Category Archives for Hotels.
Hyatt and Chase, their co-brand card partner, have juiced things a bit so that card spend counts even more towards elite status through June. And getting the card now does, too.
Marriott is offering points with the biggest bonus we’ve seen – you are effectively prepaying for stays at a discount.
A 60% bonus on purchased points, that began May 18, was set to end June 30. This has been extended to run through July 15. The best previous deal I’m aware of was a 50% bonus, though of course Marriott points aren’t worth as much as they used to be either. They’re willing to sell you points at a cost per point of $0.0078.
TV reporters checked into a Hyatt, Hilton, and a Trump hotel in New York and left marks on pillows, television remotes, thermostats and other areas of the room with washable sprays and gels that show up under UV light to see whether cleaning procedures are being followed.
They checked back into the same rooms the next day to see whether sheets had been changed and high touch points had been cleaned. Two hotels utterly failed, and one hotel partly failed – enough so that you wouldn’t want to stay there.
Three months ago Marriott laid off Ambassador customer service staff as part of customer contact center closures, effectively gutting the personalized nature of the Ambassador program – which still requires customers to spend at least $20,000 annually, even with this year’s reduced elite requirements.
Now Marriott has gone a step further and just announced the closure of two call centers.
Marriott has about 100 hotels in China. To do business there is to acquiesce to the country’s leadership. Marriott has consistently towed the party line, as it did two years ago when spanked by the Chinese government for listing Taiwan as a separate country. They fired an hourly worker who ‘liked’ a tweet supporting Taiwanese independence and proactively removed banned books from hotels.
Now the CEO of the hotel chain Arne Sorenson is giving interviews on China’s effectiveness in containing the virus, adopting the country’s talking points and effectively assisting President Xi Jinping shore up a key vulnerability as he prepares for re-election by the Communist Party.
The precautions they’re taking are significant. They’re limiting the number of people each team can bring into the ‘bubble’ although reportedly in addition to an athletic trainer, equipment manager, and security officer each player can bring their private masseuse or security.
Everyone is going to have to wear Disney Magic Bans that’ll be used to check in for coronavirus testing. Anyone who tests positive will go into isolation housing, before being re-tested (given the risk of a false positive), and not be able to leave until consecutive negative tests. Players will also be able to track proximity and duration of time spent near others, as well as their temperature and heart rate.
Marriott is making it easier to qualifying for a higher level of status this year – and a side effect is all current elites get free credit towards lifetime status, and many may receive additional ‘choice’ benefits without even staying at any hotels.
The Bonvoy program is also putting award nights on sale for stays through July, by letting you book rooms at off-peak redemption prices this month.
Hyatt was first out of the box with a lucrative hotel promotion 2500 bonus points for your first stay if you’re elite, triple points starting with second stay for everyone. I took that as an opening gambit, expecting to see strong promotions to put heads in beds across the board.
IHG Rewards Club, the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Kimpton and related brands, is next up offering U.S. residents up to quadruple points on stays June 12 through September 8.
Uou can spend 30,000 points per night – same as before – and have all of your dining included, (even room service) booking rooms that run $1500++. The property re-opens in mid-July. It’s a special place, and right now a special value when you can find rooms available for redemption.
Hyatt is offering triple points June 15 through September 15, 2020 beginning with your second stay during the promotion period. The bonus is available at all Hyatt properties, and even at MGM and Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties that participate in World of Hyatt.
Members of Hyatt’s program with any status at all can earn 2500 bonus points with their first stay during the promotion.
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 »
