The rumor at this point in time based on FlyerTalk posts is the Hyatt Gold Passport “Big Welcome Back” promotion will be one free night earned after every two stays or 5,000 bonus points for every two stays between March 26 and June 30. The redemption date for free nights is April 1- August 31.

To repeat: this is not official from Hyatt until the offer is posted sometime this next week, but FlyerTalk is generally where the news breaks first.

Some people actually prefer points over free nights, but since a free night can be used at a category 5 hotel normally costing 18,000 points per night, the free night is much higher value for most of us.

I am particularly looking forward to accumulating some nights since my wife has nine weeks of summer vacation to really take advantage of some nice extended hotel stays.

Some additional items to point out:

1. Costco is selling two $50 gift certificates for Hyatt stays for $80. This can cut your cost down by 20%. I saw a huge rack of Hyatt certificates when I was in my local Costco this week.
2. In several comparative studies I have made over the past month for five different cities, Hyatt has been the highest average price of all the major hotel chains for their properties. Compare prices, shop around, and use Costco certificates to bring the price down.
3. Check special offers. Hyatt Hotels sometimes have incredible discounts on senior rates if you are eligible.

A full analysis will come on this promotion once the official terms are posted on Hyatt’s website. As far as hotel loyalty promotions go, a free night after every two stays is as good as they get.

The hotel media is acting like this is the first year there has been competition for hotel loyalty program members. I see loyalty wars as a continual endeavor and there is really nothing remarkable about 2010 except for the fact that elite status is easier to get with several programs this year.

Best Western Rewards is currently offering instant elite to members of other programs. So what?

Hyatt has been giving away elite status for a year now and most programs will match your elite status with another hotel program.

My favorite line from the SmartMoney article is from Bjorn Hanson of New York University Tisch Center for Hospitality, “Before you switch loyalties, though, crunch the numbers on rewards to make sure you are getting the best deal.”

Great advice for a loyalty member, and I agree with this, but does anyone care to lay out a method for how to “crunch the numbers” on hotel awards in different hotel loyalty programs?

In the April 2010 issue of InsideFlyer I proposed a method for comparing hotel loyalty program awards. The InsideFlyer article is not easy reading, and I fault myself for not being a better writer, however, I wanted to show a way I think allows a frequent guest to “crunch the numbers” on hotel awards to compare hotel award value between programs. I think the method works for a basic comparison.

The rest of this post is a step by step explanation of the problems encountered when trying to compare hotel programs and award value between programs, followed by an example of how I compare award value for seven hotels in San Francisco. This article is also not an easy read, but useful if you are into calculating the value of hotel points.

Difficulties with calculating hotel award value across programs

There are several difficulties encountered when trying to crunch the numbers on hotel awards.

Here are a few of the variables:

Hotel loyalty programs have different rates for earning points.

• Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus gives 20 points per $1 for Radisson Hotel stays, 15 points per $ for Country Inn & Suites.
• Hilton HHonors members earn 15 points per $1 if earning preference is set for Points & Points, but only 10 points per $1 if earning Points & Miles.
• Gold Passport members earn 5 points per $1.
• Starwood Preferred Guest members earn 2 points per $1.
• Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club Rewards members earn 10 points per $1, except when staying at Marriott’s Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites, or IHG’s Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites.

Award Categories Are Difficult to Align Across Programs    

Hotel loyalty programs use different award levels for classifying hotel awards and the hotels are unevenly distributed across award levels for different programs.

Is a Hilton category 7 the same as a Starwood category 7 award?

A person on FlyerTalk made an analysis the other day equating these two award levels in a comparison of which program offered the best value. The Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf (category 7) or Embassy Suites in Seaside, California, a few miles from my home, are nowhere near the same hotel market segment as the Hotel Gritti Palace (SPG category 7) in  Venice, Italy or the Mystique in Santorini, Greece (SPG Category 7).

Uneven Distribution of Hotels Among Award Categories

The distribution of hotels within a program’s award category levels is variable. Hilton has just 42 hotels of 3,500 hotels in category 1 for 7,500 points a night; a little over 1% of its properties. Marriott Rewards has 288 hotels in category 1 after the March 8, 2010 changes. Marriott has almost as many hotels as Hilton in its loyalty program, yet seven times the number of hotels in its category 1 award level.

You could argue that Hilton has higher quality properties justifying fewer hotels in category 1. I don’t buy that argument.

Elite Status impacts the rate you earn loyalty points

Elite status offers the potential for up to 50% more points, but earning elite status is dependent on your hotel travel pattern. Marriott only counts nights as the one route to elite status, while all the other programs offer an additional route to elite status. The rest (except for Priority Club) allow elite status qualification for fewer stays than nights. This is the more favorable route to elite for a frequent guest who typically only has one night stays. Hilton HHonors allows elite membership to be earned through spending. Priority Club counts total earned points for elite qualification and bonus points earned through promotions and partner activity count.

Crunching the Numbers the goldpoints plus way

Carlson’s goldpoints plus award calculator shows the commonly used method for comparing hotel loyalty programs. The number of hotel nights is multiplied by the average room rate and the total base points are calculated.

Example of loyalty program comparison at goldpoints plus www.dothemathsite.com.

The calculations shown are based on $3,750 in annual hotel spend.

The calculator accounts for elite status, but does not tell you what level elite status is being used. It appears each night is being counted as a separate stay.

Elite Status

goldpoints plus = Gold after 20 stays or 40 nights = 50% elite bonus

$3,750 x 20 points/$1 = 75,000 base points + 37,500 elite points = 112,500 points

Marriott Rewards = Silver after 10 nights= 20% elite bonus

$3,750 x 10 points/$1 = 37,500 base points + 7,500 elite points = 45,000 points

Hilton HHonors = Gold after 16 stays or 36 nights = 25% elite bonus

$3,750 x 10 points/$1 = 37,500 base points + 18,750 bonus points (Points & Points 50% bonus) + 9,375 elite points = 65,625 points

Priority Club Rewards = Gold after reaching 20,000 points or 15 nights = 10% elite bonus.

$3,750 x 10 points/$1 = 37,500 base points + 3,750 elite points = 41,250 points

Starwood Preferred Guest = Gold after 25 nights or Platinum with 25 stays.

$3,750 x 2 points/$1 = 7,500 base points + 3,750 elite points = 11,250 points.

Note the dothemathsite.com calculator inconsistency for HHonors v. goldpoints plus.

Goldpoints plus is calculated using Gold status which requires 20 stays or 40 nights. Obviously the stays requirement is used for goldpoints plus in this example based on 25 hotel nights. But Hilton HHonors Gold is reached with 16 stays or 36 nights. The calculation shown for the dothemathsite.com result is based on nights for HHonors and results in just a Silver elite 15% bonus. Silver elite requires 4 stays or 10 nights.

Actually HHonors Gold elite should be used to be consistent in the comparison or the goldpoints plus points should also be based on Silver elite and only a 25% bonus for a total 93,750 goldpoints plus points rather than 112,500 points.

The inconsistency in the dothemathsite.com is a calculation error and not the main issue with this hotel loyalty program comparison method.

The real problem I see?  Using free nights earned as a basis for comparing hotel programs on the surface seems like a reasonable measure for comparing the value of different hotel loyalty programs, but I find this method has a couple of problems that are not so apparent.

First, the category 1 level comparison implies all category 1 levels are equivalent among the different programs. I have already explained how this is not the case between Hilton and Marriott.

Starwood Preferred Guest is another program with a pretty vacant list of category 1 hotel properties. There were around 75 Starwood hotels in category 1 in 2005 and today in 2010 there are just 29 hotels in category 1. As the number of hotels in Starwood has increased, the number of hotels available as category 1 hotel awards has decreased.

The second problem is with the mid category comparison.  The calculation explanation on DotheMathSite.com states the middle category is used for comparison.

The calculator bases Hilton awards on category 3 at 25,000 points. This does not account for the recent changes which makes category 4 the middle award level. Regardless of the Hilton category level used, there is no basis for comparing programs on each program’s defined middle category level. That just doesn’t align with real hotel award placement.

When the lights go down in the City

San Francisco is a good example for showing how this arbitrary alignment of hotel award categories is not grounded in the actual placement of hotels.

San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf has hotels in all the major hotel chains. They are all fairly identical within a couple of blocks of each other, three or four stories, and none with anything particularly outstanding in their architectural features or amenities. They are all upscale hotels in the same hotel market segment with similar room rates most of the time.

Here are the actual hotel category placements for seven hotels in this area.

Radisson Fisherman’s Wharf = goldpoint plus category 4 = 40,000 points

Hilton Fisherman’s Wharf = HHonors category 7 = 50,000 points

Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf = Priority Club tier 3 = 25,000 points

Holiday Inn Express Fisherman’s Wharf = Priority Club tier 3 = 25,000 points

Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf = Gold Passport category 3 = 12,000 points

Marriott Courtyard Fisherman’s Wharf = Marriott Rewards category 5 = 25,000 points

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf = Starwood Preferred Guest category 4 = 10,000 points

My Award Value Analysis Method for Comparing Across Programs

The main issue to address is the need to adjust these awards requiring different number of points to a common scale to allow a value comparison.

Step 1. Determine the room rate which requires an actual hotel stay date. I pick Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Step 2. Calculate award value for each hotel based on room rate divided by points needed for award night.

Step 3. Apply an adjustment factor to correlate the rate hotel points are earned to the award value to create a common scale for comparison. The award value adjustment factor is explained below.

This table shows the results of steps one and two.

Step three is using an adjustment factor to place each hotel program on a similar scale. For example the Hilton HHonors member earning Points & Points is accumulating base points and bonus points at the rate of 15 points per US dollar. The Starwood Preferred Guest member earns points at the rate of 2 points per $1. Reaching 10,000 points for the Sheraton award night could require as much as $5,000 in hotel spend while the HHonors non-elite member would only need to spend $3,334 to earn 50,000 points.

Elite status bonus points, promotion bonus points, credit card transaction points, and partner activity points are additional variables for earning points that are significant factors in real travel.

But for now, this is the baby steps introduction to crunching the award numbers. This adjustment to award value to enable comparison between programs will only consider base points and elite bonus points similar to the calculations in the DotheMathSite.com analysis.

Hotel Award Adjustment Factors to place awards on similar scale of 10 base points/$1)

Adjusted Award Values for Hotels at Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco

 The gap between the programs closes up. You can see the Hilton Points & Points earner falls in the middle of the pack. Hyatt and Marriott are at the top, however, they are also the most expensive hotels for that night. Using points for these two hotels is great for an award night, but not so desirable if paying cash. If one program is consistently higher priced than another for same market segment hotels, then you may need to spend more money to stay all the hotel nights you need during the year.

Award values ranked by hotel and program:

1. Hyatt  7.88
2. Marriott  7.16
3. Radisson  5.80
4. Holiday Inn Express  5.52
5. Hilton (Points & Points)  4.05
6. Holiday Inn   3.96
7. Sheraton   2.98
8. Hilton (Points & Miles)  2.70

Holiday Inn Express ($138) and Hilton ($135) have similar prices and Holiday Inn Express comes out a significantly higher award value at 5.52 compared to Hilton’s 4.05.

And if you take Hilton HHonors Points & Miles, meaning your rate of earning Hilton points is reduced by one-third the base points, then award value for Hilton is the lowest of the lot.

While Starwood comes out low at 2.98 for a member without elite status, the impact of elite status on award value is quite apparent.

Adjusting Award Value to Account for Elite Status

Members may earn as many as 50% more points per hotel dollar spend dependent on elite status.

Throw in a low elite status and now the Starwood Preferred Guest has a higher award value at the Sheraton than the Holiday Inn and matches the award value for the Hilton Points & Points earner.

Here are the award values ranked for the Fisherman’s Wharf hotels and low level elite status:

1. Hyatt    9.05
2. Marriott Courtyard   8.59
3. Radisson   7.25
4. Holiday Inn Express   6.07
5. Sheraton   4.47
6. Hilton (P&P)   4.46
7. Holiday Inn    4.36
8. Hilton (P&M)  3.11

The award value ranking changes again when considering top elite status. This is primarily due to Starwood not increasing at all from low level elite as an effect of SPG Platinum status while Hyatt increases from 15% to 30% and the other programs all increase to a 50% elite bonus.  

The rankings shift again when the elite bonus points of top-tier loyalty members are factored into the earning side of the award value equation. Courtyard now moves to the top and Priority Club leaps above Hilton. This is due to the fact that a Priority Club Platinum member is earning 50% more points at 15 points per $1 in hotel spend. The Hilton Points & Points member is only earning 33% more points at 20 points per $1 as a Diamond member, compared to 15 points per dollar for the HHonors member with no elite status.

Hotel award value rank for Fisherman’s Wharf for high elite loyalty members

1. Courtyard  by Marriott   10.74
2. Hyatt  10.23
3. Radisson   8.70
4. Holiday Inn Express   8.28
5. Holiday Inn  5.94
6. Hilton(Points & Points)  5.40
7. Sheraton   4.47
8. Hilton (Points & Miles)  4.05

The Missing Factor – Promotions, Promotions, Promotions!

Promotions are variable. My opinion from watching promotions across the different loyalty programs for several years is the promotion points earned with Starwood, Hyatt, and Priority Club make up a far higher percentage of total points earned during the course of a year of hotel travel than seen with Hilton or Marriott. Actually quantifying the promotion variable is difficult and the ability to earn promotion points is dependent on your travel pattern.

Ignoring promotions favors Hilton and goldpoints plus due to the higher level of base points earned per $1. In real travel promotion points and other bonus points from credit cards and partner activities are additional factors to be considered. Over the past couple of years Hilton HHonors has taken the lead with credit card earning while falling behind on promotion points earning compared to other programs.

So what’s my point?

The bottom line and the point of this post is to illustrate how “crunching the numbers” is actually quite a bit more involved than one might think when reading a simple statement from the SmartMoney.com, “Before you switch loyalties…crunch the numbers on rewards to make sure you are getting the best deal.”

I have thought about how to crunch the numbers to compare awards between programs. I present a method here that is far from perfect, but at least provides a simple starting point for comparing award values between hotel loyalty programs.  I think this method is more accurate and fair in its comparison of hotel award value between programs than I have seen in other analyses.

A Typical Third Night Free Offer and Why Country Inn & Suites Offer is Atypical

Starwood Hotels and several other hotel chains regularly offer third night free promotions. Third night free promotions generally imply a rate reduction of 33% on a three night stay. The problem is the rate used for the third night free offer often results in a discount much less than 33%.

Here is an example of the typical offer:

Hotel Gotcha offers a third night free rate.

The rate is $150 per night for the 3^rd night free promotion. You pay for two nights and the cost for three nights is $300. You get the third night free. The 3^rd night free rate is usually a prepaid, nonrefundable rate.

But, when you go and check other rates for Hotel Gotcha you find the AAA rate is only $109 per night. Three nights is regularly $327 and you can cancel up to the day of arrival in case your plans change. So while you are saving 33% on a $450 hotel stay with the third night free promotional rate, the actual room rate you could have otherwise booked was really only $327. Your actual savings is only $27 and not the $150. The 33% discount turns out to be an overall 8% discount rate.

Country Inn & Suites Third Night Free Offer

My searches of Country Inn & Suites hotel rates revealed some interesting features of this promotion.

First, the 3^rd night free is truly the 3^rd night free. Typically for promotions of this type the rates for the three nights are averaged and 33% is taken off the three night average rate. And typically the room rate is quite a bit higher than the otherwise lowest available rate so the 33% discount is much less as shown for Hotel Gotcha above.

A few participating Country Inn & Suites hotels are specifically listed as offering 33% off each night of a three night stay. This type of 3^rd night free discount only applies to ten hotels of 500 Country Inn & Suites properties.

Here is how the Country Inn & Suites third night free works at most hotels.

There are two Country Inn & Suites in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area of California. Hotels in Silicon Valley typically run high rates from Sunday through Thursday nights, often more than double the room rates available for a Friday or Saturday night weekend.

Country Inn & Suites, Sunnyvale, CA

One bedroom Junior Suite, 3-night stay, Friday, March 26 – Monday, March 29

• Friday, March 26 = $119
• Saturday, March 27 = $106
• Sunday, Sunday March 28 = $170  (free)

Despite the third night rate being $170 and $64 higher than the previous night, the three night rate is not a discount on the three night average rate. 

Instead, it is truly the third night free.

The three night rate is reduced from the regular total rate of $395 to just $225 for the two paid nights. An average room rate of $75 for three nights is a 43% discount on the regular nightly rate and exceeds the 33% discount implied in a third night free offer.

Checking other rates shows this $75 per night average rate with the 3^rd night free offer is a huge discount for a junior suite compared to the otherwise lowest rate using AAA at $120.90 per night. 

The flip side of the third night free offer is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday night stay (March 25-28) at this hotel results in paying the high priced Thursday room rate and receiving the lowest priced Saturday night free.

• Thursday, March 25 = $173
• Friday, March 26 = $119
• Saturday, March 27 = $106  (free)

Average nightly rate is $97.33.  The discount on the regular rate of $398 for three nights is now only a 27% savings.

The Country Inn & Suites third night free promotional rate can be leveraged to your advantage to maximize the discount by choosing your three night stay to coincide with the third night being the highest rate night. 

Two other two interesting points about this offer:

Suites and specialty rooms are available at some Country Inns & Suites hotels using this offer.

Hotels I checked showed a cancellation policy up to date of arrival. This is a no-brainer consumer friendly cancellation policy since the typical third night free offer is a prepaid nonrefundable rate.

Check this Country Inn & Suites offer out. You may find your extended hotel stays over the next two months are quite a bit cheaper than you had anticipated.

As you rack up those 15 points per dollar spent at Country Inns, along with an online booking bonus, and the 3,000 points per 3-night stay bonus, you may find yourself in the market for a 25% or 50% discount on award nights through goldpoints plus from April 1 through May 31, 2010. Save 25% on award nights at Country Inn & Suites or Park Inn hotels worldwide. Save 50% on award nights at Radisson, Radisson Blu, Regent, and Park Plaza hotels worldwide.

Honestly, I wasn’t going to write about this story due to the exclusive nature of the program. I don’t have much interest in a club I can’t join and most Loyalty Traveler readers won’t be invited to join.

The power of the media is demonstrated when an article in USA Today spreads across the hotel magazine information world in a matter of a few days.

The irony of the recent media publicity is the Starwood secret elite program is a not-so-secret program to readers of the FlyerTalk “Starwood Preferred Guest” forum. Within the Starwood forum is an 18-page thread started over 13 months ago on February 4, 2009 titled, “Hello, I am your Starwood Ambassador”.

Starwood Lurker, a nearly ten year veteran of FlyerTalk and social media representative for Starwood on FlyerTalk, explained the program on February 9, 2009 in this FlyerTalk post:

“My apologies for any confusion; hopefully I can help clear up some questions on the Ambassador program by providing what I know.

The Ambassador program is a new, trial program Starwood is launching outside and complementary of any programs or benefits offered by SPG. As some have already outlined in this thread, each participant in the program is assigned a personal Starwood representative (Ambassador) who will assist them with any travel needs. The Ambassador program is one of a number of pilots and programs that Starwood consistently runs to ensure that we are always serving the evolving needs of our guests. To be clear, this program in no way diminishes the value of the SPG program, nor the value we place in our program members.

As of right now this is an invitation-only program, with no specific entry thresholds or benefits.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide”

Several of the participants in the Starwood Ambassador program have positive experiences to share in their posts on the FlyerTalk thread over the past year.

From my point of view – I have not seen any diminishment of my complimentary upgrades during my Starwood Hotel stays over the past year. I love an upgrade to a preferred view and/or a bigger room.

And Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum elite membership is an open club for anyone who cares to plan out an annual loyalty strategy, invest some cash in Starwood hotel stays, and meet the published criteria.

I don’t have a Starwood Ambassador to help with my stays, but I have simple needs. And I have to say the Platinum Concierge phone number on my SPG Platinum card has handled my hotel needs to my satisfaction since 2003.

To all you recipients of a Starwood Ambassador, I’m sure you deserve the attention. Your potential for substantial hotel revenue is a strong driver for personalized service. For the rest us who may not be so profitable to Starwood Hotels, well, loyalty is still rewarded with Starwood Preferred Guest.

There are not a lot of Morgans Hotels, but hotels like the Clift in San Francisco are popular for their city.  

Participating hotels are:  Ames in Boston, Sanderson in London, St Martins Lane in London, Mondrian in Los Angeles, Morgans in New York City, Royalton in New York City, Hudson in New York City, Clift in San Francisco, Delano in South Beach, Mondrian in South Beach, Shore Club in South Beach. 

The fine print for the promotion reveals a member can earn Elevate points for up to three rooms per stay as long as the Elevate member is a guest and pays for all three rooms. 3,000 points per stay is not a bad haul.

What is the value of 1,000 Elevate points?

I actually have not flown Virgin America yet. I had to look up the value of 1,000 points. My sample itinerary for San Francisco to New York JFK showed a roundtrip award ticket cost as low as 10,606 points + $5.00 in fees for April 13-20, 2010.

The truly surprising revelation was the published Virgin America fare came out to a total of $249.40 for this ticket. That is a relatively cheap cross country air fare for San Francisco – New York.

The value of 1,000 Elevate points in this example = $23.51. 

I don’t know if there are better award value ratios for Virgin America awards, but that ratio does not motivate me to jump on this offer. The points required for an award are tied to the published fare so it looks like there are limited leverage opportunities for Elevate points.

Loyalty Traveler Key Value: 2 Keys out of 5 Keys (Okay for a stay, but don’t go out of your way.)

This is an opportunity to earn some Elevate points if you have a hotel stay planned for one of the Morgans Hotel Group properties this year, however, it does not look like 1,000 Elevate points have all that much potential value as a hotel rate rebate.

Carlson Gold Points gives a 10% point discount off the per night award rate for every additional night of a hotel stay award. A category 6 hotel at 60,000 points per night for the first night of an award stay will cost 54,000 points for every additional night. The longer your stay the closer you come to an overall 10% point savings on the award.

Goldpoints Plus has the competitive advantage of being the only hotel loyalty program to offer a discount on two and three night award stays, but the trade-off is a lower overall discount compared to Hilton four night or longer stays or to Marriott or Starwood for stays of five nights or longer.

But also remember that IHG Priority Club, Hyatt Gold Passport, Best Western, Choice, and Wyndham do not offer any discounts for multi-night award stays. Goldpoints plus offers a step in the right direction for guests staying multiple nights on an award.

Marriott Rewards had a progressive discount until the 2009 program changes to a simple 5^th night free award program. The former award table priced hotel stays with each additional award night up to seven nights receiving a greater discount on the per night rate. A seven night category-7 hotel award was discounted 39% on the per night rate. This was Marriott rewards most distinctive hotel loyalty program competitive advantage. This feature was changed in 2009, although Marriott Rewards still offers a progressive discount for Ritz-Carlton award stays.

Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) currently offer 5^th night free awards. This is a nice 20% discount if you have a five night hotel planned. Stay one to four nights and you receive no award stay discount. The full per night right means a four night award stay is the same cost as a five night stay.

The 5^th night free award structure offers a maximum savings of 20% if your hotel stay is 5 or 10 nights. The overall savings is less when your hotel stay is six to nine nights, which is typical for a weekend to weekend vacation that can run from Friday night of one week through Saturday night of the following week and require a nine night hotel stay or an extra day off work.

The table below shows how the overall 20% discount for a five night stay (or multiple of 5 nights) drops for stays longer than 5 nights.

The overall discount percentages are the same regardless of hotel award category and these same discount percentages shown for Marriott award stays apply to Starwood Hotel awards using 5^th night free. A category 3 Starwood hotel at 7,000 points per night will be an overall discount of 12.5% on the points required for an eight night hotel stay award.

Hilton HHonors has the competitive advantage on multi-night award stay discount

Hilton HHonors actually made an enhancement to its hotel awards when it started offering four and five night VIP awards at a discount. Prior to the January 15, 2010 change, Hilton only offered a discount on award points for elite members when a stay was six nights or longer. American Express HHonors card members had a four and five night AXON award option, but these awards were not offered through Hilton HHonors.

The 2010 HHonors award structure has a set discount rate for stays of four nights or longer. A four night award will save 15% points on the per night rate. The VIP 5 night award offers a 20% discount on the per night rate. Six nights or longer and the discount is 25%.

HHonors offers the frequent guest a competitive advantage for stays of six nights to nine nights with a 25% discount whereas Carlson awards are discounted just 8 to 9% , and the Starwood or Marriott discount drops from a 20% discount on five nights to 16.7% for six nights and only 11.1% for a nine night hotel stay award.

The full list of 600 Marriott hotel award category changes effective March 8, 2010 can be found here.

J.W. Marriott awards follow the current industry trend of luxury at bargain prices

J.W. Marriott hotels, the premier Marriott brand fully within the fold of Marriott Rewards, reduced award cost in several locations through a one level reduction in hotel award category. The website shows 54 named J.W. Marriott hotels in the system and nine of these hotels dropped one award category level.

Six of the hotels were reduced from category-6 at 30,000 points per night to category-5 at 25,000 points per night. The award cost for a 5-night stay has basically dropped from 120,000 points with the 5^th night free discount to 100,000 points for these category-5 upper upscale hotels.

Kuala Lumpur, a long-time destination for luxury at bargain basement prices, sees the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur retreat from its category 5 status to category-4 at just 20,000 points per night.

Two other high category J.W. Marriott hotels dropped. Santa Monica’s Le Merigot was in the newly created 2009 category-8 award level at 40,000 points per night and now is a cool 5,000 points per night less in category-7 at 35,000 points.

The popular J.W. Marriott Ihilani on Oahu (one of my favorite hotels to use as an example of the high cost of Hawaii vacations) dropped from a category-7 award down to category-6.

120,000 points for a five night stay at the Ihilani hotel is probably a good points redemption award much of the time.  Throw in a little cash and an extra 5,000 or 10,000 points per night and you might get the Hawaii ocean view upgrade, even if you do not have high elite status. Maui is consistently the highest priced Hawaiian Island. If you want bargain resorts, and not Oahu, then Kauai is the island of some good hotel deals.

J.W. Marriott Caracas is the only JW Marriott to move up; from category 4 to category 5 in the 2010 changes. How typical for Venezuela to run against the current.

Three of the new Marriott Autograph Collection hotels sound like southern dreams with the rebranding this month of the Grand Bohemian Hotels in Asheville, Orlando, and Savannah from their Preferred Hotels Group affiliation. These three hotels are listed as category 5 hotels in Marriott Rewards.

J.W. Marriott Hotels in lower award category for 2010

Ritz Carlton is the number 1 luxury brand according to the recent BTN survey of corporate travel bookers, and you can even use your Marriott points for free nights at the RC. Some great deals and a trend of moving down several hotels from the 70,000 points per night Tier 2 level down to 45,000 points per night as Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton awards available with Marriott Rewards points.

Category-4 and category-5 hotels were the big unknown in the hotel award shift since the announcement last month of the award category changes provided an early release of changes, but only for the higher categories beginning with category-5 hotels moving to category-6 and category-6 hotels moving down to category-5.

Category-4 and category-5 hotels contain some gems. There are upper upscale full-service hotels in some locations that will be the top of the line hotel for that city. , there are the international locations where the Marriott or Renaissance address identifies you as a serious business person or tourist with a prominent hotel address.   This is the award category area where room rates can easily fluctuate from $100 to $300+ per night. Some upper upscale hotels will provide a great award value when your stay aligns with high cost.

China Post-Olympics

Here are some notable examples of category-5 hotels (25,000 points) dropping down to category-4 hotels (20,000 points) last week. The change results in a 20% award cost reduction for 2010.

Beijing, China has seen the Marriott Hotel City Wall, Renaissance Beijing Capital, and Renaissance Beinjing Chaoyang drop from category-5 to category-4. Hong Kong Sky City Marriott.

Airport Layovers get Cheaper

Renaissance London Heathrow dropped from category-5 to category-4 as did the Orlando Airport Marriott. At London Gatwick the Courtyard dropped from category-4 to category-3 reducing the cost of award nights by 25%. Toronto Airport Marriott also dropped to category-3.

Germany mostly up

Nine hotels in Germany from the full-scale Marriott and Renaissance hotels to Courtyards across the country from Hamburg to Heidelberg increased a category level.  The Renaissance Karlsruhe went the other way dropping from category-4 to category-3.

Russia up too

For a city that led the world for highest hotel rates just two years ago, the increase from a category 4 to a category 5 for two Marriott Hotels in Moscow still seems like a steal.

USA College Towns See a Pattern of Increases

From State College, Pennsylvania to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, the Courtyard Hotels apparently have been booked and award rates have seen the rising. You will pay more points when you are sleeping with the Washington Huskies in Spokane, WA or the partiers in Chico, CA; and across the country to the old money at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee or Old Dominion College in Norfolk, Virginia. College towns are hotel boom towns in 2010.

Staycations Outside the D.C. beltway

Virginia, District of Columbia, and North Carolina have seen rises. Virginia Beach is hitting the big-time resort award categories with three former category-5 hotels reaching category-6 and even the Fairfield Inn Virginia Beach rising to a category-5.

Head south – a lot of Florida is a little cheaper in 2010

Almost 1 in every 6 Marriott brand hotels dropped in award category for 2010 is located in Florida.

The Miami Beach Marriott South Beach was knocked from its perch at category-8 and is now down to category-7 for this year. For the leisure traveler seeking something a slight step down from luxury, the Ponte Vedra Beach dropped from category 6 to 5. Five hotels in Orlando are 5,000 points less as well as six other full service Renaissance and Marriott hotels dropping from category 5 to category 4.

And nearly 40 other hotels from the ranks of Courtyard, Springhill Suites, and Fairfield Inn have been reduced for Florida travelers.

Marriott Orlando Airport dropped to a category-4 award

Marriott Rewards shifted hotels last week to move nearly 300 hotels up in award category, however, there were even more hotels moved down in award category making free nights less to buy with points. The changes in points required for a free night affected fewer than 18% of the 3,375 hotels  in the Marriott network. 

Link to Loyalty Traveler list of Marriott Hotels that changed award category March 8, 2010.

In January 2010 Hilton HHonors shifted hotels among its award categories which resulted in 82% of hotels costing more points in 2010. Marriott Rewards raised the award level last week for just over 8% of its hotels.

Hotel award category distribution matters

The tables below show the distribution of hotels within award categories for Marriott and Hilton. Marriott has a distinct advantage with 1 in 3 hotels available as category 1 or 2 awards. Hilton has fewer than 5% of hotels in its two lowest categories, or less than 1 in 20 hotels.

Marriott has 68.74% of its properties at 15,000 points or less. 2 of every 3 Marriott brand hotels are available for 15,000 points or less.

Now, compare the higher earning rate for a Hilton HHonors member earning Points & Points to the higher award rate. Assume the Hilton member earns 22,500 points in the same amount of time as a Marriott Rewards member earns 15,000 points. Hilton has 4.5% of its hotels for less than 22,500 points or less than 1 out of every 20 hotels in the chain. 

Sure you may earn points faster with Hilton, but the award levels are proportionately higher for hotel awards with Hilton HHonors; perhaps even disproportionately higher.

How do the programs match up for free nights using points with hotel awards?

The relative cost of a hotel award is related to the rate a member can earn points in the program. Money spent, elite status, and promotions are the primary factors determining how many points a member will earn in the loyalty program.

Hotel Spend

Assume the money spent is the same whether staying with Hilton or Marriott.

The HHonors member can choose to earn Points & Points and receive base points at a 50% faster rate than Marriott Rewards members for the same level of spending.

Elite Bonuses 

Hilton has the advantage on elite bonus points, since it is much easier to reach HHonors Gold on 16 stays or 36 nights (25% bonus) vs. Marriott Rewards Gold at 50 nights (25% elite bonus points).

Hilton Diamond at 28 stays or 60 nights is a lower threshold than Marriott Rewards 75 nights for Platinum. Each program offers a 50% elite bonus for top tier members. 

Promotions are difficult to compare. Hilton HHonors had a couple of good promotions over the past six months. The 25,000 points after 4 stays was a great offer. Marriott Rewards consistently offers its MegaBonus. Each program seems to offer members an opportunity to earn around 100,000+ bonus points per year. Bonuses are highly variable and dependent on an individual traveler’s pattern of hotel stays.

Base Points Earned favors Hilton 

One definite advantage of Hilton is 10 base points per $1 for every hotel brand. Marriott Rewards members with frequent stays in Residence Inn or TownePlace Suites will only earn 5 points per $1. If extended stay properties are your normal stay pattern, then the comparisons below may need to consider that your earning rate could be just 1/3 the rate of a HHonors member receiving 15 points per $1 with Points & Points.

A few hotel award samples for comparison of HHonors and Marriott Rewards:

Fairfield Inn Manchester Airport, New Hampshire dropped from a Marriott Rewards category 2 to a category 1 and is now 7,500 points per night.

Hilton has a Homewood Suites located at Manchester Airport which is certainly a higher hotel market competitive set than the Fairfield Inn, but this hotel will set you back 30,000 points for a night.

Hilton has the better hotel. Marriott probably has the better value award. Unless you are hanging out at the airport for business, a bed at the Fairfield Inn will likely give most travelers what they need at 25% of the award cost. 

But here are other hotel options for airport rooms in Manchester, New Hampshire 

Manchester Regional Airport

Marriott SpringHill Suites Manchester Regional Airport is a Category 2 hotel for 10,000 points per night.

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $93.
• Award value = $9.30/1,000 points.

Hilton Homewood Suites is a category 4 hotel for 30,000 points per night. 

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $129.
• Award value = $4.30/1,000 points.

SpringHill Suites and Homewood Suites are both extended stay apartment style rooms. Courtyard is not an extended stay type hotel, but offers another airport hotel for Marriott Rewards members. 

Marriott Courtyard Manchester Regional Airport is a category 2 hotel at 10,000 points per night.

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $125.
• Award value = $12.50/1,000 points.

While Hilton may offer an advantage with easier elite qualification for higher tiers and more bonus points, the cost of awards at this location still favors the Marriott Rewards member.

Tucson Airport Arizona

Marriott Rewards

Courtyard Tucson Airport is Category 2 Hotel = 10,000 points

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $167.
• Award value = $16.70/1,000 points

Fairfield Inn Tucson Airport is Category 2 Hotel = 10,000 points

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $129
• Award value = $12.90/1,000 points

Residence Inn Tucson Airport is category 3 = 15,000 points

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $215
• Award value = $14.33/1,000 points 

TownePlace Suites Tucson Airport is Category 2 Hotel = 10,000 points

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $149
• Award value = $14.90/1,000 points

Hilton HHonors

Hampton Inn Tucson Airport is HHonors category 4 hotel = 30,000 points (this hotel increased from a category 2 award in January 2010)

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $118
• Award value = $3.93/1,000 points

Hilton Garden Inn Tucson Airport is HHonors category 3 hotel = 25,000 points

• Wednesday, March 17 rate = $169
• Award value = $6.76/1,000 points

After all that flying around and sleeping in airport hotels you might want a vacation.

Resort Hotel Stay Guanacaste, Costa Rica (7 nights from March 21-March 28)

JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa

Marriott Rewards category 5 hotel is 25,000 points per night or 150,000 points for 7 nights (5^th night free).

• Published room rate = $299 per night
• Award Value = $13.95 per 1,000 points.

Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica Resort & Spa

Category 7 hotel is 50,000 points per night with a 25% discount for a 7 night stay = 262,500 points.

• Published room rate  = $169 per night.
• Award Value = $4.51 per 1,000 points

Hotel Award Category Matters

Hilton HHonors likes to advertise its option to earn Points & Miles as the only program giving members both hotel points and airline miles for each hotel stay. Members taking that option earn hotel points at about the same rate as Marriott Rewards members. HHonors members also have the Points & Points option to earn a 50% bonus of base points (15 points per $1 instead of 10 points per $1 with Points & Miles).

While you may be able to earn 50% to 100% more points with Hilton HHonors, the payback comes when you decide to redeem your points. The cost of HHonors hotel nights in many different markets where both have similar market segment hotels of midscale, upscale and resort, the cost is likely to be a much higher award level for the Hilton free night compared to the cost for a free night with Marriott Rewards.

Hotel award category plays an important part of the equation when figuring out the value of your points.

Marriott Hotel Distribution among award categories after March 8, 2010 adjustment

Marriott moved 316 hotels down in category from the 2009 award level.

Marriott Hotels in a Lower Category for 2010

Marriott Hotels in a Higher Award Category for 2010

Marriott Hotels in Higher Category 2010

In searching for the Westin press release I saw Barbara De Lollis covered the Westin story on Sunday, March 7 and she published an even more comprehensive story on credit card data breaches in hotels last week, “Cybercriminals still consider hotels easy targets for credit card info” on March 2.  Read her stuff. She says this was her most read story for the month.

The Carlson Hotels conference last week had a security session and covered credit card data theft and security actions hotels need to take.  The message I heard is that in most cases it is a relatively easy and inexpensive upgrade at the hotel level to prevent attacks. Carlson offered resource assistance to its hotel members for developing a secure data environment. This was another one of those big picture aspects of hotel travel that I really had not given much thought to in the past. And now more data breach stories are hitting the news since then.

Another aspect of traveling in the global hotel world I guess we need to consider as frequent guests is the security resources a larger company can place in protecting your credit card data. Barbara’s article shares insight of Nicholas Percoco, a data breach investigator with Trustwave.

“Percoco wouldn’t identify hotel clients, but he did suggest that some chains are being more proactive than others in trying to thwart hackers.

“Your larger hotel chains have started to take action,” he said.

“Now where the larger risk probably lies – once the brand names lock up their systems – is with the independent hotels,” Percoco said. “Many don’t have the resources and don’t have centralized staff to help them out.”

Barbara De Lollis, Hotel Check-in “Cybercriminals still consider hotels easy targets for credit card info” (March 2, 2010)  

Related Story links:

Hotel Hackers Attack Westin Bonaventure hotel’s restaurants, valet parking networks – Barbara DeLollis, Hotel Check-In, USA Today (March 7, 2010)

Westin is Latest hotel to be Hit by Hackers – Infosecurity (March 8, 2010)

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Open Letter regarding hacker breach (February, 2010)

Westin Bonaventure Data Security Breach – PR Newswire (March 5, 2010)

Radisson Database Hacked – Infosecurity (August, 2009)