Did you know that Wyndham has a secret Titanium elite level? Do you know how early check-in, late check-out, and upgrades are supposed to work? And how much hotels get charged for your points, and paid when you stay on a free night?

When you join a hotel loyalty program, and stay at a property, hotels pay a portion of the revenue to cover the costs of the program and the points you receive. Then they receive money when you redeem points for an award night. They also receive specific guidance on how they’re supposed to implement the program’s benefits.

Here are some details on how the Wyndham Rewards program works at the hotel level – what rules hotels face when dealing with Wyndham Rewards members at their property.

How Hotels Are Charged For The Program

Hotels are charged 4.25% – 5.5% of the room rate, except that the loyalty program charge applies against total folio (everything charged to the room, not just the room rate) at Wyndham, Wyndham Grand, Wyndham Garden and Dolce Hotels. The charge is credited back for all stays where the hotel signs the member up for the loyalty program on property.

Each hotel is given a program enrollment target, and receives either a discount on its loyalty program fees for exceeding the target, or a surcharge for failing to meet it.

Employees earn 200 points per guest they enroll, up to 119,800 points per year. Meanwhile hotels are charged $50 per missing stay that Wyndham Rewards has to investigate and post. That’s an incentive to post stays correctly in the first place, and covers the cost of the program having to chase down missing stays.

How Free Night Awards Work

Hotels have to open all standard room inventory for award redemption. Award nights are valid for up to 2 guests in a room even where maximum occupancy normally allows more than 2 and a hotel can impose additional charges for more guests.

Hotels are reimbursed for award stays based on the given night’s occupancy level and their prior year’s average daily rate, but no less than $25.

Resort fees and taxes cannot be charged on ‘gofree’ full redemption stays. Unlike Hyatt and Marriott, when a guest fails to cancel a reservation by the cancel deadline, they lose their points – rather than a cash forfeiture amount.

How Elite Benefits Are Supposed To Work

Gold status is achieved after 5 nights, Platinum after 15, and Diamond after 40. Here are the benefits:

Wyndham Rewards has an unpublished Titanium elite level. The only benefit over Diamonds is an annual 30,000 point bonus posted in February. The Entity Principal of each Qualified Participating Hotel is eligible for Titanium Level provided the hotel receives an A or B in its inspection and is not suspending from accessing Wyndham’s central reservations system. If someone is Entity Principle for more than one hotel they can gift their extra Titanium memberships.

Upgrades to preferred rooms (only Diamonds and Titaniums are eligible for suite upgrades) must be requested by the elite member at check-in. You actually have to ask for your upgrade, it’s not incumbent on the hotel to be proactive, though asking for a room preference is considered a ‘best practice’.

Upon check-in at your property, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Titanium Members may request a preferred room of the same room-type that he or she originally booked for his/her Qualified Stay, go free award night, or go fast award night. Preferred rooms may include recently renovated rooms, more spacious rooms or rooms with a desired view or location.

Suite upgrades for Diamond and Titanium members, on the other hand, are supposed to be offered proactively.

Two hour late check-out is ‘subject to availability’ for all elites. No definition of what constitutes availability is provided to hotels as guidance for when to honor the benefit (other than “if your property has sufficient rooms available”). Similarly two hour early check-in is ‘subject to availability’ for Platinums and above with similar guidance.

A Welcome Amenity is required for Diamond and Titanium members at the following brands (though other brands are ‘strongly encouraged’ to provide one): AmericInn by Wyndham; Baymont by Wyndham; Dazzler by Wyndham; Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham; Esplendor by Wyndham; Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham; La Quinta by Wyndham; Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham; Ramada by Wyndham; TRYP by Wyndham; Wingate by Wyndham; Wyndham Alltra; Wyndham Garden; Wyndham Grand; Wyndham.

At some brands the amenity is presented at check-in, while others are supposed to provide it to the member’s room within an hour of check-in (up until 9 p.m., for later check-ins it may be delivered the next morning). No guidance is actually offered in the hotel guide on exactly what the amenity is required to entail – that’s included in the chain’s brand standards portal.

Oddly, the program guide states that perks are required to be provided to the member only and not to their traveling companions but that hotels are encouraged to provide benefits to companions as a courtesy. It’s not clear what on-property benefits would be provided to one guest in a room and not to another.