Bits: worst value IHG redemption ever?, get missing Accor points reinstated

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• Brian says:

  29 Dec29 December 04:20

  Why is the hotel pricing in Euros? In any case, sounds ideal for meeting those Accelerate targets, Rob!

  • Swanhunter says:

    29 Dec29 December 07:01

    Turkey hotel pricing (at least in the chain and tourist sectors) is invariable in Euros to protect against a volatile Turkish Lira.

    There are some great bargains in the non-chain boutique sector too.

  • JQ says:

    29 Dec29 December 13:19

    If you know where to go, you can spend and receive change in almost any currency (including coins) in Turkey…

• James67 says:

  29 Dec29 December 04:44

  OT but IHG: for cash and points stays you can now get a $90 (15,000 point) option. Potentially hugely beneficial for some ICs (obviously not Istanbul!) and even CPs and Indigos in expensive cities such as London. I was very surprised, I fully expected the next move on C&P to be in the opposite direction.

  • Will says:

    29 Dec29 December 06:14

    Very good spot there, many thanks for sharing.

    • Brian says:

      29 Dec29 December 07:14

      As pointed out on LoyaltyLobby, this equates to buying points at 0.6p each (or was that cents?) – which makes the points and cash booking route to points that much cheaper.

      • Will says:

        29 Dec29 December 08:12

        Pretty much the daily getaways price for the last 2 years, but with the flexibility to buy whenever you need the points.

• Stu R says:

  29 Dec29 December 04:56

  I ‘earned’ the 1,100 Accor points and opted for instant conversion (on the day of the article) but the points are still sitting in my Accor account with no sign of any movement to Iberia …. any clues?

  • harry says:

    29 Dec29 December 08:51

    Use browser 1, enter AH & cancel your conversion method, log out.

    Now in browser 2, re-enter the auto-conversion process, then wait overnight.

    You should get 2 emails, one for the cancellation, the second for the re-start of auto-conversion to Iberia Avios.

    Some 10 or so days later, you should get (in IB):
    15/12/15 0 Days At Hotel Accor Hoteles Hoteles 1.100

    • Alex says:

      6 Jan6 January 11:47

      I quite stupidly overlooked that I had my Accor account linked to BA (did it for another HFP promotion and never changed back). So it was converted automatically into 550 BA Avios… Is it possible somehow to reverse this conversion and redo as Iberia Avios?

      • Rob says:

        6 Jan6 January 11:55

        No, sorry

• Erico1875 says:

  29 Dec29 December 07:34

  KLM are doing EDI Istanbul for £120 in Feb.. Transit AMS was just to long to justify a weekend

• John Tickner says:

  29 Dec29 December 08:03

  What are the benefits of using Amex Travel FHR ?

  • Raffles says:

    29 Dec29 December 09:20

    4pm guaranteed check-out, free breakfast, upgrade (at check in if available), €100 of credit to spend in hotel.

    For one nighters it can be amazing value due to the €100 credit, as long as you use it!

• Scallder says:

  29 Dec29 December 08:13

  One factor might be the large number of Russian visitors no longer fancying a trip there with everything going on between those two countries…

  • harry says:

    29 Dec29 December 08:54

    I think it’s more than not fancying…
    High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6146d0e6-9f5b-11e5-beba-5e33e2b79e46.html#ixzz3vhLjNdLI

    December 17, 2015 4:00 am

    Moscow’s flight ban hits Turkish tourism industry

    Joshua Chaffin and Mehul Srivastava

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    Cetin Gurcun is praying for peace. As secretary-general of the trade group that represents Turkey’s travel agencies, he watched in dismay in recent weeks as the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet at the Turkish border with Syria sparked a dispute between Moscow and Ankara that threatens his livelihood.

    In retaliation for the incident, the Kremlin has halted charter flights to Turkey, which transported about 90 per cent of the 4.4m Russians who visited the country last year, according to TurSab, the association of Turkish travel agencies.

    Russia has also forbidden its tour operators from selling Turkish package holidays. “They know the importance of tourism in Turkey, and they know the importance of Russian tourists,” a worried-looking Mr Gurcun says. “We are really praying to God that the two sides can come to a solution.”
    A tourist rides a camel in Cappadocia
    ©Dreamstime

    A tourist rides a camel in Cappadocia

    Russia delivers the second-biggest group of visitors to a Turkish tourism industry that generated $34bn in revenue last year. They have become such a reliable source of income over the past decade that resorts along the southern Mediterranean have started to cater specifically to their tastes, with Russian-speaking staff and amenities now commonplace. In the south-western city of Antalya, the Kremlin Palace hotel offers no less than a replica of Red Square towering over its swimming pool.

    In a recent presentation to investors, BGC Partners, an American brokerage, set out a disaster scenario it dubbed “From Russia Without Love”, in which the crisis could cost Turkey as much as $3bn in tourism, $3bn in exports and $6bn in other forms of trade.

    More

    On this story
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    Turkey: will political reforms bring change?
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    Even before the Kremlin’s threats, Turkey’s tourism industry was suffering. The number of Russian visitors during the first nine months of this year was down 19 per cent from the same period in 2014, largely owing to a faltering Russian economy which has been hit by western sanctions and weak oil prices. As a result, Turkey’s tourism revenues were running 6.5 per cent below last year, at $24.8bn, according to the country’s central bank.

    More broadly, Turkish executives worry the country’s image is being tarnished by the bloodshed and instability in neighbouring Syria, and the perception that violence is spilling over the border. Two suicide bombings in Ankara in October killed 102 people.

    “We’ve lost a lot of tourism,” one executive in the tourism industry complained recently, adding that Greece — where a ravaged economy has led to lower prices — stood to benefit.

    In Cesme, a town on the Aegean Sea in Izmir province, where handsome bungalows and smart grocery stores serve wealthy holidaymakers, the streets were regularly blockaded over the summer by police checkpoints to stop refugees reaching the coast. Seven kilometres out to sea is the coast of the Greek island of Chios, where boats full of Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis have made contact with Europe.

    On a chilly day in December, Syrian families trudge along the pavement, making their way to the beaches. Outside his restaurant, where the fixed lunch sells for the equivalent of nearly €30, Onur, who asked that his last name not be used, laments the lost earnings of the summer. “People stopped coming — can you imagine eating here while watching these poor people walk to their freedom?” he questions.

    Mr Gurcun is hoping that the headstrong Russian and Turkish leaders, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will make peace before the end of February. “After that, it will be very hard to organise the flights and packages in Russia,” he says. If all else fails, their diplomacy, he suggests, might be aided by the supporsun-seeking Russian tourists. “For Russian people, their favourite destination is Turkey,” he says. “They really like it.”

    • Sussex Bantam says:

      29 Dec29 December 11:14

      I love the way you have cut and paste the section warning you not to cut and paste the article….

      • JQ says:

        29 Dec29 December 13:25

        I think it doesn’t actually appear until you cut and paste it. Clever scripting…

        • Sussex Bantam says:

          29 Dec29 December 13:35

          Wouldn’t that somewhat defeat the object of the warning ?!?

• Sean says:

  29 Dec29 December 08:45

  I wouldn’t count on the weather being good in February. I visited Istanbul at the same time a few years ago and it rained for four days!

• RIccati says:

  29 Dec29 December 08:55

  Same on Istanbul’s Winter weather and temperature, it’s very similar to London’s.

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