Reaping Rewards

Many business travelers have subscribed to the rewards programs offered by the different franchises and brands looking to develop guest loyalty. What could be better than earning personal freebies for trips your company pays you to be on, right?

Whether a guest becomes loyal to the brand--or loyal to rewards programs in general-- is anyone's guess. I've seen many travelers who have five or six rewards cards in their possessions, and even have to ask sometimes which one that hotel accepts.

But let's say you are a card-carrying member of the Priority Club through IHG, Choice Privileges at Choice Hotels International, and/or Wyndham Worldwide's TripRewards program, and you've accumulated enough points to begin cashing them in on free hotel stays. Be aware that some programs require that you make your rewards reservations through a special website or dedicated telephone number.

IHG's Priority Club members, for example, must make their reservations through this dedicated site.

Many times I've seen a guest becoming upset with the hotel because they thought the hotel's front desk could access the points through "the system" and use them to pay for that stay, or redeem their points while making their reservations directly with the hotel's reservations department, which also isn't possible. While the mindset of many consumers is that "the customer is always right," the true error here was on the part of the customer.

Also, I've worked with many group planners who hope to redeem their points through the group sales office of the hotel, perhaps getting a free stay for themselves while the rest of their group is charged the negotiated group rate. Again, this could happen if the planner went through the proper redemption procedure to book their free room outside of their group's block, which is what they may be advised to do by the hotel sales manager.

Hotels are also moving above and beyond rewards simply for sleeping rooms, and offering rewards for meeting planners based on the amount they spend on a particular meeting or event, but again, there are specifics to these programs which sometimes include payment by a particular credit card. If your sales manager asks how you expect to pay for a function you're planning at their hotel, it's likely that they are also checking to see if you will be eligible to earn points. Crowne Plaza, for example, had an opportunity for meeting planners to earn 50,000 bonus Priority Club points for meetings held before December 31, 2007, with an additional 25,000 point bonus for utilizing a customized website where their attendees could make their room reservations. Meeting planners should look for these opportunities, or even ask about them up front (don't you ask the pizza place if they're running any specials?).

Hotel rewards programs are a fantastic way to earn perks for your loyalty, but the business of redeeming those points is often quite specific. Make sure you visit the websites of the rewards programs that you subscribe to, read the member benefits as well as redemption policies, then get ready to enjoy free hotel stays on your next vacation!