New business traveler needs help choosing a hotel chain

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 32 total)

  • KeaneJohn
    Participant

    One thing that hasn’t been mentioned and every little helps is that some loyalty schemes you can choose either the hotel scheme OR get the miles/points credited to an airline’s FFC.

    Hilton allow you to Double Dip (not sure if others do as well) and get points for both Hilton Honors and your airline.


    SimonRowberry
    Participant

    VK and KeaneJohn both make very valid points about Hilton.

    I’m currently HH Honors Gold (having been Diamond for the last three years but stayed one night too few to re-qualify for that tier in January).

    The programme has been seriously devalued over the last few years (since new ownership) but I remain loyal to the chain, probably for reasons of sentimentality. The trick is, Consultant1, to keep an eye on all bonus programmes Hilton are operating. For example, at the moment they are offering a 100% uplift on all points earned each night. Although the bonus points don’t count towards tiers, they do make reward nights easier to achieve under Hilton’s recent (and, as VK rightly implies, stingy) increase in redemption points needed per night across all categories of property.

    Starwood, however, offer superbly consistent upgrades in my opinion. A Starwood Gold often gets upgraded to suites and the benefits are material (as they often are in Hilton, to be fair). I’ve not made Platinum with Starwood yet, but my understanding is that the benefits far outweigh Hilton Diamond.

    Interestingly, I stayed at my first Hampton Inn ( a truly unfortunate name for a hotel chain, if you’re a Brit!) last weekend. It was in the UK and was actually at least comparable to Sheraton’s Four Points brand, if not better. I can certainly recommend both concepts. Furthermore, stays contribute to tiers for both Hilton (Hampton Inns) and Starwood (Four Points).

    Hope this helps.

    Simon

    PS I hope I got the grammar and punctuation right, VK 😉 !


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    An associate seems to have a very good deal with Holiday Inn. He uses a Holiday Inn as a long term residence i.e. 24/7 – 365 days a year., His deal includes substantial discounts at Holiday Inns worldwide. When he visits London he manages to get rooms at prices well below any internet rate.

    I know your requirement is for travel within the USA, but this may be one other option worth exploring.

    Just as an add on, my asociate is happily married and lives at home, but this stratergy of hotel bookings, appears to work for him and his company.

    As an add on, nice to see we have a possible film star amongst us, now the secret one has suggested he could be George Clooney!!!


    Consultant1
    Participant

    VK: Thanks for the negotiation help. That would be great if I get to stay in a higher end property for the money it would normally cost for a middle of the road hotel.

    Mark: Thanks for the input on hotels with kitchens. I noticed that you don’t have any Starwood hotels on your list. Do you choose not to stay in a Starwood equivalent of the properties you list, or is there no such equivalent?

    KeaneJohn: I have heard that it is a better deal sticking with the points instead of trying to do miles and points, and getting miles straight from my flights. I think that’s what I’m going to do, unless someone tells me otherwise.

    Simon: Thanks for your input on Hilton, I really appreciate it. It sounds like Starwood, Mariott, and Holiday Inn/Intercontinental are getting the best feedback.

    Martyn: Intercontinental / Holiday Inn wasn’t on my radar before, but from what I have heard here it sounds great. I just looked at Intercontinental’s website and it looks like they have a lot of nice resorts I can save my points for, so I may try it.

    Thanks again everyone, and if you have time please keep the tips coming!


    RichHI1
    Participant

    I believe Element is the Starwood brand with kitchens.

    On the negotiation front, face to face is best with the reservayions director but you won’t get far without a track record or a promise of a certain number of stays. This can be you personally or together with colleagues if you visit the same cities at different times or together.
    As VK says check the websites and the broker sites like priceline. If yuo see a good price on the broker sites try gettign the chain call center to beat it, that way you get the points and decent room choice plus the good rate.
    Starting off you should try AAA rates as most properties offer good rates to AAA. Also the further ahead you book the more likely you are to get good rate. Do not assume the website will show you the promotions, hunt around on tabs marked offers or promotions. You can often get a better deal if you extend stay to check in Sunday night or check out a day later. The hotel games is all about inventory management and once you have a track record you can approach a chain for a deal if you can prove 50+ nights stays with a chain.

    Lastly, you probably have done this already, but check Corporate policy on travel benefits. Some corporations beleieve they have a right to a share or all of these benefits and I believe some states have even tried to tax them as income in kind.
    Happy trails


    CallMeIshmael
    Participant

    Consultant

    If your Business in the US takes you away from the international airport cities which will be well serviced by the responses above, take a look at

    http://www.choicehotels.com/

    It has the advantage of having a presence in all cities and most average towns across the US plus some international.

    In addition the large brand range means you can find something to suit your budget and needs for both business and personal. The quick reference icons on a specific hotel landing page enables you to rapidly identify the availability of services.

    It’s privilege card is a good rewards scheme too.


    MarkCymru
    Participant

    Tanks RichHI1 — I walked past an Element last week (in Manhattan) but didn’t know what it was. I haven’t tried one but I will — they look quite good. Eco-friendly, too!

    Looking at the website reminded me of one of the reasons that I most like staying at these “extended stay” hotels (residence Inn, Candlewood, etc…): they allow pets. I never travel with mine (sadly) but it’s very nice to run into people walking their dogs — at least at the suburban ones. One lady told me that she was rushing to walk the dog and do her laundry (all of them have washers and driers on site as well as the normal laundry services). I offered to walk the dog and was allowed to, which really made my trip!


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    The Choice Privileges programme is really not a contender on the same scale as Marriott or Priority Club; Choice’s affiliation to its “luxury” partner Preferred Hotels is looser than that with the other existing programmes which are closely integrated into the same group. The alternative is Barcelo Hotels which is a chain where middle class people from the North get married, possibly wearing white stilettos.

    A redemption at a Choice Hotel partner is less likely to honour elite status benefits, and having had a brief look, those benefits pale in comparison to those offered by the other schemes.

    As a consequence I would discount Choice from your planning.


    CallMeIshmael
    Participant

    Consultant1

    If coverage is as important, Choice has significantly more locations than any hotel chain thus far noted. It caters for long stay and has a variety of suite offerrings.

    When there isn’t a Fairmont or good boutique hotel nearby, I use Marriott, alternating between Marriott Gold (50 nights) and Silver (20) with varying benefits. I also use Choice Hotels in the US as there will always be one nearby without travelling into the nearest City. With Choice Privilege you just continue to rack up points to exchange when you wish – there is no status but they don’t time expire.

    Choice also has cheaper end brands which will enable you to earn reward points even when you are “bumming it” over a weekend at your own cost.

    If you wish to cash-in your awards then it includes “more than 500 of the world’s finest independent luxury hotels with Preferred Hotel Group”

    http://www.phgoffers.com/program2.aspx?id=379

    http://www.choicehotels.com/en/choice-privileges/gp/partnerhotels?sid=xUSTQ.keHaOg997i.1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_Hotels

    Taxes are seldom shown on header room rates in the US so expect to add a further 10-20%

    As an aside, the only chain eatery I frequent in the US is Texas de Brazil. If you are fortunate enough to find one on your travels give it a try.

    http://www.texasdebrazil.com/


    RichHI1
    Participant

    You have some advice but nothing beats personal experience. I would try 3 or 4 different chains and then make your own mind up. These things are very subjective and the balance of benefits and the varying needs different travelers have account for the plurality of opinion. I guess there is no absolute right answer but you have a lot to ponder over.


    Irons80
    Participant

    One watch out is that I have found booking on some sites (e.g. hotels.com), whilst earning you a tasty 10% cashback on sites like Quidco, will not earn you loyalty points. I have found this with Rezidor / Radisson Blu in particular – they don’t award points on heavily discounted rates


    Communipaw
    Participant

    Consultant1, I live in Texas…Perhaps I can be of assistance.

    What cities do you plan on visiting?


    Communipaw
    Participant

    Forgot to mention…as I general rule, you can’t go wrong with Marriott, Hilton or Radisson. Those are the ones I use most on my business trips.


    Consultant1
    Participant

    Rich: You’re right, I will probably end up trying a few different hotels to see what I like, but it’s things like upgrades/recognition/point value and others that I won’t be able to judge after staying somewhere for a week. It’s also nice to hear good things about specific hotel chains because I’ll try them first.

    Communipaw: I really don’t know where my projects will be. To give you some idea my first one is probably going to be in New York City, and most of my colleagues are also in bigger cities like Dallas, Denver, Chicago, etc, but some are also in cities in the middle of Washington, Missouri, Massachusetts, etc.


    RichHI1
    Participant

    For recognition, upgrades and award redemptions I do not think you can beat Starwood however in the categories you are loooking at Hilton and some of the others may have higher numbers of properties. I started out many years ago focused in pointss and frequent guest schemes but as VK said, if you travel a lot you join many schemes and you will end up qualifying at elite level in most of them. I think you will focus on the convenience to where you are going, a comfortable room and a good night’s sleep and no unexpected nasties whether they are bed bugs or other people’s charges on your folio posted on your card 2 weeks after you checked out.
    Checking your points balances is just something you do to pass the time as they de-ice the plane for the third time in St Louis …
    Ah the glamor of business travel…(just wait ;-))

Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 32 total)
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