Category Archives for Hotels.
Several hotels in Marriott’s Autograph Collection now hit guests with an extra $4.99 per night ‘sustainability fee’ that isn’t included in the room rate. The fee isn’t described on the hotels’ websites, either.
This appears to be a fee to sustain the hotel owner’s revenue since they do not even appear to be pretending that tacking on a non-optional fee – drip pricing – somehow benefits the environment.
One sweet spot is that MGM Rewards grants Gold elite status to Hyatt Explorist and Globalist members. This now includes a waiver of resort fees, upgrade at check-in if available (view, high floor); dedicated line at restaurants; and complimentary valet parking.
However if you’ve gained your Gold status via Hyatt you will not receive the Gold level’s $100 tier achievement celebration dinner. And if you redeem Hyatt points for your stay you will not have your resort fee waived.
I’d bet a lot of members will run afoul of this without realizing it, especially since it does not appear that Marriott has any controls in place to prevent you from giving away room nights more than 5 times in a calendar year and they haven’t told members about this new rule.
Hyatt and MGM have a partnership that dates back to 2013. They each offer members in the other program status matches – not one time matches, but rather status in one program ‘equals’ status in the other.
And the status year in each program ends at a different time. This creates an opportunity to still have status with one program, after your status has ended in the other, and to use that to ‘match back’ to regain status – in perpetuity, or as long as this tactic has continued to last (and it’s lasted for years).
The suite upgrade and celebration dinners are new, as are the formalized air travel credits though those betting to achieve top tiers wouldn’t normally be paying for things so the credits are a bit redundant. The elimination of resort fees for mid-tier elites is similarly welcome.
In making elite status harder to earn through non-gambling spend, though, it represents a strategic pivot away from using the program to attract families and other leisure guests that’s been a focus in recent years.
A woman in a red bikini became enraged when a black man approached the Diamond line at the front desk of the Hilton Rio de Janeiro Copacabana on December 30th.
She can be seen on video circulating in social media yelling at hotel employees. The woman’s partner, who was reportedly drunk, insisted they were in line first and took offense at elites cutting in line.
If you earned Platinum (50 night) or Titanium (75 night) elite status with Marriott in 2021 you only have until January 7th to make your ‘choice benefit selections. If you miss the deadline, you miss out on benefits like suite upgrade priority and free nights.
A reader shares they have a missing stay from December 27 that would push them over the threshold to earn Titanium. And Marriott won’t take a missing stay submission for that until January 10.
IHG is converting expiring credit card free nights to 25,000 points if you call and ask. If you do not call, you get nothing for certificates set to sunset after December 31, 2021.
Hilton and Marriott have extended expiring free night certificates. Hyatt has not. They’ve even said they’ll begin expiring points again December 31st. However they’ve quietly gotten much more generous in offering points for expiring awards, and in some cases even extending them on asking.
There’s even a surprise of points for top tier elites.
I’m going to ignore the math here and just say I don’t need the free night and I’ll enjoy the possible upgrade more if it comes through. In other words I’m going to waste money, perhaps frivolously, on something I’ll enjoy.
Why is it a waste? Because I’m probably better off taking the free night, saving $240 in cash I’d otherwise spend on a room, and using that cash for a better room on another stay or indeed on something other than a Marriott upgrade I’ll enjoy more. I’m going to do the thing that’s irrational because I’m rational enough to know that I’ll enjoy the irrationality.
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 »
