San Diego
Colorado
Steamboat Springs Sheraton Steamboat Resort
Steamboat Springs Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas
Florida
Lake Mary The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North
Orlando Sheraton Safari Hotel & Suites Lake Buena Vista
Hawaii
Kauai, Princeville The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas
Illinois
Chicago Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
Chicago The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile
Indiana
Indianapolis The Westin Indianapolis
Kentucky
Lexington Four Points by Sheraton Lexington
Maryland
Linthicum Aloft Baltimore Washington International Airport
Nebraska
Omaha Sheraton Omaha Hotel
New Hampshire
Manchester Four Points by Sheraton Manchester Airport
New Jersey
Ewing Element Ewing Princeton
New York
New York W New York – Downtown
Oregon
Portland Four Points by Sheraton Portland East
Pennsylvania
Allentown Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites Allentown Airport
Lakeville Cove Haven Resort
Marshalls Creek Pocono Palace Resort
Mount Pocono Paradise Stream Resort
Puerto Rico
Rio Grande The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico
San Juan Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino
Tennessee
Franklin Aloft Nashville-Cool Springs
Texas
Fort Worth Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa
Frisco The Westin Stonebriar
Houston Element Houston Vintage Park
Irving Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North
San Antonio Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown by the Riverwalk
Virginia
Alexandria The Westin Alexandria
Arlington Sheraton Crystal City Hotel
Ashburn Aloft Dulles Airport North
Falls Church The Westin Tysons Corner
Washington
Seattle Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Seattle Center
Starwood Starpicks Terms & Conditions:
Reservations must be booked online by this Friday at a Starwood website to receive promotional rates.
Le Meridien Des Indes, The Hague, Netherlands (147 EUR/night)
Starwood Hotels Starpicks are limited time offer nonrefundable rates that you either use or lose your full prepayment cost for the room reservation.
In general, I was not impressed by rates at hotels I checked. These are by no means low rates in terms of historical low rates for the past year at hotels I searched.
Westin Mammoth Lakes = $149. I have seen that rate regularly over past few months.
The Palace San Francisco = $189. The Starwood Hotels in San Francisco seem to have jumped weekend rates by over 25% in 2011 compared to 2010. Occupancy has been high in this popular international tourist and conference destination. I look for rates under $150 at the Palace and they still happen occasionally.
Rates for Colorado hotels I checked frequently in July are basically the same low rates I saw last month.
Westin Riverfront Mountain Resort & Spa Beaver Creek, Avon (near Vail) was $189 standard rate or $170.10 with AAA rate in July and $179 Starpicks rate in this offer.
Sheraton Denver West is $79 and I paid $76 AAA rate in July with day of arrival no penalty cancellation option.
Element Denver Park Meadows is $71 as Starpicks. I paid $80 for a week of arrival reservation, but the AAA rate had been $71 just a few days before my booking.
AAA rates I booked in Colorado typically had “day of until 6pm” or “one day before arrival cancellation”.
Calendar function is not working correctly on my computer when using IE9.0.1. Dates disappear as I hover mouse over calendar. Very touchy feature that I had quite a problem with when trying to search hotels for Starpicks rates. I required slowly surgical precision to move mouse over the calendar and select dates before a large portion of the calendar decided to disappear. Mess up and the only way to get the calendar dates showing again was to start search over. This truly was hunting for low rates.
Starpicks are nonrefundable rates that you either use or lose your full prepayment cost for the room reservation.
My general advice is minimize your exposure to prepaid, nonrefundable rates at every opportunity when booking hotel rooms.
Use it or lose it rates offer some savings sometimes, but the overall savings is generally wiped out after one or two missed nights due to airport delays, bad weather, meeting cancellations and changes, and other factors that are often out of your control.
In the past I have often found the Starpicks rate to be a really low rate for some hotels I’ve stayed. Starwood Hotels seems to have formalized the Starpicks offers into a nice webpage offer, but the savings now seem more like a typical Hilton Hotels sale that really isn’t a sale. The Starpicks rates are low if you were planning a stay, but probably not so low that you should plan a nonrefundable stay just for these rates.
Starpicks Terms and Conditions
Argentina
Buenos Aires
Mar del Plata
Canada
Alberta
Calgary
Four Points by Sheraton Calgary Airport
Calgary
Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire
British Columbia
Vancouver
The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver
Whistler
The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler
Ontario
Blue Mountains
The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain
Hamilton
Mississauga
Four Points by Sheraton Mississauga Meadowvale
Mississauga
Four Points by Sheraton Toronto Airport
Mississauga
Four Points by Sheraton Toronto Mississauga
Ottawa
Toronto
Quebec
Dorval
Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel
Montreal
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel
China
Shanghai
Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao Hotel
Costa Rica
Guanacaste
Playa Conchal
The Westin Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal
Germany
Frankfurt
Guatemala
Guatemala City
The Westin Camino Real, Guatemala
Malaysia
Langkawi
Mexico
Baja California Sur
Los Cabos
Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, Los Cabos
The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos
Campeche
Uayamon
Yucatan
Santa Rosa
Temozon Sur
Tixkokob
Netherlands
Amsterdam
Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Panama, Republic of Panama
Panama City
Sheraton Panama Hotel & Convention Center
Poland
Warsaw
Thailand
Koh Samui
Pattaya
United Kingdom
England
London
United States
Alabama
Birmingham
Huntsville
Arizona
Phoenix
Scottsdale
Sheraton Desert Oasis Villas, Scottsdale
Scottsdale
The Westin Kierland Villas, Scottsdale
Tempe
Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel Tempe
Tucson
Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites
California
Carlsbad
Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa
Emeryville
Four Points by Sheraton San Francisco Bay Bridge
Los Angeles
Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles
The Westin Los Angeles Airport
Mammoth Lakes
The Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth
Millbrae
The Westin San Francisco Airport
Rancho Mirage
The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, Palm Springs
San Diego
Four Points by Sheraton San Diego
San Francisco
The Westin San Francisco Market Street
The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square
Ventura
Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor Resort
Colorado
Aurora
Aloft Denver International Airport
Avon
The Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas, Beaver Creek Mountain
Avon
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain
Broomfield
Lakewood
Lone Tree
Connecticut
Meriden
Four Points by Sheraton Meriden
Florida
Cocoa Beach
Four Points by Sheraton Cocoa Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek Ft. Lauderdale
Jacksonville
Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park
Jensen Beach
Lake Buena Vista
Lake Buena Vista
Lake Mary
The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North
Orlando
Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City
Sheraton Orlando Downtown Hotel
Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas, Lake BuenaVista/Orlando
Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort Villas, I-Drive/Orlando
Port St. Lucie
Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort, Port St. Lucie
Tampa
Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel
Georgia
Atlanta
Sheraton Suites Galleria-Atlanta
The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North
The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta
Augusta
Hawaii
Kailua-Kona
Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa
Illinois
Itasca
Lombard
The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
Louisiana
New Orleans
The Westin New Orleans Canal Place
Maryland
National Harbor
The Westin Washington National Harbor
Massachusetts
Cambridge
Norwood
Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
Wakefield
Sheraton Colonial Boston North Hotel & Conference Center
Michigan
Romulus
Four Points by Sheraton Detroit Metro Airport
Missouri
St. Louis
Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel St. Louis
Nebraska
Omaha
Element Omaha Midtown Crossing
Nevada
Las Vegas
New Jersey
Morristown
The Westin Governor Morris, Morristown
New York
New York
The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel
North Carolina
Charlotte
Ohio
Columbus
Pennsylvania
York
South Carolina
Myrtle Beach
Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel
North Charleston
Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center
Tennessee
Memphis
Four Points by Sheraton Memphis East
Texas
Dallas
Le Méridien Dallas by the Galleria
The Westin Park Central, Dallas
Fort Worth
Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa
Frisco
San Antonio
Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown by the Riverwalk
Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio
Virginia
Alexandria
Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria
Ashburn
Falls Church
Norfolk
Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel
Vienna
Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner
Wisconsin
Brookfield
Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel
Green Bay
Marriott, Starwood, Best Western and Choice have free night promotions allowing you to pay now and stay free later on another trip. They all have restrictions on the type of free night allowed, so read the rules carefully and see if the free night looks like one you can use.
Marriott Rewards – One Free Night after Two Stays June 1 – August 31.
Marriott International hotel brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites, Autograph Collection, Ritz-Carlton, Edition. (AC Hotels is Marriott’s new brand in Europe, but AC Hotels are not listed as a participating brand for this promotion.)
Strategy for Marriott Rewards promotion: My wife and I have traveled where one night at a hotel is a reservation in my name and the second night is a reservation in her name. First person should check out and get a hotel stay folio before second person checks in under different member account to be sure the stays credit appropriately to each member’s account for the free night credit.
This allows longer stays without changing hotels while maximizing promotion credit. Just tell the hotel you are staying on two different reservations to maximize the Marriott Rewards promotion and you might not need to change rooms during your hotel stay.
Starwood Preferred Guest – One Free Night at a Starwood Resort after Three Stays, May 1 – July 31.
Starwood Hotels brands: Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, Element, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Le Meridien.
Choice Hotels – 8,000 points after Two Stays, May 19 – August 11, 2011.
Choice Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Ascend Collection, MainStay Suites, Suburban, Rodeway Inn, EconoLodge.
Best Western Hotels – One free night after three stays June 19-August 14, 2011.
Best Western hotels are all one brand, but in 2011 three tiers were created with most of the worldwide 4,000+ properties remaining Best Western and about 800 hotels as Best Western Plus and around 100+ hotels (mostly outside U.S.) as Best Western Premier.
Where to find Best Western Rewards promotion registration link
