For years, I was proud of the fact that I didn’t have any hotel status and wasn’t bound by any limits when choosing hotels.
At the time, I searched the internet for cheap rates through whatever site I could. That’s how I found many different places to stay in New York. We stayed at The Distrikt (back when it was part of Choice Hotels) and even stayed at the Waldorf=Astoria on a mistake rate. That’s also how we stayed at B&B hotels like the J. Palen House in Cleveland while we visited the A Christmas Story House. I wasn’t limited to finding a place to use a free night certificate or which hotel had the best breakfast for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite guests.
Now my searches for hotels are based on which hotels I need to use our free nights. If I’ve already spent all of those, I look for places to use hotel points. If both of those are done, I’ll see if there are any places that would be a good redemption if I purchase or transfer points.
But what if I didn’t have to think about any of that? How would I search for hotels if hotel loyalty status didn’t matter?
I’d look for a place with the best price for a hotel of the highest quality, offering the most amenities.
Why is that not what I’m doing right now?
For many of the hotels we stay in, I don’t lose anything by using my credit card benefits and free nights.
I might stay at a Holiday Inn Express with a free night IHG voucher that costs $49 from the co-brand card. This is no worse than the Hampton Inn at the same exit, which would cost $119.
But what if I’m looking for a hotel in a big city and using a massive stash of points instead of just paying $300–$400 cash for a really cool boutique hotel? If I were never worried about earning Bonvoy points, then I could stay wherever I wanted. Sure, I’d still stay at the Goldener Hirsch in Salzburg, Austria and be glad to pay for the room through Virtuoso. However, I might be missing out on a great opportunity if I’m only staying at a Hyatt Centric property as a Globalist, given the amazing breakfast and suite upgrade (and yes, I know there are no Hyatt hotels in Salzburg, but I liked the example).
The Trap of Free Nights and Status
It’s hard to imagine a world without worrying about hotel loyalty programs. The benefits of having a co-brand or luxury card are seemingly too good to refuse. Getting a 50K free night for $150 is a no-brainer until you realize that a free night puts you in a prison of only looking at hotels in a single program.
It’s easy to find yourself deep into the system, with several cards in various programs, each offering a free night for paying a small annual fee. Once you’re there, getting out sometimes feels as difficult as escaping Shawshank.
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6 comments
I’m Titanium with Marriott. What a worthless status. This year I’ve started booking hotels through Southwest hotels instead to help with Companion Pass points. Might as well get something valuable for hotel stays. Thanks Southwest!
@TP – Don’t travel domestically. I can assure you that titanium status(for that matter all elite statuses) is/are worth plenty when travelling outside the US. Everyone is a elite in the US due to credit cards. But those credit cards don’t exist overseas. I only travel internationally for business/personal. It’s really the only good way to get value out of these systems.
Count me as someone who is mostly not all that worried about hotel status, though we do have a couple free night awards that we will need to use this year (Marriott Bonvoy Amex and IHG Premier card, which I applied for the 165K bonus earlier in the year). Generally we just treat hotel rooms as a place to rest our heads while traveling, and not too concerned with upgrades or most other status-related perks. We’ll use points where we can to lessen the cost.
Check Hotwire and then Trivago.
I was like that before. But then I had a family now I have to worry about booking a place with enough room for 4. Suites are it and as a Globalist it’s the best bang for your buck. Book a points stay and upgrade the stay to suite confirmed at booking. Nothing like the piece of mind knowing you already got upgraded to a nice spacious room months ahead of arrival. I have Hilton diamond with the aspire and it’s practically worthless in the US. None of the Hiltons I stay at have lounges. Upgrades rarely happen. It works great in Asia but that’s it for me. Marriott is Marriott.
I got a bag of m&m’s and a bottle of water yesterday at the Hilton in Austin for being diamond. I no longer go for status with any airline or hotel. It’s not worth paying more for so little in return. If you want an upgrade just pay.