Beginning May 7, Marriott will start offering Gold and Platinum elite members free internet, but only in the US (excluding Hawaii and US territories) and Canada. Obviously they’re following Hyatt and Starwood’s lead here, although both of those chains provide free internet globally. This is better than nothing, although Marriott has a long way to go before they have a competitive loyalty program, in my book.
Following Hilton’s lead, Marriott is now making it possible to earn top tier elite status exclusively through credit card spend. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), it’s not nearly as lucrative as Hilton’s offer, whereby $40,000 of spend on their American Express Surpass card will get you Diamond status. Instead, Marriott is offering one elite qualifying night for ever $3,000 spent on their credit card. You already get Silver status and ten qualifying nights just for having the card, so you’d need to spend $120,000 for Gold status (which requires 50 nights) or $195,000 for Platinum status (which requires 75 nights), taking into account the 10 night “head start” you get.
Unless you spend millions of dollars a year on credit cards, this probably isn’t worth it just for the status. Marriott has the highest qualification tiers of any program and I would argue the fewest benefits (although it’s a tight race between them and Hilton). But if you otherwise stay at Marriott hotels and consistently find yourself just below the next tier, this is very tempting.
Loyalty Traveler has the full breakdown here.
Lufthansa is currently offering new Miles & More members that register through this link 2,000 bonus miles. Furthermore, Lufthansa is offering the first 2,500 Miles & More members that sign up a $100 certificate good at Renaissance hotels for a minimum of a two night stay. The coupon is good for three months from the date of issue.
(Tip of the hat to Gary)
Thanks to all who participated in the SpringHill Suites Video Memory Challenge. I picked a winner using sophisticated technology random.org, with 1 as the minimum and 101 as the maximum (posts 102+ were made after the deadline). The “result” was 94, which, if my math is correct, would be a post by Zachary. He was contacted via email last night and claims he’ll put the gift card to good use.
Thanks also to the Marriott folks for making this possible!
Marriott has given me a $300 gift card to give to a reader in conjunction with the relaunch of SpringHill Suites properties and their Video Memory Challenge. Given that it’s the holidays, it seems like there’s no better time for this.
So here’s how it works:
Basic guidelines:
Many thanks to Marriott for this generous offer! I’ve gotta say I’m pretty impressed by the new SpringHill Suites properties, if that’s how they’ll actually all look.
Oh, and happy Thanksgiving and many thanks to all those that continue to read the blog. Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with bumps, upgrades (air and hotel), and time with family and friends!
You can earn 500 Marriott Rewards points just for signing up to receive special offers regarding the Boston area Courtyard Marriott hotels.
(Tip of the hat to The Gate)
Marriott is offering new members that stay twice by November 15 a free night certificate. As far as I can tell this can be earned from stays at any of Marriott’s brands, but unfortunately the free night can only be redeemed at a maximum of a category four property.
(Tip of the hat to Loyalty Traveler and Gary)
Nothing beats innovation, and it’s sad that sometimes it takes a recession to cause companies to get creative. Marriott is essentially allowing all nights beyond what’s required for status qualification to “rollover” to next year. Furthermore, they’re running a double night credits promotion.
Every night you stay above the 50 nights needed to maintain your current Gold level in 2009 is yours to keep and count toward your 2010 Elite status.
It’s the only rollover night enhancement we know of – anywhere.
Plus, we’ll give you a head start with double nights. Stay at any
participating Marriott® hotel between May 11 and June 26, 2009, and earn double nights, starting with your first stay. Plus, we’ve already preregistered you for this great promotion.So get twice the nights with this double deal. And since every night this year counts, it’s easier to maintain your Gold status – and achieve the next Elite level in 2010.
Well done, Marriott! I doubt we’ll see the airlines do this, as they’d be seeing some passengers with status for a decade.
As far as I know Marriott is the first program this year to roll out a double night credit promotion. I’m not sure whether it’s targeted or not, but it can be found here. This is cool, although I doubt I’ll be taking advantage of this promotion.
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: TPA-DFW-YYZ on American, and a fun afternoon in Toronto
Part Three: YYZ-HKG on Cathay Pacific and “The Arrival” in HKG
Part Four: Stay at the InterContinental Grand Stanford
Part Five: Visit to “The Wing” and HKG-MNL on Cathay Pacific
Part Six: Stay at the Crowne Plaza Manila
Part Seven: Stay at the InterContinental Manila
Part Eight: MNL-HKG on Cathay Pacific
Part Nine: Stay at the Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong
Part Ten: HKG-NRT on Cathay Pacific and NRT-JFK on JAL
Part Eleven: Stay at Holiday Inn Express JFK and JFK-MIA-TPA on American
———————————————————————————
Upon arrival we headed to the Marriott transfer desk located within the airport, since the hotel provides a free shuttle to the hotel. As we approached we were asked for our names, and within a couple of minutes we were escorted outside by one of the representatives, where a fancy black minivan was waiting for us. The guy couldn’t have been any nicer, and I have to say, it was a pretty nice minivan too!
Within a few minutes we were at the hotel, which is near the AsiaWorld Expo. The exterior is impressive, and not surprisingly the hotel looked new, given that it only opened a few months ago.
Marriott Hong Kong SkyCity
Hotel exterior
I’ve read good reviews about this hotel so far, especially when it comes to customer service. I couldn’t agree more. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a smile, and even without asking were escorted to the front desk. There we were greeted by an equally friendly agent who spoke English well and checked us in quickly. He explained to us the hotel’s features and welcomed us no less than a dozen times. He informed us we were upgraded to the executive level as Marriott Gold members.
The lobby was well designed and modern, with huge windows. Unfortunately the view was of the Macau ferry terminal, which isn’t exactly breathtaking.
Impressive lobby
Panoramic views of….. the Macau ferry terminal!
After a quick elevator ride we were on the 12th floor, where our room was located. We were assigned to room 1243, conveniently enough right across from the executive lounge.
Room 1243
I’m not Samantha Brown so I won’t even attempt to describe the room, other than to say that it was beautifully appointed and still had the new room smell. My favorite thing had to be the beds. They were perfectly cushioned, as opposed to the hard-as-rock beds we had at the Crowne Plaza Manila.
Room 1243
Desk
Our view was also of the ferry terminal. Fortunately the rooms were still quiet, despite what are usually the noisy ferries on the hour every hour.
View from the room
The bathroom had all the amenities one would expect from a Marriott and even had a “rainfall” shower, or whatever it’s called.
Sink and toilet
Bathtub/shower
Conditioner, shampoo, bath gel
On the table was a bowl with three apples and a handwritten card from the front offer manager.
Dear Mr. Lucky,
We are all very pleased to have you staying with us. Should there be anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please let me know and allow me to be of service to you.
Warmest Regards,
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Front Office Manager
The fact that it was handwritten impressed me. Well done!
Welcome gift
There were also two bottles of complimentary Bonaqua water near the TV.
Bonaqua water
We made a quick visit to the executive lounge just to check it out. As we entered the agent introduced herself and said we should let her know if there’s anything we need. She explained that evening cocktails were served from 6PM until 8PM and that we could have breakfast either downstairs in the restaurant or in the lounge. Unfortunately there were no daytime snacks (not even minor things like chips, cookies, or nuts) as is the norm at most InterContinental hotels.
Entrance to the Executive Lounge
Executive Lounge
Being an airplane geek I loved the views of the airport from the lounge. Every 90 seconds we saw heavies land, so I could have sat there all day just watching.
View from the lounge
The lounge has three computers which can be used by club guests for free, which is nice. There are few things things I hate more than paying for internet while traveling.
Computer in the lounge
After checking out the lounge we tried to figure out if there was anything to do in the area. Unfortunately there’s nothing within walking distance other than the AsiaWorld Expo, which had nothing exciting that day. The closest thing other than that is the airport.
Since we had been walking miles a day for the past week we decided to take the afternoon easy and head to the pool, which is located on the ground floor. While we weren’t fans of the fact that it was indoors at first, it made sense on second thought given the proximity to the ferry terminal.
The pool was empty and well designed, with plenty of chairs. There was also a (small) whirlpool and sauna. It was a relaxing afternoon before what we knew would be a long day, flying from Hong Kong to New York via Tokyo.
Pool
Lounge chairs
Whirlpool
After showering it was already 6PM, which meant it was time for dinner at the lounge. As I’ve posted several times before (to the disappointment of many), we tend to have dinner in the club lounge.
We sat down at an open table in the lounge, which there were plenty of, and within moments a friendly waitress offered us drinks. We checked out the snack selection, only to see that it was a bit more limited than what we were used to at the InterContinental. More specifically, there were several people in the lounge doing the same thing as us, and the portions that the “chef” brought out were just too small. For example, the chef would bring out only three spinach squares at a time, which would be gone within about eleven seconds. Fair enough, that’s the spirit of “evening cocktails,” but it was still a bit more limited than what we were used to. For the first time during our trip we decided we were going to go out to dinner.
Evening drinks
Evening snacks
More snacks
We went to the concierge to ask if there were any decent restaurants in the area (other than the classy 7-11, which has a casual dress code), and we were informed that the closest place was the airport. Everything else was at least 15 minutes away by cab. Not in the mood, we decided on the SkyBistro, the hotel restaurant.
This is probably my biggest complaint about the hotel. The prices at the restaurant are astronomically high. They know there’s no competition in the area and it’s not practical to go out and eat, so they just charge whatever the hell they want. In this case, it was about $20USD for a satay appetizer (what my dad had) and $20 for a personal cheese pizza (what I had). They also had a buffet, which looked excellent, but cost about $50USD/person. Oddly enough it seemed like many of the patrons eating from the buffet were locals as opposed to hotel guests, which kind of surprised me.
Satay
Cheese pizza
We went to bed early given the long day ahead of us, although I hardly got any sleep for some reason, despite the comfortable bed. We got up at around 6AM, had a light breakfast in the lounge (in anticipation of a big meal on Cathay), and checked out. The shuttle was immediately ready to take us to the airport.
Overall I highly recommend this hotel. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a hotel with such uniformly friendly employees. Management deserves a pat on the back for training their employees well, and the employees deserve a pat on the back for being awesome. We noticed that the average age of the employees was young, probably mid-20′s at most. Given that we paid $110USD, this was a steal and I would definitely return the next time I’m in Hong Kong and have an early flight.
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