Hotel Loyalty Programs

by Shannon Albert
on June 28th, 2010
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The main reason that most people join hotel loyalty programs is to accumulate points and earn free rooms but for those of us who don’t routinely stay at the same hotels, there are other perks to enjoy at some hotels. At the very least, you should always join a hotel’s program before you stay there because it can help differentiate you from somebody who isn’t a member. I once got a room with two beds after being told they had none left, just because we mentioned being members of their program.

Many hotels offer nothing or very little for infrequent guests but here are nice perks of some hotel loyalty programs for those of us who may not stay as often.

Fairmont’s President’s Club has some of the most generous perks for just joining their program. They offer 3 levels of club membership but the most basic level, called Club, offers plenty. Benefits include express check-in and check-out through a private desk, ability to create a personalized profile that staff will use to make your stay more comfortable, complimentary Internet access, complimentary health club access, daily newspaper delivery, use of the Fairmont Fit program (in-room delivery of adidas® shoes and apparel, yoga mats, stretch bands, and use of MP3 player), 500 airline miles and complimentary use of TaylorMade golf clubs at select hotels.

Also, on the first Tuesday of each month, Fairmont posts special deals for FPC members. They are very popular and go fast and you’ll have access to them just for signing up on their site.

Link: http://www.fairmont.com/fpc/

Small Luxury Hotels of the World has The Club which is free to join and you get lots of free perks, just by joining. Perks include a VIP welcome (which can mean different things at different hotels but can include free gifts), you get to share your preferences for your room ahead of time and they will work to accommodate you, one category room upgrade, 4 p.m. check-out, complimentary continental breakfast for 2 daily, access to special club rates and use of the club concierge. Not bad just for joining.

Link: http://www.slh.com/club.html

Kimpton’s InTouch program has lots of perks for frequent guests but they have some great ones even for those of us who don’t stay as often. Some perks just for joining InTouch include free Internet access, up to 2 items per day free from the mini bar, ability to specify personal requests for your stay (type of newspaper you want to read, type of pillow, etc.), access to exclusive deals and $30 off In-Room Spa services. If you do end up with multiple visits to Kimptons, you can earn free nights.

Link: http://www.kimptonhotels.com/intouch/KIT_overview.aspx

Hyatt’s Gold Passport program doesn’t offer a huge amount of options for those of us not staying a lot but they do offer free nights with no blackout dates to redeem points, you can earn 5 points per eligible dollar spent and maybe best of all, you can give your points to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There’s a minimum of 5000 points for the donation so if you earn 5 points per eligible dollar spent, it would take $1000 of eligible dollars to reach 5000 points to be able to donate. Fairly easy to do even for us less loyal visitors.

Link: http://goldpassport.hyatt.com

Omni’s Select Guest Program includes a gold status level for 0-2 stays and will get you several complimentary things: wi-fi, morning beverage, pressing, bottled water on your first night, shoe shine, weekday newspaper delivery and nightly turn down service. In addition, you get to choose to earn free nights or airline miles, access to express check-in and check-out, ability to customize your room preferences (something we’re seeing a lot in this list) and access to exclusive discounts.

Link: http://www.omnihotels.com/selectguestprogram.aspx

The I Prefer program covers many hotels in the Preferred Hotel Group which includes Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Preferred Boutique, Summit Hotels & Resorts and Historic Hotels of America. The hotels often aren’t named any of those names though and, in fact, I have noticed that it is available at many hotels I’ve stayed at but didn’t know until afterward. It pays to check which hotels are covered because just for signing up, members get room upgrades (when available, though I’ve heard of members getting amazing upgrades), free Internet, early check-in and an online booking reward that varies by hotel. In addition, they post exclusive deals on their site that are great buys at high quality hotels.

Link: http://iprefer.com

Shannon Albert

Shannon loves to share awesome, fun and hopefully useful info that she's collected and to connect with other travel freaks. She loves the planning part of travel as much as the traveling itself. Shannon's background includes working as a web developer and as a digital producer for an advertising agency. She lives in Texas with her husband, 2 kids and dog. New York City is her favorite city. Her blog is shannonalbert.com.