Category Archives for Hotels.
The Andaz Bali was originally slated to open in 2016. It’s finally on the cusp of becoming available to guests – in just a week. Right next to the Hyatt Regency, it’s a smaller and more boutique property. The hotel features low rise buildings, as is common in Bali, meaning ocean views are somewhat obscured. The main pool is an infinity pool facing the beach.
Plenty of photos have been made available by those that have toured the property. It looks gorgeous.
The Renaissance La Concha Resort in Puerto Rico charges a resort fee that’s a percentage (18%) of the room rate. For award guests, then, the resort fee should be zero – since 18% of zero is zero.
Not wanting to lose out on hidden fee revenue from points guests, they charge Marriott Bonvoy members redeeming points a $30 resort fee for each night of their stay. There are two problems with this.
The hotel industry is asking for a $15 – $29 billion bailout, with 40% earmarked for hotel investors to make mortgage payments to big lenders. This is being pitched as something that ‘goes well with infrastructure’ which the federal government is preparing to spend $3 trillion on. Of course, the hotel buildings already exist and aren’t new infrastructure.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association’s chief lobbyist complains, “You have whole segments of our industry that did not receive any financial assistance whatsoever.” It’s not fair that everyone else has been taking your money and hotels haven’t been able to do so yet.
Dramaine Vinegar is suing the Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley and Marriott after an incident last year where, he says, he was told to ‘get the f- off the property’ by its manager while staying as a guest.
The J.W. Marriott Las Cabos Resort has been charging Bonvoy members a $30 per night redemption fee when staying on points.
That practice is ending and Marriott will be refunding guests that have been overcharged.
The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort has been charging guests a 2% fee for paying their bills by credit card.
In a move that may be ‘the most Bonvoy thing ever,’ the J.W. Marriott Los Cabos Resort says they charge guests using points a $30 redemption fee. This fee, or loyalty tax, applies only to free night awards and is not billed to guests paying cash. It’s not even disclosed in the rate details when booking a points stay.
Late Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson lent international support for China’s argument that their response to Covid-19 was world-leading. Sorenson knew that crushing the pandemic through any means necessary was good for travel and the hotel business. And he knew that flattering Chinese officials and supporting their narratives is key to staying in their good graces. China is a key growth market for Marriott.
New Marriott CEO Tony Capuano appears to be taking a similar approach.
The old Rio Las Vegas will become several Hyatt-branded properties with Hyatt Regency the first to come online, expected in 2023. Full service Hyatts in Las Vegas will be something new, but Hyatt isn’t telling us what other brands they’ll have yet and none of this will happen for several years. So that’s only of limited interest today.
What’s more intriguing I think is what this means for Hyatt’s MGM M life Rewards partnership.
The Hilton Honors terms and conditions rolled back and started showing 12 month expiration again. That’s a mistake. Hilton points still only expire after 15 months of inactivity (and expiration remains paused throughout 2021).
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 »
