Aeroflot is a SkyTeam Alliance member.

Marriott Rewards members earn –

2 airline miles per US$ spent on all qualifying charges:

• JW Marriott®
• Autograph Collection®
• Renaissance® Hotels
• Marriott® Hotels & Resorts
• Marriott Vacation Club®

2 airline miles per US$ spent on room rate only:

• The Ritz-Carlton®
• EDITION^SM

1 airline mile per US$ spent on room rate only:

• Courtyard by Marriott®
• AC Hotels by Marriott®
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott®
• SpringHill Suites by Marriott®
• Residence Inn by Marriott®
• TownePlace Suites by Marriott®
• Marriott Executive Apartments®

Members can earn more miles by choosing points for hotel stays at Courtyard, AC Hotels, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites brands.

Marriott Rewards Points to Aeroflot Miles Exchange Rates

• 10,000 points = 1,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 20,000 points = 3,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 30,000 points = 7,000 Aeroflot miles.
• 70,000 points = 17,500 Aeroflot miles.
• 125,000 points = 35,000 Aeroflot miles.

$1,000 in hotel spend earns 10,000 points = 1,500 miles when exchanging points-to-miles. This rate improves at higher point transfers. At the 125,000 points exchange rate every 10,000 points = 2,800 miles.

Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 base points/$1 and this is a lower rate than earning miles at these brands unless you are at the 30,000 points transfer level or higher. 

Members are better off earning Marriott Rewards points when staying at any Marriott International brand except Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites, unless you have no expectation of earning 10,000 points for a minimum points-to-miles transfer or there is a bonus miles promotion for Aeroflot.

The movie reinvigorated my desire to finish a piece about traveling through Utah on the Brokeass Mountain Tour road trip I made in July. I attempted several drafts of this post since July and for some reason I kept getting bogged down in Utah history, state facts and stories that had little relevance to my 42 hour experience traveling through the state. Here are some notes from my eastbound road trip.

The Brokeass Mountain Tour plan had been to drive to Arches National Park and possibly Canyonlands National Park in Utah, but time and heat were factors for our road trip in July from Monterey to Denver. Five days or 127 hours would make a great excursion trip possible into the canyons or mountains, but remember to tell people where you plan to be when you wander off the main roads. There are some remote places in this part of the country.

There is Nothing Between Here and There except a whole lot of beauty.

The road sign in the opening scenes of the movie 127 Hours shows “Next Services 100 miles”. My memory of the actual road sign on Interstate 70 East at Salina, Utah read “Next Services 110 Miles” which refers to the next town with gas, food and hotels at Green River, Utah. This is the longest stretch of Interstate in the U.S. with no services. Interstate 70 passes through the Fish Lake Mountains as the road crosses Summit Pass at 7,923 ft. in the Utah high desert Wasatch Plateau. The rock formations are enchanting.

Ghost Rock in San Rafael Swell, I-70 rest area

We crossed Utah on a mid-July afternoon with the temperature in the 90s when we had been hiking through forests at over 10,000 ft. elevation on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada just six hours before.

Google Maps Ely, Nevada - Moab, Utah

My destination was Moab, but with the remarkable ability of cell phones I saw the temperature at Moab was near 100 degrees and the rates were in the $150 to $200 per night range for most hotels. I changed my plans and booked a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express Green River, Utah while stopped at a gas station in Salina, Utah where US Route 50 joins Interstate-70. Cell phone reception is really spotty when crossing the long stretches of no services areas between towns.

View from Interstate-70

View from Interstate-70

The San Rafael Swell and Ghost Rocks

The construction of Interstate-70 across the San Rafael Swell  was considered an engineering marvel. There are no gas or food services along the 110 mile stretch between Salina and Green River, but there are two rest stops. The Ghost Rocks rest areas are located about 40 miles west of Green River on both sides of the freeway. These are the highest points of I-70 in the San Rafael Swell.

Ghost Rock Rest Area on I-70 Utah

Looking East across San Rafael Swell from Ghost Rocks

Rather than trying to explain the geological features of the San Rafael Swell, I’ll direct readers to Wikipedia. This is an area where water erosion has created slot canyons like the one where Aron Ralston was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Green River, Utah was a smaller town than I expected. The place was loaded with tourists; some heading to the National Parks, and others heading east to Colorado or west to Nevada and California. Several chain hotels were located near the river about two miles off the Interstate.

Holiday Inn Express Green River at 15,000 points was my pick for the night. There was also a Comfort Inn (Choice Privileges) and a Super 8 (Wyndham Rewards) and the River Terrace Inn, across the street from the Holiday Inn, that looked to be the most upscale and popular of the lodging choices. The lowest room rate for the Holiday Inn Express was about $120 after tax.

We bought a pizza at Cathy’s Pizza & Deli in town and it was quite good. I stopped to take a photo of the swollen Green River, but the bugs at dusk were so intense that I couldn’t bear to walk over the bridge for a photo opportunity.

July had seen many days of heavy rain across Utah. We delayed the start of our trip by one week to avoid rain storms over Nevada and Utah. The town of Green River was actually under Flood Watch Advisory as we drove the bridge across the swollen Green River. The bridge had a dozen or more pedestrian onlookers photographing the fast moving water under the bridge. Part of the lawn of the River Terrace Inn was flooded. The Holiday Inn Express was just about 100 yards from the river bank and I wasn’t so sure a ground floor room was in our best interest, but the receptionist kept going on and on about how I was getting an upgrade based on my Priority Club Platinum elite status. The room was a good size room with two Queen beds, a table and a cushioned chair with ottoman.

Nearly every day of the road trip I read in papers and heard news stories about people drowning in flash floods in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Some of these people even died while driving their cars when they unexpectedly ran into flood waters.

Lobby at Holiday Inn Express Green River Utah

Utah has remarkable geologic beauty in the southern regions of the state. There are also vast stretches of road with few or no services  between towns. This is a rugged land that requires a plan. My plan is to get back to the canyons when the temperature is a little cooler and the weather not so precarious.

Colorado River at Fruita, Colorado

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

I am not familiar with Steve Ward or the show Tough Love, but this looks like a cute promotion with a nice payout for someone who wants to take the time to share your love story. Story length has a 250 word limit so no ‘Pride and Prejudice’ tale.

My glance at the rules indicates 25 finalists will be selected by voters and a phone interview will decide the eleven winning couples.

Prize

• Roundtrip airfare to New York City for you and the love of your life
• Upscale accommodations for the winning couples and 10 of their closest friends and family
• Pre-wedding day tour of New York City’s most romantic spots
• Rehearsal cocktail party at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan
• A dream wedding on 11.11.11 at 11AM, officiated by Steve Ward, host of VH-1′s “Tough Love” and MasterMatchmakers.com, and surrounded by your 10 guests
• Post-wedding celebration reception at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan
• An assortment of digital photos from the wedding
• Each couple will receive a personalized, edited highlight video of their experience from Wedit

Crowne Plaza Facebook Marry Me 11-11-11 NYC contest for 11 U.S. couples

U.S. Hotel Pipeline

The hotel industry calls new hotels in development and construction the “hotel pipeline”. The hotel pipeline is currently led by three hotel chains:

• Hilton Worldwide
• InterContinental Hotels Group
• Marriott International

These three hotel chains represent 13 of the top 15 hotel brands in the pipeline for new hotels coming to hotel loyalty members in these programs.

Which brands are building new hotels?is the Hotel News Now article showing the current U.S. Hotel Pipeline top 15 brands.

The data from the HNN article was used here to create the graphic below showing the top growing brands in the U.S. I added hotel chain, size and market segment data to the HNN pipeline data.

*Rooms pipeline data from STR U.S. Hotel Pipeline July 2011 Hotel News Now graphic.

Tough economic times have given large hotel chains the ability to grow even larger as banks look to name brands as better investments than independent hotel projects.

What does this mean for the loyalty traveler?

The growth of IHG, Hilton and Marriott will outpace Starwood and Hyatt in the coming years. These three hotel chains are each racing to 5,000 hotels globally. Choice and Wyndham are already over 5,000 hotels with their midscale and economy chain brands.

The complaint that Starwood (1,050 hotels) and Hyatt (450 hotels), as the two smaller upscale and upper-upscale hotel chains with major hotel loyalty programs, do not have sufficient geographical coverage for frequent guests will likely continue to be debated as the super hotel brands of IHG, Hilton and Marriott continue to experience rapid growth. Another decade might see five or six hotel loyalty programs in the 10,000 hotels club for loyalty travelers around the world.

The good news for frequent guests in the short term is I think SPG and Hyatt Gold Passport will maintain high value promotions to be competitive in the upscale and upper-upscale hotel market segment.

SPG obviously targets its loyalty efforts around its American Express credit card but then throws out a great promotion like the recent “Three stays earn a free resort night”.

Hyatt Gold Passport is currently in a transitional phase as it recently repositioned its credit card with a membership anniversary free night offer and additional benefits for top level Diamond elites and benefits that attempt to match or exceed Starwood Preferred Guest.

Road trips across the western states this summer revealed to me Marriott’s Fairfield Inn brand has grown significantly in recent years. There were new build Fairfield Inn properties in many of the roadside towns I visited.

Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express open new hotels around the U.S. every week.

La Quinta is a brand that I have never frequented, but I sure saw plenty of these hotels around the western U.S. La Quinta Inns & Suites are 800 hotels in a midscale brand almost twice as large as the Hyatt chain in the U.S. There are more La Quinta Hotels in the U.S. than Starwood Hotels.

STR Hotel Data Conference

STR is Smith Travel Research out of Hendersonville, Tennessee.  Hotel News Now provides digital news from STR and the hotel industry. There were several good reports from the Hotel Data Conference published on HNN and the rest of this Loyalty Traveler post shares some of the interesting information to me along with my commentary.

Hotel brands vs. independent hotels - Hotel News Now

• 1990 = U.S. hotels 57% branded. Branded means hotels like Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott Courtyard where the hotel is affiliated with a major hotel brand (and typically a hotel loyalty program with benefits).
• 2011 = 70% branded hotels in U.S.
• Independent boutique hotels tend to be higher priced than chain boutique hotels, but the prevalence of independent boutique hotels in Manhattan may skew the data. Boutique hotels are undergoing soft branding with new affiliations of independent hotels with major brands like Marriott’s Autograph Collection, IHG InterContinental Alliance Resorts, Choice Hotels Ascend Collection and Starwood Luxury Collection.
• Resort Hotels in chains tend to be higher priced than independent resorts. Loyalty points redemption is the consumer advantage here for high priced resorts.

Online Travel Agencies (like Expedia, Orbitz) cost U.S. hotels $2.5 billion in 2010 - Hotel News Now

• $2.5 billion is based on the number of U.S. hotel rooms sold on OTAs in 2010 and assumes the additional revenue that would have been generated by hotels if these rooms had been sold through direct hotel channels. This study looked at nearly 25,000 hotels in nearly 100 brands.
• 10% of hotel rooms in U.S. booked through OTAs.
• 17% of hotel rooms booked online directly with hotel brand’s websites. For example a Hilton brand hotel booked through one of Hilton’s websites.
• 13.7% of hotel rooms booked via telephone and central reservations system of hotel brand.
• 7.9% booked through GDS (travel agent systems).
• The article doesn’t state where the other 50% of room bookings come from.

One of the more significant findings for the consumer is data indicating that increasing market share taken by OTAs reduces the room rate for hotels. OTAs have increased their market share from 1.34% of total hotel industry revenue in 2001 to 7.35% in 2010.

Four outside influences impacting the hotel industry – Hotel News Now

1. Airplanes are 22% more full today than five years ago and operating near capacity in U.S.  Business travel recovered, but leisure travel has not. Air travelers are also to a large degree hotel guests. Airlines pulled airplanes out of service while hotel rooms still being added to system.
2. Hotel guest satisfaction is down in 2011 according to JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study released last month. Guest satisfaction scores are higher when guests have breakfast at the hotel. (My wife kept talking about how great the Holiday Inn Express breakfast was after two stays last month. I found it amusing since she has not stayed in the HIX brand frequently enough to grow tired of the same food at 2,000 different hotels.) The survey indicates guests recognize the rise in hotel rates over the past year. And they also recognize the decline in staffing level since 2008 and absence of room renovation and material replacement. The decline in staff has seemed more of an issue to me in 2011 as hotels are more crowded. Overall I think room quality and hotel improvements are being addressed from what I have seen in my stays in 2011, except for a small number of hotels I visited. San Francisco is one of the strongest markets in the U.S. and I feel 2011 rates priced me right out of the city again like it was back in 2008 before the economic meltdown took hotel rates cascading down like Yosemite Falls  (San Francisco 2011 rates commonly over $200 for hotels that were under $140 much of 2009-10). The DOW has dropped more than 500 points while I am writing this morning and that is down 15%  in two weeks. San Francisco might be affordable again by November!
3. Business travel has come back and the hotel industry will follow. Funny how two weeks can change the global outlook as the world stock markets have shed hundreds of billions in U.S dollar value today, and trillions of investment worth in the past two weeks since this presentation at the Hotel Data Conference. Will the double dip recession take hold before the close of the year and lead to business travel decline again?
4. Online booking effect should grow by 10% year-to-year. Business travel has picked up, but travelers are still waiting and booking rooms at short notice. My Loyalty Traveler research over the past couple of years showed that rates San Francisco typically dropped with the lowest rates offered 3 to 14 days before arrival. I’ve noticed a different pattern in 2011 with rates lower at two weeks, but typically higher within one week of arrival. Another development is there have been more hotels available for last minute booking through offers like Starwood Starpicks, IHG Last Minute Rewards and Marriott weekend discount rates (available by email subscription).

Adding Google Hotel Finder to the mix – Hotel News Now

I admit that I never checked out Google Hotel Finder before today.

I like it.

The site allows the user to set an area on a map to search hotels. Results display hotels and the hotel room rate compared to the average rate for that property with a percentage above or below average.

The complaint from the hotel industry is the rates shown on Google Hotel Finder do not necessarily represent the rates on the hotel brand’s website.

Loyalty Traveler points out frequently that rates shown on OTAs are the Best Available flexible rate or Advance Purchase rates, but OTAs do not show AAA discount rates, senior rates, corporate rates and some special brand website online discounts.

This means the rate shown on Google Hotel Finder might be higher than what you can find on the hotel brand’s website. The fact that the rate might be higher is a common issue for all branded hotels so this is not too much of a concern.  Google Hotel maps indicates where the good deals might be and then the consumer can check the hotel brand website for even better discounts.

Google Hotel Finder showing Monterey, California

I’ll try to write up a more comprehensive review of Google Hotel Finder next week.

Waikoloa Beach Resort & Spa Contest

• Follow @MarriottHawaii on Twitter
• Reply to @MarriottHawaii with a caption that best describes the daily photo.
• Include #WaikoloaMarriott30 in your tweet.
• A daily photo is posted Monday-Friday for six weeks beginning Monday 3pm (ET) July 11 through Friday 3pm (ET) August 22, 2011.
• The best caption each day will be entered into a drawing for a 5-night Royal Suite stay at Waikoloa Marriott on the big island of Hawaii. Airfare is not part of the prize. Prize is hotel room only for winner and one guest.
• Limit of one entry tweet per member per photo. Must enter by 2:59pm (ET) of day following photo posting.
• Daily qualifiers will be announced on Twitter and notified prior to next photo being posted.
• Grand prize winner for Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort Royal Suite stay will be drawn from 30 daily winners.
• Contest Rules.
• Prize is valid for travel from October 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012.
• Contest open only to US residents of 50 states and DC. Must be 21 years of age.

Marriott Waikoloa Beach Twitter photo-caption contest July 11 - August 22

Best Western Rewards Free Night Promotion FAQ.

Best Western Rewards Summer 2011 Promotion Terms and Conditions.

• Must be resident of U.S., Canada, US Virgin Islands or Bahamas.
• All Best Western hotels worldwide participate for earning free night.
• Free night voucher only valid for Best Western hotels in US, Canada and Caribbean.

Elite Member Opportunity to earn 6,500 bonus points

Best Western Rewards elite members also earn 6,500 bonus points for stays in two of three tiers. There are very few Best Western Premier properties in the U.S., but plenty of BW Premier hotels in Europe. Best Western Plus hotels are widespread with about 800 BW Plus hotels worldwide. There are 3,000+ regular Best Western hotels.

Earlier this year I took advantage of Best Western Rewards elite status match offer to receive instant Diamond elite membership (normally requires 30 nights in a calendar year). Status Match, No Catch weblink.

A good value rebate for Summer 2011 hotel stays

This promotion is one of the best hotel loyalty program values for summer 2011 travel; particularly if you are taking a road trip and looking for one night roadside hotel stays.

My recent trip through the Pacific Northwest revealed Best Western hotels as one of the best options for a road traveler. Small towns along Highway 101, Interstate 5 and Highway 97 from California to Canada offer Best Western choices in places where even a Hilton, IHG or Marriott brand is nowhere nearby. I visited several Best Western hotels in lovely locations.

One of my favorite Best Western locations is Mount Shasta, California Best Western Plus Tree House. This is one of the closest hotels to Mount Shasta for great views of the second highest mountain peak in the Cascade Range at 14,179 ft. This hotel also is highly rated on TripAdvisor.com.

Free Night Voucher Redemption

You will receive an email notifying you of your free night voucher two to three weeks after you have completed your third qualifying hotel stay.  You need to print out the voucher to give to the hotel during your free night stay.

I earned a free night voucher during Best Western’s February-April, 2011 promotion. I found complete correlation between hotel availability for reward nights using points and free nights using the voucher for several hotels I checked.

Ultimately I ended up redeeming my free night for a staycation night when relatives were in town. I booked the Best Western Plus Monterey Beach Resort located right on Monterey State Beach for same day arrival. This property is the highest level Best Western Rewards category at 36,000 points. The free night I earned with a trip to Napa, California provided a room value of $256.83 (AAA rate with tax) for an ocean view room.

Best Western Plus Monterey Beach Resort directly on Monterey State Beach.

One of the interesting aspects of Best Western Rewards is free nights using points or free night voucher offered different room types for the Best Western Plus Monterey Beach Resort. One option was a room with non-ocean view ($170.10 AAA or $189 BAR), or a room with a partial ocean view ($188.10 AAA or $209 BAR), or a room with ocean view ($224.10 AAA or $249 BAR).

Obviously I chose the full ocean view room for my free night.

Best Western Plus Monterey Beach Resort, Monterey, California

P.S. Best Western Monterey Beach Resort outdoor swimming pool is one of the largest hotel pools on the Monterey Peninsula. The pool is 3 to 9 ft. deep, making it one of the deepest, if not the deepest pool in Monterey. The pool is sheltered  by the hotel and walls to protect the pool area from the wind when the beach might be biting cold. For Monterey hotels I rank the BW Monterey Beach Resort Pool a 5-key facility.

I received an email from a traveler this week trying to find a hotel for Travel Blog Exchange 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia June 11-12. She had waited too long to book rooms and most rooms in downtown Vancouver show rates over $200 and hotels are sold out for places like Starwood’s Westin Grand all-suites hotel or the Westin Bayshore. I suggested she try Holiday Inn at $120CAD per night with the $75 rebate card for a weekend stay.

Actually, I also waited too long to book my hotel and I had to stay an extra night to get a Cash & Points award for one of the three Starwood Hotels. The Cash & Points option showed unavailable for three nights, but at four nights was available. In March I could have booked any of the three Starwood hotels in downtown Vancouver using Cash & Points awards.

U.S. Travel Association International PowWow 2011 San Francisco

This week I learned of a last minute opportunity to attend the U.S. Travel Association International PowWow 2011 in San Francisco starting today. Travel suppliers from around the USA are making sales with travel vendors worldwide. Regional tourist association representatives from all over the USA converge for several days of greetings, meetings, and parties. Suddenly I needed four hotel nights in a city where the rates are $200+ per night for all the major brand hotels.

Without hotel loyalty points I’d be shelling out over $800 to attend the conference or be commuting some distance from outside the city to get a decent hotel rate. I’ll be spending points instead.

Earning hotel loyalty points

InterContinental Hotels Group brands – I picked up over 200,000 points in the past year with only 10 paid hotel nights. I redeemed 6 nights using Cash & Points awards buying 10,000 points for $60 each time. There were also some Cash & Points award nights I booked and ended up needing to cancel. The purchased points at $60 per 10,000 points remained in my account. That is the backdoor way to getting cheap Priority Club points. I actually needed to cancel my award nights, but there seems no impediment to actually booking some Cash & Points nights, buying points and canceling the award nights to result in a boost in points at discount purchase rates.

My Crack the Case promotion was unlocked this week for 91,000 bonus points. InterContinental San Francisco is available for $60 and 30,000 points per night. That is a hotel adjacent to the Moscone Convention Center for the International PowWow. Rates are about $270 per night for this hotel during the conference.

Priority Club Crack the Case Promotion earned 102,000 bonus points

Best Western Rewards had a February to April 2011 promotion for one free night after three stays that I earned in February for three one-night hotel stays in Napa and Monterey. I am still waiting to find out if I am one of the ten recipients of a 650,000 points prize from the promotion as one of the first 10 guests to stay in all three Best Western hotel tiers. I completed this task in the first three days of the promotion, however, Best Western Rewards has not announced the recipients for the 650,000 points as far as I know. I have a free night at Best Western I must redeem by June 30.

Wyndham Rewards points I purchased during the U.S. Travel Association sale on DiscoverAmerica Daily Getaways last month boosted my account balance from 0 points to 114,000 points in 5 minutes with $297 in points purchases. These points are sufficient for 3 nights at the Wyndham Parc 55 San Francisco at 30,000 points per night where rates are $189 for the PowWow conference. The points I purchased drop the rate down to about $85 per night to stay at Parc 55 for the conference.

Hyatt Gold Passport was my number one hotel stay program in 2010 and I earned around 100,000 points. Believe me that I did not spend anywhere near $20,000 to earn those points at 5 base points per $1 in hotel spend. More like $2,500. As a Gold Passport Diamond member I earn 6.5 points/$1 with the 30% elite bonus. The points were earned through a variety of promotions including 24,000 points purchased for $225 through Discover America Daily Getaways in 2010. This year I wasn’t able to successfully buy any Hyatt points through the DiscoverAmerica sale in April. Those points went fast.

Hyatt Gold Passport property specific bonuses (1,000 to 2,000 points per stay) and closed Regency Lounge bonuses (2,000 points) resulted in good points hauls. I have stayed at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Park Hyatt Chicago and Park Hyatt Washington D.C. using points and free nights in the past year. Hyatt Regency San Francisco is 15,000 points per night for an award this week or paid rates over $300 per night.

Starwood Preferred Guest is my favorite program for urban travel using Cash & Points award nights. Over the past year I have redeemed category 4 award nights for $60 and 4,000 points and generally saved over $200 in room rate per night in cities like Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago and Vancouver. That is $50 per 1,000 points redemption value which makes the opportunity to buy up to 20,000 Starpoints at $28/1,000 points a pretty good deal with the current 20% discount through June 30, 2011 on the regular $35/1,000 points rate.

Loyalty Traveler is the site for keeping abreast of the promotion opportunities available with a variety of hotel loyalty programs. My 2011 resolution was to expand my hotel loyalty program options. So far 2011 has been a good hotel travel year with stays in many different hotel brands and points earned in several new hotel loyalty programs.

Hotel points open doors in new places for cheaper stays.

This past week I wrote two posts on Base Points Equivalent Value.  I truly am just making this stuff up. I have to make this stuff up since I am unaware of anyone else creating consumer models for hotel loyalty programs.

The rationale for creating Base Points Equivalent Value modeling is to develop a method to compare hotel loyalty promotions between different programs.

Background

I was Hilton HHonors Diamond for about five years until around 2006. I intuitively felt most hotel loyalty promotion offers from Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards, and Priority Club were higher value offers than I received from Hilton HHonors. The promotions from Hilton HHonors just seemed less valuable than offers from other programs, but I had no way to actually compare offers in different programs.

Readers take note: Hilton HHonors was one of the best hotel loyalty programs for high value promotions in 2010. The HHonors program took a big PR blow when HHonors raised the cost of reward nights at more than 80% of its 3,600 global properties in January 2010. The return of high-value promotions and increased availability of PointStretcher reward nights has added a bit more value back to the HHonors program in 2010.

Comparing Hotel Loyalty Programs

Sites like Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus DotheMathSite.com compare hotel loyalty programs by base points and elite bonus points earned from a set level of annual hotel spend. Earned points are correlated to hotel reward cost to show the number of free nights earned for the set level of hotel spend.

There are two major problems with this model:

• Hotel reward categories are considered equivalent across different hotel loyalty programs. I argue that program comparisons cannot be accurately made when aligning hotel reward categories between programs. Dothemathsite.com compares Hilton category 3 award nights to Marriott Rewards and SPG category 4 hotel reward nights. I argue that SPG and Marriott category 4 reward hotels are generally a higher class hotel market segment than HHonors category 3 reward hotels.  

A comparison of category 1 hotel rewards is also misleading since Hilton and Starwood have only around 1% of their total global portfolio listed as category 1 hotels while Hyatt and Marriott have a much higher percentage of their hotels in the lowest hotel reward category (see graph below).

• Promotions are not considered in hotel loyalty program comparisons.

Loyalty Traveler axiom: Promotions are a vital and variable factor in hotel loyalty program comparisons.

Loyalty Traveler slide- Hotel Reward Category Distribution for Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood

Credit card sites develop “value of point” averages for each program. Average point value is useful for some comparisons, but I argue an individual can do much better than average if you take it to the limit.

For example: 50,000 Hilton HHonors points for a category 7 hotel reward night can be used for a room that will cost $100 per night at some hotels or $500 per night at other hotels.

The consumer has the choice whether to redeem for $100 in cash savings at a high-category reward hotel in a popular location off-season or $500 at a high-end, high-category hotel with a luxury reputation.

Personally, I try and take it to the limit when getting the most hotel value for my points.

Chicago Case Study of 2011 Hotel Loyalty Promotion Value

Hotel loyalty programs have highly-educated mathematicians to create complex cost-benefit models for hotel loyalty promotions.

Loyalty Traveler is developing a simply-educated consumer model for comparing promotion value.

Here is how I look at the current Q1-2011 hotel loyalty promotions from Hilton Honors, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus through my base points equivalent value model.

I stayed a week in downtown Chicago October 2010. Most major hotels were in the $200 to $400 price range during that week with large conventions booking up hotels.

I used 25,000 Priority Club points to stay at the Crowne Plaza Avenue when the room rate was around $300 after tax. I stayed at two Starwood Hotels using Cash & Points and saved around $200 per night on hotel rates.

Sure I could have Pricelined my way into the Red Roof Inn right off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for $100 a night. I think my loyalty points offered the better Chicago deal for hotels. 

The low room rates in Chicago for this January and February kind of blow me away. The winter months offer a great opportunity to hang out in downtown frozen Chicago on cheap rates while piling up promotion credits.

Marriott MegaBonus

(New Marriott MegaBonus is available now for registration and hotel stay offer starts February 1, 2011)

Fall MegaBonus offered free night after two stays paid with Visa through January 15, 2011. Registration closed for Fall MegaBonus Oct 31. The examples I show here are likely applicable for February travel too. 

• Tue Jan 11  Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown = $79  (MR category 5: 25,000 points)
• Wed Jan 12  Springhill Suites Chicago River North = $99  (MR category 5: 25,000 points)

Marriott Rewards Promotion MegaBonus

$178 x 10 points/$1  = 1,780 base points for two nights.

1,780 base points + one free night at MR category 4: 20,000 points.

Quantifying the value of Marriott’s MegaBonus free night promotion 

20,000 points is equivalent to the number of base points normally earned with $2,000 in Marriott Rewards hotel spend.

• Base Points Equivalent Value (BPEV) for this promotion bonus offer is $2,000.
• The promotion has a BPEV = $2,000 for $178 hotel spend.
• $2,000 BPEV/$178 = 11.23

Divide the Marriott Rewards MegaBonus BPEV value by the amount of hotel spend to earn the promotion bonus value. For this stay the promotion value shows every $1 in actual hotel spend ($178) earns $11.23 equivalent in base points for these two nights at Fairfield Chicago Downtown and SpringHill Suites. 

The resulting number (11.23) can be compared to other promotions and hotel stay patterns to reveal an earn rate for hotel promotions. The higher the number the more points earned per dollar in hotel spend. 

I think this number also correlates with promotions and hotel reward earning for other hotel chains like Starwood and Hilton. 

Taking Loyalty Upscale 

Promotion bonus earn rate for Marriott MegaBonus will be less if you spend more money to earn the same free hotel night after two stays. 

For example, in Chicago: 

• Thu Jan 13 Renaissance Blackstone Chicago $159 (MR category 6: 30,000 points)
• Fri Jan 14  JW Marriott Chicago $179 (MR category 6: 30,000 points) 

The promotion free night earned at a category 4 Marriott Rewards hotel is still worth 20,000 points and has a promotional bonus BPEV = $2,000. This means you would need to spend $2,000 to earn the same category 4 hotel reward night without the MegaBonus promotion. 

Renaissance Blackstone + JW Marriott Chicago = $338.

• 2,000 BPEV/$338 = 5.92

Fairfield Inn Chicago + SpringHill Suites Chicago = $178

• $2,000 BPEV/$178 hotel spend = 11.23 

11.23 compared to 5.92 indicates the promotion bonus is earned at a faster rate or lower level of hotel spend when staying at the Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites for $178 to earn the free night rather than the Renaissance and JW Marriott.  It should be intuitively obvious that earning the same bonus for less money gives a better promotion earn rate. 

Within a single program it is easy to show how the promotion value changes when a free night is earned through less hotel spend as shown with Chicago Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites example. Two stays at these hotels for $178 earns a free category 4 hotel night. Another Marriott Rewards member may spend $338 and earn the same Marriott category 4 hotel free night bonus. 

Spending $178 to earn a free night is better promotional value, although there is an argument that two stays at Renaissance and Marriott may be the overall better lifestyle value, especially if the member is elite and upgraded. This is a point that has become internalized personally after several years of playing hotel loyalty promotions.

As a Marriott Rewards member I may only really care about what I can get with a free night at a Marriott Rewards category 4 hotel.

Example of Marriott Rewards Category 4 hotel nights

Pittsburgh Marriott City Center May 23-27, 2011

$289/night.

Something is happening in Pittsburgh during these dates I randomly picked in a random location. Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown is $229 per night and also a Marriott Rewards category 4 hotel.

Both of these Marriott brand hotels are available using points for free nights during these dates in May when the rates are astronomically high.

This example shows how you can stay in two upper-upscale hotels for two nights in Chicago for $338 and earn a future free hotel night at another upper-upscale hotel worth $289. This is an 85% rebate value on the cost of your initial hotel stays to earn the free night.  

As the annual forward-looking loyalty traveler I am, my plan is earn four free nights with 8 one-night stays during the next few months at Marriott brand hotels and potentially save $1,300 with four free hotel nights… whether in Pittsburgh, Hong Kong, Moscow or Prague. 

For the faithfully loyal Marriott Rewards member there is really no reason to look beyond what is spent, what is earned, and the value of points and free nights with Marriott.

BPEV is more useful as a tool for comparing Marriott to Hilton and Starwood promotions.

Base points equivalent values (BPEV) are useful to show how Hilton and Starwood Q1 2011 promotions stack up to Marriott’s MegaBonus offer. 

I have already shown how Marriott’s MegaBonus offer in Chicago has the potential for earning a $300 free night after $178 in hotel spend. (Tax is a significant factor adding as much as 20% to your actual hotel spend, but I exclude it for simpler calculations. In real travel taxes and fees are a real added expense.) The problem with Marriott MegaBonus is there is no more promotion incentive after four hotel stays. Marriott may be a high value promotion, but I need to move on once I have earned the two free nights before April 30, 2011.

2011 Q1 SPG Great Weeks, Grand Weekends Jan 3- April 15

SPG ‘Great Weeks, Grand Weekends’ 2011 Q1 promotion offers double points every night and 500 points per weekend night Thursday through Sunday nights. 

Double Points = 2 base points per dollar + 2 bonus points per dollar = 4 points per $1 

Four Points Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile (Adjacent to Trader Joe’s for groceries)

• Thursday-Monday, January 13-17, 2011
• $75/night.
• $300 for a 4-night stay. 

Four Points Chicago 4-night weekend stay $300 total hotel spend earns:

600 base points + 600 bonus points (double points) + 2,000 bonus points (4 nights x 500 points per weekend night) 

= 3,200 points for this $300 4-night stay. 

This $300 hotel stay earns the same amount of points normally earned from $1,600 in hotel spend without any bonus promotions. $1,600 hotel spend x 2 points per dollar = 3,200 base points. 

My Loyalty Traveler BPEV model looks only at the 2,600 bonus points earned from the promotion in isolation of the normal base points.

SPG ‘Great Weeks, Grand Weekends’ promotion value is 2,600 points = $1,300 base points equivalent value. This $300 Starwood hotel stay has a $1,300 base points equivalent value.

SPG ‘Great Weeks, Grand Weekends’ promotion value for four nights in Chicago = $1,300/$300 = 4.33 

I showed above how the Marriott Rewards MegaBonus promotion can be done in four nights for $516 in Chicago and earn the equivalent of 40,000 points when used for two free Marriott Rewards category 4 hotel nights. Marriott MegaBonus promotion cost $516 for four nights in Chicago and earns $4,000 BPEV. 

Marriott Rewards MegaBonus promotion value for four nights in Chicago = $4000/$516 = 7.75. 

Ultimately the value of any hotel loyalty promotion is determined by your hotel points redemptions.

$300 spent at the Four Points Chicago earns 3,200 points overall. This is sufficient for one weekend night at a SPG category 2 hotel. You might redeem a SPG category 2 free night and save $75 on the room rate or save $200 on a room night at some other hotel some other night. Redeem wisely.

Sheraton Miami Airport $159 room rate or 3,000 points Saturday 2-19-11

Marriott Rewards is a higher value promotion than SPG Great Weeks, Grand Weekends in this comparison of BPEV derived promotion value, but ultimately the value of a hotel loyalty promotion depends on the value of free night redemptions. The limitation of MegaBonus means the promotion bonus value is done after earning two free nights. SPG may be the next best deal. But we still need to look at Hilton HHonors 2011 Q1 offer.

Hilton HHonors 4x points on 4-night stays 

• Hilton Suites Chicago Magnificent Mile
• $101 per night January 13-17, 2011

Hilton Palmer House Chicago Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale with breakfast and bonus points

$84 Advance Purchase Rate x 4 nights = $336.00 hotel spend = 15,120 points 

336 x 15 points = 5,040 (Points & Points) + 10,080 points (4x promotion is 30 points /$1 bonus)

= 15,120 points 

Without 4x promotion this stay earns 5,040 points. Promotion 4x base points is a bonus of 10,080 points. 

10,080 promotion bonus points is a $1,008 base point equivalent value (BPEV) for a Points & Miles earner or $672 BPEV for a Points & Points earner. 

Hilton HHonors 4x promotion value

• $1,008 BPEV/$336 hotel spend = 3.0 (Points & Miles Earner)
• $672 BPEV/$336 hotel spend = 2.0 (Points & Points Earner) 

My BPEV model indicates the Hilton HHonors member is only earning $2 in BPEV per $1 in hotel spend for the Points & Points earner compared to the Four Points weekend stay earning $4.33 in BPEV per $1 for the SPG member and from $5 to $11 in BPEV per $1 for the Marriott member depending on hotel choice.

The BPEV model also accounts for low promotion bonus value. Here are a couple of examples.

Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago  

• January  3-6, 2010
• $99/night x 3 nights = $297
• Double Points = $297 x 4 = 1,188 points 
• Promotion bonus is 594 points.

Base Points Equivalent Value = $297

$297 BPEV/$297 hotel spend = 1.0 (double points promotion)

Hilton Palmer House Chicago

• Jan 3-6, 2010            
• Any Weekend Anywhere rate includes breakfast and earns double points.
• $127/night x 3 nights = $381

Hotel Stay Points

$381 x 15 points/$1 (Points & Points earner) + $381 x 20 points/$1 (3x base points Q1 2011 promo bonus) + 381 x 10 points (Any Weekend Anywhere bonus) = 17,145 points.

11,430 bonus points has a BPEV value = $762 for HHonors Points & Points earner.  (11,430/15)

$762/$381 = 2.0 for HHonors 3x promotion for 3-night stay. 

The better promotion, SPG or Hilton depends on nights of the week and length of stay. 

These two examples illustrate how double and triple points promotions reduce the leverage factor opportunity for maximizing promotion value. When there is a set bonus for nights or stays like Marriott’s free night after two stays, then reducing hotel spend to earn that bonus maximizes the leverage potential. When a bonus is a base points multiple of hotel spend, then there is little leverage potential except to meet the stay requirements for earning the best promotion bonus available like Starwood’s double points + 500 points per night or Hilton’s triple and quadruple base points for three and four night stays. 

This is the final post in my series explaining the Base Points Equivalent Value model.

This BPEV idea has been playing around in my head over the past couple of weeks. As I said, I am just making this stuff up as a way to mathematically compare the value of hotel loyalty programs in a single program or across hotel loyalty programs. 

I do think base points equivalent value is a way of reasonably comparing hotel promotions in different loyalty programs.

Related posts:

Base Points Equivalent Value Method for Comparing Hotel Loyalty Programs (Dec 29, 2010)

Comparing 2011 Q1 Hotel Loyalty Promotions using Base Points Equivalent Value (Dec 30, 2010)

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas could have been a Grand Hyatt. That was the plan reported in the Las Vegas Sun April 6, 2005 when the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino was scheduled for an early 2008 opening. Hyatt pulled out of the project.

Then the Cosmopolitan was reported to become the first representative of Hilton’s new Denizen hotel brand. Months after Deutsche Bank foreclosed on the Cosmopolitan project in 2008, the news broke in March 2009 that Hilton would rebrand the hotel-casino project.

Denizen Hotels never got off the ground due to legal troubles brought from an April 2009 corporate espionage lawsuit by Starwood Hotels claiming Mr. Ross Klein, former president of Starwood’s luxury brands group  took proprietary Starwood Hotel plans to Hilton Hotels Corporation when he became head of Hilton’s luxury and lifestyle brands and launched the Denizen brand project in amazingly short time.  USA Today story of Denizen. Lawsuit puts Denizen brand on hold - Hotel World Network (April 17, 2009). Mr. Klein was suspended from his position and the Denizen hotel brand was shelved by Hilton.

Finally in August 2010 Marriott Hotels penned an agreement with the Cosmopolitan to brand the hotel in the Autograph Collection of independent properties.

Identity – The Cosmopolitan loyalty program

No wonder the Cosmopolitan came up with the name “Identity” for its gaming rewards program. The hotel also participates in Marriott Rewards, so there is confusion with two hotel loyalty programs competing for guests.

Marriott Rewards members earn 10 points per dollar at the Cosmopolitan just like other full service Marriott Rewards hotels. The Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Rewards category 7 hotel reward at 35,000 points for a free night. FlyerTalk members report there is a Marriott Rewards representative at the hotel working with the Cosmopolitan to integrate loyalty benefits for its Marriott Rewards members.

Identity may be the preferable rewards program for guests more interested in the Cosmopolitan property than Marriott Hotels in general. Identity members receive 10 points per $1 for hotel room rate and a free night after 8 nights at the Cosmopolitan. Assume $200 per night average room rate and you earn a free night after just $1,600 in hotel spend. Use your free night on a weekend for best value.

Marriott Rewards requires $3,500 in base spend to earn a free night, although elite members and promotion bonuses may reduce that hotel spend amount significantly.

The big advantage of Identity is for gamblers.

Earning Identity Points

Identity Points reside in a member’s personal account and are based on the amount of dollars either spent or wagered.

Identity Points can be earned by members as follows:

· 10 points for every $1 spent on room or suite accommodations

· 10 points for every $4 of other resort spending (e.g., restaurants, spa, selected retail)

· 10 points for every $15 wagered on reel/video reel slot

· 10 points for every $50 wagered on video poker

· 10 points for every $100 wagered on table games (approximate – varies by game type)

· Identity members who book their hotel stay through a third-party partner or online travel agency will receive a flat amount of 1,000 points per night of accommodations, in addition to points earned on their other expenditures.

Identity points may be used for room upgrades. 

FlyerTalk member Cova provides a detailed description of the Identity loyalty program and membership tier benefits with qualifications.

The Rooms at the Cosmopolitan

The vibrant blue of the couch, contemporary art and open space  bathrooms are modern decor for guests. The type of guest being marketed by the Cosmopolitan is a little difficult to ascertain from this 60-second TV spot.

The Cosmopolitan appears to be a pet-friendly hotel!

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas One Bedroom Terrace Suite (photo courtesy of The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas)

The club scene of the Cosmopolitan with the Bond Bar located right on Las Vegas Boulevard and the upstairs Marquee nightclub extending right out to the adults pool area with eight elevated clear glass hot tubs is the kind of place you lounge with a martini, but not in solitary comfort. The Cosmopolitan  is designed for partying, playing, dancing, dining and viewing Las Vegas from your room terrace. The Cosmopolitan is designed for people to hang out.

There is gambling too at The Cosmopolitan.

The Cosmopolitan is the last major new casino and hotel planned for Las Vegas over the next three to five years. Rates in the $200 to $300 range for the lowest category rooms over most of the next few months is a bold move in this economy.

One of the unique features of The Cosmopolitan is 70% of the nearly 3,000 hotel rooms have terrace balconies. No other major casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip offers terrace room balconies in regular hotel rooms.

Currently the lowest rates over the next several months are $135 for a Studio Terrace on January 2 and 3. You can book a Terrace Suite on these dates ($235) for less than the price of a Studio Terrace on most weekends (Studio Terrace $260 Friday Jan 28; Terrace Suite $410) for the next three months .

The rooms at The Cosmopolitan add 1.5% more rooms to Las Vegas. My gut feeling is room rates over the next few months will drop to the $120 to $150 range from their current $160 to $200 average. The Cosmopolitan will be a good indicator hotel to watch for rate fluctuation settling somewhere more specific in the Aria to Encore to Mandarin Oriental price range.

Pre-Opening Press Tour Tuesday, Dec 14

The pre-opening press tour did not permit photography inside the hotel. This Loyalty Traveler post has links to websites showing photos and videos of  The Cosmopolitan. YouTube video links uploaded by The Cosmopolitan show room tours. Room photos posted here were received from The Cosmopolitan hotel PR department.

There are five basic room types at The Cosmopolitan:

• Terrace Studio (620 sq. ft. + 110 sq. ft. terrace – kitchenette with microwave and refrigerator)
• City Room (460 sq. ft. studio with two queen beds – no terrace)
• Terrace One Bedroom (610 sq. ft. + 110 sq. ft. terrace – Japanese square soaking tub; kitchenette with stove, microwave and refrigerator)
• Terrace Suite (910 sq. ft. + 160 sq. ft. terrace – two bathrooms with master bath spa tub )
• Wraparound Terrace Suite (1,200 sq. ft. + 480 sq. ft. terrace - in-suite washer/dryer )
• Terrace Studio Premium View, Terrace One Bedroom Premium View and Terrace One Bedroom Plus with oversize terrace are better locations for these hotel room categories; likely a  Bellagio Fountain view.

The Cosmopolitan Room Data - source: The Cosmopolitan Fact Sheet pdf press release

The two Cosmopolitan tower buildings are about 600 ft. tall. The floor numbering is creative just like at Aria Resort where floors 40-49 do not exist.  The Cosmopolitan is confusing too with guest floors starting at 15 and no room floors in the 40s.

How to fit 75 floors in a 603 ft. tower?

Las Vegas has creative floor numbering.  My memory recalls 75 as the top floor elevator button in the east tower of the Cosmopolitan. I read a review by a person who stayed on the 68th floor last week. So how does a hotel not built for hobbits get 75 floors in a 603 ft. building?

I noticed during my stay at the Aria Resort that no elevators had buttons for floors 40 to 49 in the 59 floor tower. I asked several employees about the missing floors. Nobody simply explained that no floors in the 40s exist in the hotel. The floor numbering goes directly from 39 to 50. The 59th floor penthouse is actually a 49th floor location.

Wikipedia lists the tallest buildings in Las Vegas. Aria Resort at City Center is 600 ft. and 50 floors. The Cosmopolitan East Tower I toured last week is listed at 603 ft. and 51 floors. Check out the elevator numbers when you are going up the tower. There must be a lot of missing floor numbers between the Promenade restaurant level and the 75th top floor.

The reason cited for no floors in the 40s is an association with bad luck/death in Asian cultures. Others think it is just a way to make Las Vegas hotels appear taller to hotel guests than they actually are. Encore, Wynn and Palms Place also do not have room floors in the 40s.

Room Photos

The Cosmopolitan Terrace Studio

Terrace Studio Living Room-Bedroom (photo courtesy of LV Cosmopolitan)

Terrace Studio Bathroom (photo courtesy of LV Cosmopolitan)

Terrace Studio Bed (photo courtesy of LV Cosmopolitan)

Video: The Cosmopolitan Terrace Studio (YouTube 33 sec)

The Cosmopolitan City Room

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas City Room (photo courtesy of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas)

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas City Room beds

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas - City Room Shower

Video: The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas City Room (YouTube – 21 sec)

The Cosmopolitan  – Terrace One Bedroom

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas - Terrace One Bedroom

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas - Terrace One Bedroom

Video: The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas = Terrace One Bedroom (YouTube – 27 sec.)

The Cosmopolitan - Terrace Suite

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Terrace Suite

The Cosmopolitan Terrace Suite living room

Video: The Cosmopolitan – Terrace Suite (YouTube – 49 sec.)

The Cosmopolitan Wraparound Terrace Suite

The Cosmopolitan - WrapAround Terrace Suite

The Cosmopolitan Wraparound Terrace Suite living room

The Cosmopolitan - Wraparound Terrace Suite bedroom

Video: The Cosmopolitan Wraparound Terrace Suite (YouTube – 1:03)

This Loyalty Traveler Dec 14 post shows the room view from a wraparound terrace suite on the 58th floor of the east tower.

Blog.Vegas.com has a gallery of photos of the lobby floors of the hotel and the central focal point of the hotel-casino Chandelier.

Related Posts:

Betting on Expedia.ca for a Vegas Suite Deal (Nov 20, 2010) [This post tells how I bought my flight to Las Vegas and an upgraded room at the Mandarin Oriental for $12.]

CityCenter Las Vegas – Art, Architecture and Space (Dec 16, 2010)

Hotel Detail – Aria Resort and Casino Las Vegas in HD (Dec 11, 2010)

Aria Resort Las Vegas – Pools, Spa and Dining (Dec 12, 2010)

Aria Resort Corner Suite and SkySuites (Dec 18, 2010) 

Aria Resort Las Vegas SkyVilla 19 (Dec 19, 2010)

Vdara Hotel, CityCenter Las Vegas (Dec 19, 2010)

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas (Dec 23, 2010)

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (Dec 21, 2010) (The Cosmopolitan is next to Vdara Hotel, but not part of CityCenter complex. The Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel.)

I booked a couple of nights in the city for the first two games this week. Rates shot up to over $600 per night after the win this evening, but I snagged the W San Francisco and InterContinental Mark Hopkins on points. Who you gonna call?

I left out mattress runs as a component of the Chicago Seminar DO hotel loyalty programs presentation.

Here is a tutorial on how I approach planning multiple one-night stays for the purposes of earning elite credit fast and maximizing promotions. Points and elite status come in handy at times.

Remember the Future

The end of 2010 is quickly approaching with only about ten weeks left for securing elite qualifying hotel stays for the 2011 membership year.

In the remaining 10 weeks of 2010 I need more Hyatt stays, more Priority Club stays, and more SPG stays. I want some cheap rooms since several of these hotel nights are more about elite status and promotion bonuses for 2011 hotel stay opportunities rather than a need for so many hotel rooms before the end of this year.

Elite Qualification is Based on a Calendar Year

Basically all the major hotel loyalty programs determine a member’s elite status level by the number of stays or nights completed in a calendar year. Most major hotel loyalty programs only count paid stays for elite status (Accor A-Club, Best Western Rewards, Carlson goldpoints plus, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Wyndham Rewards). Hilton HHonors and Choice Privileges also count reward nights and stays for elite which adds an additional strategy component for hotel stay elite qualification. Priority Club counts almost all points earned for elite status (notable exception is points purchased for Points + Cash award stays.) HHonors also counts base points earned for elite status, but that is generally a more expensive route to elite status than qualifying by hotel stays.

Starwood Preferred Guest Stays Count Double and 4 stays to Gold promotions.

I find myself running short on SPG hotel stays in 2010 for Platinum elite requalification. Platinum elite members receive 500 welcome amenity points for most Starwood Hotel stays, except 250 points for aloft, element, and Four Points brand hotel stays.

Another major benefit of SPG elite is complimentary upgrades at full service hotels. In the past year my upgrades have varied from as basic as a top floor room with hotel lounge access, but the less desirable view at the Sheraton San Jose to a junior suite preferred view room at the Walt Disney World Dolphin on a Cash & Points rate to a full suite at Westin Market Street San Francisco on a $99 hotel rate.

Planning Mattress Runs

One of my main objectives is to get cheap room nights since I am planning to book more room nights than I really need for work or leisure. I must complete 5 stays to earn a SPG Rewarding Returns promotion bonus that will allow me to book a five night Category 5 hotel for 36,000 points rather than 48,000 points in 2011. That works out to essentially 2,400 bonus points per stay.

Five stays at Four Points, aloft, or element hotels during Stays Count Double will also fast-track requalification for SPG Platinum elite in 2010 to retain my Platinum elite membership through February 2012. SPG Platinum elite normally requires 25 stays in a calendar year.

I definitely prefer to stay at Westin, Sheraton and upper-upscale Starwood brands, but the option to get 10 stay credits with only 5 paid hotel nights for around $500 compared to needing around $1,500+ for 10 stays at Starwood upper-upscale brands is a major motivator to downscale my desired hotel market segment over the next two months.

Personally I give SPG Platinum elite a $1,000+ value over being SPG Gold as long as I spend 15 nights or more at Starwood Hotels in 2011. I estimate I will average around $100 per hotel night in added value by being SPG Platinum. Some complimentary room upgrades are $100 to $200 in added value like when booking a lowest rate room in the bottom category and getting a suite upgrade.

Not all Starwood Hotel stays will have that high an added-value due to Platinum elite. My two Starwood Hotel stays in Chicago this past week actually fell short of my $100 per night estimate since I only received Preferred view rooms with no substantial room category upgrade at either hotel, lounge access at the Sheraton Chicago ($15 value) and two free beers at the W Lakeshore Chicago ($12 value) + 500 bonus points at each hotel (1000 points = $29 purchase price value with current Starpoints promotion). That works out to about $28 added value per room night. Still, even at that rate I can expect to get about $420 in added value in 2011 with 15 room nights, in addition to the 12,000 points discount 5-night category 5 hotel reward stay.

I’ll certainly come out ahead more than $500 in 2011 by planning five stays at Four Points hotels before the end of 2010. 

Finding Cheap Rooms

Stays Count Double only applies to Aloft, Element and Four Points brands. There are no Aloft or Element Hotels in the San Francisco Bay Area so I will focus on finding low cost Four Points hotels.

In the San Francisco area I have five hotel choices within 150 miles of my home:

• Four Points San Francisco Airport
• Four Points San Francisco Bay Bridge
• Four Points San Rafael
• Four Points Pleasanton
• Four Points San Jose Downtown

Price factors:

Book refundable rooms whenever possible to lock in rate, but have the option of rebooking if rate drops before stay which is highly probable. 

Nightly Parking fees  – $20 per night San Jose Downtown impacts the $89 room rate; the other Four Points locations offer free parking.

Cost of gas to reach hotel – San Rafael is 250 miles roundtrip so $30 in gas compared to San Jose at 140 miles roundtrip or $16 in gas.

Location factor – accessing San Francisco Bay Bridge and San Rafael require driving in heavy traffic areas. San Jose Downtown is only hotel that has interesting sites within walking distance around hotel. Pleasanton is in the burbs. SFO is quite familiar and boring location.

Weekend vs. weekday – San Rafael is the only hotel here that consistently has lower weekday rates than weekend rates. Most of my stays will need to be on weekends to get the best price. Four Points Pleasanton is in a corporate business park area and weekday rates will be double the cost of weekend stays.

Holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays can result in really low rates and provide a good opportunity for end-of-year mattress runs. Four Points Pleasanton has $79 and $80 rates from November 19-28. Unfortunately this hotel is the most distant from the other hotels. Pleasanton is good for mattress runs by alternating nights between Hyatt Place Dublin ($62/night during Thanksgiving week) and Four Points Pleasanton to earn low-cost bonuses in two loyalty programs.

How to find low rates:

Travelocity allows me to check room rates over next 90 days. These rates will mirror the rates available on Starwood sites. And if the low rate is not showing up on the Starwood site, then I can file a Starwood Hotels Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) claim and receive 2,000 bonus points for the hotel stay. I filed a BRG today with SPG.

Four Points San Jose Downtown

Friday, Saturday and Sundays are inexpensive.

My initial thought is book San Jose on Friday night, go to another Four Points for Saturday night and get San Jose for Sunday night on the drive home. I can check in Sunday and go home and receive 2 stay credits for about $100. For about $300 I can receive 6 SPG elite stay credits over a single weekend.

San Francisco Airport tends to be cheap on Saturday nights. Here is the Travelocity calendar for Four Points SFO.

Four Points San Rafael drops to $99 per night every night in December 2010. Not bad for Marin County. Maybe even see George Lucas at the Starbucks.

Then there is always East Bay on the east side of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. I rarely venture into those parts, but I have wanted to check out the Four Points San Francisco Bay Bridge for several years.

I think it is time for the Four Points Industrial Tour of northern California for SPG hotel loyalty enthusiasts and wannabes.

I have always liked the feel of platinum.