Earn 1,000 bonus points per stay at Wyndham Rewards brand hotels in U.S. and Canada from June 1 – September 5, 2011. No registration required. All Wyndham Rewards brands regularly earn 10 points per $1, except Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

Members with earning preference of miles are also eligible for the 1,000 bonus points per stay. The good points-to-miles exchange rate of 10 points = 4 miles for most frequent flier programs means points are generally the better earning choice for Wyndham Rewards members who want miles, unless there is a miles bonus. The normal miles earn rate is only 2 miles per $1 when earning preference is set to miles rather than points.

Wyndham is a necessary choice sometimes when traveling rural America. There are many places where Best Western, Choice Hotels and Wyndham will be the only hotel loyalty program options and this 1,000 points bonus promotion provides some kind of hotel stay rebate.

Free nights with Wyndham Rewards for most hotel brands in U.S. are assigned to four tiers at 6,000 points, 10,000 points, 14,000 points and 16,000 points. Four $50 hotel stays during this promotion can be sufficient for a free 6,000 points award night. 

Also, keep in mind this summer that Best Western has three stays for one free night from June 19-August 14. I’ll write up this offer once the details are online, probably next week. The link gives the Best Western promotion details from FlyerTalk and Best Western representatives have confirmed details of this offer to me. 

Choice Hotels is offering 8,000 bonus points for two stays from May 19-August 11. Loyalty Traveler post May 16.

The last sentence of the Wyndham Rewards 1,000 bonus points per stay promotion terms raises concern for me: 

“Each individual hotel must elect to participate in the Promotion.”

That is way too vague for my comfort level when making hotel stay plans.

Do I need to call each hotel and ask?

There are too numerous to count brands in Wyndham Rewards. They seem to create new brands in their dreams at night. No wait…they actually added Dream and Night as two new hotel brands in Wyndham this year. 

Wyndham Hotel Group brands

Wyndham Hotel Group

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
• Wyndham Grand Collection
• Wyndham Garden
• Wingate by Wyndham
• Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham
• Ramada Worldwide
• Days Inn
• Super 8
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Microtel Inn & Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Travelodge
• Knights Inn
• Planet Hollywood
• Dream
• Night
• Tryp

You can buy up to 190,000 Wyndham Rewards points at 12 noon ET Wednesday, May 4 through DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways offers. These are great discounts on Wyndham Rewards points for hotel nights or points-to-miles exchange.

$117 for two nights at a Wyndham Hotel is a deal you’d be hard to match with Priceline or Hotwire hotel buys.

Wyndham Rewards is one of the best hotel loyalty programs for low level points-to-miles exchanges with airlines. Wyndham Rewards has a fixed rate of exchange at 8,000 points = 3,200 miles with most major US airlines.

Buy 48,000 points for $135 (AmEx) or even $150 and convert to 19,200 miles in American, Air Canada Aeroplan, Continental, Delta, Frontier, United and US Airways and a few others.

Hotel Rewards in U.S. for most Wyndham Rewards brands like Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Microtel Hawthorn Suites and Baymont are assigned to four tiers.

Wyndham Rewards for one hotel free night at most Wyndham brands:

• Tier 1 = 6,000 points
• Tier 2 = 10,000 points
• Tier 3 = 14,000 points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 points

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts are a separate category of rewards at 15,000 to 45,000 for properties around the world. In the U.S. most Wyndham hotels are in the 15,000 to 25,000 points range.

Wyndham Rewards points on Discover America Daily Getaway Wednesday May 4, 2011

16,000 points = $50 ($45.00 if payment with American Express). 725 sets available. Maximum purchase is two per member.

28,000 points = $69 ($62.10 if payment with American Express). 125 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

32,000 points = $100 ($90.00 if payment with American Express). 400 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

48,000 points = $150 ($135.00 if payment with American Express). 150 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

50,000 points = $130 ($117.00 if payment with American Express). 298 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

Oddly the price is not the same rate for these Wyndham Points packages. 28,000 points and 50,000 points are best buys with a rate around $2.50 for 1,000 points compared to $3.12 per 1,000 for the other three sets.

A member may purchase a maximum of six sets of Wyndham Rewards points from these five offers for a total of 190,000 points for $494.10.

This is really an excellent deal. 190,000 points can be converted to 76,000 airline miles (plus any bonuses like US Airways) or buy a whole lot of hotel nights or even a one week Wyndham Resort beach vacation. This deal certainly beats Starpoints at 20% off or $28 per 1,000 points for someone wanting frequent flyer miles.

Loyalty Traveler surveys world’s Top 20 Hotel Brands for loyalty program affiliation and hotel benefits.

The hotel industry generally ranks the world’s biggest hotel brands by different criteria than Loyalty Traveler. The hotel industry ranks hotel brands by the total number of rooms worldwide. That is the hotelier’s viewpoint since more rooms creates the potential for more money.

My viewpoint as a traveler is whether I will be able to find a hotel in a particular hotel brand in the location I am visiting.  I generally only need one or two rooms for my hotel stay. As a traveler I care less about whether a hotel has 100 rooms or 1,000 rooms and more about the number of hotels in my preferred brand for geographic coverage.

Therefore, Loyalty Traveler ranks hotel brand size by the number of hotels rather than the number of rooms. This results in a different hotel brand ranking order than will be found for most hotel chain size surveys.

When it comes to the number of hotels in a hotel brand you can forget about your upscale Hyatt’s and Hilton’s and Marriott’s being the leaders. There are no upscale market segment brands in the top 20 global hotel brands when ranked by number of hotels.

Marriott Hotels (550 hotels) and Hilton Hotels (540 hotels) just miss the Top 20 cut coming in at #21 and #22 respectively with the distinction of being the highest ranking upscale brands worldwide.

The Benefits of Economy and Mid-scale Hotels

Free internet and complimentary breakfast are the two most desired benefits for upscale hotel travelers. In recent years there has been a move among loyalty programs to add these benefits for elite members of Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hyatt Gold Passport.

Travel in the economy hotel market segment pretty much guarantees you will have access to free internet and most of the top brands also offer a free breakfast as a benefit for all hotel guests. Downsizing your hotel brand may upsize your savings in more ways than room rate.

Family-Friendly Hotel Brands  

One of the biggest value benefits of the major economy/mid-scale hotel brands is a policy at six of the Top 20 Hotel Brands to let kids stay free in the room with an adult family member. This policy is extended to a high age limit of 19 years old for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express which offers some interesting possibilities for taking Mom, Dad or Uncle Bob on spring break.

Children Stay Free Policies can be big savings for big families. Bring the sleeping bags.

Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express = Children 19 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

La Quinta Inn = Children 18 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Super 8 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Motel 6 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Premier Inn (U.K.) = Children 15 and under stay free.

“Honey, I Just Fed the Kids!”

Some hotel brands even offer free restaurant meals to kids when an adult orders off the regular menu. The age limit is a bit lower than 19 for this benefit.

Holiday Inn (U.S. and Canada only) – ‘Kids Eat Free’ policy allows up to four children age 12 and under to eat free from kids menu any time of day when adult guest pays for meal from regular menu.

Premier Inn (U.K.) – free breakfast for up to two children (15 or under).

Loyalty traveler note on hotel numbers and Choice International hotel brands count:

The source of hotel numbers is primarily hotel brand website checks February 8-10, 2011 and data from the most recent financial reports. Choice Privileges only reported domestic properties in its Sep 30, 2010 financial statement. There were 1,140 international Choice Hotels Sep 30, 2010. This is the only detail on international franchised Choice Hotels properties I located without making a hand count by country.

My website checks indicate these 1,140 international hotels are primarily Comfort Inn & Suites and Quality Inn & Suites properties with about 150 Clarion and a handful of EconoLodge and Sleep Inn properties. Australia and New Zealand have more than 200 Choice Hotels.

Choice Hotels total hotel numbers for Days Inn and Quality Inn are from TopHotelChains.com Sep 2010. Hotel numbers for U.S. properties are taken from Choice International financial statements for Sep 30, 2010.

Loyalty Traveler Survey of the Top 20 Hotel Brands in the World

Loyalty Traveler Top 20 Hotel Brands by Number of Hotels Feb 11, 2011

Tip: Click on the spreadsheet picture to open in a new window and see in full size. (You may need to click on picture again in new window to magnify size).

Please add a comment if there are other noteworthy features and benefits for these 20 brands; particularly some first-hand knowledge of Mercure and Ibis would be appreciated for these non-U.S. hotel brands.

Wyndham Rewards launches a new promotion today running February 3 through April 30, 2011.

• Earn 2x points or miles on 2^nd stay.
• Earn 3x points or miles on 3^rd stay.
• Earn 4x points or miles on 4^th stay.

Promotion registration is required.

Hotel stays must be completed by May 7^th to qualify for this promotion.

There are no additional bonus points or miles for more than 4 stays during the promotion period. You do not earn 4x points for every stay after the 4th stay.

Earn 1,000 additional bonus points for hotel stays paid with Wyndham Visa card on 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th stays. Maximum credit card additional bonus is 3,000 points.

Wyndham Rewards hotel brands include over 6,500 hotels in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Grand Collection, Wyndham Garden, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Baymont Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns & Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge and Knights Inn.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This promotion only offers a bonus on the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th stays during the promotion period. Unlike recent promotions from other hotel loyalty programs, this offer does not apply 4x points to all previous stays.

Basically the best strategy is maximize the dollar spend on the 4^th hotel stay. An expensive vacation or business stay or an extended stay could make this a high value points bonus.

My analysis below shows the best choice for members wanting to maximize miles is choosing bonus points. Wyndham Rewards points will likely result in more miles through points-to-miles exchange rather than choosing bonus miles for this promotion. Wyndham Rewards has the highest static exchange rate for points-to-miles of any hotel loyalty program. Static exchange rate means the rate is the same (2.5 Wyndham Rewards points = 1 mile) regardless of the number of points converted to miles.

High-end Wyndham Rewards hotels run 25,000 points to 45,000 points per night.

Assume $200 per stay for four stays.

• Stay 1 = 2,000 points ($200 x 10 points/$1)
• Stay 2 = 4,000 points ($200 x 20 points/$1)
• Stay 3 = 6,000 points ($200 x 30 points/$1)
• Stay 4 = 8,000 points ($200 x 40 points/$1)

$800 hotel spend over 4 hotel stays earns 20,000 points. You will have sufficient points for a Tier 4 award (16,000 points) or a low tier Wyndham Hotel (15,000), but you will have insufficient points for a high end Wyndham Hotel or Resort in locations like downtown  Chicago (25,000 to 45,000), New York (25,000 to 45,000) or Sugar Bay Resort, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (45,000).

Earning Miles

Wyndham Rewards earns miles with 20 different airlines and Amtrak. Wyndham Rewards has one of the highest point-to-miles exchange rates among hotel loyalty programs. Programs like Marriott and goldpoints plus have higher exchange rates in their dynamic points-to-miles system, but that requires large numbers of points (100,000+) to get a better exchange rate than Wyndham Rewards.

Most airlines earn at the rate of 2 miles per $1 or 500 miles per stay at Wyndham Hotels and Hawthorn Suites. You will need to analyze earn rates to determine if more miles are earned choosing 2x, 3x and 4x miles or choosing points and making a points-to-miles exchange with a static exchange rate of 8,000 points = 3,200 miles or 2.5 points = 1 mile with most frequent flyer programs.

Here is a sample earning table:

Assume $200 per stay for four stays and United Mileage Plus.

• Stay 1 (Microtel) = 2,000 points or 400 miles (base earning rate).
•      ($200 x 2 miles/$1) Points are better = 800 miles.
• Stay 2 (Hawthorn Suites) = 2,000 points ($200 x 10 points/$1) or 1,000 miles (double miles 2 x 500)
•      (Miles are better choice since Hawthorn Suites has low 5 points/$1 earn rate. 2000 points = 800 miles).
• Stay 3 (Super 8 ) = 6,000 points or 1,200 miles (triple miles)
•      ($200 x 30 points/$1 or 6 miles/$1 = 1,200 miles) 6,000 points are better = 2,400 miles.
• Stay 4 (Wyndham) = 8,000 points or  2,000 miles (4x miles).
•      ($200 x 40 points/$1 or 500 miles per stay x 4). 8,000 points are better = 3,200 miles.

Bottom line: This promotion favors earning points rather than miles as long as you accrue 8,000 total points for a minimum points-to-miles exchange. The only time miles are the better choice is for Hawthorn Suites stays where points is based on 5 points/$1 earn rate. The earn rate for Hawthorn Suites quietly changed from 10 points/$1 to only 5 points/$1 in December 2010. This change does not even appear to have been mentioned by anyone on FlyerTalk to date.

Wyndham Rewards up to 4x points or miles Feb 3-April 30, 2011

Ramada Hotels has a 50% off Best Available Rate (BAR) sale in U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Latin America for stays through February 10, 2011. “Just for You” is an online booking promotion that must be booked by Tuesday November 30 through this Ramada Hotels “Just for You” special offer link.

These rates do not qualify for Wyndham Rewards points or miles.

Looking at New York City, Miami and San Francisco I found the rates were not available for many Ramada properties on dates I checked.  Rates are significantly lower than AAA and advance purchase nonrefundable rates at Ramada Hotels where this special offer rate is available.

An additional benefit to the big rate discount with the “Just for You” 50% off rate promotion is a liberal ‘day of arrival’ cancellation policy with no penalty for hotels I checked.

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and Wyndham Rewards for hotels have so many facets that it is difficult to get a handle on the hotel chain as a whole entity.

Wyndham is the largest hotel chain in the world by number of hotels with over 7,200 franchised properties. There are 11 hotel brands currently participating in Wyndham Rewards. Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia Hotels Group has over 300 hotels and Wyndham Rewards points may be used for many of these beach resorts and city center hotels in Spain, France, UK, Mexico, Caribbean, Panama, Peru and Argentina. 

Planet Hollywood is another Wyndham franchise new development deal inked recently.

• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Days Inn
• Hawthorn Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Knights Inn
• Microtel Inn & Suites
• Ramada
• Super 8
• Travelodge
• Wingate by Wyndham
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
• Planet Hollywood
• Tryp-Sol Melia (Spain hotel partner)

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is also the world’s largest timeshare operator. This segment of the company earns about half the revenue. Vacation exchange and rentals make up about 30% of the company revenue. The 7,200 hotels comprise just 20% of company revenue in 2010-Q3.

Earning Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham Rewards offers 10 points per $1 for all hotel brands. Travelodge properties in Canada do not participate in Wyndham Rewards.

Most hotel brands offer fewer points for their budget hotels. Wyndham has a competitive advantage over Choice Privileges which offers just 5 points per dollar for its four economy and extended stay brands, while other brands earn 10 points per dollar. IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards also offer only 5 points per dollar for their extended stay brands. All Hilton HHonors brands earn 10 base points per dollar and Points & Points earners receive 15 points per $1.

Wyndham Rewards has the highest hotel points-to-miles exchange rate among the major programs at 4 points = 1 mile for most airline partners. Essentially you are getting 2.5 miles per $1 when exchanging hotel points-to-miles which tends to be more miles than choosing miles for hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler blog post comparing hotel points-to-miles exchange rates for US airlines.

Wyndham Rewards lucrative promotions for bonus miles can make earning miles for hotel stays instead of hotel points the better value at times.

Redeeming Wyndham Rewards points for Hotels

Wyndham Rewards has a more favorable reward structure for free hotel night rewards than Choice Privileges or Best Western.

U.S. and Canada Wyndham Rewards Hotel Tiers for all brands except Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

International Properties for all brands except Wyndham are mostly 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000 or 30,000 points with some resorts and major city hotels costing up to 45,000 points per night.

Ramada Inn hotel reward cost for sample UK hotels

Wyndham Hotels has its own separate reward tables from the other Wyndham brands. Most hotels are in the 15,000 to 30,000 points per night level. Some major resorts and city center hotels are 45,000 points.

Sol Melia Resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico, Argentina, Panama and Peru, Spain, France, and UK provide nearly 300 hotels available with Wyndham Rewards points starting as low as 8,500 points. Numerous hotels are available for 10,000 points and most beach resorts and locations like Paris are 30,000 points per night.

Sol Melia sample hotel rewards using Wyndham points

Wyndham Rewards is not the hotel loyalty program where Elites Meet

Wyndham Rewards is the only major hotel loyalty program that does not offer elite tiers and elite bonus points for members based on hotel stay frequency.

Wyndham ByRequest

Wyndham ByRequest is a loyalty recognition program applicable only for stays at the flagship hotel brand Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Wyndham ByRequest is a free membership program you need to join if planning Wyndham Hotel stays.

Membership entitles you to member exclusive rate discounts, free internet, late check-out from 2pm to 4pm upon request.

Wyndham Chicago Downtown (North St. Clair St.)

ByRequest Level 1 is a member with 4 to 9 nights in a calendar year. Additional benefits include a welcome drink and snack, best available rate and room extras upon request like blankets, coffee, pillows.

Wyndham Chicago Suite sitting room

ByRequest Level 2 is a member with 10 to 18 nights stayed in a calendar year.

*Additional benefits include:

• welcome snack replenished upon request,
• upgrade to best room available;
• at least one magazine;
• turndown service;
• 72 hour guaranteed availability.

* These are not published benefits on the website, but are internal guidelines for hotel offerings to Wyndham ByRequest members at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Wyndham Chicago suite decor

* On the 19^th Night – One time personalized gift (i.e. golf shirt, bestseller book).

* These are not published benefits on the website, but are internal guidelines for hotel offerings to Wyndham ByRequest members at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Wyndham Chicago room desk

All Wyndham ByRequest benefits are in addition to the regular Wyndham Rewards benefits and 10 points per US$1 or airline miles.

Wyndham Chicago Downtown (North St. Clair) Reward Nights = 25,000 points

Wyndham Rewards is offering double airline miles for up to four hotel stays per member from October 1 through December 31, 2010. Wyndham’s 13 hotels brands include several budget/economy market segment brands for cheap hotel nights. The promotion terms appear to prohibit getting more than four stays doubled during the promotion by simply switching to a different airline partner after four stays.

Participating airlines and travel partners are Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Amtrak, Continental, Delta, Midwest, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, United and US Airways.

The catch is these promotions are hotel brand specific offers for most of the participating airlines, except Aeromexico and Air Canada Aeroplan.

Wyndham Rewards Hotel Brands and Double Miles Promotion Airline Partners

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts = Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Amtrak, Sun Country

Hawthorn Suites = Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Amtrak, Sun Country

Wingate = Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Amtrak, Sun Country

Ramada = Delta

Days Inn = Southwest

Super 8 = United

Howard Johnson = US Airways

Baymont Inn & Suites = Continental

Microtel = Midwest

Travelodge = Spirit Airlines

Knights Inn = Aeromexico and Air Canada Aeroplan 

Double Miles Details:

Click on Airline Name below for Wyndham Rewards promotion link.

Aeromexico – All Wyndham brands: Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate, Baymont inn, Microtel, Howard Johnson, TraveLodge (US only), Knights Inn, Hawthorne Suites, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Wyndham Members will receive 4 (four) Premier miles (6.4 Premier Kilometers) instead of the standard 2 (two) Premier miles (3.2 Premier Kilometers) per US dollar spent on qualifying room rates at participating Ramada®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Wingate® by Wyndham, Baymont Inn & Suites®, Microtel Inns & Suites®, Howard Johnson®, Travelodge® (US hotels only) and Knights Inn®. Miles are earned on the qualifying room rate only, not on taxes, food and beverage or other incidental expenses.  

For stays at participating Hawthorn Suites® by Wyndham and participating Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® properties, members earn 1000 (one thousand) Premier miles (1600 Premier Kilometers) instead of the standard 500 Premier miles (800 Premier Kilometers) per stay on qualifying room rates. 

Air Canada Aeroplan – All Wyndham brands.

4 miles per $1 or 500 miles (whichever is greater) at Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate, Baymont inn, Microtel, Howard Johnson, Travelodge (US only), Knights Inn.

1,000 miles per stay at Hawthorne Suites and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Amtrak Guest Rewards – Wingate, Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites

4 miles per $1 at Wingate Hotels or 1,000 miles per stay at Wyndham Hotels and Hawthorn Suites.

Continental OnePass – Baymont Inn & Suites

• 4 miles per $1

Delta Skymiles – Ramada Inn

• 4 miles per $1

Midwest Miles – Microtel Inn & Suites

• 4 miles per $1

Southwest Rapid Rewards – Days Inn

• 1 credit per stay

Spirit Airlines – Travelodge

• 4 miles per $1.

Sun Country UFly Rewards – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Hawthorn Suites, Wingate

• 2 UFly Rewards points for Wingate 
• 4 UFly points for Wyndham or Hawthorn.

United Airlines Mileage Plus – Super 8

• 4 miles per $1

US Airways – Howard Johnson

• 4 miles per $1

Loyalty Traveler promotion rating = 2 keys of 5 promotion (due to 4 stays earning limit)

 Related link: Wyndham Rewards Airline Partners and regular earning rate for hotel stays

Midscale Limited Service is the largest segment of the major chain hotel market. The workhorse brands of Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn are representative of the “midscale without food and beverage” hotel segment with rooms that typically offer free internet and a basic continental breakfast of rolls, coffee, juice, and boxed cereals. Rates are typically from $60 to $100 per night; although you will find rates can go a bit higher in some locations. 

This is the segment of hotels where loyalty points can be high value redemptions. There are a couple of large chains in this hotel market segment like La Quinta, AmericInn, and Drury that only have one big midscale limited service hotel brand. I need to create some hotel loyalty program reviews for these chains.

Source: JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study press release

JD Power Mid-Scale Limited Service Hotel Market Segment Report

Some time has passed since I stayed in a midscale limited service hotel. I really do not make many trips where I can’t find a higher market segment hotel at a good price. Two years ago when traveling up the west coast from California to Vancouver, British Columbia, I was able to break up my Starwood Hotel stays separated by 800 miles or highway between San Francisco and Portland with Interstate 5 freeway layovers at Holiday Inn Express hotels in Yreka, California and Ashland, Oregon for just 5,000 points per night on PointBreaks Awards. I purchased 10,000 points from Priority Club for $125. The award nights cut the $125 per night rate at these two hotels by half. Keep in mind Priority Club PointBreaks awards when taking a trip to some out of the way places and seeking a hotel night for under $65. Holiday Inn Express is the most widespread midscale limited service brand in the U.S. 

The highest JD Power consumer rating of five circles only goes to one Midscale Limited Service brand – Drury Inn & Suites. Here is a hotel brand I am not familiar with at all since the 120 Drury Hotels do not extend to the west coast. The last time I did a roadtrip through middle America was 1996. Next time I drive I-70 across Kansas and Missouri I’ll be on the lookout for a Drury Hotel or perhaps on my trip to Chicago in October I will find a Drury Hotel. Drury Gold Key Club is the hotel loyalty program. I will need to look into this program to determine the value of points.

Drury Hotels map link:

Mid-Scale Limited Service Hotel Brands Ordered by Number of North America Hotels

Holiday Inn Express (IHG Priority Club) = 1,874 hotels in the Americas (June 30, 2010); 2,000+ hotels globally. Holiday Inn Express Directory. This brand grows at the rate of a new opening every one or two days with over 400 more HI Express hotels currently in the Americas growth pipeline. Holiday Inn Express is positioned to outgrow Best Western in the USA as the largest domestic hotel brand over the next couple of years.

Hampton Inn (Hilton HHonors) = about 1,700 hotels.  Hampton Inn locations.

Comfort Inn (Choice Privileges) = 1,446 domestic hotels (June 30, 2010) ; 2,000+ hotels globally. Comfort Inn locations.

La Quinta (La Quinta Returns) = 750+hotels in U.S. and Mexico. La Quinta Returns has free nights in six tier levels of hotels from 6,000 to 24,000 points. La Quinta Hotel Directory.

Fairfield Inn (Marriott Rewards) = 641 hotels. Fairfield Inn locations downloadable directory. 

Comfort Suites (Choice Privileges) = 621 hotels domestic (June 30, 2010). Comfort Suites Hotel Directory.

Country Inn & Suites (Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus) = 500+ hotels; almost all in North America. Country Inn & Suites Directory (August 2010 pdf)

Sleep Inn (Choice Privileges) = 392 hotels. Choice Hotel Directory.

Springhill Suites (Marriott Rewards) = 267 hotels (June 30, 2010). SpringHill Suites locations. 

Baymont Inn & Suites (Wyndham Rewards) = 244 Hotels in U.S. and Canada. Baymont Inn locations. 

AmericInn (AmericInn Easy Rewards) = 215 hotels in 22 states. This is another brand primarily located in middle America. Hotel locations.

 Source: http://www.americinn.com/Home

Wingate (Wyndham Rewards) = 150 hotels.  Hotel locations.

Drury Inn (Drury Gold Key Club) around 120 hotels. Great brand for Kansas travel. Drury Inn & Suites locations.

Ramada Limited ( Wyndham Rewards).  I was unable to locate the number of properties between Ramada Limited and Ramada full service (restaurant) among the 920 properties in 47 countries. Most Ramada Hotels (about 800) are in the U.S.

Over the next month I will try to develop some overview posts for La Quinta, AmericInn and Drury Hotels loyalty programs.

Links to Related Loyalty Traveler commentary for different hotel market segments covered in JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Satisfaction Index:

Overview JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study (Aug 10)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Luxury Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 11)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Upscale Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 11)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 13)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Satisfaction ratings (Aug 16)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

While air travelers can usually find a nice upscale hotel in airport locations and big cities, the road warrior and highway driver will likely be familiar with the midscale hotel segment when staying in smaller cities. This is the world of Hilton Garden Inns, Marriott Courtyards and Hyatt Place cookie cutter hotel design so dominant in current hotel construction for a traveling world. Midscale full service hotels offer truly functional rooms with the options of food and a bar. Business centers are common for basic office needs. Exercise facilities, usually with a pool, offer standardized style at mid-price rates ($65 to $125 in most places) and super-sized geographic distribution.

JD Power’s 2010 Guest Satisfaction Survey ranks Midscale Full Service hotel brands. This type of hotel is usually designated Midscale with Food and Beverage (Midscale F&B) in hotel market segment data. The JD Power survey categorizes two classes of Midscale Hotels with the Full Service Segment and Limited Service Segment.

JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index - Midscale Full-Service Hotel Brands

Graphic is from JDPower.com 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Press Release

JD Power Midscale Full Service  Ratings report 

Nine major hotel loyalty programs are represented in the midscale full service segment. Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Starwood make the four and five circle ratings for their Midscale F&B brands. 

Hilton Garden Inn and Hyatt Place ranked high with a top Power Circle Rating 5 from JDPower.com ratings. Marriott Courtyard and Starwood’s Four Points come in at the level 4 rated brands. IHG Priority Club is not represented until level 3 Power Circle Rating with Holiday Inn. 

I have stayed frequently in these brands and I guess I prefer Hyatt Place for the room design over a typical Hilton Garden Inn room but I’ll take HGI for the food. Some Four Points have great beer deals. The basic Marriott Courtyard is usually a comfortable lobby. In general I favor the upscale hotels, but I drop down to visit these brands when the price is right and the option works out best for the location. 

Wyndham, Holiday Inn, and Best Western receive three circles in the JD Power ratings.

Holiday Inn has been going through a $1 billion make-over for the past two years. At over 800 hotels in North America the brand is iconic in the hotel world and still growing strong. The disparity between Holiday Inn hotels around the U.S. is a concern, however, international Holiday Inn properties tend to be more in the upscale market in many locations. 

Wyndham Garden Hotels have a three circle rating although this brand is limited in number of hotels with fewer than 20.

Best Western is a solo hotel brand with over 2,200 hotels in the U.S. alone and almost 200 hotels in Canada. Best Western is midscale franchise brand with a wide variety of hotel properties mostly in the form of conversions of existing hotels.

Choice Hotels and Wyndham vie for least desirable mid-scale hotel brands with each representing two of the bottom four ranked chains in the mid-scale full service market. Quality Inn and Clarion Hotels are Choice Privileges brands.

Curiously the Clarion brand ranked slightly lower in guest satisfaction than the Quality Inn brand. Clarion Hotels as a brand was created in the 1980s from the high-end Quality Inn properties.  

Ramada Inn and last ranked Howard Johnson are Wyndham Rewards brands.

Hotel Brands Ranked by Number of Hotels in North America

Best Western (Best Western Rewards) = 2,400+ hotels in North America; 4,000+ globally. 

Quality Inn (Choice Privileges) = about 984 hotels in North America. Quality Inn and Suites locations.  

Holiday Inn (IHG Priority Club Rewards) = 880 Americas; 1,300+ hotels globally

Courtyard by Marriott (Marriott Rewards) = 780 hotels US; 850+ globally.                                                                              Marriott Courtyard Hotel Directory (pdf) 

Ramada Inn (Wyndham Rewards) = 910 hotels globally

Hilton Garden Inn (Hilton HHonors) = 500+ hotels globally; almost all in North America. Hilton Garden Inn Hotel locations: Downloadable PC or Mac HGI e-directory.

Howard Johnson (Wyndham Rewards) = 500+ hotels; almost all in North America.

Clarion Hotels (Choice Privileges) = 175 hotels in North America; 250+ globally. Clarion hotel locations.

Hyatt Place (Hyatt Gold Passport) = 160 hotels. Hyatt Place Hotel Locations 

Four Points by Sheraton (Starwood Preferred Guest) = about 113 hotels North America; 166 hotels globally. Four Points Hotel locations. 

Wyndham Garden Hotels (Wyndham Rewards) = about 20 hotels. Wyndham Garden locations.

Links to Related Loyalty Traveler commentary for different hotel market segments covered in JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Satisfaction Index:

Overview JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study (Aug 10)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Upscale Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 11)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Luxury Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 11)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Hotels Satisfaction Index (Aug 15)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

Wyndham Hotels has an online summer game if you like to play games. Pick a traveler identity from

a)      The Fun-seeking Family

b)      The Flocking Friends of a Feather

c)       The On-the-Go Business Pros

d)      The Continent Exploring Couple

e)      The Gallivanting Grandparents

You can play a weekly trivia game with your Wyndham avatar for a chance to win a five-night hotel stay, $25 gift card, or a three-day golf getaway.

If games are not your thing, then you can skip the trivia questions and go directly to an opportunity for an instant win. The trivia questions were actually challenging and opening up a second browser I actually kicked myself out of the game for this week after answering two questions.

Contest begins May 13 and ends September 7. Open to residents of 50 US states and D.C. and Canada. Contest is not valid for residents of Puerto Rico and US territories.

I wouldn’t bother writing about this promotion if it were only a chance at a contest prize.

The real value of Wyndham’s Mission: Save Summer is a list of 20 discount opportunities for Wyndham brand hotel stays for the summer months and beyond.

1. Wyndham Resorts – Stay 3 consecutive nights before August 31 and save 30% on Best Available Rate.
2. Wingate – Book 3 consecutive nights before December 31 and save 30% on Best Available Rate.
3. Hawthorn Suites – Book 3 consecutive nights before December 31 and save 30% on Best Available Rate.
4. Ramada – Save 20% on stays of 3 nights or longer.
5. Ramada- Save 15% on Best Available Rate for reservations made 14 days in advance. Prepaid rate.
6. Days Inn – Save 15% for two consecutive nights.
7. Days Inn – Save 20% on 3 night or longer stays through December 31.
8. Days Inn – Book 14 days in advance and save 20% on Best Available Rate. Prepaid and no changes allowed.
9. Super 8 – Save 15% on Best Available Rate when booking 8 days in advance. Prepaid and no changes allowed.
10. Baymont – Save $10 per night when you stay at least 3 consecutive nights and book by May 31.
11. Microtel – Save $10 per night when you stay at least 3 consecutive nights by September 1.
12. Microtel – Book 14 days in advance and save 20% on Best Available Rate. Prepaid and no changes allowed.
13. Howard Johnson – Save 15% on Best Available Rate when you book two or more consecutive nights for stays through June 15.
14. Howard Johnson – Book 3 consecutive nights and stay by June 15 and save 30% on Best Available Rate.
15. Howard Johnson – Book 14 days in advance and save 20% on Best Available Rate for stays through June 15. Prepaid and no changes allowed.
16. Travelodge – Save 15% on Best Available Rate when you book two or more consecutive nights for stays through June 15.
17. Travelodge – Book 3 consecutive nights and stay by June 15 and save 30% on Best Available Rate.
18. Travelodge – Book 14 days in advance and save 20% on Best Available Rate. Prepaid and no changes allowed.
19. Knights Inn – Book 3 consecutive nights before December 31 and save 20% on Best Available Rate.
20. Knights Inn – Book 7 days in advance and save 15% on Best Available Rate for stays through December 31, 2010. Prepaid and no changes allowed.

Wyndham Rewards has a good American Airlines 13,500 miles offer to take advantage of with your hotel stays at Wyndham, Wingate, or Hawthorn Suites through September 30.