Originally Posted by
mickeycrimm
Pkspins, I'm actually at 270 hotel days this year with an average cost of $60 per night. But the average is now dropping. On out-of-state trips I started out mostly staying at Motel 6 because they had the cheapest price. A few months ago I stayed at a Rodeway Inn. They got my email address and sent me an offer to join Choice Priveleges. You get points for hotel stays that can be used for free rooms.
The hotels involved are Rodeway, Econolidge, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Mainstay, Cambria. It started out at 10 points per pre tax dollar spent. For free nights the Rodeways and Econo Lodges usually go for 8000 points, Quality Inns 10000 points, Comfort Inns 12,000 points.
Then they sent me an offer for a Choice Priveleges credit card. Charge $1000 on it and I get 32000 points. I got that done and still haven't used those points. Because I had the card I was then getting 15 points per dollar spent.
Then they came with a promotion I'm still working, buy two nights get one night free. You actually get 8000 points so you can't buy two nights at the cheaper hotels then spend the free night at a Cambria. This promotion is going until Nov. 11. So right now I'm spending $130 per three nights.
In addition I just moved up to platinum level and will be get 17.5 points per dollar spent after the promotion ends. And it won't be long I'll be moving up to 20 point per dollar spent. That would work out to one free night per $400 spent.
I'm interested in how you and others work these kind of things.
Mickey, please enjoy the following rant that mostly has nothing to do with you.
I hate those dirty F^%@ers at Choice F^@#ing Hotels F*(@ing International.
The hotel that I managed the most recent time was one of those franchises, please note that I am not saying which one.
In any event, those @$$clowns toss out these stupid points left and right for everything and then have some franchises take less points than others, regardless of what the actual rate is. They do it just based on the flag. Granted, they will designate, "Busy Seasons," for it to take more points, on an occupancy basis, but it doesn't matter that our XXX hotel is charging $120/night because of market demands (year-round, at the time) and another XXX hotel is charging $55/night of the same franchise. Irrelevant. Same number of points.
What happens then is that CHI will pay the hotel for the free night, and how that works is that they will pay a fixed amount based on demand season that comes off of the franchise bill. As I am sure you guessed, this stupid @$$ fixed amount has almost nothing to do with what our actual rates are and is generally nowhere close to what our actual rates are.
It gets worse.
Anyway, so people can call and complain about wanting their points refunded if they are not happy with something, and NOW the hotel has to pay CHI $10 for every 1,000 points that are refunded. How about that? If CHI, in their infinite wisdom, decides to offer to refund all of the points, then we can actually take A LOSS ON THE ROOM THE PERSON USED FOR FREE!!!
For example, if our hotel was 10,000 points and CHI pays us $49 for that room, but then the person gripes (after staying the entire night...because why wouldn't they?) and CHI refunds all the points...we now NET PAY $51 TO CHI FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING SOMEONE STAY AT THE HOTEL FOR FREE!!! ($49-$100 = -$51)
The worst part is that we were not a Cambria Suites, I'll volunteer that much. Anyway, what will happen is you have people say something like, "I usually stay at Cambria Suites, so I was expecting (list of unrealistic expectations) and am disappointed with this property."
I would like to say to that person, "The problem is not the property, you stupid @$$hole, the problem is you think a xxxx is supposed to be as good as a Cambria Suites. If we were, we would charge what a Cambria charges and would cost as many points as a Cambria costs."
Better still are the people who book single Queens with the Free Nights and then come in and say, "There were no Two Queens online, or anything else, can you upgrade me to Two Queens or a Suite?"
The answer is, "No, I can't." At least, not if I don't have any available...which is why you wouldn't have seen any online you stupid @$$hole.
So this @$$hole says, "That's okay, we'll make it work."
The next day they check out and complain about something completely unrelated...that they never told the property about before (and often doesn't exist) to get the points back!!! I already offered to give them the points back when we couldn't satisfy the room they wanted, (even though they actually booked the single Queen) they refused and said, "We'll make it work."
I couldn't tell you how many times that happened.
Anyway, we ended up paying CHI for the privilege of people staying at the hotel for free, on quite a few occasions, because we could only satisfy THE ROOM TYPE THAT THE GUEST ACTUALLY BOOKED or because they are used to a better property, but wanted to save some points or a better property wasn't available, several times.
I did call and get Choice Hotels to eat the points on a few occasions when I could compel them to agree with my side. Some people were better than others.
It wasn't always easy even when they did agree. The only time it was ever EASY is if I could prove that I offered the person the points back in exchange for leaving and the person declined.
Anyway, xxxx franchise can follow its own franchise requirements to a T and it's not going to be a Cambria or Comfort Suites. If those all had the same requirements, then why would we not want to be a Cambria or Comfort Suites instead of what we were?
I think they should go back to when Rodeway and Econo Lodge had a completely separate program. We just stamped a ticket. Ten stamps, free night, take it wherever you want to...but must be an Econo Lodge or Rodeway. They should maybe add Quality and Suburban to that. I stayed at two Quality Inns that were complete dumps compared to the hotel I managed...which was purportedly lower. Of course, both Quality Inns were nowhere even approaching their own brand standards. It's just a really inconsistent brand and I imagine they have the same problem with free nights people that we did.
That said, most people were okay. If you actually stayed at our brand regularly, then you were generally happy with our rooms/amenities, if not slightly impressed. You just couldn't hold us to Cambria standards.
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Mickey, anyway, I agree with everything you said. From the standpoint of a frequent guest, I don't blame you at all.
I imagine it is outside of what you would do to make bull$*&$ complaints, so that's the only way to do it, "Better," as far as CHI goes.
Oh, one other thing:
You can literally buy points from them, unless they got rid of that. That really screws the hotels. I hope they got rid of that. If everyone bought points, CHI could theoretically force the franchisees into a flat rate on every stay since every stay would be points. If the guest wanted points refunded, CHI would make money on both ends because we would have to pay them more than they were paying us for the room on the points that the guest paid them for.
Looks like you can only buy 50,000 a year for yourself, but then you get five additional points per dollar spent on the Choice VISA when you buy points, so you get more points on the points that you buy. One person may also, "Gift," someone 50,000 points a year, so I think you know where that is going.
Ugh. I have never hated a company more than CHI in terms of working relationship. They're great if you're a customer, though.