Get preferential treatment at luxury hotels using ‘Preferred Partner’ travel agents

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• SO says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:53

  Ah, but do you earn loyalty points, status recognition, and benefits this way? I’ve always found it unbelievable that hotels drive this wedge between themselves and travel agents in a way that airlines and cruise ships do not.

  • Sid says:

    7 Jan7 January 08:06

    SO: I know you do for Virtuoso and FHR bookings.

  • Rob says:

    7 Jan7 January 09:09

    Normally yes

• Dannyrado says:

  7 Jan7 January 08:04

  What a fabulous tip, even more stuff to remember when looking for hotels (as if there wasn’t enough.)

• Elena says:

  7 Jan7 January 10:51

  Excellent very handy for my next trip to Dubai. Makes it even better if you can earn points, do we know how this works? Do you provide your details to the hotel or travel agent?
  Thank you Raffles

  • Rob says:

    7 Jan7 January 10:56

    Agent should be able to add it to the system. Do double check the points situation first to be sure though.

• BP says:

  7 Jan7 January 11:51

  Some of these rates can be booked/searched online which can be useful for comparing prices! I’ve booked through both of the below sites without issue, both times recieving fantastic deals!

  Four Seasons Preferred Partner rates online @ http://www.whatahotel.com
  Four Seasons Bangkok – Basic Room @ £127 a night and got upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite and had a meal credit worth £65 which covered a meal for 2 plus drinks in their Thai restaurant!

  Virtuoso rates online @ http://www.classictravel.com
  Aria Sky Suites in Las Vegas – 2 Bedroom Penthouse – Misprice @ $90 a night! Was honoured along with the Virtuoso benefits – I even got free stretch limo transfers!

  • Mike says:

    7 Jan7 January 19:34

    Thanks BP for the sites. I don’t spend enough for agents like David to be interested, so good to be able to see and book these online too.

• Paul says:

  7 Jan7 January 12:13

  When booking through David do you pay him directly or the hotel? And if you pay to him directly are there FX issues (since that’s been my issue with TAs in the past sometimes…)?

• Raffles says:

  7 Jan7 January 12:31

  You pay the hotel directly, both with Virtuoso and Amex FHR

  • John Tickner says:

    7 Jan7 January 12:58

    And at the time of the stay rather than in advance like Expedia ?

    • Rob says:

      7 Jan7 January 14:24

      Yes, pay on departure.

      This is also driven by the fact that you are paying the flexible / cancellable rate, albeit with extra perks on top.

      If a hotel offers non-refundable rates at a discount then you are less likely to be able to combine these with Virtuoso benefits.

      However, this is not an issue for us as we very, very rarely book nonrefundable rates. Gets a bit risky with 2 kids who are easily susceptible to illness plus the usual issues around unexpected business trips for my Mrs.

• lostlamb says:

  7 Jan7 January 13:32

  how did you know that Four Seasons in the UK are offering guaranteed room upgrades?
  just checked on Virtuoso ‘special deal’ list cant even see Hampshire FS listed, and nothing with guaranteed upgrades.

  • Rob says:

    7 Jan7 January 14:20

    I didn’t know until David told me. However, it is discussed in this Flyertalk thread (which he started) although I missed it when originally posted: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/1507899-fs-london-all-3-guaranteed-upgrades-booking-january-march.html

• Alan says:

  7 Jan7 January 18:58

  Thanks for this info, Raffles – I’ve used FHR (via Amex Plat) to good effect a few times now. They also have some FHR-like cover of UK properties in their UK Hotel Collection as you’ve previously covered on here – they tend to have less by way of welcome amenties/credit, but the upgrades are guaranteed with them too – handy as they cover Malmaison and Hotel du Vin properties.

  Very handy to know of a good Virtuoso booking agent though – will keep those details on file 🙂

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