Loyal hotel customers would give up spouse, keep loyalty program, if given choice

Relationships with hotel loyalty programs run deep, often causing members to lie, cheat or pose as someone else to get ahead says a new survey by Starwood Preferred Guest.

Honeymoon“? “Emergency“? Respondents would try subterfuge to get upgrades and were not above telling little white lies to get a better hotel room or a hotel/airline travel upgrade” Starwood said in TravelAgent. Nearly half of respondents claimed they would pretend it was their honeymoon to get an upgrade. 25 percent would pretend they had a family emergency and 20 percent would pretend to be someone important.

The idea that travelers are “married to their frequent traveler programs” may not be a stretch either with 73 percent of those responding to the January survey choosing loyalty program benefits over a spouse if they could take just one on the road.Starwood polled nearly 10,000 adults around the world who travel more than 25 times a year and had some surprising findings.

  • In a travel emergency, 70 percent said that their elite status in a hotel loyalty rewards program would be handier than their smartphone, tablet or even their personal assistant.
  • Seventy-six percent said they felt their status in a hotel loyalty program would last longer than their marriage or current job.
  • Losing their status in a hotel loyalty program (65 percent) scares respondents more than lost luggage (12 percent) or missing a flight (11 percent).
  • Half of respondents said they consider hotel loyalty programs most important, followed by credit-card (19 percent) and airline loyalty programs (13 percent).

The survey was conducted for Starwood Preferred Guest 9,900 adults across the globe who travel 25 times or more per year. Interviews were conducted between January 1st and January 9th, 2012.


Flickr photo by UggBoy♥UggGirl

Starwood bets on Hollywood allure

What do you do when lenders take over two of your hotels, as your coping with the worst recession in seven decades? Well, if you’re Starwood Hotels, you make a $350 million bet with a single property from your W line. The hotel opened on January 15, 2010, and it’s banking on the reputation of Los Angeles as the center of the entertainment world. Located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, the new W Hotel hopes to attract star-struck tourists who want to get up close and personal with the movie industry.

The only problem is that fewer and fewer people are heading out to Los Angeles, which is putting a bit of a squeeze on the new property. There’s an opportunity hidden in the situation, however. Carlos Becil, W’s North American vice president, says, “When we come out of this down cycle we’ll own the upswing with all these newer hotels,” Becil said to Bloomberg News.

The financial crisis has been particularly hard on the W chain. The W San Diego was taken back by its lenders after Sunstone Hotel Investors, which had owned the property, couldn’t get the terms of its $65 million securitized mortgage changed. The W New York Union Square was bought by Dubai World in 2006. Well, it missed a payment, which wound up pushing the property onto the auction block back in December. Dubai World also has an interest in the W Washington, D.C., a loan on which is 30 days delinquent. The debt servicer and borrower are working on a solution.

Gadling hotel review – Aloft by W Hotels

This hotel review will give you a closer look at one of the newest brands in the Starwood chain. The Aloft hotels are touted as a “vision of W hotels”.

The Aloft hotels are smaller than W hotels, located outside the city center and offer rooms at a substantially lower rate. That said – the vibe and general “hipness” created in W Hotels is most certainly still present.
There are currently 25 Aloft hotels ready for guests, with 40 more opening by the end of 2009. This shows that Starwood really is committed to the brand, but it also means fans of Aloft hotels will have an easy time finding one for any upcoming stays. The Aloft concept is offered all over the world.

The hotel provides rooms with queen or king beds, no suites or executive style rooms. The rooms themselves are surprisingly well designed and a real departure from the usual blandness of most airport hotels.

The bed is up to the usual high standards found in most Starwood properties – a good mattress, good linens and of course, a hip alarm clock.

Each room is furnished with a decent size desk, cordless VOIP phones, flat panel TV. The smart designers built a desk/table over the otherwise ugly window AC unit. On the desk is a nifty docking station – more about that later.

The bathroom area is equally well designed, and offers Bliss amenities, a walk-in shower and a frosted window providing natural light in the shower area.

In the bathroom area is also a coffee/tea maker, a complimentary bottle of water as well as several blends of tea and coffee. Above the coffee maker is a rack with magazines (Wired, New Yorker, Spin and Dwell). I found the magazines to be a really nice touch, and much better reading material than the usual stuff left in hotel rooms.

One of the (geeky) highlights of the room is the multimedia docking station on the desk – instead of trying to reach behind the TV for its inputs, Aloft provides a nice box with HDMI, VGA, Component and audio, as well as several power outlets. My suggestion – bring the cables you need for your laptop, and lie in bed enjoying a DVD or movie off Hulu instead of trying to find something decent in the channel lineup.

That said – the TV channel lineup was quite excellent. The hotel offered almost 100 different TV channels, including most of the ESPN content, Showtime and a surprisingly good “wake up channel” which is a really nice way to wake up in the morning, thanks to the wake feature in the TV.

Unlike normal hotels where the services guide is provided in a tattered binder, all the hotel information for Aloft guests is provided through the TV or the welcome page when you log in to their (speedy) wireless. The hotel information options also offer local weather and some other interactive features. Of course, you can also order the usual lineup of overpriced Lodgenet movies.

One other surprise was when I called for a rollaway bed (for my daughter). Instead of the rusty old folding bed most hotels provide – Aloft delivered a bright orange duffel bag to the room. The duffel is part of “Camp Aloft” and contains a twin size Aerobed and a Hungry Caterpillar comforter. Needless to say that this was a huge hit.

If you happen to be traveling with a pet, you’ll be happy to know that you can bring your four footed friend along with you – in fact, Aloft welcomes them with their “arf” program. Dogs get their own special bed, a bowl and a doggie bag with complimentary treats.

The entire ground floor is one open and spacious area. It is home to the lobby, pantry, “w xyz bar” and several very comfortable seating areas. Around the seating areas are loads of board games, as well as a pool table! Despite the loud remixed music, the whole space feels very welcoming and comfortable.

The pantry is open 24/7 and offers a decent variety of soda, juices, sandwiches and other snacks. The pantry is also where you’ll be able to buy breakfast, as the hotel does not have its own restaurant.

Rooms come with their own unstocked small fridge. The front desk sells an assortment of handy items, including various painkillers, allergy relief, stain removers, intimacy kits and even several board games.

Given its close proximity to the airport, you’ll be happy to learn that Aloft caters to passengers with several handy tools – the hotel WiFi page offers a direct link to online check-in services, the lobby is home to 2 touch screen computers with printers and a large flat panel TV with departure information for O’Hare – brilliant. Of course, the hotel also provides a complementary shuttle service to and from the airport.

This particular location (Chicago O’Hare) offers self parking and valet. Self parking is $18/night with full in/out privileges. To get in and out of the garage requires you to have your ticket validated at the front desk, which is a bit of a pain if you are coming and going a lot. The hotel has a heated/cooled skywalk, which is perfect for the cold Chicago winters or the blistering summers (though summer this year has been quite lousy).

The hotel is also home to a swimming pool and fitness center, and guests can relax in the outdoor courtyard while getting some work done or enjoying a drink from the bar.

All in all a very hip place to stay – without being too pretentious. The whole atmosphere is cool, yet welcoming. I’ve stayed at W hotels quite a bit, and often felt they were a little too hip for me. The Aloft concept feels great, though it does take a little getting used to being greeted with “Aloha!”, but the smiling staff do a great job of making you feel welcomed. Their positive attitude towards pets and kids is a breath of fresh air, and a very good reason to pick Aloft over other hotels at your destination.

The only minor issues I had with the hotel are its lack of a restaurant and the complex parking procedure.

Rooms at Aloft hotels start at just $79, though these rates are of course only valid on certain dates/days of the week. Summer rates for the Chicago O’Hare Aloft hotel appear to be higher during the week and drop to just $79 during the weekend.

You can book a room at an Aloft hotel through your favorite hotel site, or directly through the Aloft web site.

One final tip for people visiting the Chicago Aloft location – within walking distance of the hotel is the fabulous Muvico movie theater. This multi-screen theater is one of just a handful of all-digital theaters in the nation. If you really like movies, you’ll love the Muvico Premier – a private level of the theater offering food, alcoholic beverages, reserved seating, free popcorn and complementary valet parking. Best of all (for adults) – the Muvico Premier level requires all guests to be 21 or older.