Frequent Traveler University: December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City
The next Frequent Traveler University, in partnership with USA Today, promises to be the biggest gathering of frequent flyers ever — topping even last April’s sold out event in Northern Virginia.
The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City minutes from Washington’s National airport.
It’s a fantastic venue to support us all, and Hyatt has made available (2) $250 Hyatt gift cards for me to give away here. Gift cards that could be used on your stay during Frequent Traveler University!
All you need to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on this post. You may answer one of two questions,
- What would you most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers? Or..
- What is the most important thing for a conference host hotel to know, or to do?
Since there are two gift cards, and two questions, you may enter up to two times.
Just leave a comment or two comments and I will draw the winning comments at random from those left by October 14 at Noon Eastern. (Void where prohibited by law. All of my decisions are final and unappealable, I want to make giveaways as easy as possible and with the fewest headaches possible.)
And I hope to see you at the upcoming Frequent Traveler University!
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While not essential- A small gift basket is always nice.
Thanks….how to book Luthansa awards efficiently…
Want to learn how to maximize the routings when redeeming airline points/miles.
The host hotel should ensure that wifi in the conference rooms is available for free to attendees, that it’s easy to log on, that it works (and that any problems are promptly fixed), and is reasonably fast.
I would like to learn about which awards provide the most bang for your points within a given loyalty program.
Most important thing for a host hotel is to provide adequate space, both for the seminars themselves as well as the networking that goes on outside of the formal events.
How best to use points to fly to Asia.
The most important thing for a host hotel is to never run out of bottled water during the presentations/meetings.
I’d like to learn more about the smaller hotel chain loyalty programs (e.g. Fairmont hotels)
Most important thing for a host hotel is to have decent wifi and make it free to elite members.
The host hotel must have free wifi
The hotel should make sure to have all the signage up to date and very visible!
Host hotel should have wifi packages that include access in both public areas and conference areas.
How to efficiently spend points on a short-notice trips.
I’d like to learn more about rental cars. Getting the best deal on them is a mystery to me.
Free wi-fi is the most important thing for hotels to offer at any conference – in room and public areas
I would love to understand better the free stopover rules included with some award redemption programs
How to best use airline miles for international business/first class travel
Wifi. Fast and free for conference participants. Anything less is ridiculous.
I would like to learn more about using point for first class travel to the South Pacific
Count me in.
Understanding stopovers for international flights
I’d love some free travel! Which annual fee cards are worth keeping and “easy” ways to increase spend!
I would like to know the optimal way I could use a particular airline’s miles to fly on other airlines which belong to the same alliance (ex. oneworld, skyteam ect.)
I’d like to know the best and cheapest way to earn gold status here on out.
A comprehensive lecture on the sweet spots of award programs…when to use what type of miles to fly to a certain destination. With as thorough a destination list as possible.
Tips how to best redeem miles, esp across partners
Hotels need to make sure there are enough outlets and enough wifi bandwith for conference attendees.
Fast, free wifi!
free wi fi at hotel – breakfast too!
I would love to learn from the pros the most efficient way to use my points to fly across the globe. There is just so many exciting places I have yet to visit!
I’ve got the process of earning points down, although I need to be better at things like when is the best time to cancel cards and how to better time my signup so that I get the best sign up bonuses possible (signed up for the ink plus just a few weeks before the 70,000 offer).
But really, I need to learn from this conference how to be the wisest spender of points, making sure I’m getting the most bang for each mile.
A conference host hotel must know that the people staying there are elite travelers, and as such they expect high standards of service and amenities.
Hotels can be better hosts by providing signs! signs! and some more signs that include maps. If this is going to be the biggest FTU ever, I imagine there will be a lot of rooms associated with it, and I want to easily get from one place to another. Also provide something besides coffee.. I don’t drnik coffee and I’d also like something to drink in the morning, even if its just water. maybe…orange juice? 🙂
Host must provide reliable, free Wi-Fi.
I would like to learn how people find out about ultra cheap fares that have a tendency to disappear very quickly.
The most important thing for a hotel to have at a conference of frequent flyers is a good bar where you can find things out from the experts that won’t get mentioned in sessions.
booking awards is lot more difficult than earning miles/pts, I’d like to learn more about award booking tools like kvs & nexus.
Want to learn how to construct cheap fares quickly!
I think the most important thing a conference hotel can do is to have spaces that invite mingling adjacent to the meeting rooms. So many conferences either end up being too sterile to gather between sessions or everyone clumps up in the hallways making it difficult to move and loud.
How to keep my sofitel platinum status?
What I would most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers is how to know when the websites may not be showing the correct availability for rewards. I know I have come across postings of, “airline A’s website does not show something correctly, so cross reference with another website, or call the helpdesk”. I can never remember all of these nuggets and it would be useful to consolidate this knowledge.
Hotels need to realize that this group is the type clientele/future clientele that they want to attract to their brand. The property then should utilize their staff to show off the value of that brand during the conference.
Most important thing for a conference hotel to have is consistent performing wi-fi available to all attendees.
I’d most like to learn from frequent flyers to what lengths they would go to earn points…
Know who the attendees are going to be and cater services to them.
The host hotel should be prepared to handle a surge of checkins to limit the wait time of guests.
At a frequent flyer conference I would like to learn how to more easily find flights on partner airlines for which I can use points from a different airline.
Convention host hotels need to provide wifi throughout the hotel. And if they’re building a new hotel they should think about wider hallways near meeting rooms!
There are many varieties of “Frequent Flyers” attending: e.g. starting off; business travelers; domestic travelers; those wanting to begin international travel; etc. You might want to consider a breakout session where people of various subsets could gather and build relationships. Consider gather these interest levels during the registration process