At the end of last year, I shared a guest post by a reader who racked up 250 nights with chain hotel programs in 2022. It was helpful to see his perspective on the best hotel program for someone who often stays in small towns without full-service hotels, so the footprint of a hotel chain matters – not just its benefits.
Halfway through 2023 this anonymous contributor shared an update. His travel has slowed down this year and he doesn’t expect to log more than 150 nights on the road. He gave up on Hyatt, which doesn’t have enough self-managed full-service hotels where he travels, and maybe he regrets it?
He’s still qualifying for Marriott’s Ambassador status, and that still disappoints. Does he return to Hyatt, or go all-in with IHG – which has hotels where he goes for work, but where status means little except when he travels abroad?
It seems like a useful thought exercise, even if the specific choices he’s making about hotels in the locations he travels and the benefits he values might be different than yours.
More Than Halfway Into 2023, Where My Travel Stands
It’s hard to believe but less than half the year remains in 2023.
Like most frequent travelers, 2024 is already on my mind — at least in terms of what statuses with hotels and airlines I really want to keep.
As I wrote back in December, I did 249 nights across multiple hotel chains in 2022. While I won’t hit that number again, I should fall somewhere between 125 and 150 nights.
Right now, I’ve already requalified for Marriott’s top-tier ambassador status in 2024 with over $40,000 in spending across 60 actual nights. Emphasis on actual because a Bonvoy double-night promotion added a generous amount of bonus nights to my account. An additional 20 nights also came from credit cards.
Knowing I have already requalified for ambassador status in 2024 means I can stay outside the Bonvoy ecosystem, though some work travel will force me to continue staying at Marriott properties.
If everything as booked holds, I should have an additional 15 actual nights with Marriott. Unfortunately, I get absolutely nothing from Marriott for continuing to bank nights and dollars over and above the ambassador threshold of $23,000 in spending and 100 nights.
After very disappointing experiences as a Hyatt globalist in 2022, I decided against renewing the top-tier World of Hyatt status for 2024. Instead, I chose IHG as my second hotel loyalty program after Marriott.
But I’m starting to rethink that decision.
Between some nights accumulated through redeeming points for a free stay here and there and the Hyatt co-branded credit card spend, I only need 52 nights to keep globalist status for another year.
At the same time, I have already hit the 40-night threshold with IHG to choose the milestone reward benefit of lounge access. While admittedly a totally useless benefit at IHG properties within the United States, lounge membership is worth something if I redeem my points for an Intercontinental outside the United States — like the Le Grand in Paris.
If none of my plans change, I have 22 additional nights booked through late September at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Kimpton and Avid properties. That puts me within striking distance of hitting 70 nights and keeping IHG’s top-tier diamond status. At the same time, I also have IHG’s ambassador status, which means I may not need to hit 70 nights if I pay for ambassador renewal.
Here’s my dilemma: Do I spend 30 nights at dumpy or totally forgettable IHG properties in mostly small towns and flyover country destinations to chase IHG diamond or do I go out of my way — in some cases, way out of my way — to do 50-plus nights with Hyatt to keep globalist?
For many readers of View from the Wing, keeping globalist is the easy answer. For me, it’s way more complicated.
That’s because my travels generally don’t take me to a market with a Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Thompson or Park Hyatt.
If I’m lucky there may be a dumpy Hyatt Place operated by Aimbridge within driving distance of my destination. Emphasis on may since there are entire markets without any Hyatt-flagged property. Even in the places with a full-service Hyatt, the Hyatt Regencies by the Houston airport, in Wichita and also in Milwaukee are hardly the best hotel options in their respective market.
At the same time, IHG is totally uninspiring.
The only reason to stay at one of their brands is IHG’s footprint: there are slightly better than average Holiday Inn Express properties just about everywhere. In fact, in many smaller markets a Holiday Inn Express may be the only chain hotel besides Best Western or low-end Choice Hotels.
On the other hand, there’s really no reason to keep diamond status if I’m frequenting Holiday Inn Expresses. With all guests getting a free breakfast, the only diamond benefit of any marginal value is an upgrade. Then again, as View from the Wing has documented, getting an upgrade with IHG isn’t always straightforward despite a published upgrade benefit.
Similarly, while I can get a free restaurant breakfast at a Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza — and to IHG’s credit, the breakfast benefit is somewhat better defined than Marriott — the average hotel restaurant breakfast at hotels branded under these brands is often worse than what I can buy at McDonald’s or Starbucks.
The same is largely true at Hyatt.
Going out of my way to keep globalist by spending most of my remaining nights in 2023 at a Hyatt House or Hyatt Place doesn’t make sense at all since the big globalist benefits — the best-defined breakfast benefit of any hotel program, waived resort fees and parking charges, suite upgrades — don’t apply or are of no real value.
To say I have a decision to make is an understatement. If only Hyatt’s footprint was growing outside of resorts and all-inclusives. But it isn’t.
What would you do in this reader’s shoes?
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July 14, 2023 at 11:04PM
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Choosing The Best Hotel Loyalty Program: How One 250 Night A Year Road Warrior Navigates The Terrain - View from the Wing
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