A reader emailed me recently about IHG’s new mini-Accelerate promotion. (If you are looking at where to book hotel stays this Spring, this promotion will be the most generous offer in the market for most people.)
The reader wanted to know if it was possible to book multiple rooms at the same property on the same night and have them all count as qualifying nights for the IHG offer. (You can’t).
I thought it was worth running through the policies of the major chains when you book multiple rooms. Note that, in all cases:
All rooms must be booked in your name, and
You must occupy one of the rooms, and
You must pay for all of the rooms
IHG Rewards Club (Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental etc)
Let’s start with IHG Rewards Club, as that was what started this discussion in the first place.
Can you ‘qualifying nights’ credit for multiple rooms per night? No
Can you earn points for multiple rooms per night? ‘Yes’ in the US and Canada (maximum 9 rooms per night), ‘No’ elsewhere
The terms and conditions of IHG Rewards Club are here if you want to check the wording. See clause 21.
When it comes to Accelerate, it is usually better to credit each room to a different IHG account anyway. Accelerate usually offers a generous bonus for your first stay during each promotional period, so if you have multiple rooms you should credit each to a different IHG account. You can be creative here – if you have one room for you and your partner and another for your kids, book a room each under your name and that of your partner. The hotel won’t know who is sleeping in each room and your partner gets the credit for the 2nd room.
Hilton Honors (Hilton, Conrad, Hampton, DoubleTree, Waldorf Astoria etc)
Hilton Honors has a decent policy but you need to be aware of the small print:
Can you ‘qualifying nights’ credit for multiple rooms per night? No
Can you earn points for multiple rooms per night? Yes, up to two rooms per night, but ONLY if the bills for the two rooms are merged into one bill at check-out.
The Hilton Honors terms and conditions are here. See clause 5 under ‘Accrual of Points’.
I came a cropper here a couple of years ago at an Embassy Suites, because the hotel had already prepared the bills the night before and I forgot to merge them. Whilst my name was on both rooms I only received points for one of them. Luckily the Hilton contact centre took pity on me and credited the additional points, but you shouldn’t rely on this.
Marriott Rewards / Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott, Moxy, Renaissance, Delta, Sheraton, Westin, W, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton etc)
Following the merger of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest, this is what the new combined programme offers:
Can you ‘qualifying nights’ credit for multiple rooms per night? No
Can you earn points for multiple rooms per night? Yes, up to three rooms per night
This is a change from the old Starwood Preferred Guest rules, which DID let you earn qualifying nights for up to three rooms per night. People who were close to status would often book three nights at one of the Heathrow hotels over a cheap weekend!
The merged Marriott Rewards / Starwood Preferred Guest terms and conditions are here. Click on ‘Earn Points’ to bring up the relevant section – it is in Clause 2.1.b
Radisson Rewards (Radisson, Park Inn, Park Plaza)
Radisson Rewards has an identical policy to Marriott Rewards:
Can you ‘qualifying nights’ credit for multiple rooms per night? No
Can you earn points for multiple rooms per night? Yes, up to three rooms per night. Note that the rules say “credit for multiple rooms must be requested at or before the time of check-in”.
You can clarify this in the Radisson Rewards terms and conditions here under Clause 3 / a / i.
World of Hyatt (Andaz, Hyatt branded chains)
World of Hyatt also has the same rules:
Can you ‘qualifying nights’ credit for multiple rooms per night? No
Can you earn points for multiple rooms per night? Yes, up to three rooms per night
The World of Hyatt terms and conditions are here. See clause 1.8 in Appendix A.
Conclusion
Starwood Preferred Guest used to be the only programme where you could earn status more quickly via qualifying nights, or trigger night-based bonuses, by booking multiple rooms. Following the merger with Marriott Rewards this is no longer possible.
There is now no major scheme which allows multiple rooms to count towards additional elite qualifying nights. The good news is that, if you are pushing for elite status, you can qualify more quickly via elite qualifying points (as opposed to nights) in many schemes by crediting multiple rooms to your account.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Promos’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
About Head for Points
Accor allows multiple rooms (maximum 2) to count.
I meant to say count for points (Not nights).
And an Ibis Business Card gets you a discount on up to two rooms (at an Ibis, Ibis Budget or Ibis Styles) which is a nice perk.
And as I discovered recently, if the two rooms have been booked by one member of Le Club Accor Hotels it is not possible to add a different Le Club number for the second room when checking in. (This was at an Ibis.) So my admittedly small number of points will now expire…
Hotels.com is unlimited credits. Great for when I book our off site.
Experience of Radisson has been me getting more than 3 rooms’ points. I guess that particular hotel where I’ve now done it a few times don’t properly know the rule book.
Rocketmiles is also unlimited credits, as is booking.com (and presumably Pointshound etc)
With Hotels.com if you book say 20 nights do you get 2 reward nights or can you only hold 1 reward night at a time? I have looked all over the website and cant find a definate answer.
You’d get 20 credits, which would then mean adding two reward nights.
I currently have five nights to use.
Fantastic. Thank you.
Think they give you a year to spend your reward voucher once you have the ten nights.
… which then gets extended by another year from your last stay.
“All nights, including rewards nights, expire after 12 months of inactivity in your account. Account activity includes redeeming a rewards night or collecting nights by completing a stay at an eligible hotel or vacation rental.”
Why would you hoard the free nights? It’s basically just a cash discount off your next booking, provided the cost is more than the “free” night. What’s to be gained from piling up 5?
Better to apply discount on leisure travel rather than (tax-deductible or even fully-reimbursed) business travel.
Exactly. I’m not intentionally building them up. I use them when it’s the best value at a given location for leisure travel.
Slightly confused… so whilst the extra nights won’t count as elite qualifying, the extra base points ARE elite qualifying? Is that the case for all the chains listed?
Yes, because – especially if you merge it into one bill – it is difficult to separate the room charges. Note that I have not personally tested this with every chain above.
Merging bills at IHG works fine and once on a single invoice all count for base points. I often do this with work colleagues.
À couple of years ago I booked 2 rooms for two Pointbreaks award nights at HIX Oporto and I got 4 qualifying nights for status renewal. Must have been a mistake but was very helpful at the time. Both rooms were in my name.
Do any of the programs allow multiple rooms to count on the same night when booked at different properties? I can see two scenarios where this might be relevant, one to game the system, the other when you arrive book the night before your stay to guarantee a very early Check-in.
No, don’t think so.
I won’t post more here, but let’s just say that what you’re asking, Dylan, can definitely be done and certain hotel systems won’t hold it against you.