I posted that Starwood was ending their status match program with only a window of several hours left to request a match, and Ben over at One Mile at a Time did just that. He’s been sampling Starwood Preferred Guest, and offers his first impressions.
Roughly speaking I agree with them: that Starwood often overpromises and under delivers (upgrades are subject to availability at checkin and there’s little transparency or consistency across hotels in how that benefit turns out in practice), and that at hotels without club lounge facilities there’s not a huge benefit to top tier status when you aren’t upgraded (there’s no breakfast benefit outside of the lounge, all you get is free internet and 500 bonus points for being Platinum rather than Gold).
Starwood was an absolute pioneer, they were the first to offer no capacity controls on redemptions, if a standard room was available you could use your points. And they explicitly valued those points highly — you could convert to miles at 1:1 into most programs, some programs even 1:2, and there were bonuses for doing so. A Starwood point was worth more than a mile.
Starwood was also the first to write suites into the upgrade benefit, other chains either excluded suites from their upgrade language or were ambiguous. Sometime around 2005, Marriott – which had been ambiguous – specifically added language to their terms and conditions to say that upgrades were to the best available non-suite room.
So SPG had a huge advantage — the points were valuable and could be used any time, and the elite benefits exceeded the competition. Further, their 4pm late checkout even for Golds was (and remains) an industry leader.
But two funny things happened. First, other programs caught up. Hyatt and Hilton and to a lesser extent Marriott matched the no capacity controls on redemptions. You could use points in most programs nearly all fo the time, undercutting Starwood’s unique value proposition on the redemption side. And Hyatt trumped Starwood on the elite benefit side — they introduced 4 confirmed suite upgrades a year so that Diamond members could decide when they wanted the upgrade (eg on vacation with the family on Hawaii rather than on a business stay in a city) and be assured of it at time of booking rather than at the checkin desk. Hyatt also introduced free internet for elites, which Starwood was quick to match for Platinums and then which other chains jumped on as well.
Second, Starwood’s costs got out of control. Starwood Preferred Guest pioneered what they called ‘True Redemption’ and in order to guarantee that members could use their points most anytime they wished they had to pay their hotels more for those stays. Most nights they were paying out about a penny a point, or most of the time just a bit less. But when occupancy shot up above 90% for a given night, award nights were paid out to hotels at the property’s average daily room rate. In 2006 and 2007 with occupancy high and those average daily rates soaring as well Starwood saw its costs ballooning. So they made changes to their program to compensate.
They added a category 7, charging more points for their top end hotel properties. And with rates rising, more hotels drifted upwards into those top categories. Category 6 and 7 properties charge double when all they have are suites. So the really top-end aspirational properties because out of this world expensive. And in my view unfairly so — their room rates, which were a function of the type of property and type of room — made them category 6 or 7. But then the type of room meant that the program charged double. An all-suite property could generate the kind of rates to make them such an expensive redemption. But because they were all suite, the redemption price doubled. Members were being penalized twice for the same thing.
Now, back in the day without category 7 (or 6) and without these double points charges for all suite properties there were some real incredible redemption values in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Now the incredible experiences are astronomically expensive, and the structure of the program — intentionally shifted to control SPG costs — means that those really expensive properties are just too expensive to redeem at.
Like Lucky, I prefer to leverage my points for the very best rooms and very best hotels that would be outside the range of my wallet. And to do so at a points value. So perhaps the Conrads in the Maldives or Koh Samui, Bora Bora Nui (which I stayed at when it was a Starwood, but before category 7 was introduced, and which is now a much better value through Hilton), or the Park Hyatt in the Maldives. There are no such award chart ‘anomalies’ in Starwood. And so I’ll redeem at nice but not extravagant properties, cash and points whenever possible, and I’ll transfer out to miles. But I won’t splurge for a special stay experience. Which means I don’t want to be loyal, there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to chase.
Other programs, which adjusted to be more customer-friendly, following Starwood’s lead, have managed to contain costs and still offer the kinds of top-end experiences that make me want to come back.
Not all, mind you. I like staying on paid rates as an Intercontinental Royal Ambassador. And the Priority Club points program has tons of bonuses. But I don’t like spending those points because Priority Club is the only major program that specifically tells hotels they don’t have to honor elite benefits on award stays. I don’t want the reward for my loyalty to be worse treatment than when I’m earning those rewards, and so the growing number of properties giving less treatment on award stays has me reticent to use their points often times.
Still, Priority Club isn’t Starwood’s only competitor by any stretch. And I think the SPG program needs to step up its game — it’s seemed to rest on the laurels of its achievements from the first half of the last decade — in order to compete in an increasingly rich hotel program environment. It won’t be easy, but I do have confidence in the folks in White Plains!
Gary, generally an ok post, though I think for those that follow you and are exposed to you in other channels there is nothing new here. However, every time you bring up that Hyatt has surpassed Starwood by introducing the four confirmed suite upgrades it makes my blood boil. The very last thing I want Starwood to do is to exchange the current upgrade policy with an upgrade policy similar to that of Hyatt. Granted, I’m spoiled as I travel almost exclusively in Asia. However in the past two years probably 95% of my 70+ stays have been in suites. Where would I be with the Hyatt policy? How does that trump what I get with SPG?
@David my recommendation to Starwood would be to ADD confirmed suite upgrades, not to best available room at check-in including standard suites. Hyatt didn’t replace their policy, either (though their policy didn’t previously include suites). We can disagree but it seems pretty fundamental that (1) Hyatt offers the benefit their diamond members want most (suites) when they most want them (because they choose), and that (2) for most SPG members, suite upgrades are very hit-or-miss … and that they would prefer not to have to play check-in clerk roullette.
My only comment on this is that I’ve had pretty dismal luck actually using my Hyatt Diamond suite upgrades, and have heard others say the same.
I ended my first year of Diamond with suites in hand and am 0 for 4 in using them this year so far.
@Alex certainly the hotels you’re booking at (some hotels have more suites than others), and how close-in you’re booking (get them before they’re gone), will matter.
@ David – agreed. Like you, my stay pattern is predominantly Asia and am suite upgraded over 90%, most recently to an ocean suite in Hua Hin. Starwood is really at the top of it’s game in Asia, especially Thailand. I am afraid that rather than add a confirmed suite benefit, SPG would simply substitute that and eliminate the check-in benefit altogether
On a pure “value per dollar” basis, with benefits that are actually available and easy to use, the Starwood Amex still trumps every other credit card. (I routinely and effortlessly redeem Starpoints for Category 2-5 hotel stays at 2-4 cents each, and have gotten 5 cents or more for “cash and points” awards. Yes, on paper you can get a higher “exchange rate” redeeming airline miles for international premium cabin travel, but in practice availability is much more of an issue, and many of us don’t value the premium cabin experience at much more than 2-3 cents/mile.) “Value for credit card spend” is a key aspect of SPG that no one else has come close to matching.
@UAPhil I agree that Starwood’s co-branded credit card remains excellent, though of course less valuable than it once was due to (1) diminished airline transfer rates (2) award category creep and the introduction of new higher award categories (3) higher annual fee (4) fewer bonus offers than in the past.
In my opinion, what SPG really lacks is free breakfast for top tier elites… All the other competing hotel chains offer it except for SPG. What’s preventing them from offering such a basic top tier benefit? This is particularly annoying with all W Hotel stays. None of the W Hotels I’ve stayed at offer free breakfast, and this includes the W Taipei, which is the only hotel in Taipei (perhaps in all of Taiwan) that does not offer its top tiers free breakfast.
i agree with you gary re: starwood. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve gone to a starwood hotel — the latest was the w in times square — and was told even though i’m platinum spg, no suites avail. yet, they are right there online. it’s like : “what? do i have to book it myself to show you it’s there??” such a lie. i’ve been platinum 2-3 years…the first year, great upgrades..this year, i’m 0 for 4 in terms of suite upgrades: nothing in new york at the w times square, i got bumped up to a falls view room in iquazu falls..but not even on the renovated spg priority guest floor. i was in an old, dingy room..(great view though.) no suite. nothing at the park tower hotel in argentina…suites were avail online too, but i didn’t have the head to argue.. nothing at the sheraton rio — which actually took my booked king room away and put me in an outdated room that was filthy. disgusting…only after i argued for a day did they finally move me to a nicer room. i won’t be going for platinum again. not sure why starwood hotels don’t treat their platinums well any longer. we spend lots of money for the benefits…and to me, how hard is it to put someone in a suite?? doesn’t cost them anything.
@Carberrie — InterContinental properties do not offer complimentary breakfast.
An interesting conversation. What I prize most for obtaining top tier elite status is the opportunity to stay in large classical hotel suites with views that I would not otherwise be willing to pay for.
If a hotel has the suites available at the time of check-in there is little financial opportunity cost but tremendous goodwill and loyalty to be gained by offering that to their premier members.
UAL which has a substandard airline product has taken this approach with premium economy and free domestic upgrades and earned loyalty to their airline in spite of their deficiencies.
With regard to Starwood and some other premier hotel groups I believe they suffer from the perception that they only grudgingly hand out these upgrades and only to the next level.
While advance suite reservations are a major plus I often find that most of the Hyatt’s suites (e.g. Zurich, Kauai) while very comfortable and nice pale in comparison to some of the large beautiful suites in other hotels.
The problem with Hyatt’s 4 confirmed suites on paid stays is that my vacation stays are usually funded by points, which renders the confirmed suites worthless.
When staying at Hyatts, I end up getting the suites on business trips while scoring 0% suite upgrades when I’m on vacation and it counts.
In contrast, Starwood has remarkably come through with the most amazing suite upgrades ever. I doubt Starwood would add the confirmed suite upgrades considering their current program already is perceived superior to Hyatt’s by many.
In my opinion, SPG’s suite upgrade policy > Hyatt’s
@Gary,
How about the expansion of hi season vs low season awards?
And cash & points, the great value proposition, is disappearing from any of the desirable properties because (I’m guessing) their occupancy rates. And the reaction when you ask about it is “yes, the property has loaded the rate plan, so they are in compliance” but that doesn’t mean they ever added any availability. (I never get what we’re supposed to think when their reps post those replies.)
And when they finally rolled out their delayed Sheraton lounge policy (lounges open 7 days a week) they even managed to find a way to disappoint their most loyal members by not making it a benefit but a brand standard with no real definition of what happens if a lounge is closed. (unlike Hyatt, which awards Diamonds 2500 points plus full free breakfast for 2.)
Starwood has been over promising and under delivering. They really need to shake things up there.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like the program and I will attain top tier in both GP and SPG this year, but if I had to choose between the 2, it would be GP.
-David
Hi everyone As a platinium SPG member I have been assigned a Service Ambassador and he’s normally able to secure upgrades directly with the hotel staff, before check-in. And my stay pattern is centered in Europe.
Gary, good post. I agree to most of it.
To add to the conversation: the Hyatt guaranteed upgrades can only be redeemed on paid stays. Thus you will not be able to ensure you get a suite if travelling w s/o on an aspirational trip. I also had only a 50% success rate to redeem my guaranteed upgrade certs in the past….
I also travelled much in APAC between 2006 – 2009 and nearly always got a suite as SPG Platinum. However, since I now travel more in Europe and the US the success rate is much worse. Similarly to what Lucky is outlining in his post I’m sometimes very disappointed at check-in when no upgrade and no other on-site benefits other than the welcome amenity is provided. What the heck. I’m a platinum member and I get 500 pts and a bottle of free water (which glds get as well)?!? I really hope that SPG will soon step up their game. I don’t see why they would be unable to provide guaranteed free breakfast to Plats…
Ham
Guess I’ve been lucky, but I’ve always been upgraded, to suites as a Platinum and to a better than standard room (often with great views) as a Gold SPG member. I definitely value SPG’s unique benefit of unlimited upgrades, subject to availability, and am not bothered by lack of breakfast since in general prefer to find something great and unique outside the hotel. My take at http://travelsort.com/blog/whats-right-with-starwood-preferred-guest
@Olivier then you aren’t just a Platinum member, the Ambassador program is ‘different’ 🙂
Just as a data point, I requested a status match to SPG Gold based on my Hilton status and it was granted. So I don’t think all status match is out at SPG.
I agree with the majority that SPG is on the decline. I also have stayed 30+ times with them this year, have been “Platinum” for many years but think I am leaving them. Sheraton group is not so good anymore. Be careful of them – perhaps they have financial problems and because of this their points might become worthless as well?
Your post is right on the money. You expressed my feelings better then I could have. I have stayed at too many SPG properties where I could not tell the difference in what I was given as a Platinum Elite, over a general member (except the 500 plat points).
I think SPG needs to step it up and give a free breakfast when there is no lounge. There are many hotels, W’s have been the worst for me, where what did I get for being Plat – ?????
Compared to Hyatt – where if my upgraded room is not a suite (which I managed to get suites on about 15 of 25 stays last year) and just a room on a higher floor at least I know I have something special for my loyalty such as a free breakfast or lounge.
This SPG programme does not work anymore. I am Platinum and tried to use the “reserve room even when hotel full” listed benefit and they said they could not… What is the point of listing a benefit when the property says it is really busy!?! The service they give at this Starwood Platinum Concierge is just use-less.