Category Archives for Hotels.
Overall it was exactly the stay I was looking for, and Airbnb was the right option for booking something in this location where there aren’t nice chain resorts where I could spend points and where other homesharing sites lacked the same beachfront inventory at the price for a similar home.
At the same time the Airbnb experience left me frustrated in many ways.
Hotels have gone through a deeper recession than any current executive or property owner has ever experienced. Many properties have closed, some will change hands. And costs have been cut wherever possible.
Guest expectations have changed too – around service and cleanliness – while there’s never been more of a need to compete for a limited amount of business, something that will remain true even as the pandemic comes to a close. Here are 7 things to expect for hotel stays going forward.
How have hotel stocks basically recovered to pre-pandemic levels, when U.S. revenue per available room is down over 50% year-to-year and business travelers aren’t on the verge of coming back any time soon even if there’s pandemic light at the end of the tunnel?
Marriott has a status challenge program where they’ll give anyone with at least mid-tier status in one of the major hotel loyalty programs and just one night of stay credit in the past year up to Platinum status in their program for 90 days, and a quick path to keep that status.
Starwood was a pioneer 17 years ago when it introduced “Westin Workout Powered By Reebok.” They’d make workout clothes available to guests, so you wouldn’t have to pack them but could still get exercise in. And they put exercise equipment in some rooms, too.
The idea was that a hotel doesn’t just give you a place to sleep, and maybe stay nourished, but helps you live your active lifestyle and be ready for the day with peak performance. The trend towards hotels offering a ‘wellness’ or lifestyle experience has only grown since then.
Former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, who recently failed in his bid with fiance’ J. Lo to buy the New York Mets, will invest in and front a $650 million hospitality fund which plans to acquire 20 hotels – largely in New York, Miami and Seattle but potentially also the Caribbean – and turn them into Hiltons. He’s already acquired the Curio Collection hotel in Miami.
Hyatt points for opening up their app on December 9th and playing a brief Headspace recording are posting. I’m surprised by the IT that made this work as there was no registration or indication on the app that they’d be bonusing this, just separate communication from Hyatt.
In countries where Covid-19 has been contained, quarantines are taken seriously. Taiwan was one of the earliest successes in keeping the virus at bay. Surveillance video is used to catch those who break quarantine. And there are consequences.
Marriott has devalued Bonvoy points for booking Homes and Villas redemptions. Marriott has a curated competitor to Airbnb, Bonvoy is one of the key selling points against this behemoth competitor with a huge head start in the space. But Marriott has chosen to erode its advantage.
Put another way, given broader devaluations in the program over the past couple of years, Marriott is just playing catchup adjusting down the value of points for homesharing stays.
The Andaz Singapore is taking a page from airline Basic Economy fares, offering a new ‘room only’ rate. When you think of room only, you may assume that it simply excludes breakfast or other inclusions. In this case they mean it literally: you can stay in the room, but have no access to the hotel’s gym or pool.
This also lets them sell rooms for less on third party websites without running afoul of best rate guarantees, since the restriction doesn’t apply to Hyatt direct booking rates.
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 »
