A travel article in the Los Angeles Times today seems to be filled with mixed messages. The title “Many Americans dream of driving across the country, survey shows” says 25% of men and 33% of women surveyed “always wanted to drive across the country” and have not yet achieved this adventure. 41% of Americans said they had already driven across the country in the Expedia sponsored survey conducted by Harris Interactive of 2,262 adults.

According to the survey, only 23% of Americans expect to travel internationally in the next year (and that includes Canada and Mexico).

I am an American who has made several cross country road trips across the USA. As a child I traveled across the country from California to the east coast and back with my parents – a couple of times. As an adult I have driven California to Maine a couple of times including from Eureka, California to Ellsworth, Maine which is about as far as a person can drive in the USA cross-country point-to-point. 

Eureka, California – Ellsworth, Maine = 3,491 road miles.

What I would like to know from the survey is whether people who had made cross country road trips were traveling for fun or what I think are more likely reasons for employment or family issue? My coast to coast cross country trips were all motivated by some other reason than a travel vacation.

The only people I recall taking cross country road trips for fun were young adults or retired adults with no employment commitments and school teachers who have six to eight weeks in summer to travel for an extended period.

Last summer I met a couple at a Holiday Inn Express in Salt Lake City from Nova Scotia who had driven across Canada to Vancouver, down the west coast to San Francisco and they were driving back across the USA via Interstate 80. The husband was retired and his wife was a school teacher.

My point is cross country driving is a relatively expensive way to travel since the time on the road requires lodging, unless you plan to couch surf or you are driving a vehicle you can sleep in which means your gas total is likely much higher. Road travel takes time. Six hours of driving a day gets you about 300 to 400 miles for the same amount of seated time as it takes to fly cross country coast to coast.

Not Enough Time or Money or Both

The statement by Joe Megibow, VP of Expedia, that tough economic times have forced Americans to cheaper vacation alternatives by driving instead of flying and taking shorter, more frequent trips does not match up with the objective of making a cross country road trip and the time needed to travel the USA by road rather than air travel.

That statement kind of knocks out cross country driving from coast to coast in the USA.

7,000 miles / 25mpg = 280 gallons of gas. At $4/gallon = $1,120. Our California gas prices right now are $4.20 to $4.35 on average.

Figure about $1,000 in gas more or less to travel from New York to California and back.

Last summer I took two extended road trips from Monterey, California to Vancouver, Canada and back. Then I traveled Monterey to Denver, Colorado and back. This was about 6,000 miles in road travel. I took over four weeks for these trips and I felt rushed most of the time with not enough time to stop and sight see around the places I was driving through in the western states.

I spent three nights in hotels each way driving the 1,200 miles to Denver when there is a nonstop United Airlines flight to Denver that requires 2.5 hours each way. My wife says she doesn’t want to do the desert drive again this year when I travel to Colorado for Travel Blogger Exchange 2012 (TBEX12). Five hours of flight time compared to 40 hours of drive time is preferable to her.

I am still debating whether to fly or drive. I really want to work in a whitewater rafting excursion in Utah.

Breaking News March 5: BlogWorld, the leading blogger convention in the USA just bought TBEX.

One thing I am sure of for true travelers on the road is the value of Wyndham, Best Western and Choice hotel points when roadtripping. There are many locations where Hyatt Diamond and SPG Platinum are meaningless and even Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels are far apart.

Brokeass Mountain Road Trip, July 2011

Monterey, California – Denver, Colorado

• Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road across the Sierra Nevada Mountains
• Westin Monache Resort Mammoth for year round vacations
• Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America
• Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park Nevada
• Less extreme than 127 Hours in Utah
• Brokeass Mountain Tour eastbound – Hotel Value at High Elevation
• Brokeass Mountain Tour visits Starwood in Denver
• Driving by the 14ers South Park to Aspen, Colorado
• Top of the Rockies on the High Road to Aspen – Independence Pass 12,095 feet.
• St. Regis Aspen – Too Late to Cancel
• Aspen, Colorado to Park City, Utah: Ghost lands of Buffalo Soldiers, Utes and Dinosaurs
• The California Trail across Nevada
• Homeward Bound – Carson Pass Highway 88 over the Sierra Nevada to Monterey

Christopher Elliott wrote a recent article, The Disappearing Vacation, where he coins 2009 the year of the ‘naycation’, as in No Vacation for 2009. 

The numbers are looking bleak, particularly on the luxury front of air travel.

Premium air travel fell 11.5% worldwide in November 2008 compared to November 2007, according to a New York Times article yesterday, January 20, 2009.  The greatest decline is in long-haul travel.  Those $15,000 to $20,000 ticket prices finally seem to be an inhibitor to flying up front for the moneyed corporate masses.  (I refer to corporate masses from my experience of having traveled on dozens of premium flights and never having talked to someone seated next to me in the premium cabin who paid for their own flight.  Corporate travel or frequent flyer award travel is common.)

Trans-Pacific premium travel suffered nearly an 18% drop in November 2008.  This might be a good time to try and score a First Class award ticket on a trans-Pacific route.

Trans-Atlantic premium flight travel to Europe dropped 9% in November over the year before. 

And the airline industry forecast is for the travel market to decline further before an improvement is seen.

On the hotel front, luxury hotel travel has dropped 24% from a year ago in recent industry tracking data.

Chris Elliott commented in his ‘Disappearing Vacation’ piece “No two ways about it, staying close to home and exploring the local attractions can be dull. (Unless you live in a place where people like to vacation.)”

Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach 1-18-09

Pebble Beach, Western Edge of California, Eastern Edge of the Pacific

I do have the good fortune to live in a place where a staycation is still a great time.  When traveling and asked where I am from, I regularly describe where I live, Monterey/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach/Carmel, collectively known as the Monterey Peninsula, as the place in California where Californians vacation.   

We spent the day basking in the sun and whale watching at Pebble Beach this past weekend.  The best whale watching from the shoreline I have seen in my life has occurred the past two weeks.  The Monterey Peninsula has had the longest winter heatwave in almost 50 years.  The temperature in Monterey has exceeded 70 degrees for the past 9 days and on Monday, January 19 the temperature peaked out at 80. The last time the Peninsula saw this kind of winter extended warm temperatures was January 1962.

Cypress Point, westernmost point of Pebble Beach, looking south to Point Sur

I rag on the exclusivity of Pebble Beach, but I have to admit the scenery is damn beautiful and the whalewatching from Cypress Point was the best location on the Peninsula I have been in the past two weeks for close views of whales from the shore. Some whales were within 1/2 mile of land. 

The $9.25 entrance fee to the 5,300 acre privately owned and gated community on the western edge of the Monterey Peninsula keeps me from visiting the area as frequently as I would like.  Bicycles may enter Pebble Beach without charge for the cycling alternative.  I need to get a bike.

Pebble Beach will have the ATT Pro-Am golf tournament in two weeks.  The hotels need the revenue.  Pebble Beach, feeling the pinch of luxury travel cuts, has shed employees, shut down restaurants on Sundays, and offered discounts on room and golf/spa packages for their three hotel properties: Pebble Beach Lodge, Spanish Bay, and Casa Palmeiro.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach, view from near 18th green of Pebble Beach Golf Links

Still, Pebble Beach Corporation has posted rate increases for April 2009.  An ocean view room at the Pebble Beach Lodge will increase more than 4% from $925 to $965 per night.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach, Oceanview rooms

The rooms above look over the 18th green of Pebble Beach Golf Links and Carmel Beach is in the distance.

Pebble Beach Golf Links, 18th green, a view from oceanview rooms at The Lodge

Is $965 for a night at a California coastal resort feasible in this economy? 

Time will tell if this luxury retreat on the Monterey Peninsula will continue to see a retreat in luxury for 2009.

Loyalty Traveler tip: The $9.25 car admission fee to Pebble Beach will be deducted from your restaurant or bar bill if you visit one of the Pebble Beach restaurants, bars, and cafes.  A bottle of Stella Artois will run $7.25 at Traps in Spanish Bay Inn and appetizers are $10-$20; Peppoli restaurant entrees are $30 to $50.  The Lodge has similar prices.

Spanish Bay Inn, bagpiper at sunset

Luxury Hotels – “Show me the Discount”

The hotel industry strategists urged full steam ahead in early 2008 when faced with any discussion of a world recession and that “d” word.  I am talking about “discount” room rates. 

Shhhh. 

The “d” word can’t be spoken too loudly inside the hotel industry.

Wall Street and the hotel industry have been taking a bath with our cash for five years.  Except for the slight downturn in 2001-2003, hotels have been raising the cost of rooms every year for the past decade and now they are through the roof…or at least to the 7^th floor.

I am not Jerry McGuire.  You can yell “Show me the money!” all you want. 

I’m yelling back, “Show me the discount!”

We need a win-win negotiation here.

I rant on and on about the high cost of hotels.  In a world where many leisure travelers and business travelers have watched their retirement tossed out with the bathwater in 2008, the discussion in the hotel industry that rate increases will have to be moderated this year just pisses me off.

You have to wonder how bad things really are when you watch your savings portfolio crash 20% in a week.  

What the hell.  Go traveling.

All year long the industry talk in the media has been how luxury travel is immune from the economic downturn. 

Several articles I’ve read in the past twenty-four hours suggest the media is peddling a different tune in Black October 2008.

·          

Some people don’t just travel , they travel well…

well, expensively.

The Miami Herald ran a story October 8, “South Florida Luxury Hotels Tested in Hard Times”. The Setai Hotel, South Beach, Miami has standard room rates of $1,100 per night.  The sales director says room rate discounts to $620 per night, normally only offered for weekdays, may have to be offered on weekends this  winter season to attract guests.

I am thinking European repeat visitors to the USA may now feel what Americans have experienced in trips to Europe and many other countries where the US dollar declined in value over the past few years.  1000 Euros is only worth $1,368 today, about $200 less, or 13% less than it was three months ago ($1,574 July 9, 2008). 

Miami has had several new luxury hotels open in the past few years with all the major chains buying a piece of the real estate.  Fort Lauderdale has Starwood’s new W Hotel, and the St. Regis Fort Lauderdale rebranded as a Ritz-Carlton, a Marriott hotel .  Hilton has the Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort and Miami has two InterContinental hotels. 

Luxury hotels are abundant in south Florida.  This location may be the bellwether location to watch for luxury hotel trends in 2009.

·          

The Wall Street Journal has a good read on Caribbean hotel discounts, “Silver Lining for Vacationers in the Caribbean,” by Sarah Nassauer.  The article states Puerto Rico hotel rates are down 11%, and Punta Cana on the Dominican Republic is down 16% from this time last year.  The Caribbean may be like 2005 was for housing.  Signs of a turbulent hotel elevator ride ahead. 

Last month I blogged about the global hotel report by Smith Travel Research showing the Caribbean had the only decline of average room rates over the past year.  Airline service cuts, higher airfares with all the fuel surcharges, and already over-priced hotel accommodations have led to tough times. 

·          

And winter 2009 should be worse I predict.

The Europeans and foreigners with stronger currencies than the dollar helped boost tourism in Caribbean locations with European ties.  European visitors to Aruba in the Netherland Antilles have seen the Euro drop 13% against the US Dollar in the past three months.  And the US Dollar is the major transaction currency for hotels in the Caribbean. 

A 5% hotel room rate cut to $400 per night for a Caribbean beach resort in November 2008 will still cost $50 more per night for a Euro-spending European than it was in July 2008.

·          

Joe Sharkey’s New York Times article, “ Travel Industry Shaken by Economic Downturn” cites patterns of luxury travel decline.  British Airways, the grande dame of European luxury air travel, has seen almost a 9% decline in the past year for its long-haul premium travel.  Even Singapore Airlines is offering premium flight discounts as the tiny financial powerhouse island-country of Singapore joins New Zealand as the second major Asia Pacific country to officially go into economic recession. 

Upscale hotels are impacted too.  Sharkey’s article cites Bjorn Hanson, New York University professor at Tisch Center for Hospitality, saying hotel cancellations for full-service hotels have been running about 50% above normal for the past two weeks.

·          

Pebble Beach Lodge and Golf Resort sent me a special offer for two nights with two rounds of golf and a complimentary room upgrade starting at $2,000.  I guess they didn’t read my blog post, “$8 Cups of Beer!  Pinch me, I’m Luxuriating,” written after the ATT Pro-Am last February.  (I changed the title last month to “Monterey County Luxury Hotels” to enable better search engine optimization.)

If you want to learn more about the Pebble Beach offer you can call 1-800-877-0279 and ask for code “PGECP8”.  Book by October 21 to get the added bennies.

·          

Ritz-Carlton Spa and Golf Resort, Half Moon Bay, California

And then there is the AIG fiasco last month at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California.  I was interested to read in the LA Times yesterday, David Lazarus’ Consumer Confidential, that AIG had another company event planned for the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Half Moon Bay, California next week. 

I was thinking we could organize a beach blanket protest using the California Coastal Commission’s public access to the beach (explained here) for some consumer advocacy and fun in the sun.

The cancellation of the AIG event at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay was just announced this morning.  Power of the media.  Power to the people.  Our tax dollars shouldn’t be funding golf excursions.

Attention AIG executives!

Loyalty Traveler has a great tip for a Pebble Beach golf getaway – but, please pay on your own dime.

And this takes us back to the downturn in luxury travel.

$500,000 luxury meeting getaways will likely be scaled back dramatically over the next year as this financial crisis winds its way through the travel industry in 2009.

·          

The good news? 

Loyalty Travelers will find hotel bargains in 2009.

Hotels are looking more to consumer groups for targeted hotel rate discounts. 

My wife just turned 50.  She was surprised I hadn’t gift-wrapped an AARP card for her birthday present.

Honey, I think I have already picked out your Christmas gift .

Travel Going Down, Down, Down. It’s the Economy, Stupid!

Global hotel rates are up overall, year-over-year for July 2008, in all regions except the Caribbean, reports STR Global.  The STR Global survey set of over 36,000 hotels and nearly 5 million rooms probably comprises all of the 25,000 or so hotels in the top 10 major hotel loyalty programs.

The Middle East/Africa was the only global region to experience increased hotel occupancy.  Oil and war must be a good hotel filler combo.  The more than 3% higher occupancy levels were in the face of a 30% increase in average room rates in July.   With per night average room rates still only at $150 for the North Africa/Middle East region, the low cost North Africa hotels mitigate the luxury priced rates of Dubai.  The most expensive hotels regionally on average are to be found in Europe, but the recent drop in Euro value relative to the dollar throughout August could mean an actual decline for prices in US Dollars in the coming months.  Europe is seeing tougher economic times developing and the hotel rate increases for the coming year are unlikely to match the exuberant room rate hikes of 2007. 

European hotels had occupancy declines of over 2% from summer 2007 to 2008 and the Asia Pacific region had a larger decline of 7% occupancy, yet average room rate increases of more than 14% in both regions kept hotels profitable.  Currency exchange rates more favorable for Americans coinciding with a general overall drop in hotel travel throughout much of Europe may make 2009 a good year for finding more reasonable room rates for an American traveling internationally.

South America is seeing occupancy gains year-over-year for the hotel industry.  My last international trip to South America in 2007 provided great value for the dollar on transportation ($5USD extra to travel First Class on a one hour, 3-cabin, high speed deluxe ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay), hotels (six different Starwood properties), and food ($1.00USD for 1.0L bottles of Stella Artois in the local Buenos Aires market). 

North America is experiencing declining hotel occupancy, led by the Caribbean hotels.   The Caribbean is the one global region that has not been able to sustain positive revenue growth for the year.  Rates have dropped for Caribbean hotels (but, still way overpriced!) while the Americas as a whole saw an increase for room rates by almost 3% for the past year.

As an industry, hotels have been raising room rates at a pace much higher than inflation for the past four years.  This is at the same time the American working person is on average not earning pay rises to match the inflationary pressures.  California is at a 12 year high for unemployment at 7.3%.  The average hourly wage in California has increased 2 cents over the past three years from $22.52 to $22.54.  Everything in the household budget is increasing in cost while Americans on average had the biggest decline in three years for personal income. 

At 2,000 working hours per year, the average worker has earned about 4,000 hotel points worth of wage gains or 2,000 frequent flyer miles in additional wage value per year.  At least the loyalty points and miles are not taxed like wages.  A traveler better start collecting MyPoints to supplement the travel budget.

Economic necessity is compelling the consumer to make choices of where to spend money.  And all travelers are consumers.  Hotels seem to be one of the cuts for many travelers as evidenced by hotel occupancy declines in most regions of the world.

The interesting factor I am waiting to see is how hotel loyalty programs restructure their free night redemption charts over the next year.  Hotel loyalty programs in the past have based their redemption rates for a free night using points on the hotel’s average daily rate for a room.  On one hand the lowest average daily rates are in North America ($108) when compared to Europe ($167), the Middle East ($150), and Asia Pacific ($137) regions.  On the other hand, the large majority of hotels in most of the major hotel corporations are located in the USA and although these hotels have some of the lowest rates worldwide, most of the free room redemptions for the major hotel loyalty programs are made at USA hotels. 

Hopefully, the loyalty traveler will see “category creep” be a minor issue in 2009.  There has been an alarming category reclassification shift over the past three years.  The hotel loyalty programs have moved most of their hotels up at least one category in redemption level and many hotels to much higher category levels for free nights using points.  The hotels used to be distributed more heavily towards the lower redemption levels in the Starwood, Marriott, and Hilton programs.  Hotels in the Category 1 and 2 segments have been dwindling as the Category 4, 5, and higher hotels swell in numbers.   Perhaps 2009 will be the year when a significant number of hotel properties in the USA actually drop in redemption category.  Now that would be a boost for the frequent guest and actually justify a full-scale press release for a program enhancement.

Loyalty Traveler note:  Much of the commentary here is based on the research work and data of Smith Travel Research and STR Global who produce a variety of reports on USA and global hotel rates and occupancy levels. 

The Happiest Place on Earth – Orlando, Florida actually saw a decline in room rates for July 2008 by almost 2% from last year.  A sign for 2009?

Concierge Traveler – Hotel and Travel News  

I have noticed trends in the hotel industry stories over the past couple of weeks since not posting much while traveling around in San Francisco and Denver.  Here is a selection of interesting travel industry articles I have seen lately.

********

I have been writing much of this year on the “perfect storm” of currency exchange economics, perception of declining wealth among Americans and its impact on international travel, and the hotel revenue management teams insisting on maintaining historically record high room rates. 

My conclusion is the trifecta will decrease the room rate inflation for hotels in the U.S. but I anticipate wildly swinging hotel rates for the rest of 2008.  Expect exorbitantly high room rates in major city business center hotels during busy work weeks and peak travel conferences when the hotels will strive for enhanced revenue. Anticipate more frequent hotel room bargain rates during extreme lulls in business travel to induce leisure travel stays. 

The leisure traveler will see great hotel rate opportunities and an increased probability of getting a high value-added incentive like a complimentary room upgrade, free parking, restaurant meals and/or bar drinks, and quite possibly a high added-value rebate through hotel loyalty program bonus points towards a future free night redemption.  Unlike airline frequent flyer miles, hotel programs make room redemption using frequent guest points a fairly simple process.

Rising fuel costs balanced by staff reductions seems to be the business practice for keeping profits rising in the face of declining occupancy and pressure on room rate rises.  Europe is seeing a widespread decline in the American tourist market on the order of 10-15% fewer visitors for places like Ireland this season than last year so far.  The British pound has lost nearly as much value against the Euro in the past year as the dollar – around 15%.  A survey of UK  travelers shows 13% cutting back on travel plans due to weaker value of the British pound in past year.  British tourists are finding less value in travel to Ireland.  British tourists are increasingly favoring Turkey to escape the Euro zone for a beach getaway as even the rising cost of a holiday in Spain pushes bargains aside.

The indicators are that major cities are faring better than outlying regions for tourism such as Budapest.  London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin are still strong attractions for the tourist and business conference market.  Ireland and Scotland are seeing summer tourist fortunes decline.  Still there are analysts saying “there are no decline in business hotels for 2008” and the scenario is not so bad as hotels continue to profit, just to a lesser amount than in previous years and the cut rate bargain hotel rooms may not be coming to your town anytime soon.

Now I am waiting to see the loyalty program response to initiate more interest in hotel travel for the second half of the summer season.  The incentives are nowhere near the high value hotel frequent guest promotions of last fall, winter, and spring.

Expedia has dropped 48% in stock value since October 2007 and the recent announcement of the purchase of Venere.com did not seem favorable to the market.  For the consumer the deal just might be upbeat.  Venere.com has accommodation relationships with nearly 30,000 European and US properties and the acquisition will add more than 10,000 new hotels in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to Expedia’s reservation system.

More interesting to me is the acquisition of VirtualTourist.com by TripAdvisor.com.  Expedia is moving along as the major player in the hotel travel review and travel media market and now adds a vibrant social media component to the Expedia portfolio.

Hotel stocks and travel stocks in general are taking a hit on Wall Street with many at 52-week lows.  Marriott reports profits are declining in the past few months by a substantial margin of 24%.  Analysts predict that reduced airline capacity may exacerbate the problem of lower hotel occupancy for geographically isolated U.S. cities like Denver, Colorado to an extent larger than the post-September 11 travel slump.

Don’t think twice, it’s alright

            – TripAdvisor’s top ten places to show your skin.

Don’t think twice, it’s not alright to slip out of that tan line clothing in Dubai. 

-         And a tourist asks can you still kiss in public on a Dubai beach? 

Hotel Website Redesign and Brand Recognition

HotelChatter.com reaction to the Starwood Hotels’  Luxury Collection website redesign and recent articles on InterContinental Hotels media library, Hilton’s Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria brands are all pieces pushing brand recognition with website enhancements to distinguish these upscale and luxury brands within the corporate hotel family. The St. Regis Fort Lauderdale is being stripped of its brand name affiliation with Starwood Hotels.

Boston and Las Vegas  Coast-to-Cost Blues

Boston hotels predict harder times ahead as fuel costs and operating expense increases cut into diminishing profits.  The hotel rates in Las Vegas are reported to be at their lowest room rates since 2003 in this LA Times blog.

San Francisco, California, view of Golden Gate Bridge

I have noticed the abundance of travel articles in the past few weeks touting the simplicity of domestic travel this summer right here in the good ole USof A.

Personally, my travel plans are on hold as I work through my Loyalty Traveler business plans, the prospect of teaching school kids this summer, and awaiting a great airfare opportunity like the tickets I purchased last May 2007: Buenos Aires to New York in Business Class for $541 and Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand in Business Class for $1,400 all-in.

Let’s assume I can get a great deal for two tickets to Europe or Asia for $600 each. $1,200 in airfare just to get to a foreign airport. The ground transportation tends to be one of the bigger expenses of international travel, aside from the hotels. Germany has Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket discounts that allow a passenger to travel anywhere in the country on regional trains over the weekend at a highly discounted rate (35-37Euros or about $55USD). Little train travel deals like that help the dollar stretch a long way with planning.

Assume gas averages $4.00/gallon this summer. My recent road trip averaged over 27 miles/gal in my Hyundai Sonata with the A/C running. $1,200 in gas will buy 300 gallons and about 8,000 miles of driving. I can cover a lot of road in my car for the cost of two international air tickets.

I love getting out of the USA to gain a different perspective on life and our American lifestyles. Canada may be the best bet for international summer travel savings (although gas will be more than $4.00/gal in Canada). Vancouver, Canada is a little over 1,000 miles by road from Monterey. Considering the cost of auto gas compared to international airfare, I’ll have enough gas money for another 5,000 road trip miles in my car and the ability to easily see dozens of city and resort hotels on the way.

Recent travel articles on the high cost of tavel and domestic agendas:

Ladies Who Launch: Jetsetting around the U.S. of A.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-swift/emladies-who-launchem-jet_b_99409.html

Luxury Travel targets the young and affluent:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2008-05-01-upscales-hotels_N.htm

Jet Set Will Fret over Soaring Fuel Prices:
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=10453

Economy May Aid Florida Tourism:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/01/bz-economy-may-aid-states-tourism/

AOL/Zogby Survey finds Americans plan to spend less in 2008 on vacations:
http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXml/LN783405719.html?nid=3457

The Laguna Resort and Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

Starwood Preferred Guest has raised the category level of the Luxury Collection hotel, Laguna Resort and Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia by two category levels in four years.

Dec 2003, SPG Category 2, free weekend night = 3,000 Starpoints

March 2008, SPG Category 4, free weekend night =10,000 Starpoints

Gary Leff’s post, February 25, 2008 on View from the Wing, about the SPG annual category shift got me to thinking about my reaction to the coming changes. I understand the rationale for SPG increasing the categories for high demand hotels. Yet, I feel the pain of devalued points.

I have decided to look at it initially from my personal travel perspective.

Maybe later, I’ll tackle a real analysis of the shifts if I can locate charts showing the SPG categories from 2004 and 2006 to help me track the changes. Blondebomber of FlyerTalk has active links to his SPG Hotel Category spreadsheet on the internet. The spreadsheet tracks the SPG hotel category changes from 2005 to the current March 4, 2008 changes.

Hotel Shifts I notice from past stay award rates for a single free night:

Sheraton Noosa, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia,
July 2003     Category 3    7,000 points

March 2008     Category 5    12,000-16,000 points

Noosa Beach by Sheraton Noosa, Australia

Four Points Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
July 2003     Category 2     3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 4   10,000 points

Westin Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
December 2003    Category 1      2,000 points weekend; 3,000 points weekday

March 2008   Category 3     7,000 points

Westin Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

The Laguna Resort, Luxury Collection, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

December 2003    Category 2    3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 4    10,000 points

Starwood Hotels Luxury Collection, Laguna Resort Nusa Dua, Bali

Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok, Thailand
March 2004   Category 1     2,000 points weekend; 3,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 3     7,000 points

Bangkok, Thailand, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel

Westin Atlanta Airport
June 2007     Category 2     3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008   Category 3    7,000 points

Westin Hotel Atlanta Airport

Sheraton Newark Airport
June 2007    Category 2      3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 3    7,000 points

Sheraton Newark Airport, New Jersey

I have made a very rough estimate of the category changes at hotels I’ve visited.

I’ve probably redeemed 150,000 to 200,000 Starpoints for free nights at some of the hotels listed here and other places and locations I’ve stayed over the past five years.

I estimate it would now take about 260,000 points for the same number of nights at hotels where I redeemed points for stays for about 100,000 points.

Next month, 100,000 Starpoints might buy 10 nights at a selection of hotels where I redeemed 100,000 points for 25+ nights.Hotel room rates in most places have not risen anywhere near 150% in the past five years. Starwood point inflation has been devastatingly high on the free night redemption side for many travelers.

In Starwood’s favor, the widespread expansion of available Cash & Points rates in 2007 for hotels in all SPG categories from 1-6 has proved to be a high value use of Starpoints at many hotel properties.

$60 and 4,000 Starpoints for a Category 4 hotel award night can be a great alternative to 10,000 Starpoints or a $250+/night paid room rate. Paying $60 cash is a much higher value than spending 6,000 Starpoints.

$150 and 8,000 Starpoints for a Category 6 hotel night is often a better choice than 20,000 Starpoints or a paid room rate of $500/night.

I am glad I traveled when I did.

How much has your Starpoints earning power increased over the past five years?

My earning power hasn’t increased significantly and nowhere near 150%.

Two options for this traveler:

1. Stay fewer hotel nights or

2. Pay more money to increase the ratio of paid/award nights.

My economy will be the decider.

Laurence Geller listed some interesting data points in a blog from Jan 18, 2008. His piece discusses the widening divide between Generations X and Y mass consumers and the truly “super-affluent”. In 2006, the affluent spent on average $2,400 on hotels and resorts, while the super-affluent spent $61,200. He argues new brands will proliferate as today’s luxury brands become commonplace.

St. Regis Hotels are luxury brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Friday morning on CNBC, a news crew reported from the St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, Florida from a CEO conference. The studio reporters were asking about the age of the hotel and the reporter stated it had been open 9 months. I haven’t looked into those facts.

The report got me to thinking about the super-affluent and the merely affluent. For the Loyalty Traveler the travel is reduced to the numbers. I wondered what the rates are at the Fort Lauderdale St. Regis.

Here are the search results for St. Regis, FLL room rates for Monday, 2-18-08

OceanView
$476.10 (AAA rate)
$479 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com)
$509 Special Offer Page “SRSPG”
$529 (Best Available on SPG.com)
$549 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”

Ocean Front
$566.10 (AAA)
$579 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$609 Special Offer “SRSPG”
$649 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”

Pool Terrace
$607 Florida Resident rate
$669 Best Benefits Package special offer “SRSPG”
$689 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$709 Pool Terrace Special Offer AAA rate

[special offers accessed from St. Regis Fort Lauderdale ]  [Loyalty Traveler note:  St. Regis converted to a Ritz-Carlton in summer 2008 a few months after this post]

XRF rate includes complimentary valet parking, two Bloody Mary’s, and complimentary room upgrade to next available room type. In this case, contact hotel and find out a good night for booking with a good upgrade potential.

SRSPG rate includes two Bloody Mary’s, triple Starpoints and complimentary internet access.

The super-affluent spender could be looking at about 2 to 3 months of Pool Terrace living over the course of a year at this hotel and comparable properties. The affluent spender on $2,400 is looking at a long President’s weekend holiday and sitting home the rest of the year.

Starwood Cash & Points Award Savings

While checking St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, I came across an example of where loyalty program membership leads you to a much better booking option than a regular search on the hotel chain primary web site.

Westin Colonnade, Coral Gables, FL
Saturday, Feb 16, 2007
Rate = $429/night

www.starwoodhotels.com web site hotel rate for the Westin Colonnade through a regular search as a hotel guest not participating in Starwood Preferred Guest and not looking for the Starwood Preferred Guest hotel loyalty program site.

Checking http://www.spg.com/ – I have the option of getting a Cash & Points award at the Westin Colonnade, a Category 4 SPG Hotel for $60 and 4,000 Starpoints.

The ability to buy up to 20,000 Starpoints online from SPG at the rate of $35/1,000 points is a strategy to keep in mind if you do not have 4,000 Starpoints. Adding the cost to buy 4,000 Starpoints for $140 and the $60 Cash portion of a Cash & Points award makes a $200 room rate booking possible. The website states purchased Starpoints will be posted to your account within 24 hours.

The corporate-branded hotel websites generally have the lowest rates for their own hotel rooms compared to third-party online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity.

The difficulty for the DIY online hotel reservationist, is the time needed to sift through thousands of pages on the corporate-branded websites to find the lowest rate page. Finding the lowest rate is a matter of knowledge and luck at the time you search.

$485 through Starwood Hotels corporate web site compared to $200 for the SPG member using Cash & Points booking option for a one-night rate at the Westin Colonnade is the differential cost for the guest with a lack of knowledge and time. The Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program gives the member a hotel rate option that is nearly $300 less.

An additional benefit of a Cash & Points stay is the award stay usually does not incur tax. The minor detraction of a Cash & Points award is the hotel stay does not count for elite qualification or promotional offer credit. A Cash & Points award stay also does not earn points for the Cash portion of the award.

Priceline Hotel Bookings

CNBC reported Friday morning Priceline has experienced a surge in bookings. The TV commentator asked, “Does the growth in Priceline indicate a weak economy?”

Priceline is a great resource when hotel room rates are threatening to make your credit card bleed. Last June, I booked the Marriott Key Bridge in Arlington, Virginia for a Sunday night before a Monday afternoon flight to Buenos Aires. I wanted to be in DC, but the major loyalty program hotel rates ranged from $250 to $350/night. I considered renting a car and driving to the Virginia outer suburbs for a $100/night Sheraton rate.

Marriott Key Bridge Hotel, Arlington, Virginia (Priceline.com booking $115)

Instead I paid $115 total for the Marriott and I was a ten minute walk across the bridge into Georgetown. I had an interior pool view room on the third floor while the preferred rooms look out over DC from 6 to 10 stories up.

Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands, California

An article I read today about Leading Hotels of the World members stated average room rate for 2007 was $470 per night for these luxury hotel members.
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/article/20080208114856638

$8 Cups of Beer! Pinch Me, I’m Luxuriating.

I took time out this weekend from the internet and writing to go hang out with the mostly rich and predominantly beautiful crowds at the golf tournament. I spent Saturday at the ATT Pro-Am mingling around the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the 18th hole.

The constant work of adding to my knowledge base of luxury hotels combined with honing my skill of refusing to buy $8 cups of beer is demanding.

Golf? What Golf? I had to come home on Saturday and check the internet to find out that Vijay Singh was tied for the lead. And my wife, who spent all day there at the Pebble Beach tournament yesterday, was there not watching the tournament. She did not even find out there had been a play-off for the winner until she got home. They had ATT wireless “Golf Caddy” devices one could arrange to rent for free, but I thought it would be easier to follow play than it turned out to be. In retrospect, I wish I had tried the Golf Caddy. Golf is much easier to follow on TV and more interesting to watch on screen.

The people, however, well, that is another story altogether. The crowd spectacle reminded me of the Superbowl half-time show last week watching the young crowd dancing at the Tom Petty Band. The appeal of Pebble Beach is simply being somewhere exclusive and of course there is star appeal. The ATT Pebble Beach crowd, hanging around the Lodge and around the 18th green was surprisingly young, lots of drinking, lots of cigar smoking, and lots of cell phone talking and photo taking of Kevin Costner, Don Cheadle, Kenny G, and others (despite the ban on cell phones at the tournament).

The ATT tournament raises money for charities, but I’d appreciate a better system of wealth re-distribution than $8 cups of beer and $3 water bottles on a sunny, hard-to-find shade day.

And my question: Why place the outdoor cigar lounge at the 18th green, adjacent to the primary path to the golf tournament play?

As a non-smoker and boycotter of $8 cups of beer, I waited for golf play to end, walked over to the Pebble Beach Company Store 200 yards away, and picked up a six-pack of Stella Artois. My idea of a fun golf day is sitting above the 18th green on the bleacher stands, drinking with friends after the crowds left, and listening to the rock band play below at the cigar and beer café.

5-Star guerilla tourism.

Locals joke about the seasonal timing of the ATT Pro-Am. Winter here on the Central Coast of California, the Monterey Peninsula, and the golf courses of Pebble Beach is typically like everchanging wave sets. The occasional crash of a torrential winter storm blows in from the vast Pacific, a few periodic mild storms, and generally lengthy periods of no storms and high pressure sunshine. The torrent passed through California a week ago, and we have been in high pressure all week on the California coast, for sunshine and golf. The temperature kept rising, a couple of degrees every day, to peak at 70 with slight ocean breezes here on the coast over the weekend. Golf by the sea in Pebble Beach at its finest.

InterContinental Carlton Cannes

Friday afternoon, I caught the Season 4 final Entourage episode where the lads are in Cannes. I was interested to rewatch this show since I wrote a feature piece discussing how to find hotels in Cannes for Hotels-and-Points.

The article shows a detailed online search starting with Kayak and TripAdvisor and following those site leads to Orbitz, Skoosh, Priceline, Expedia, otel.com. Then, I searched several InterContinental Hotels Group websites looking for their rates and special offers. Each search path led to a different hotel result as I made choices based on user ratings and reviews. Kayak and TripAdvisor provided several leads, all within a $30 range as I searched 4-star hotels in $120-$180 range. Ultimately the “Online Reservationist” shows how to land the InterContinental Carlton Cannes for $170 per night, tax included – a full $80/night less than Priceline quoted for IC Carlton. This was only $14/night more than the Kayak.com lead for a 4-star hotel and $16 less than the TripAdvisor 3-star hotel lead based on the #1 TripAdvisor rated hotel for Cannes, France. The InterContinental Carlton Cannes was rated #3 for TripAdvisor hotels. The deal is IHG 2 Nights for Price of 1 special offer through April 30, 2008.

There are good location shots of the lobby, entry way, building profile, beach and dock shots of the InterContinental Carlton Cannes throughout the Entourage show. I laughed so hard seeing Drama thrown out of the IC Carlton for complaining about the lack of an oceanview room upgrade.

The InterContinental Carlton Cannes is 5-star hotel class according to Expedia and TripAdvisor ratings and is part of the

Conde Nast Traveler 2008 Hotels Gold List.

http://www.concierge.com/bestof/goldlist/

In January, I studied the regional lists of more than 700 hotels making the 2008 Conde Nast Traveler Hotels Gold List and Reserve List. I categorized the major loyalty program hotels for Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and InterContinental Hotels Group. A full 20% of the hotels listed are available for room redemption using hotel points. My statistical research is in the February issue of Hotels-and-Points.

My interest in the survey analysis was to examine brand appearance for loyalty program hotels allowing room redemption using points compared to the total hotel list. The Gold List and Reserve List offer a broad-based sample of luxury and high-end upscale hotels around the world. My analysis shows that loyalty program hotel points are a valuable currency to earn and spend for travelers wanting to stay in finer hotels.

In short, my analysis of the Conde Nast survey shows (in elementary poetry form):
• Starwood’s the Star, and Luxury Collection is the popular European selection
• Hyatt is definitely the Parks and Grands, so fit these hotels in your travel plans
• Marriott, the JW appears a lot, but on these lists the Ritz-Carlton hotels dominate the Gold spots,
• Hilton, Conrad, InterContinental, which I personally think are alright, on the CN lists are mostly out of sight.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach
This weekend I experienced my own domestic hotel 5-Star Class and Conde Nast Gold List ambience while spending time at the Pebble Beach Lodge. The Pebble Beach peninsula is land, golf courses, resorts, and private homes owned by a private corporation in a gated community, sandwiched on the California coast and hills between Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel. The ATT Golf weekend reminded me that I like hotels and resort locations when they are quiet and uncrowded.

Walking the grounds and drinking $8 beer on the terrace is luxuriating at 5-star prices when you can watch a beautiful sunset and the waves crashing in the cove. The ATT golf tournament security limited Lodge access to all, but the highest tiers of VIPs. I felt like Johnny Drama getting no respect. My friend was inside the Lodge and my cell phone locked in her car (I followed the rules of no cell phones at the tournament) and security kept me outside the Lodge and unable to make contact.

The Conde Nast Traveler Hotels Gold List has 39 hotels in California.

The Post Ranch Inn and Ventana Inn are remote getaway locations on the Big Sur coast, 35 miles south of Monterey.
http://www.concierge.com/bestof/goldlist/2008/regions/northamerica/usa/california/bigsur

Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley is ranked #3 on Gold List in Hotel Service in the USA and is known locally for its restaurant and wine selection.
http://www.concierge.com/bestof/goldlist/2008/regions/northamerica/usa/california/carmelvalley

The Highlands Inn is a Hyatt Regency and Vacation Club hotel located 8 miles south of Monterey in Carmel Highlands. L’Auberge Carmel missed my attention when I originally drafted this piece. There are 7 Gold List hotels in Monterey County.
http://www.concierge.com/bestof/goldlist/2008/regions/northamerica/usa/california/carmel_by_the_sea

The Inn & Links at Spanish Bay and The Lodge at Pebble Beach are both on the Gold List.
http://www.concierge.com/bestof/goldlist/2008/regions/northamerica/usa/california/pebblebeach

Seven hotels on the California Gold List are Monterey County locations. Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, Highlands Inn, and Post Ranch Inn have some rooms with excellent ocean views.

The Hyatt Highlands Inn is a Category 5 Gold Passport Hotel property. A free night takes 18,000 points. The September 2007 Hotels-and-Points article described how to use the Faster Free Nights promotion to get a room at the Highlands Inn for under $150/night. Room rates are as low as $215 currently in off-season.

Locally in Monterey County, California, 1 of 7 hotels as a member of a major corporate hotel chain participating in a points-based frequent guest loyalty program mirrors the overall Conde Nast Gold List of 1 in 5 of the 535 Gold List hotels, as part of five major hotel chains. There are 107 hotels on the 2008 Gold List which are affiliated with the major hotel corporations of Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, and InterContinental and 104 of these Gold List hotels are available for free nights using hotel points.

The value of loyalty and the cost of luxury are apparent in a room rate analysis of Monterey County’s Gold List hotels. Room rates demonstrate the value of hotel loyalty programs when looking at a 5-Star hotel getaway and the Highlands Inn on Faster Free Nights award stay.

Current Listed Room Rates
for 6 Monterey County, California hotels on Conde Nast Traveler 2008 Gold List.

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur ( Special Note: No one under age 18)
Butterfly Room $550 to $725/night Forest and Mountain View
Tree House Room $895 Forest and Mountain View
Coast House $1,060 Ocean View.
Post Ranch Inn
Winter special offer for two nights is $1,140 for Butterfly Room ($40 more than rack rate, but with spa treatments added) or
$2,040 for Coast House ($80 off rack rate and with spa treatments). The Winter Special “Spa and Wellness Escape” package has the value added feature of two 1-hour spa treatments.

Ventana Inn, Big Sur – Valentine’s Day “Passion from the Heart” Package includes two room nights, dinner for two, and two 50-minute spa treatments. Price begins at $850 for guest room (regular rates are $350/night) or $1,200 for suite (regular rates are $638/night for Big Sur suite).

Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley
$415/night Premium Garden room;
$685-$815 for Luxury Spa Room;
$1,065 – $1,970 one- and two-bedroom suites.
A special offer currently available for Sunday through Thursday nights at the Bernardus Lodge is $475 night for Garden room and two 50-minute spa treatments. Or $485 night with a $150 dining credit at the famed Marinus Restaurant. Again, value added items are available in package offers without reducing the room rates for lodging only.

Spanish Bay Inn, Pebble Beach
Garden View $580/night
Ocean View $815
Suites $1,150 – $2,495/night

Pebble Beach Lodge
Garden View $675/night
Ocean View $925/night
Suites: $1,550 – $2,195/night
http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?pageName=2007_Offers_Lodge_Spa_winter_20070522

Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands
Weekend stays
Ocean View $465/night
Senior rate (62 or over) $395.25
Ocean View Townhouse $635.00/night
Weekday stays (Sunday-Thursday)Ocean View
AAA rate = $215.10
Ocean View Townhouse (AAA rate) = $368.10

Hotel Rates for 2 nights in Monterey County at 2008 Gold List hotels:

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur
http://www.postranchinn.com/packages.shtml
$1,140/2-nights Butterfly Room (includes two 50-minute massages)
$2,040/2-nights Coast House (includes two 50-minute massages)

Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley (mountain views, about 10 minute drive to Carmel Beach)
http://www.bernardus.com/lodge/rates/index.htm
$950/2-nights (Garden View room with two 50-minute massages) or
$970/2-nights (Garden View room with $150 dining credit)

Ventana Inn, Big Sur
http://www.ventanainn.com/packages_internet.asp
$850/2-nights Guest room (Dinner for two and two 50-minute massages)
$1,200/2-nights Big Sur suite (Dinner for two and two 50-minute massages)

The Lodge at Pebble Beach
http://www.pebblebeach.com/avail_rates.asp
$2,035/2-nights Ocean View (+ 2 massages)
$1,535/2-nights Garden View room (includes tax and two 50-minute massages)

Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach
http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?id=2139
$940/2-nights Garden view
$1,290/2-nights Ocean view

Hotel has special offer for 4th night free that may be slightly less than Ocean View room winter special offer currently $645/night.

Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands
http://www.hyatt.com/
$430/2-nights Ocean View room (AAA rate Sun-Thu)
$736/2-nights Ocean View Townhouse (AAA rate Sun-Thu)

View of Pt. Lobos from Highlands Inn

My travel recommendation is come to Monterey and stay at the Hyatt Highlands Inn midweek.

A loyalty traveler can use the money saved to eat at Bernardus Lodge and visit the winery in Carmel Valley.

Spa and play or just walk the golf courses at Pebble Beach. Plan a meal at The Lodge’s Club XIX or eat at Roy’s in Spanish Bay and have drinks on the terrace by the fire pits at sunset.

Post Ranch Inn has off season free tours midweek, and you can dine at Ventana Inn, or go further down the coast to Nepenthe on the cliffs.

[originally posted Feb 11, 2008 at www.loyaltytraveler.net/wordpress]