IHG One Rewards now offers 15% off reward nights at new properties. They’re promoting InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, Hotel Indigo Guadalajara Expo and Yours Truly DC, Vignette Collection as examples. Current offers require booking and staying by August 31, 2023.

• While they regularly promote award night discounts for elite members of the program and co-brand cardmembers, this discount is available to everyone.

• But since it’s available to everyone, and on new hotels, that makes it just… the price, not really a discount, other than to say they’re announcing in advance a plan to raise award prices for these hotels in September.

Remember IHG no longer publishes an award chart. Redemption prices change at whim. So what does a discount off of regular price mean when there’s no regular price published to begin with?

New hotels often take awhile to build up a clientele. They’re frequently quite empty at the start. Paid rates are lower as a result too (often but not always) as properties try to put heads into empty beds. Take Hyatt’s brand new Regency in Conroe, Texas that’s just opened – they expect to average just 30% occupancy for the rest of the year. It makes sense to use a chain’s loyalty program to do this.

Unfortunately this offer isn’t stackable with co-brand credit card fourth night free.