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There’s a reason the big boys need loyalty schemes. It’s because, frankly, most of their properties are so poor that discerning travellers would otherwise stay away.
Guess how many such comments would be on here had diamond been extended again.
No need to swing to extremes. It was good while it lasted. Move on.
Incidentally, what happens to points earning on paid stays when you drop status between booking and staying? Do you get what it says on the booking, or is it recalculated at the lower rate?
Incidentally, what happens to points earning on paid stays when you drop status between booking and staying? Do you get what it says on the booking, or is it recalculated at the lower rate?
on your status at check out
As expected, dropped to Platinum overnight. At least have lounge access until end of 2025.
I’m genuinely surprised at a lack of snobby “good riddance you free loaders” type of comments from those retaining Diamond as seen on the BA tiers status change threads.
Maybe they’re still busy looking down smugly at everyone over there and not had time to come to this thread yet?
Anyway, thanks to Creation, Mr X and the rest.
End of an era.So, this is me now:
…
No need to swing to extremes. It was good while it lasted. Move on.
@BBBetter, I’m not sure what you thought I meant, but I tried to make exactly that point.Hotel loyalty is for mugs. If a hotel is physically attractive, located attractively, priced attractively and offers attractive service levels, I stay there. If the hotel is second rate, no loyalty scheme will make me use it.
I did about 55 nights away from home last year; ten of those were with the big four chains. Where a chain works for me, I use it – but the bribe of a free breakfast really doesn’t make one iota of difference to my decision.
More HfP readers should break the chains that bind them to their loyalty overlords. It’s wonderfully liberating and results in much better holidays.
More HfP readers should break the chains that bind them to their loyalty overlords. It’s wonderfully liberating and results in much better holidays.
Is that a fact?
Yes, these ‘free’ breakfasts are really quite expensively acquired in money terms but also in being bound to a particular chain (or stuck in a dreary lounge) thereby giving up your freedom of choice. While it’s not usually very practical for a one night business trip, we increasingly find Airbnbs (or similar) offer far better accommodation and far better value than these soulless chains.
The freedom/ability simply to choose the most suitable accommodation in any given place is not only liberating but a better and more comfortable overall experience.
More HfP readers should break the chains that bind them to their loyalty overlords. It’s wonderfully liberating and results in much better holidays.
Is that a fact?
Yes, there’s a whole wide world of great accommodation outside chains and if you ask nicely they even give you free breakfast and much more without needing a prison loyalty number.
I find Airbnb increasingly inadequate in terms of customer service. There is also an increase in fake reviews (owners pay others to book a fake stay and then write positive reviews). You can never be sure that the listing is correct and pictures accurate. Airbnb CS will not step in and rectify it to satisfaction due to change in their T&C which favour the owner and not the customer.
The problem is that very few people know how to leverage hotel loyalty. Most people focus too much on freebies instead of developing a relationship with a particular property.
Yes, these ‘free’ breakfasts are really quite expensively acquired in money terms but also in being bound to a particular chain (or stuck in a dreary lounge) thereby giving up your freedom of choice. While it’s not usually very practical for a one night business trip, we increasingly find Airbnbs (or similar) offer far better accommodation and far better value than these soulless chains.
The freedom/ability simply to choose the most suitable accommodation in any given place is not only liberating but a better and more comfortable overall experience.
I’m not here to make the argument of chain v independent (although I think there is a middle ground where you try and utilise the best of both worlds rather than being so polarised in view that you entirely exclude one of the two options) but I will sound a word of caution on the AirBnB point.
While I’ve had a few great AirBnB stays I am also seeing a lot of backlash in the frequent traveller world online against shady AirBnB operators who take advantage of customers, including last minute cancellations with no recourse and spurious cleaning/damage charges. Anecdotally, AirBnB itself also often sides with the owner in such situations.
This is one reason to consider using a chain, particularly if they have a history of providing above average service recovery to members with status (which is the case with IHG Diamond/Ambassador in my experience).
I think there is a middle ground where you try and utilise the best of both worlds rather than being so polarised in view that you entirely exclude one of the two options
Which is exactly what any sensible person would do.
But almost every day we see HfP forum threads begin with “Which is the best Hilton/Marriott/IHG/Hyatt/Radisson in xxx?”, because the poster wants to utilise their loyalty freebies. A much wiser question would be, “Which is the best hotel of any brand in xxx for a budget of £y, and why do you like that hotel?”.
I think there is a middle ground where you try and utilise the best of both worlds rather than being so polarised in view that you entirely exclude one of the two options
Which is exactly what any sensible person would do.
But almost every day we see HfP forum threads begin with “Which is the best Hilton/Marriott/IHG/Hyatt/Radisson in xxx?”, because the poster wants to utilise their loyalty freebies. A much wiser question would be, “Which is the best hotel of any brand in xxx for a budget of £y, and why do you like that hotel?”.
Far better to mix it up. Freebies come at a cost (branded hotels usually expensive compared to boutiques), and miles/points get devalued, but it’s always nice to jump checkin queues and get gigantic upgrades…
and I lost platinum today, now debating whether to renew AMB or wait until I have a IC stay planned. Is there a cost difference on the AMB subscription?
Isn’t it Air BnB and the like which is causing all the anti-tourism sentiment in Spain just now?
Probably Sanchez’ next move.
@Guernsey Globetrotter – my point was exactly yours as happens. We prefer not to stay in a boring chain hotel, but there are decent ones and a chain might sometimes be the best option. I just don’t want to be on a treadmill whereby if I go to X city I can only book Y chain hotels to clock up to gain something in the future that isn’t really free at all. My experience over many years is that I also don’t need to be a loyalty member to get all the perks, even if the highest tiers. I’m also very sceptical of any ‘subject to availability’ – I don’t mind if I’m travelling on my own but if I’m travelling with family, I want to know precisely which room/suite we are getting. This makes such a difference for any longer stay and where the personal touch transforms a hotel experience.
Re Airbnbs – one does need to choose with great care but the only last minute cancellation I believe was entirely genuine and the owner couldn’t have been more apologetic and helpful in resolving. We have stayed in the odd one that was a bit disappointing but not bad and one could have had the same experience. It’s great for families do one can have more space, everyone have their own bedroom at a cheaper cost than really quite grubby hotels.
For some reason I’m generally the hotel chooser and negotiator and my wife picks Airbnbs for which she seems to have a very good nose for good ones and how the owner communicates is an excellent lead indicator.
On the other side of the equation, we have a friend who lets out a holiday home on Airbnb and some of the tenants are just so ghastly – not only do they make a filthy mess, but they nick dishwasher tablets, rolls of bin liners, loo paper, washing up liquid. You name it, they nick it. He has had a picture stolen and a few other things as well. I did tell him that I had read somewhere that hotels have a problem with people nicking batteries out of TV remotes. It just defies belief that people stoop quite so low.
There’s an old episode of Friends which has a lot to answer for!
My friend has a holiday cottage she rents out and there have been a few incidents of quite serious damage to the fixtures and fittings which nobody would own up to. She hasn’t adopted my suggestion of installing CCTV, for some reason!
Isn’t it Air BnB and the like which is causing all the anti-tourism sentiment in Spain just now?
Probably Sanchez’ next move.
The unlicensed holiday home renters are the bigger issue but cities like Barcelona are banning these holiday lets entirely. We stayed in Cuenca (a very beautiful city near Valencia) over new year and the short term holiday lets, including ours have huge red signs on the door saying VUT Viviendas de Uso Turístico. It is a real problem in the more popular spots but smaller, less well known places really rely on these places to attract tourists where there are fewer other options.
We have talked to quite a few people in Spain about this and it seems that not only is it a problem for all the well rehearsed reasons but they feel too many properties are rented by the wrong types of people – lots of yobs and yobesses on stag/hen dos cramming too many people into flats, causing lots of disturbances, banging on doors, vomiting. They contribute really very little to the local economy but cause disproportionate disruption. Sadly, Brits generally seem to be the worst culprits.
@Aston100, I’ve just had an email from a lady at the DT Tower Bridge where we’re staying this weekend, welcoming me as a HH gold member and confirming my upgrade to a King Executive room with lounge access – it’s almost as if she knows!
AirBnB is a tough one.
Some of the best places I’ve ever stayed have been private houses or apartments. But I have also stayed in some very mediocre private houses, and it can be very hard to know what you’re getting.
The social impact of short term lets can’t be ignored, either. Many AirBnBs are in places where housing for locals is scarce and expensive, and your holiday home can mean someone else is reduced to sofa-surfing. Do you want that responsibility? Some accommodation is clearly unsuitable as living quarters for locals; I don’t mind staying there. Personally, I draw the line at places that displace housing stock for local residents in areas of scarcity. But I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford to make that choice, and I realise that others might be in a different position.
Although I’ve dropped to Platinum, I’m not that bothered. We spent 3 months travelling around South America towards the end of last year and only stayed in 3 chain hotels and that was for convenience (close to airports). The remainder were small, local hotels or self catering.
We have had a few bad experiences with last minute cancellations with Airbnb, especially at weekends. It got to the point we were booking hotels for the same period with free cancellation, just to ensure we had somewhere to stay, so tend not to use them any more.
We have a property in the Scottish Highlands that we used to rent out. There was so much damage and pilfering on a weekly basis, that we gave up renting it out before Covid. Every season false negative comments were made on the rental website we used and OH would often get calls from the company saying people wanted a discount because of a, b or c. Since Highlands council introduced their property licence scheme for holiday homes, a lot more owners have ceased renting out their properties. It’s just not worth the hassle.
@jj – unfortunately one can end up in some fairly rotten hotels so I’m not sure Airbnbs are really very different in that regard. The right owner is fairly critical. We had one in Florence who said that since were arriving late she would leave a lasagne for us which she did together with salad, wine, mineral water and things for breakfast. It was a duly good sign of a lovely place. We are staying in one later this month – actually booked direct as 25% cheaper than Airbnb where the owner sounds a very cultured woman and once she had spoken to me offered lots of helpful local addresses, will leave a number of things and wondered if there any flowers my wife didn’t like! I’m quietly confident!
Another we are returning to after a good stay last year, the architect owner lives there some of the year so no locals are being displaced and the entrance is a bit weird but inside is the most wonderful treasure trove of books and objets d’art in a full refurb.
AirBnB is a tough one.
Yes, who wants to cook their own breakfast?!! ☹️
AirBnB is a tough one.
Yes, who wants to cook their own breakfast?!! ☹️
Well, I would rather cook my own breakfast than eat a Hilton one. Some of the scrambled egg one sees in these hotel reviews is just so gross and people say what a good ‘spread’ (not a nice expression) and then you see slices of cheap ham/salami, processed cheese, little packs of cheap jam, soggy viennoiseries etc. Some of the rooms in which breakfast is served are so miserable as well. Just awful.
There’s much mention of eggs Benedict/Royale but I would wager that it’s often a fairly poor example and some pictures confirm. The quality and freshness of the hollandaise is critical as is the quality of each ingredient; not so common for it to be done well.
It takes about two minutes to fry an egg and one can buy nicer eggs than you will ever find in these ‘free’ breakfasts. You don’t even have to hang around while some gormless person gets your order wrong and/or brings an over cooked or snotty egg. Children can wear pyjamas to breakfast as well!
PS @Harrier25 – you can of course get staff to cook in some of these places as well. Often cheaper/better than going out.
There’s no right answer for everyone for every trip to the above debate of course.
I’m just finishing up planning my South America trip and for 50+ nights I have a mix of IHG, Marriot, Hilton, Independent, vrbo, and Marriot H&V. Before I’ve finished there may be the odd Airbnb as well.
I wanted to aim for all Marriott but the cost v review v location just was not a viable option in some cities. Why would I want pay £1400 for 5 nights in a Marriott when I can get a triplex apartment in Palermo for a third of that. There’ s a parilla with a 4.8/5 review downstairs and breakfast will be from the local supermarket/bakery where I’ll get better food and value than a hotel one.
Lots of locations didn’t even have a chain hotel, some had one but it didn’t fit my plans. Bariloche for example, I found a Suite/Spa hotel 30 mins from the airport, which was half the price on vrbo against the Hampton or Sheraton.
End of the day you pay your money you take your chances. I got scammed twice on booking.com with apartments in Miami, but Airbnb in Cape Town was great (virtually the entire 38 storey building was Airbnb rentals by all accounts). It’s all a lottery.
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