Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Getting Non-Compliant Hotels to Honor Program Benefits: the Latest Victory

by Gary Leff on January 29, 2019

Jan 29 2019

Hotel loyalty programs face a unique challenge that airlines don’t. Airlines set the rules and provide the product directly. Hotels have to get properties which are often owned and even managed separately to comply, with benefits like upgrades delivered consistently by individual employees at a front desk perhaps thousands of miles away. They rely on individual hotels and even employees to comply.

As a result it can be like playing whack-a-mole with individual properties. And with hotels around the world, members may be experiencing things on the ground that programs don’t know about. Or if they see an issue raised in passing it may not resonate with all of the issues they’re facing.

Hyatt Openng 40 West Coast Hotels Over Next Two Years

by Gary Leff on January 29, 2019

Jan 29 2019

Hyatt announced today that they would open 40 hotels on the US West Coast by 2021. They’re really just describing the current pipeline and there are a few things to note. We know about several of these properties already.

This significant growth in Hyatt’s footprint, however they’re stretching to get to their 40 and limited service is the name of the game.

Marriott’s One Shot Deal For Lifetime 75 Night Status Has Posted

by Gary Leff on January 27, 2019

Jan 27 2019

Under the new Marriott program all lifetime elites kept their current lifetime status from either program and everyone had until December 31 to earn lifetime status under old program rules despite the new program requiring more elite nights than Starwood had insisted upon and no longer required minimum points for status as Marriott had.

One quirk of the new program though is that it will not offer lifetime status higher than Platinum (50 nights). Legacy Marriott lifetime Platinums were 75 night platinums so got to keep lifetime 75 night elite. Starwood members with similar lifetime activity nearly lost their cookies over this.

Hilton Testing Confirmed Suite Upgrade Benefit for Top Elites

by Gary Leff on January 25, 2019

Jan 25 2019

Hilton has been talking for years about improving its elite benefits. Now they are running a test with confirmed suite upgrades for a small group of top elites, and using that test to model a potential new program benefit.

Drama-Laden Parker Meridien New York Rebrands Again, Now a Hyatt

by Gary Leff on January 23, 2019

Jan 23 2019

When Starwood picked up Le Meridien hotels they integrated most properties into Starwood Preferred Guest but the Parker Meridien properties in New York and Palm Springs were noticeably absent (presumably not wanting to pay the 5% fee).

During the depths of the Great Recession though they realized they needed the marketing muscle and joined the program in late 2008. They allegedly began stealing from Starwood Preferred Guest almost immediately.

Marriott CEO Trash Talks Indian Hotel Chains

by Gary Leff on January 22, 2019

Jan 22 2019

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson trash talked Indian hotel chains at Arabian Business in Dubai, suggesting that they might as well just stay niche players in India — they’ll never compete with Marriott.

Sorenson believes there’s no room for competitors now because of Marriott’s wide array of brands and loyalty program (“choice of price points, design sensibilities, and programmes”). He may overestimate their position, though.

Staying With a Baby at the Park Hyatt in Paris (All the Stuff They Do For You)

by Gary Leff on January 21, 2019

Jan 21 2019

I’ve stayed at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris many, many times. It’s not because it’s the single best hotel in Paris, rather I find it to be a nice hotel that I can book on points and I enjoy the neighborhood. It’s walkable to multiple metro stops, it’s a quiet neighborhood, and there’s good food nearby.

This was my first time staying there with an infant, and I didn’t even know what to ask for let alone expect.

Marriott is Lighting Millions of Dollars on Fire and Rewards Members are Paying For It

by Gary Leff on January 17, 2019

Jan 17 2019

Marriott is rebranding their loyalty program, with ‘Bonvoy’ launching February 13. There are no substantive changes whatsoever at that time.

Where does the money for this come from that the loyalty program is investing to transform themselves into Bonvoy? It comes from members, and more specifically from member loyalty accounts.

It’s Official: Marriott Says Bonvoy-age to SPG and Marriott Rewards

by Gary Leff on January 16, 2019

Jan 16 2019

Marriott launched its new loyalty program August 18, 2018 aligning the benefits of Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Ritz-Carlton Rewards. All accounts were moved over from the Starwood platform to Marriott.

However they kept all 3 program names, even though there were no longer differences between the programs. This has to do with contractual obligations. For members all that was left to wait for was the new program name.

60,000 Marriott Points for Europe in Business and Free Private Jet Flights is Bad Business, Who Knew?

by Gary Leff on January 12, 2019

Jan 12 2019

News and notes from around the interweb: Looks like all your can jet private flight app company JetSmarter is imploding. In the beginning they offered amazing deals (and burned tremendous cash). I only ever used them when they gave free trial memberships to customers with elite status and big mileage balances. The LAX Tom Bradley Terminal finally has PreCheck Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on flying coach: When speaking to the Royal Aircraft Association back in 2002, Prince Philip commented on the British royal family’s air travel conditions. “If you travel as much as we do, you appreciate the improvements in aircraft design of less noise and more comfort,” he said, “provided you don’t travel in something called economy class, which sounds ghastly.” Pan Am 103: Robert Mueller’s 30 year search for justice bet you…