Starwood Preferred Guest - Third night free - where's the bargain?

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere - can't get search to work today.

I just got a mailing that included the "stay 2 nights get the third night free" promotion. I checked to see if I could use this for some upcoming stays (currently booked elsewhere but I had checked Sheraton rates for comparison 2 days ago). Turns out I could do better using the standard advance purchase rates for 3 nights than taking the inflated price for 2 nights. :rolleyes: The web site says "you'll receive our best available rate plus your third night free". Not sure what best available means - maybe best flexible rate - but it seems very high. Since the promo applies to advance purchase (no refund) weekend stays the rates offered seem to be no bargain at all.

Is this misguided (and misleading) marketing -or has anyone found benefit in using this promo?

i am not sure what exact promotion you have, but i have gotten some OUTSTANDING rates from the buy 2, get 1 free and buy 4, get 2 free promotions.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H&back=-1

This promo is hit or miss.

The rate are definitely inflated for the previous two nights when using this promo, and often there will be some deeply discounted internet only rates that when multiplied by three are actually less than 2 nights using this promo.

That being said, as fly co mentioned, you can find some excellent deals and this promo is always worth checking out.

i am not sure what exact promotion you have, but i have gotten some OUTSTANDING rates from the buy 2, get 1 free and buy 4, get 2 free promotions.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H&back=-1

Same here.

From this series of offers, I've used the 20%off2N and B2G1F multiple times this year.....most recently for a 3-night stay at the Sheraton Boston over Labor Day weekend........and each time, I saved quite a bit off the lowest available rate (including the so-called internet rates).

The only drawback is that they require advance purchase and aren't "flexible".....so, I usually initially book a BAR or other unrestricted rate plan.....and "switch" to one of these when I know for certain that I won't have to change/cancel my reservation.......usually 2-3 weeks before the arrival date.

A.J.

Same here.

From this series of offers, I've used the 20%off2N and B2G1F multiple times this year.....most recently for a 3-night stay at the Sheraton Boston over Labor Day weekend........and each time, I saved quite a bit off the lowest available rate (including the so-called internet rates).

The only drawback is that they require advance purchase and aren't "flexible".....so, I usually initially book a BAR or other unrestricted rate plan.....and "switch" to one of these when I know for certain that I won't have to change/cancel my reservation.......usually 2-3 weeks before the arrival date.

A.J.

Thanks for sharing the strategy Bulldog King. Sounds like a great approach.

I am printing your comments as I create this response

Regards

747LWW

Thanks for sharing the strategy Bulldog King. Sounds like a great approach.

I am printing your comments as I create this response

Regards

747LWW

A few additional comments on this "strategy" of mine:

"Switching" requires booking a new reservation under the special rate plan and then cancelling the original.

The only drawback to this strategy is that rooms available at the promo offer rate plans seem to be capacity controlled.....and if the hotel experiences high occupancy during the time frame, it won't be possible to "switch".


FWIW, the only time I decided to keep my initial reservation when I could have switched to a 20% off plan was when my original rate plan was a package deal (included free breakfast) that was "flexible" and only cost $12 more per night. ;)

All other times, the lowest available rates (including the "special" internet-only rates) were rarely discounted more than 10% off the rate used for the B2G1F plan.

A.J.

"Switching" requires booking a new reservation under the special rate plan and then cancelling the original.

The only drawback to this strategy is that rooms available at the promo offer rate plans seem to be capacity controlled.....and if the hotel experiences high occupancy during the time frame, it won't be possible to "switch".


this is definitely true...very good observation.

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere - can't get search to work today.

I just got a mailing that included the "stay 2 nights get the third night free" promotion. I checked to see if I could use this for some upcoming stays (currently booked elsewhere but I had checked Sheraton rates for comparison 2 days ago). Turns out I could do better using the standard advance purchase rates for 3 nights than taking the inflated price for 2 nights. :rolleyes: The web site says "you'll receive our best available rate plus your third night free". Not sure what best available means - maybe best flexible rate - but it seems very high. Since the promo applies to advance purchase (no refund) weekend stays the rates offered seem to be no bargain at all.

Is this misguided (and misleading) marketing -or has anyone found benefit in using this promo?
You didn't tell us what specific locations and dates you checked, but I have a few comments:

1. A number of times, I have gotten FAR better rates using this "3 nights for the price of 2" promo than via any other discount that was available to me for the dates in question (such as AAA, AARP, other promos, etc.). Examples: Sheraton Pasadena, Four Points Darling Harbour (Sydney), Westin Seattle, and some others that I can't recall off the top of my head.

2. The rates that these are based on are what in hotel industry jargon are called the "Best Available Rate" (aka BAR), which is in reality almost NEVER the best available rate! :D However, once the "one night free" is applied, the end result can still be very good. (Don't EVER expect that such discounts will be applied to the absolute lowest rate! Be grateful that in this case, it is applied to the BAR rather than to the Rack rate! ;) )

3. In searching for the cheapest rates on this promo, I have found that you often have to play around with parameters (number of adults, smoking preference, bed preference) to turn up the best deals. The number of results from any given search seems to be limited to something like 6, when in reality, there may be far more than that number of possibilities for a given hotel and a given set of dates. For example, sometimes if you widen the parameters too much (e.g., set both smoking and bedding to "no preference"), you will not actually see all the possible results displayed (because of the aforementioned limit); but on the other hand, if you narrow them too much (specifying both bedding and smoking), you may exclude results you might be interested in. I have been looking at an upcoming stay myself and found some "3 for 2" deals that at first I didn't see because of this.

4. I agree with the strategy of booking a "backup reservation" if you're not ready to commit to a prepaid, nonrefundable res too far in advance. Such a backup could even be an award res (since those are cancellable and the points immediately refundable, if you cancel before the hotel-specified deadline).

Oh, and by the way, here's the link to the current set of promos:

Starwood Multi-Night Promos Worldwide (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H&IM=SPG_SO_DRE_H)

Note that it includes several different multi-night promos; also note that from time to time, the URL is replaced with a different one, but this is current as of now (September 2006), valid for stays consumed by December 15. (And there is a link to similar Resort offers in the upper right.)

Oh, and by the way, here's the link to the current set of promos:

Starwood Multi-Night Promos Worldwide (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H&IM=SPG_SO_DRE_H)

how is this different from the link i posted way above?

how is this different from the link i posted way above?
Just an inadvertent duplication, I'm sure. ;)

Thanks everyone for the info and tips. ^ The offer I was looking at came with my e-statement and referred specifically to Sheraton. Plus it had far fewer cities available than on the new link. One I checked was the Sheraton at Schipol. With the link you've provided I can now get the Pulitzer at a better rate. It's a bit academic right now because I've decided to stay at the IC Amstel using a free night and an award stay.

But at least with the new link and your reassurances that there are bargains to be had I will be able to look for deals in future.

how is this different from the link i posted way above?
Mine is prettier. :p