Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Hyatt Extends Flexible Booking Policy Through June 30

by Gary Leff on April 2, 2020

Apr 02 2020

Hyatt has extended their coronavirus travel waivers so that prepaid bookings remain refundable through June 30. This matches a move already made by Hilton and Marriott.

There are, however, no new World Of Hyatt updates. So points are still set to expire again starting in June, elite status has only been extended for Asia Pacific members (who are not at this point in the epicenter of virus spread), and free night certificates have not been extended at all and continue to expire (although you should be able to convert expired certificates into points).

Marriott Extends Flexible Cancellation To June 30

by Gary Leff on April 1, 2020

Apr 01 2020

Marriott has updated its coronavirus policy, granting flexibility on cancellations through June 30th as well, though with no new information on what to expect from the Bonvoy program.

There’s a bunch of fine print to this. They’re warning that refunds may take 90 days; Design Hotels and Homes & Villas by Marriott are excluded; and this doesn’t apply to group boookings.

Marriott Data Breached Again: Personal Information From Over 5 Million More Accounts Compromised

by Gary Leff on March 31, 2020

Mar 31 2020

After disclosing one of the biggest data breaches in history at the end of 2018, Marriott is sharing another data breach – as if just to show that bad publicity, degraded customer trust, and massive fines alone can’t put Marriott and Bonvoy on the straight and narrow

How The King Of Thailand Is Self-Quarantining (He Isn’t Even In Thailand)

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2020

Starwood's Business Card is Better than the Personal American Express Card

Mar 28 2020

Thailand was the first country outside of China with a confirmed COVID-19 patient. It’s generally considered to have done well containing the virus, currently reporting just 1245 total cases, though I’m skeptical of testing and reporting at least outside of Bangkok.

The King of Thailand also must be skeptical, because he’s quarantined himself in Germany where there are over 56,000 cases. King Maha Vajiralongkorn has rented out the entire Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl to isolate himself “with his harem of 20 women and his servants.”

Hilton Offers 90 Days Of Free Gold Status, Fast Track To Keep Gold Or Diamond

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2020

Mar 28 2020

Hilton has offered status matches and fast tracks to elite for years. They’ve just extended their latest offer. Hilton will give you 90 days of Gold status which largely means free breakfast or lounge access and avoiding the bad rooms at the hotel.

This Is What Happens When A Travel Brand Can’t Get Out Of Their Ad Budget

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2020

Mar 28 2020

Between March 11 – 22 Hotels.com “spent nearly $3 million on TV ads, with the majority on reality TV and movies.” You don’t have to be Captain Obvious to realize that’s a lower-return investment than a drive through strip club or bottled watered for pets.

Marriott Lays Off Ambassador Customer Service Staff

by Gary Leff on March 27, 2020

Mar 27 2020

Marriott has laid off several members of their Ambassador customer service team, and will no longer provided dedicated agents to their best customers until “returning to business as usual.” Instead, Marriott tells me, the remaining group of their best customer service agents will be “dedicated to Ambassador Elites.”

Data Shows Just How Empty And Cheap Hotels Are Right Now

by Gary Leff on March 26, 2020

Mar 26 2020

For the week ending March 21, U.S. hotel occupancy fell to its lowest level ever recorded. Occupancy fell by 56% and average room rates fell 30%. Group (event) occupancy was down to 1%. And occupancy rates are likely even lower right now – we’ll just have to wait about a week to learn just how low.

What’s Happening To Expiring Hyatt Free Night Certificates?

by Gary Leff on March 26, 2020

Mar 26 2020

I’ve had several readers ask about expiring Hyatt free nights. They’re offering reservation cancellation flexibility, postponing peak season award pricing and hotel category changes and have paused expiration of points through May 31.

Like many other programs they haven’t said anything about elite status for the year yet. And they haven’t spoken to free nights – I have one myself expiring April 2. Here’s what I learned.

Hilton Extends Everyone’s Status and Freezes Points Expiration

by Gary Leff on March 25, 2020

Mar 25 2020

Hilton has come out with new accommodations for prepaid reservations, points expiration, free weekend night certificates and elite status. With customers largely not staying at hotels, Hilton is going to hang onto elites, extending everyone’s status. They’re extending the validity of everyone’s points and any credit card free weekend night certificates. And they’re extending flexible cancellation of prepaid hotel bookings by two months through the end of June.

Hotels

Hyatt Extends Flexible Booking Policy Through June 30

Marriott Extends Flexible Cancellation To June 30

Marriott Data Breached Again: Personal Information From Over 5 Million More Accounts Compromised

How The King Of Thailand Is Self-Quarantining (He Isn’t Even In Thailand)

Hilton Offers 90 Days Of Free Gold Status, Fast Track To Keep Gold Or Diamond

This Is What Happens When A Travel Brand Can’t Get Out Of Their Ad Budget

Marriott Lays Off Ambassador Customer Service Staff

Data Shows Just How Empty And Cheap Hotels Are Right Now

What’s Happening To Expiring Hyatt Free Night Certificates?

Hilton Extends Everyone’s Status and Freezes Points Expiration

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About Gary Leff

	Bilt Mastercard® Earn Points Paying Rent (up to 100,000 each year) plus earn 3x at restaurants; 2x on travel; as long as you make at least 5 purchases per month. No annual fee.
	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (See rates and fees)
	Citi® / AAdvantage Business^TM World Elite Mastercard® For a limited time, earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months of account opening. AAdvantage miles are the currency I've redeemed most.[See rates and fees]