Tag Archives for kimpton.
A decade ago IHG completed its acquisition of Kimpton Hotels. They outbid Hyatt for the asset, and promptly destroyed it.
Kimpton could have been a fabulous acquisition but IHG never understood what to do with it, and they were the wrong chain to pull it off.
Kimpton Hotels is providing free therapy to guests. They’re providing “up to 1,000 complimentary video therapy sessions with licensed counselors to any guest over the age of 18 staying at one of Kimpton’s 60+ participating properties.”
And the deal on mental health treatments extends even beyond the stay.
The 70,000 point per night Kimpton Seafire Resort on Grand Cayman offers pretty good award availability, but you’d better not have an emergency while you’re there and have to leave early – or get fed up with service failures either and decide to leave – because the hotel’s rules say they impose a $10,000 early departure fee.
They’ve tried to grow through strategic partnerships with MGM and SLH hotels, and through acquisitions such as Two Roads Hospitality which has given them Alila, Destination Hotels, Joie de Vivre and Thompson Hotels (as well as the nascent tommie brand).
Hyatt has actually tried and failed at other acquisitions. They were in the running for Starwood, probably even offering more money than Marriott, but their complicated stock structure (the Pritzker family retains outsized control) got in the way. Hyatt tried at the last minute to acquire NH Hotels but that door was already shut. They were also a bidder for Kimpton, but IHG beat them out by $100 million. (Hyatt was right not to overpay the way IHG did.)
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
IHG folded Kimpton and its Karma Rewards program into IHG Rewards Club. In the process they sanitized the benefits offered to elites, although they’re maintaining Kimpton’s top ‘Inner Circle’ level as an invitation-only program similar to Intercontinental properties and Royal Ambassador, with no public criteria for how members will earn it.
The upside to all of this is supposed to be for IHG Rewards Club members generally, more nice and interesting properties to use there points at. And that is now live on the IHG website.
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 »
