News and notes from around the interweb:
- Wyndham Devalues Again. Effective March 26, they are recategorizing hotels. 3% are moving to a higher tier, 4% are moving to a lower tier but they won’t say which hotels are moving between the 7,500; 15,000; and 30,000 point per night costs. I pointed out that this leaves us to assume that hotels anyone would want to stay at are the ones going up, and ones nobody would be caught dead in are going down, I was told, “We’ve had this chat in the past, unfortunately, it’s just not something we’re able to share.”
Meanwhile, the one good thing about the program – the ability to redeem points for Vacasa vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night – is being gutted.
- 15,000 point price will apply to properties with an average cost up to $250 per bedroom per night
- 30,000 point price will apply to properties with an average cost of $251 – $500 per bedroom per night
- “Anything over an average of $500 per bedroom per night is not eligible for redemption.”
- 15,000 point price will apply to properties with an average cost up to $250 per bedroom per night
- The modern generic Airbnb aesthetic on SNL:
Chanel & Chanel Interior Design for Airbnbs pic.twitter.com/wDGYcxIYlC
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 3, 2024
- Kyoto to ban visitors from geisha district after surge in ‘out of control’ incidents
- Would this American Airlines passenger behavior be PG-13, since the man across the aisle didn’t post the full video?
- I Tested Positive for Explosives at the Airport Because of My Pills is that a little like testing positive for drugs after eating a poppy seed bagel?
- What it’s like to go on a nude cruise
Why doesn’t Kyoto just post some very clear signs about what’s prohibited, station some police in the area and fine the crap out of violators?
Doesn’t really seem like a Wyndham “devaluation” — except as it apples to Vacasa. Obviously, that has been absurd overvaluation (especially before the recent unpublished $350/room cap was implemented) and no overvaluation deal ever lasts, especially as knowledge of the deal expands. FWIW, Vacasa also suffers from inflated rental costs BEFORE you have to deal with the caps.. Like even $500/night didn’t get you better than a “meh” 40-year old 1-bedroom condo on Maul. Who pays $3500/week for a “meh” 1-bedroom condo?
@chopsticks – it’s only a devaluation of the good part of the program, sure…
@Gary Leff — But despite the implcation of your post, they’re mercifully leaving Wyndham redemptions basically alone — while further limiting a popular partner redemption (among astute gamers). That’s not really a devaluation of the program. Wouldn’t a 100x more informative title be “Wyndham imposes more limits on Vacasa redemptions”?
@chopsticks – “wyndham lops off value of its best redemptons” is a clear devaluation. and they won’t actually tell us whether they’re leaving the rest of their redemptions alone, they refuse to say what hotels are getting more expensive (3% – 4% is more than the pool of decent properties in their portfolio)