Club Carlson - Why So Quiet???

When compared to the other loyalty program forums on FlyerTalk, Club Carlson's is awefully quiet. Why do you suppose that is?

I'd guess it's because of their relatively weak US presence. Frankly, CC needs to do a lot more of these kind of big promos in order to build buzz. I never even considered this program until their 50K promo last year.

When compared to the other loyalty program forums on FlyerTalk, Club Carlson's is awefully quiet. Why do you suppose that is?

Most folks on FT are interested in upscale properties which Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, Marriott and Priority Club have more of. Chains which have mostly midscale properties like Wyndham, Choice, Best Western and Club Carlson get less attention here.

We need to build a body of knowledge about various properties. I hope that folks will come back and post, both about the hotels they choose for earning those great bonuses, but also the places where they spend them. I'm hoping to find some desirable properties in Europe, and would love to see more reports on aspirational properties.

Because the Radisson Blu chain began as the SAS properties, there are a lot of hotels in northern European countries where the big American chains have very low representation. We have a substantial European participation on FlyerTalk. I hope that folks will find this forum and help us begin to build our knowledge base.

We need to build a body of knowledge about various properties. I hope that folks will come back and post, both about the hotels they choose for earning those great bonuses, but also the places where they spend them. I

That is a great plan - especially since we know lots of properties will be visited over the next several weeks. I'll be happy to report back about some properties in the North Houston area in case anyone needs an affordable option while going through IAH.

Another reason why posts are lighter here is that CC has not had a spate of lame promos, nor taken things away from members.

I think, in general, there is one thread about "good" things and many threads about every little "bad" thing. Hence, relatively few threads here vs a lot of threads elsewhere

Carlson doesn't have a property in Las Vegas. So why bother?

The reasons mentioned above may contribute to the reduced flyertalk presence, but importantly Carlson is also much smaller than many of the other groups mentioned. Globally, it only has about 1/4 the roooms that Hilton, Marriot, Wyndam, and IHG each have. . .

When compared to the other loyalty program forums on FlyerTalk, Club Carlson's is awefully quiet. Why do you suppose that is?

Pretty busy in the Free 50,000 and 44,000 point threads lately....

..but importantly Carlson is also much smaller than many of the other groups mentioned. Globally, it only has about 1/4 the roooms that Hilton, Marriot, Wyndam, and IHG each have. . .

This table says that Carlson has more rooms than Hyatt, though Hyatt certainly skews much higher as to hotel quality

10 Largest Hotel Chains in the World (http://llenrock.com/blog/top-10-largest-hotel-groups-in-the-world/)

Also see:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/tag/largest-hotel-companies-in-the-world/

1. The Big Night Giveaway thread has been hidden in the promo thread.
2. There is not a separate thread for each property like there is in others
3. They don't sponsor a credit card

Well they did take away the free breakfast option for gold status and why they don’t have a presence in the Caribbean is beyond my comprehension

Another reason why posts are lighter here is that CC has not had a spate of lame promos, nor taken things away from members.

I think, in general, there is one thread about "good" things and many threads about every little "bad" thing. Hence, relatively few threads here vs a lot of threads elsewhere

True about the breakfast.

With all of the hotel program devaluations in the past year, CC has certainly been on the light end of that.

When they get a credit card that will probably change ...

will presumably come out late this year in the U.S.:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/club-carlson-branded-credit-card-coming-next-year

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/club-carlson/1316952-new-club-carlson-credit-card-will-us-bank-will-launch-late-2012-a.html

1. The Big Night Giveaway thread has been hidden in the promo thread.

I've read this complaint a couple of times now, and I have no idea why it comes up. We have a dedicated thread for the three CC summer promos, with extensive FAQ in the first post, stickied to the top of the forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/club-carlson/1344513-club-carlson-summer-2012-promos-master-thread-read-1st-post.html). This is exactly what is done in other forums on FT when a big promo comes along. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please send me a PM.

2. There is not a separate thread for each property like there is in others.

As SanDiego1K has alluded to, we are dependent on posters to provide this content. We have a property review master thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/club-carlson/909243-regent-radisson-park-plaza-country-inns-suites-park-inn-reviews.html), and we'll be adding reviews. We hope that the current promo will lead to increased interest in the CC brand, and that FTers who benefit from the generous promo will come back here and post about their experiences.

3. They don't sponsor a credit card

I have heard this argument before, and I doubt that it matters much. The Hyatt forum is very busy, and was so before the credit card was introduced. I know this may be hard to fathom for people who are familiar only with the "new" FT -competing with bloggers and driven by deals and credit cards- but these things are actually not the core of what FT is about.

My personal opinion regarding why the CC forum is so lightly used is that it is somewhat of a schizophrenic program: Most of the properties in the US are basic and uninspired (often like Holiday Inns before renovation), but some of the international properties are quite good or even top notch. This makes the program rather unknown and unappealing to many US-based FTers (who make up a large portion of the FT user base). I have seen some international forums where there is more discussion of the CC program. But regardless what the reasons and current weaknesses are, if we work together, we can build a strong forum here on FT! I invite you to join me in this effort!

Why do you suppose that is?
1) Lack of upscale properties
2) Lack of presence, not just in US but elsewhere
Carlson doesn't have a property in Las Vegas. So why bother?because it is Vegas, why bother.
Well they did take away the free breakfast option for gold status and why they don’t have a presence in the Caribbean is beyond my comprehensionthanks for the info on gold free breakfast, the breakfast like Hampton's is pretty mediocre usually. Personally I only value free breakfast when at a resort, if in a rural or urban setting I'm not interested.

As far as the Caribbean goes, there are plenty of hotel chains with limited presence, none have a Caribbean wide presence. Club Carlson does have two properties in the Carribbean http://radissoncaribbean.com/
Also, while not the Caribbean, CC does have a location in the Bahamas.
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My personal opinion regarding why the CC forum is so lightly used is that it is somewhat of a schizophrenic program: Most of the properties in the US are basic and uninspired (often like Holiday Inns before renovation), but some of the international properties are quite good or even top notch. This makes the program rather unknown and unappealing to many US-based FTers (who make up a large portion of the FT user base).

Have to agree on this. I am based in the US but several years ago I worked in Europe for an extended time and lived in a really nice Radisson - up to Westin or Renaissance standard. This gave me a metric crapton (technical term) of points which I have since then been slowly whittling away at - mostly by giving free nights to European-based family. Each year or two, I try to do one stay in a Radisson in the US or Canada to keep my account active and my points stash alive. Without exception, all of those stays have been disappointing - not just by comparison with Europe but against equivalently priced offering from the other chains.

Have to agree on this. I am based in the US but several years ago I worked in Europe for an extended time and lived in a really nice Radisson - up to Westin or Renaissance standard. This gave me a metric crapton (technical term) of points which I have since then been slowly whittling away at - mostly by giving free nights to European-based family. Each year or two, I try to do one stay in a Radisson in the US or Canada to keep my account active and my points stash alive. Without exception, all of those stays have been disappointing - not just by comparison with Europe but against equivalently priced offering from the other chains.

How about staying at a Radisson in one of the US metropoles like NYC?

Another important "aspirational" destination where Club Carlson lacks any presence is Hawaii.

Another important "aspirational" destination where Club Carlson lacks any presence is Hawaii.

Hawaii is tough. Look at IHG, they just got a property and they are not a small group by any means. In a market were properties can fill rooms without being managed by a group that stipulates what they can and cant do....it can be a tough sell sometimes.

To me, it is simple. CC has just now started promoting and focusing its efforts on the program. The program in the past was not well organized and they did not seem to put much effort into it. I would stay say that there isnt much incentive for me to hit Concierge level in this program as the benefits seems to be just more points and free continental breakfast.

Take a look at the IHG forum. Considering the amount of properties in that group the number of posts and activity should be much higher than other groups but it isnt.

I think the reason that this forum like IHG is relatively quiet is that you just dont have the benefits, lounge access and so many nicer properties that you see in the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and SPG brands.

To me, CC could compete very well with IHG given the types of properties and number of them around the world but the program will have to get better for me to really consider them beyond the promos.

My personal opinion regarding why the CC forum is so lightly used is that it is somewhat of a schizophrenic program: Most of the properties in the US are basic and uninspired (often like Holiday Inns before renovation), but some of the international properties are quite good or even top notch. This makes the program rather unknown and unappealing to many US-based FTers (who make up a large portion of the FT user base). I have seen some international forums where there is more discussion of the CC program. But regardless what the reasons and current weaknesses are, if we work together, we can build a strong forum here on FT! I invite you to join me in this effort!

I agree 100% and I appreciate your efforts as the new mod in getting things up and rolling.

I have slowly grown to look at Club Carlson properties as an alternative to the other large programs for a lot of my stays in Europe. In the US I think they have a long way to go with quality and getting high end travelers interested in their brand. I also agree with the comment about their program lacking any real elite benefits (confirmed upgrades, lounge access, etc.) and I think that will need to change for them to move forward. I do think that a good credit card might help......especially with the FT crowd.

How about staying at a Radisson in one of the US metropoles like NYC?
I think the fact that they don't have a nicer property in NYC is also a problem for them. I have a stay at the Lexington property next month because I need to be in town, the rate is decent and I want to earn the bonus. Would I have otherwise picked a Radisson in NYC? NO WAY considering all the other more luxurious options. I would think that NYC and places like Miami and LA would be on their radar to expand the Radisson Blu concept they just brought to Chicago. They need high end properties in large cities in the US to be taken seriously by the US frequent traveler crowd.

To me, it is simple. CC has just now started promoting and focusing its efforts on the program. The program in the past was not well organized and they did not seem to put much effort into it. I would stay say that there isnt much incentive for me to hit Concierge level in this program as the benefits seems to be just more points and free continental breakfast.

Take a look at the IHG forum. Considering the amount of properties in that group the number of posts and activity should be much higher than other groups but it isnt.

I have found the IHG forum to be very disorganized with the subforum for stay reports that are basically just hidden there while having a some sort of "master"thread on the main forum.

I think the reason that this forum like IHG is relatively quiet is that you just dont have the benefits, lounge access and so many nicer properties that you see in the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and SPG brands.

To me, CC could compete very well with IHG given the types of properties and number of them around the world but the program will have to get better for me to really consider them beyond the promos.

I have done only one Radisson Blu stau recently and started a master thread here. Yeah. The benefits i.e. lounges, suite upgrades, guaranteed early/late check out etc. would need to be in place before I would start moving more of my stays from Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott & Starwood to Club Carlson.

I have found the IHG forum to be very disorganized with the subforum for stay reports that are basically just hidden there while having a some sort of "master"thread on the main forum.





Yeah, there is a thread for upgrades etc, a sub forum for stay reports and the master thread which is for "other". I brought that up and was told it was best that way so I just went with the flow but find it confusing when you are used to the other hotel forums.

I sort of like CC, and the fact that they are not as big as the others. True, most of the hotels are not as fancy. But I can live with that.



I have always found that I got good service.




I have always found that when I call, I get a human (not a space alien), who speaks English, and I can understand them perfectly. Unlike the larger giants, they have not outsourced this to "off shore" space aliens. I totally appreciate that. I cannot emphasize how disheartening it is to call a company (any company) and hear "Heeeeylo Meeeeeester Baloneeeee, I will beeeee glad to help yuuuuuuuu weeeeeth that..." You know they are probably reading from a script. How good of service can they possibly provide? Just take a look at all the complaints IHG gets because of this fact.




I have always found that when points come due, they post them promptly without me having to call.




I like the status match.




I like the promo's. I completed my Country Inn stay two weeks ago, and the points have already credited. Tomorrow I'm going to treat myself to a Radisson (do-nothing-day-off) at Cape Canaveral. So I will get the Radisson bonus as well. Then I will be set for a while.



If anyone is in Florida like me, the cheapest Radisson's are Orlando and Cape Canaveral. Be sure to check each day of the week because the prices fluctuate significantly.

I would say that one reason is the lack of properties in major cities. For instance Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo (I don't count Narita as it's an airport hotel) don't have any properties. That's hardly a sign of a serious hotel chain? To mention European examples, Spain has 2 hotels of which 1 is in Madrid and the other close to the French border on the north coast. None in Barcelona!

I'm a Concierge, as Radisson is quite dominant in the Nordic countries. I used to be SPG Plat when living in Canada, but there is only one SPG property in Scandinavia (Stockholm). Comparing the two programs, I doubt CC will in 10 years be where SPG was 3 years ago. What's there to discuss about the program? In-room gifts and upgrades?