Leading Hotels of the World (LHW)

LHW 1928 RIP

LHW 1928 RIP

The Good News: Some people got the $19.28 rate for a luxury hotel during the revamped 1928 promotion last Thursday.

The Bad News: I wasn’t among the lucky.  Although Lucky, BoardingArea.com blogger of “One Mile at a Time,” was successful.  His online name fits.

Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) promoted their October 1, 2008 online 80-minute sale heavily in September.  The hype was so widely promoted that their reservations system crashed.  Three weeks later the sale was back on.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 I logged on 7am and dutifully filled out the form for only two hotels, although the option for four choices was available.  The deal was good, but no so good that I would fly across the country or to another country just for a two-day cheap stay at a luxury hotel.

My primary objective was to get a night at the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley so I could create a review for my future CarmelTraveler.com website.  $400 per night is above my economic comfort level, even though it can be a business write-off in my case.  I don’t make the kind of money with Loyalty Traveler (yet) to be throwing down $400+ per hotel night.

My second choice was Sedona’s Enchantment Resort and Spa and I picked dates when I knew I would be able to drive to Arizona for the stay.

I submitted my reservation request in minute 4 of the 80 minute time frame.  From what I have read on FlyerTalk, there does not appear to be anyone, or very few, who had a successful request from minute 4 to minute 80 of the promotion.  It truly was a speed event.

Even more unfortunate to those of us who actually planned viable hotel stays was the LHW hotel request option to receive any hotel reservation at the discretion of LHW.  Several persons posted in the FlyerTalk thread that the LHW hotel and/or dates given are not a viable option and the guest has no intention of using the successful $19.28 hotel reservation.

I held out hope for a discount room until today, a week after submitting my hotel request, and I received the following email from LHW:

Dear Richard Garrido,Thank you for participating in The Leading Hotels of the World’s 80th anniversary USD 19.28 Sale. We are sorry to inform you that we were unable to fulfill your travel request.

We appreciate your support and interest in our brand, and hope to bring you more celebratory offers in the future. As previously promised, all personal information obtained from you with regard to this promotion will be removed from our database. Should you wish to receive updates and news from The Leading Hotels of the World, please feel free to sign up for our e-newsletter at www.lhw.com.

Thank you again!
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

 

 

Congratulations to all the successful guests. 

As for this Loyalty Traveler – LHW 1928 – Rest in Peace.

 

My prior post on the LHW 1928 promotion has links to the earlier Loyalty Traveler LHW 1928 posts or you can link to all the LHW posts using the Categories links on the left side of page through Category “Leading Hotels of the World”.

3 Comments

  • casseybug October 30, 2008

    RE: LHW 1928 Promotion.

    This contest has been an emotional roller coaster for me. After spending 80 minutes at 5am with their first online failure, and a second time at 5am for a “postponed” offer, my desire for one of these hotels became even more obsessive.

    Last Thurs Oct 23,I submitted my hotel request for the Bernardus Lodge and Enchantment Spa in about 20 seconds.Both driveable from Los Angeles, and Sedona-couldn’t wait to go.Was my cable modem connection too slow?

    So what a disappoint, worse than losing a lottery or contest. A few years ago the LATimes travel section posted a hotel in SF offering room rates for the last two digits of your birth year. That did work out for me and I wish the LHW had done a similiar celebration offer. Something real and attainable with just a phone call. And a lot less drama.

  • Ric Garrido November 1, 2008

    Wow, you were quick in submitting your requests and for the exact same hotels I submitted.

    The good news for consumers seeking a luxury hotel deal is the downturn in corporate luxury retreats will likely lead to many more opportunities for bookable “real” discounts at 5-star hotels like we haven’t seen for some years, if ever.

    I recently repeated a Faster Free Nights Hyatt analysis using the same hotels and dates in 2008 that I used in 2007. The Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel was averaging $400 per night in Nov 2007 and is down to $225 in Nov 2008.

  • […] 30, 2008 LHW 1928 RIP One & Only, Reethi Rah, Maldives – Leading Hotels of the World member (photo courtesy of LHW) […]

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