Category Archives for Hotels.
There are four major hotel loyalty programs, at least for Americans: Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG. Hyatt has the smallest footprint but the best benefits for frequent guests. Marriott is great on paper but most inconsistent at the property-level delivering promised benefits. IHG never had much in the way of benefits at all until last year when everything changed. And Hilton stands alone, promising almost nothing.
Top published hotel elite status in just 3 nights, plus the scoop of invitation-only Red status.
Joey Clift, an Emmy-nominated TV writer and proud Garfield enthusiast, recently found himself in an unexpected standoff at the Motel 6 near Los Angeles International Airport. This late-night escapade, sparked by a love for the lasagna-loving cartoon cat, unfolded in a series of tweets on May 26.
The Hotel Lucia in Portland has one of the worst resort fees in the country, among other strange practices. @travelbabbo stayed there and reports that they were surprised by the fee at check-out, asked what it included, and the property’s manager told him it was for bike rides, coffee, and use of the elevators.
Earlier this month there were reports that Rio Las Vegas had started limiting Globalists to a choice of 4 out of their breakfast menu’s 22 entrée selections.
A decade ago Hyatt’s growth was almost entirely in select service. Sure, Hyatt Gold Passport was a great program but how many hotels had suites to upgrade into? And how many had club lounges? Their footprint was small and they were adding Hyatt Places where benefits are sparse to non-existent.
We’ve finally found it: the hotel with the most egregious add-on fees in the country. Every other hotel can stop trying, because the 31 Street Broadway Hotel in New York cannot be beaten.
On top of the room rate, they charge 49% Destination fee, 47% Bed linens fee, and a $120.00 Property service charge per stay.
I was at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman when I first coined the term “resort factory.” There were about several rows of beach chairs, and if you didn’t place a book on a chair by 8 a.m. you’d find yourself four rows back from the beach.
Staff turned my table at breakfast, seating someone else, while I was up at the buffet. And housekeeping entered the room without knocking while the Do Not Disturb sign was on my door. That was probably my… best Ritz-Carlton stay.
For months, the Renaissance Newark Airport has been dealing with Legionnaire’s Disease in its water system. The hotel remains open – telling guests not to shower.
They continue to take bookings – and enforce their cancellation policy. One guest was told they wouldn’t be able to shower – a hotel room doesn’t include full use of the room! – and they didn’t want to stay. There are plenty of other hotels nearby, where the room rate includes use of the shower. The hotel’s answer? They’d still have to pay.
The Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel is under scrutiny after canceling a planned pro-Israel summit, because of threats by Palestinian activists. The event, organized by Christian ministry HaYovel, was scheduled for May 20-22 and expected to attract approximately 500 attendees, with 400 having booked rooms at the hotel.
Speakers were set to include former U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, Israeli journalist Caroline Glick, and a member of Israel’s Knesset.
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 »
