Category Archives for Hotels.
HotelSlash is a free site that will track your hotel reservations and let you know when prices drop in order to save you money. They also have access to private rates that are lower than what hotel chains sometimes offer.
For September 7 through December 31, 2021 they’re running PowerUp which is double points for all members on all stays, and triple points for co-brand credit card members.
A new lawsuit may shed light into risks staying in high end villas in Italy, with travelers guests and their belongings stolen – after having reportedly been advised by the villa company to “bring a good deal of cash.”
Hyatt is adding 100 new hotels with the purchase of Apple Leisure Group from private equity investors KKR and KSL Capital in a $2.7 billion transaction. Apple Leisure owns AMResorts and provides charter flights to Mexico and the Caribbean along with vacation packages through Apple Vacations and CheapCaribbean.com.
This gives Hyatt a presence in New European markets – they highlight Spain, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and Greece – and more all-inclusive luxury properties thian anyone else “such as Secrets Resorts & Spa, Dreams Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas, Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts and Alua Hotels & Resorts.”
Oh, Marriott. It’s one thing for your CEO to claim that guests need to have more sympathy for hotel owners when hotels are ignoring elite breakfast benefits. But what about when they’re not cleaning rooms, because they don’t have enough housekeepers on staff? And when a guest has to sleep in a room that hasn’t been cleaned?
Tiemshares generally don’t offer daily housekeeping to fractional owners, although many have historically offered the service to transient rental guests. They may offer housekeeping at a charge to owners.
Nevada requires offering daily housekeeping, and Hilton timeshares charge rental guests for it who want it – about $40 a day.
There’s a wonderful feeling returning home to a clean house. Early in my professional career I started paying a housekeeper to come, and returning home after they’d cleaned was a great feeling.
Staying at a hotel is wonderful when you get to return to your room and experience this every day. That is, at least where daily housekeeping was offered. Here’s what happens when it’s not.
They offer “chick-flicks playing in the cinema room” and drumsticks in the bedding, wallpaper, towels and even arcade machine. At ~ US$150 per night, guests can only stay a single night, though each room comes with $140 worth of free chicken that can be ordered via a ‘press for chicken’ button in the room.
If Marriott can’t deliver the most value to guests, those guests have options – more so than with airlines or car rentals in many markets. They don’t just compete against Hyatt and Hilton but also Airbnb.
However Marriott’s CEO – who says workers make too much money and guests need to have more sympathy for hotel ownership groups – says Marriott needs to balance “the expectations of our guests..and the financial realities that our owners and franchisees face.”
Several Destination Residences are now bookable with Hyatt points. Some of these are amazing properties, and even good value. However there’s a dangerous pricing precedent at some locations where there aren’t “standard rooms” and everything costs more than the standard award chart as a result.
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 »
