Intercontinental Hotel Group is opening a second Intercontinental property in Bali and has signed on an existing hotel to become a Holiday Inn. The luxury resort’s 104 rooms and suites will be located in low-rise cluster pavilions and will be complemented by 54 private villas, all featuring private pools with underwater seating, outdoor showers and private landscaped courtyards. The resort will also offer a wide selection of premium facilities, including a luxurious Spa InterContinental with spacious indoor and outdoor treatment areas, an all-day beachfront restaurant and specialty dining. Now, the existing Intercontinental in Jimbaran Bay is one of the very best Intercontinetnal properties in the world. Their club guests are met prior to customs and immigration and the airport and brought to the lounge while hotel staff process such formalities on their behalf. The club…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for March 2008.
Hooters Hotel to Be Sold and Re-Branded
First there was the demise of Hooters Air. Not comes news that the Hooters Hotel & Casino, off the strip in Vegas, will be sold and re-branded. Somehow wings and breasts aren’t enough to leverage restaurants success into other markets. In fact, the financal performance of the hotel has been dreadful. Bond analysts during the past few months have questioned the feasibility of the deal if the property kept its Hooters brand. Under the Hooters Hotel brand, cash flow has been falling at the property. Cash flow, defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, dropped 32 percent to $1.1 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. It was $1.7 million in the same period a year earlier. The property has yet to report its fourth-quarter earnings. Relative to the capital investment in…
Budget Rental Blows Off Their Promises — Limits Delta Bonus Miles After the Fact
The Budget Rental Car 5,000 mile Delta bonus has gone bad. Frugal Travel Guy writes that the terms and conditions of the offer have been changed after the fact. There was originally no limit to the number of times you could earn the bonus, now they’re limiting each person to (3) 5000-mile bonuses. For folks who have already rented more than three times in the promo period, with the express purpose of earning the 5000 Delta Skymiles, this is a huge deal. Hopefully Budget will do an about face here and do the right thing — At the very least, post the bonus miles for folks who have already rented and have receipts which say they’re earning their 5000 miles for the rental But what about folks who read about the bonus, saw that it…
Disgruntled Low-end Hotel Franchisees Tilt at the TripRewards Windmill
Some franchised hotel properties see a lot of value in their chain’s loyalty program. And others do not. (Hat tip to boazs.) In particular, several owners of Baymont Inn properties are displeased at chain parent Cendant’s move to include them in TripRewards, and impose the associated costs. TripRewards – This customer-loyalty program was designed to encourage repeat clientele by awarding guests points for each stay at a Wyndham property, thus benefiting the individual properties. But TripRewards has achieved neither of these goals, according to Patel, who said the methods that Wyndham uses to assess points are unfair to the owners because they generate profits for the company at the expense of the individual properties. “Wyndham has TripRewards structured so that when a guest checks into the hotel, they don’t have to show their membership card…
United Elites Now Have Aloha Airlines Lounge Access
It’s a minor new benefit, but United Mileage Plus elites now have access to Aloha Airlines lounges when flying Aloha. Simply present your Mileage Plus Premier, Premier Executive, Premier Executive 1K, Global Services card or Red Carpet Club card with a same-day boarding pass for an Aloha Airlines-operated flight.
Quote of the Day
Describing Atlantic City, via Joe Sharkey. “Atlantic City is one of the most disgusting places in the world.. It’s like Las Vegas got drunk and slept with South Jersey and this is their bastard child.”
The Death of the Restaurant Wine Pairing?
The Wall Street Journal carries a piece on restaurant wine pairings that suggests they don’t always offer the best thoughtfulness or creativity… and even use the pairing option as a way to push off bottles that have been open awhile and might otherwise go to waste. When the idea of wine pairings with each course was new, it seemed sommeliers were genuinely excited. Not only that, it seemed the only people who would order it — and pay the sometimes high freight — were wine lovers, so there was a certain connection between diner and server. Now that pairings have become routine, some restaurants see it simply as a way to move some wine and move along the diners. The romance is largely gone. We have found that when we order wines by the bottle,…
Why Delta’s Move Won’t Kill Off the Award Chart
A comment by Seth regarding Delta’s new pay with miles program encapsulates the real fear behind this program, that it represents a move towards the end of the ‘award chart’ in favor of fixed value redemptions (which means the end of valuable premium class travel for a small number of miles): [T]his is just going to embolden other carriers to shift the paradigm of the reward schemes to prevent the higher redemption values of long-haul premium cabin travel. If that sticks then the entirety of the miles game may just pack up and go home. I actually raised and dealt with this issue 21 months ago, in the context of United’s Choices program which predates Delta’s offering in this space. I contended it wouldn’t happen, and so far I’ve been right… but I was worried about…
Free Clear Airport Security Membership
Last month I flagged an offer for instant Hyatt Platinum status. Loyalty Traveler points out that Hyatt elites (including Platinum members) get their first year membership free in the Clear airport security program. I had thought the free Clear membership offer expired December 31, but I tested it and it appears to still be valid. Now, I really don’t have any desire to submit to an iris scan for the chance at maybe going through security faster, and I’m fortunate that most of the airports I transit have elite security lines (for now, at least). So I’m going to pass on this. But for folks willing to submit to their screening, and who prefer to save the cost of membership, just sign up for Hyatt elite status and then score your Clear membership.
Delta Last Seat Availability Redemptions to Return Summer 2008?
Tim Winship sketches the plan for Delta’s new three-tiered award structure. Regular readers of this blog know that on December 1, Delta axed the ability of its Skymiles members to use additional miles for last-seat availability. But the option will be coming back, albeit with a higher mileage price than before. Robertson also elaborated on plans for a revamped award structure, to be rolled out sometime this summer. The SkySaver awards will remain as is, allowing SkyMiles members to redeem 25,000 miles for a capacity-controlled domestic coach ticket. But the less restricted SkyChoice awards will be split into two tiers. Using the current SkyChoice domestic award as an example, Robertson explained that in place of the current 50,000-mile award, there would be a 60,000-mile award which guarantees last-seat availability, and a 40,000-mile award which would…
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