Aggressive Starwood hotel discounts via exclusive code

Last week in Berlin was Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB), the biggest travel show in Europe with 110,000 visitors.

Starwood, the Westin / W / Sheraton / aloft etc hotel group, was running a special promotion linked to the show.  Details were only given to attendees, but there is no restriction on who can book these rates.

The link to the special ITB booking page is here.

Here are the key details for the promotion:

You need to book by March 17th for stays until June 30th

It is limited to hotels in certain countries – Austria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Seychelles, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), UK

Rates are fully cancellable until the day of arrival – so you have nothing to lose by locking in a potential stay

The discounts are aggressive, to be honest, even if you compare these cancellable rates with advanced purchase rates.

Le Meridien Etoile in Paris, for example, falls from €268 to €140 for random nights I checked – although the website was imposing a 7 night stay for some reason, despite saying the minimum was 1 night.

Le Meridien Seychelles (which was not imposing a minimum stay) was €253 on this rate compared with €419 for the cheapest alternative.

Closer to home, a random night in London got me aloft at Excel for £80 compared with £139 for the cheapest (non cancellable) room.

The ‘happening’ W in Barcelona is also heavily discounted if you fancy a weekend break before the end of June.  7th-9th June weekend, for example, is €195 per night compared with a non-cancellable standard rate of €365 ….

Take a look and see what you can find.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)