Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

What Does Hyatt’s New All-Inclusive Chart Mean For Legacy Hotel Redemption Prices?

by Gary Leff on April 9, 2022

Apr 09 2022

As you can see from this chart, only Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta has changed pricing, going from 20,000 points per night to 25,000 points per night. Hyatt tells me, though, that Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta will be moving to Category B at 20,000 points in the next week.

I have to give Hyatt a lot of credit here. My first instinct is to wonder whether assigning existing all-inclusives to a new award chart would be an opportunity to raise the price of redemptions. Surely at most programs it would be! And they have not done this here.

I Just Learned I’ve Been Mispronouncing Marriott My Entire Life

by Gary Leff on April 9, 2022

Apr 09 2022

There’s a lot of words in hospitality that people get wrong all the time. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people refer to American A-Advantage, or A-Mex. But it never occurred to me that I’ve been pronouncing Marriott wrong for the last 20 years or longer.

Hyatt Introduces New All-Inclusive Award Chart As It Starts Adding 100 New Properties

by Gary Leff on April 4, 2022

Apr 04 2022

Hyatt is introducing a new award chart for all-inclusive properties. That’s because they used to have the Ziva and Zilara brand, but are now starting to bring the 100 Apple Leisure Group properties into the World of Hyatt program that they acquired. In fact, 6 hotels are already live and 50 more will be joining the program May 9. Kudos for speed, this took about 8 months from deal announcement rather than the traditional 18 months.

New Hotel Amenity: Talk Therapy, As Hotels Push Into Wellness Space

by Gary Leff on March 30, 2022

Mar 30 2022

Kimpton Hotels is providing free therapy to guests. They’re providing “up to 1,000 complimentary video therapy sessions with licensed counselors to any guest over the age of 18 staying at one of Kimpton’s 60+ participating properties.”

And the deal on mental health treatments extends even beyond the stay.

Hotels Are Practicing “Shrinkflation” And Hoping You Won’t Notice

by Gary Leff on March 27, 2022

Mar 27 2022

The hotel industry is practicing “shrinkflation.” That’s like when Doritos cost the same as before, but come in a bag with fewer chips. The price of a bag of Doritos hasn’t gone up, but you get less for your money anyway.

A New Way Marriott Is Cutting Breakfast Costs, Tells You It’s An Enhancement

by Gary Leff on March 27, 2022

Mar 27 2022

Fairfield Inns in Japan will offer breakfast boxes instead of hot breakfast.

This Marriott Hotel Charges Elite Members A Cash Co-Pay For Their Free Breakfast

by Gary Leff on March 26, 2022

Mar 26 2022

Gratuity is part of the cost of breakfast so for a breakfast to be considered complimentary guests must not be expected to pay cash out of pocket when they eat it. But the Delta Hotel Daytona Beach Oceanfront has figured out a way to charge elite guests a cash co-pay for their ‘free’ breakfast.

Venice Hotels Have Started Giving Guests Water Pistols

by Gary Leff on March 25, 2022

Mar 25 2022

Seagulls have become a nuisance along the Grand Canal in Venice, and hotels have adopted a variety of strategies to ward them off. Two in particular – Marriott’s excellent Gritti Palace and Preferred Hotels’ Hotel Monaco – have started issuing water pistols to guests.

20% Off IHG Reward Nights, New Program Details Coming

by Gary Leff on March 18, 2022

Mar 18 2022

IHG is running a 20% discount on hotel night redemptions, initially for co-brand cardmembers but other members should become eligible too. And they’re updating on when we’ll see new points-earning and elite benefits, too.

Warning: How A Marriott Bonvoy Price Change Cost A Reader Their Trip To Hawaii

by Gary Leff on March 17, 2022

Mar 17 2022

A reader made a points advance reservation at the Sheraton Kauai 34 days prior to check-in. They were quoted 200,000 points for a 5 night stay. They transferred points into their account, and more points were earned so that there were a total of 234,000 in their account. They were confident everything was in place.

However 11 days prior to check-in they receive a notice that their booking would be cancelled if they didn’t move more points into the account. They weren’t told how many they needed, and Marriott cancelled their Hawaii vacation.