I want to share some personal Best Western hotel experiences in this piece to point out the value of being city center in travel. In many places being city center is the whole point of the travel.

Earning millions of miles was rather easy when I started playing the frequent flyer loyalty program game in 1999. Large airline flight bonuses were offered frequently up until about 2004. There are still some high mileage promotions, but the opportunity to get 500,000 to 1,000,000 miles for $2,000 in flights is something I haven’t seen in years.

Credit cards are all the rage now for earning free miles and points, but that takes significantly more money than I spent clicking internet advertisements and making small purchases for points and miles back in the tech start-up days when loyalty programs like MyPoints and ClickRewards allowed anyone a fairly low bar to enter the game.

Soon I learned that flying Business Class and First Class was great entertainment for free movies and drinks and meals and a comfortable flight. But then after exiting the premium cabin of the plane after 6 to 12 hours of luxury travel, I was faced with trying to find an affordable hotel room for 6 to 12 nights.

Luxurious bargain travel is difficult to sustain when the airline tickets are $250 to travel up front on the international flight, and then the hotel is $250 per night for a week. Priceline was an option that I used for dozens of nights. And transferring airline miles into HHonors points carried me for a few years until most of my airline program accounts loaded with miles dropped out of HHonors miles-to-points transfers.

Hyatt and Starwood hotels in major European cities are typically not a bargain, even with points. You need a treasure chest of points to stay a week in Paris or Florence or Amsterdam on points.

Typically I bounce around from hotel chain to hotel chain when traveling to stretch my points from different hotel programs for the best deals available in the places I am visiting. 

My motivation for focusing on hotel loyalty programs was an effort to get a similar experience in a hotel or at least stay in a comfortable hotel in the city center for the locations where I was flying.

Being in a city center hotel is something that I learned to strive for over the years. Sometimes that means city center in a 5-star Hilton, Hyatt or Starwood brand hotel on points. Sometimes that means a midscale chain with Choice, Wyndham, IHG or Best Western on points.

Paris – Romance by the Seine or Jet Noise from the Planes?

I have done Paris staying at a boutique Best Western Hotel near Notre Dame Cathedral for about $75 per night and feeling cramped in a small room, but knowing I had all modern conveniences, free breakfast at the hotel, and a location that definitely penetrated my psyche as total Paris immersion.

And I have done Paris staying at a nice Marriott Paris CDG Airport for nearly free using cash certificates I’d earned through programs like MyPoints. I recall the hotel had a lovely room and a fantastic restaurant with Atlantic lobster dinner specials. I also had the feeling I could have been in any city in the world with the sights of Paris being a shuttle bus ride to the airport followed by a metro ride to the city center.

Two hours a day wasted in transportation to get where I really wanted to be for my time on a relatively expensive trip to Europe is a case where the saying “time is money” truly has meaning.

$2,000 for a 6-day trip to Europe is not something the vast majority of Americans can afford to do every month. City center is truly my hotel advice motto when visiting the historic cities of the world to sight see.

Some of my most memorable hotel experiences were Best Western hotels in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Paris, France. Both hotels were boutique hotels in center city locations where I was able to stay at less than 25% of the cost of the upper upscale loyalty brands.

Guayaquil, Ecuador – Once upon a time in the Wild West

In Guayaquil, Ecuador I recall feeling like I was in the Wild West with large iguanas following me around in the city park and teenagers stalking me on city streets and around the shopping district and malls. The public library was my refuge from street thugs where I was then reprimanded for actually taking a book off the shelf on my own. I caused a scuffle with about a dozen kids when I left the grocery store and tossed eight U.S. pennies I’d received as change from the cashier into the crowd of kids. I thought I was doing a good deed giving away the coins I did not want to pocket. I regretted my action immediately. I did not think the kids would hit each other over pennies!

The Best Western in Guayaquil (no longer in the chain) was certainly not aspirational. In fact, I think it might be the only hotel where I employed the chair against the door deterrent against robbers that I picked up from Robert Young Pelton’s The World’s Most Dangerous Places hotel stay tips.

A $5 steak dinner including a couple of beers in the Best Western hotel café was my experience in Ecuadorian cuisine. The next morning I was escorted by a hip holster handgun-toting hotel receptionist after I checked out and crossed the sidewalk to the waiting taxi.

I wouldn’t have been in the central city of Guayaquil if not for the low cost Best Western. I might not have had so many interesting encounters with the local people.

I could have stayed at the Hilton Guayaquil, away from downtown. Given the choice between hanging out in a comfortable modern hotel room at the Hilton in the suburbs or taking a taxi to venture downtown when I was exhausted from two days stuck in Lima, Peru for ground fog and an airport shutdown and puddle-jumping my way back to Miami via an American Airlines Business Class rebooked award flight would have likely led to an unmemorable Guayaquil layover watching TV at the Hilton.

I remember that Best Western in Guayaquil fondly.

City center is a great place to be. Even when the environment is a bit more intimidating than a nice upper upscale hotel or a hotel safe house in the suburbs.

A total of 58 Candlewood Suites and 19 Staybridge Suites are scheduled to be renovated.

All of the renovated hotels will use components of new schemes designed in conjunction with graduate students at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), one of the nation’s top interior design schools. Staybridge Suites hotels will offer one of two schemes: the “Vista” scheme, which focuses on fresh color, blending blue, green and terra-cotta shades; or a refreshed version of an existing brand scheme, “Chocolate,” with components of the SCAD designs in the kitchens and bathrooms. The Staybridge Suites hotels will also feature the brand’s Outdoor Living Room, a place where guests can relax and interact alfresco surrounded by amenities such as comfortable outdoor all-weather furniture, fire pits, grills and music. The Gathering Table, a bar-height, granite-topped island surrounded by stools that encourages guest interaction during breakfast and evening Social receptions, will also be added to the Great Room area.

Candlewood Suites hotels will feature elements of the “Nest” scheme, a light, clean and refreshing design with earthy green hues. The focus of renovations at Candlewood Suites properties has been kitchens, bathrooms, case goods, lighting, artwork, new flat-screen televisions, updates to the reception area and new exterior paint.

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites are the extended-stay brands of IHG. These are also the two brands that only earn 5 points per dollar with Priority Club. All other IHG brands earn 10 points per dollar, except for 2,000 points per stay for InterContinental hotels outside of the Americas. Priority Club changed InterContinental Hotels earn rate to 10 points per dollar as of February 15, 2012 for properties in USA, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean.

There are currently 180 Staybridge Suites and more than 280 Candlewood Suites in North America. These renovations impact about 10% of Staybridge Suites and 20% of Candlewood Suites hotels.

Will this motivate the other hotels in these brands to renovate?

Here are photos from a Candlewood Suites stay in Las Vegas last April. The room was spacious and came with a kitchen and a bedroom with a second TV. There was plenty of space to work on my computer. A flat-screen TV would certainly be an improvement.

I see the sweatshirt in this April 2011 photo that I lost somewhere in Canada about six weeks later.

Perhaps it is the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament in Pebble Beach that has me thinking about other people’s money today. Hoteliers and politics have been on my mind due to a number of stories in the news this week.

Take This Law and Shove It

California’s Proposition 8 passed in November 2008 banned same-sex marriage in California. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional this week.

There was a long-term boycott of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The former hotel owner Doug Manchester gave $125,000 to support the Prop 8 voter initiative.

The Manchester Grand Hyatt is a huge convention hotel with 1,675 rooms. Business was hurting after more than two years of a public campaign by LGBT groups to boycott the hotel.

In March 2011 Doug Manchester sold the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego to Host Hotels & Resorts. This is the real estate investment trust headed by Richard Marriott, brother of Bill Marriott of Marriott International.

Doug Manchester now owns the daily newspaper San Diego Tribune. Laurence Watts published a piece in the Huffington Post this week with more details about the boycott of Manchester Grand Hyatt.

The sale of the Manchester Grand Hyatt for $570 million was the highest price paid for a U.S. hotel in 2011.

Bill Marriott had a piece on his blog ‘On the Move’ November 11, 2008 claiming Marriott International did not support the passing of Proposition 8 in California.

Bill Marriott and Richard Marriott together gave the Super PAC “Restore our Future” one million dollars in support of Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Bill Marriott #331 on Forbes 400 and Richard Marriott, #312 on Forbes 400 are not the only hotel billionaires on Forbes list.

Penny Pritzker of the Pritzker family, founders of Hyatt Hotels, has strong ties to President Obama. She served as 2008 campaign finance chair for Obama. Penny Pritzker is #263 on Forbes 400 list 2011.

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego is a Hyatt Gold Passport category 5 hotel at 18,000 points per night.

Minnesota Star

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, co-owner of Carlson Inc. (Radisson and Country Inn hotel brands and TGI Fridays restaurants), and #117 on Forbes 400 list along with her sister, publicly expressed her opposition last month to a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota. She and her husband have contributed $50,000 to defeat the amendment, the largest contribution by any single private donor.

Groups for and against the amendment have raised more than $1 million on each side of the campaign.

“Trouble in Paradise or when a coup requires a probe”

The president of the Maldives resigned last week. The United States quickly recognized the new government, then backtracked and sent an envoy to investigate allegations the former president was ousted in a coup. Washington Post Feb 11, 2012 story.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports today the former president claims luxury hotel resort owners aligned with the conservative islamists to remove him from office to prevent rising resort taxes.

They had led street protests against his government’s decision to allow massage and health spas to proliferate.

”I was ousted for bringing a Western conservative vision to the Maldives,” he said.

After he came to power in 2008, advised by a team of British Conservative Party campaigners, Mr Nasheed privatised the country’s main airport, introduced compulsory private health insurance, and imposed a tax system to make the country self-reliant.

”The coup was financed by resort owners … not just one but many,” he said. ”They liked the old order of corruption. We were rocking the boat, taxing them. ”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/resorts-accused-in-maldives-coup-20120211-1sy9f.html#ixzz1m5XO3I9C

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.