A discussion has come up on another forum debating the issue of promotions to earn status.  Marriott offered a promotion to allow members to earn double night credit toward elite status for this year, AND roll-over any nights above their current status for credit in 2010 for status in 2011.  Starwood offered a similar promotion allowing members to choose to earn double nights for this year OR to apply the double nights to get a head start on status for next year.  These promotions have the possibility to create a divide amongst the “true VIPs” – those who actually stay and pay...

Introduction I know this economy is tough on the travel industry.  I am an exception because my travel has increased this year, and because of this I was able to earn Platinum status at Marriott very early which has allowed me to experiment with other hotel programs.  I found it very interesting that the points earned per stay vary widely between programs, but the points earned are relative to the points required for free stays.  Being a member of multiple programs, I had no idea how they stacked up against each other.  This is the reason for my research. This year I have stayed at Starwood,...

Do you have Gold or Platinum status with a particular hotel chain?  Chances are you might be able to leverage that at other chains and retain your platinum treatment! This year I had a business trip to India where the closest Marriott was a Courtyard in the city center.  My office was 14km outside the city, and if you have ever driven in a city in India, you know how long it can take to go a few kilometers.  The company’s preferred hotel was the Meridien, just outside the city and near the airport. When I learned of this trip I was quite disappointed to learn that it was not feasible to stay...

I just stayed in a Courtyard for 2 nights this week.  It is the first time in almost a year that I have stayed in this brand, and based on my prior experiences I wasn’t all that excited about doing it, but I figured I would give it another shot. My past several stays at Courtyards have been less than stellar to say the least.  There is one in particular that I used to frequent on the west coast that seemed to have a problem every time I stayed there.  One time, I checked in and went to my room only to find the door to my room was open.  I suspiciously went inside checking in the closet, under the...