Category Archives for Hotels.
I’m not sure why Marriott didn’t announce a promotion to coincide with the launch of their new program name, why they are spending money on printing and postage to announce the promotion, or why they’ve failed to get up the promotion website that they’re mailing members about — other than to say of course that’s what happened.
Significant cash deposits are being required by some Marriott properties when booking an award. They say they’ll charge you cash up front and give it back at the end of your stay.
What’s more these are very poorly disclosed during the booking process, the credit card charges would come as a complete surprise to most people.
In the fall Marriott revealed one of the biggest data breaches in history, and certainly the biggest known breach in travel.
In all 383 million records were hacked including 5.25 million unencrypted passport numbers, 8.6 million payment cards (most expired). Marriott has not revealed whether the notes they’ve taken on you were revealed.
Basically all we know is that there will be a new loyalty program, probably mostly marketing changes but I believe some unspecified improvements too, and new partnerships that won’t be super relevant to folks in the US.
Over time we’ll see them better integrate their hotel investments and their non-hotel investments through the new program. For now though the program announcement seems… premature.
In October I wrote that I expected Wyndham to abandon their one price for all hotel awards and move to a tiered award chart.
Specifically four years ago they introduced 15,000 points per night at all hotels and when they introduced redemptions for timeshares and vacation rentals those were also priced at 15,000 points (per bedroom) per night.
That’s happening. They’re also tweaking elite benefits and adding new earning and redemption partners. And there’s a last chance to transfer La Quinta points without losing half their value.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
There’s a new website managed by OneTrust that lets you check if your information was part of the Marriott data breach.
In all 383 million records were hacked including 5.25 million unencrypted passport numbers, 8.6 million payment cards (most expired). Marriott has not revealed whether the notes they’ve taken on you were revealed.
Hyatt just announced their new promotion and it’s surprisingly good. February 15 – May 15 members earn 1000 bonus points per night (1500 bonus points at Hyatt House and Hyatt Place brands) starting with your second stay.
At Marriott and Hyatt the payment a hotel gets for your award night is not linked to the number of points you pay.
Most hotels actually want your award business. If you’re taking up a room that would otherwise go empty, it’s pure marginal revenue. And if you’re taking up a room on a night they’re full they get a large payment – generally equal to their average rate for the year, though not as high as the highest rate they might charge on that night. One hotel is even warning members about the impending award chart price increase for the property.
ilton’s CEO suggests that Marriott’s troubles have been Hilton’s gain.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said on the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that the Honors program added 14 million new members last year, a 20% increase to a total of 85 million. He attributes that to guests shifting from Marriott. But that’s not at all suggestive of what he thinks it is.
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 »
