United’s generally worthless ‘luxury travel club’ is offering 50,000 United miles as a bonus when signing up for a 2-year membership ($500). That’s one cent per mile, plus you get 2 lounge passes and Starwood Gold status (and a couple other minor sundry items, like the ability to request a free leather travel wallet from one of their partners). The 3-month trial for $10, which still nets you the lounge passes and Starwood status but no miles, is still available.
Starwood has announced the name of its new mid-market chain meant to build on the W style while competing with Marriott Courtyards and Hilton Garden Inns. The chain will be called aloft. These first aloft properties will be located in Lexington, Massachusetts, Tucson, Arizona, San Francisco Airport, Philadelphia Airport, and Cherry Creek, Colorado. The company also stated that its UFOC, or franchise offering circular, was effective as of today and that it would begin to offer aloft licenses to qualified hotel owners and operators. Starwood anticipates the first hotels to break ground in early 2006 and open in early 2007, with 500 properties worldwide expected by 2012. Here’s what we know about their plans so far: Design visionary David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group, whose award-winning projects include the Kodak Theater, Nobu and the W…
Forbes runs a list of the world’s most expensive resorts. Unsurprisingly, Singita Private Game Reserve, Sandy Lane, and Eden Rock in St. Barts make the list. I knew there was a new One&Only property in the Maldives, and everything is pricey in the Maldives to begin with, but didn’t realize the rate class that it was in. It’s interesting that nothing in French Polynesia shows up on the list. Eden Rock checks in with a high season room rate of $888. Perhaps Bora Bora Nui (at $1000 to $1300 for an Overwater Bungalow) doesn’t make the list because it offers a handful of less expensive Beachside and Treetop Bungalows. I imagine that a new Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons on Bora Bora will manage to crack this list. And where is Cala de Volpe? I can’t…
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The New York Times carried a piece on the problem hotels face in trying to satisfy both Gen X and baby boomer business travelers. GenX wants hip (W) while boomers want classic (Ritz). GenX’ers are becoming increasingly important, the classic brands know this and are trying to graft onto their preferences without losing their core demographic. The gap isn’t just manifesting itself at the higher ends of business travel, either — Starwood is introducing a less-expensive version of a W to compete with the Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott Courtyard product (something that their Four Points brand fails at miserably).
The New York Times carried a piece on the problem hotels face in trying to satisfy both Gen X and baby boomer business travelers. GenX wants hip (W) while boomers want classic (Ritz). GenX’ers are becoming increasingly important, the classic brands know this and are trying to graft onto their preferences without losing their core demographic. The gap isn’t just manifesting itself at the higher ends of business travel, either — Starwood is introducing a less-expensive version of a W to compete with the Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott Courtyard product (something that their Four Points brand fails at miserably).
The New York Times carried a piece on the problem hotels face in trying to satisfy both Gen X and baby boomer business travelers. GenX wants hip (W) while boomers want classic (Ritz). GenX’ers are becoming increasingly important, the classic brands know this and are trying to graft onto their preferences without losing their core demographic. The gap isn’t just manifesting itself at the higher ends of business travel, either — Starwood is introducing a less-expensive version of a W to compete with the Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott Courtyard product (something that their Four Points brand fails at miserably).
It’s now possible to stick Priceline’s booking engine on your own website and, naturally, earn a commission for hotels booked through the site. A bit of trouble to set up, perhaps, but for the adventuresome it should yield a better return than the 3% offered by eBates.(Hat tip to Tripso Daily.)
Register to earn double points on Metroliner and Acela Express trains through the end of the year. (Whenever there’s a bonus that requires registration, register. You may not think you’ll be getting on a train, or flying between two cities, but you may wind up surprised — registering for the bonus gets you the miles you never expected.)
A timeshare company is offering 500 Goldpoints for entering their sweepstakes. 500 Goldpoints aren’t worth much — you earn 500 points just for updating your email address every three months — but I figure it’s worth a sales call because every year I transfer Goldpoints into Northwest miles to complete a partner transaction in the Fly Free Faster promo for 10,000 miles… (Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.)
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
