Category Archives for Hotels.
A hotel like this shouldn’t just be telling you ‘we won’t honor your stay for the dates booked, choose different dates’ and leaving it at that. While that may be their rhetorical starting point (they don’t want to show weakness and reveal that they are going to wind up doing much more), that likely isn’t what’s going to happen here.
Marriott Autograph Collection properties in Mexico seem to take the autograph part seriously, and love NDAs. The Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun reportedly required non-disclosure agreements by guests before “allowing medical assistance or letting them leave” the property over Christmas, after becoming ill over the holidays.
“Underrated” can mean (1) a luxury property at a surprisingly low points category, or (2) a solid, under-the-radar hotel in a city/resort area that people rarely talk about but consistently exceeds expectations.
Hyatt has launched its winter promotion. Registration is required to earn double points on qualifying stays, and triple points at Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands, January 27 – March 28, 2025.
Marriott promises a lot to members, and frequently doesn’t delivery. Hilton doesn’t promise much, and so it rarely disappoints. Some Marriotts have even figured out a new way to avoid handing out upgrades, and I have to say that it’s really clever.
Proper room service is dying and that’s horrible. Many hotels dropped it entirely. Twelve years ago the Hilton New York eliminated it, the largest hotel at the time to do so. That saved them 55 positions (!) and they argued they had a grab and go market so you could still easily get food on property. Transferring the burden to the guest to go for the food, wait for it, and return to their room is not the same thing.
It’s running at 20% occupancy. Only half of the hotel’s chandeliers are turned on, to save electricity. The property’s HR manager has an M4 assault rifle and a Glock, and has bomb making skills.
Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas are no longer affiliated with IHG after a 15 year partnership. As of today, they are now partners with Hyatt.
If there’s one thing I try to avoid when picking out a hotel for vacation it’s the ‘resort factory’ – the kind of large place where you have to get down to the beach or pool before 8 a.m. and place a book or other belongings out to have any hope of getting a chair.
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 »
