Starwood Preferred Guest - How many SPG Plats are there?

couple of stays away from SPG plat, should get there by 2nd w/e in oct (westin hilton head...) so it lead me to wonder how diluted was the SPG plat pool. Anyone knows?

Also im getting there on stays (23) as i only have 32 nights... most of you get there on stays or nights?

I wish knew the answer to this closely guarded secret especially the breakdown like all the comped Plat's out there from SVO. I doubt the powers that be would want us to know numbers.

I rarely hear anything about numbers of Elite members. I know Marriott has 20 million members and AA has 50 million. I also know NWA tries to make sure that Plats have a 90% or higher upgrade percent. But I have never heard any more details then that on any program.

most of you get there on stays or nights?
I requal by stays first. 64 stays and 87 nights so far this year.

-- CaptainG

I'm the opposite, because I'm Australian and we get twice as many weeks vacation each year as Americans, during which time my wife expects me to use my Platinum status for family holidays.

Hence so far I've accumulated 61 nights in 2006 but across only 15 stays.

And that is a bit of a bugbear for me. I don't agree with the program being aimed exclusively at low-rolling road warriors: I think that there should be multiple pathways to Platinum which give extra credit for staying in hotels of each higher Category (e.g. Cat 4 counts double, Cat 5 counts triple and Cat 6 equals a 400% stay or credit bonus).

After all, 13 nights at the W Maldives or St Regis Bora Bora should not be valued less than 25 one night stays at Four Points hotels.

After all, 13 nights at the W Maldives or St Regis Bora Bora should not be valued less than 25 one night stays at Four Points hotels.

Have you checked the prices at the St Regis Bora Bora lately? I think you meant 13 nights there is equivalent to 130 nights at a Four Points. :eek:

couple of stays away from SPG plat, should get there by 2nd w/e in oct (westin hilton head...) so it lead me to wonder how diluted was the SPG plat pool. Anyone knows?

Also im getting there on stays (23) as i only have 32 nights... most of you get there on stays or nights?
There are a shmillion Plats, a frizillion Golds, and a gabillionzillion Preferred Guests (said with pinky finger on lips, a la Dr. Evil).

I earn my yearly Plat status on nights first then soon after I hit the stays plateau. I end each year around 250 nights but this year I'll be around 160.

There are a shmillion Plats, a frizillion Golds, and a gabillionzillion Preferred Guests (said with pinky finger on lips, a la Dr. Evil).

I earn my yearly Plat status on nights first then soon after I hit the stays plateau. I end each year around 250 nights but this year I'll be around 160.

A shmillion Plats? Come on, that's a wild exaggeration; it's probably half that. :D

double post

I don't know how many there are but I do know how many were staying at the Excelsior in Rome last March when we checked in.

The desk clerk accidentally handed me a sheet when we checked in that showed 9 elites arriving that day-- 3 plats, 6 golds (with their upgrades highlighted)

It was interesting and it made me curious about the number of plats as well.

This year I reached Plt status with 50 nights on my 24th stay.

There are 60,192 Plats
874,220 Golds




;) :D



I make Plat on stays with about 30 a year.

We can start counting...I'll start

ONE

We can start counting...I'll start

ONE

That's so juvenile.




































TWO

three

3

drei

tres

We can start counting...I'll start

ONE
Really going for that coupon connection, eh?



four.


Oh wait, I'm only gold. I never get to join in any reindeer games :mad:

There are 60,192 Plats
874,220 Golds

Seriously? Or is that a good guess? Sounds about right...

Really going for that coupon connection, eh?



four.


Oh wait, I'm only gold. I never get to join in any reindeer games :mad:

then.....I am FOUR...

unexpected travel make me Plat 2night.

FIVE

25 stays ytd, 34 nights ytd

Always qualify on stays. 24 so far this year, but 25 & 26 scheduled for next week.

I rarely hear anything about numbers of Elite members. I know Marriott has 20 million members and AA has 50 million. I also know NWA tries to make sure that Plats have a 90% or higher upgrade percent. But I have never heard any more details then that on any program.

You are not looking in the right places. ;)



For the record, coming out of 2004 these are the United Elite Member numbers:

- 535,000 members were Premier level
- 239,000 members were Premier Executive level
- 46,000 were 1K level

I don't track GS because it's not directly related to mileage based qualifying requirements.

As a comparitive stat, approximately 11.7 million members are active in the Mileage Plus program.

That is 11.7m ACTIVE members. There are around 60 million actual MP members IIRC.


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4432857&postcount=21 - Sept 9 , 2005

If someone knows or can post the raw member of SPG members, I bet the % is roughly similar for elites as with UA.

Glen

23 stays; 46 nights. Next week, a 2 night stay for 24/48. So, this year, I make it on stays. Last year it was nights - stay #24 included nights 49-51.

(And, DCF, my spend at SPG hotels, including meals & taxes, is over $30k YTD...but there's a whole other thread where we beat that topic to death earlier this month: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=598495 )

I don't know how some of you folks do the travelling you do...

If someone knows or can post the raw member of SPG members, I bet the % is roughly similar for elites as with UA.


27 million members - latest number from starwood.com. I assume that the number represents enrolled members, and not just those who are currently active.

I am a Marriott plat and on a lark, sent SPG my information. I have yet to stay at a Starwood property this year but my PLT card showed up today through early 08. Guess I will give them a try. It was so easy to get the comp.

33 stays, 33 nights. If I make 50 nights, it'll probably take another 17 stays. But I don't expect to stay any more paid nights--unless Starwood puts out another offer as expected....

I can't wait for 8 any longer.

There are a shmillion Plats, a frizillion Golds, and a gabillionzillion Preferred Guests (said with pinky finger on lips, a la Dr. Evil).

I earn my yearly Plat status on nights first then soon after I hit the stays plateau. I end each year around 250 nights but this year I'll be around 160.

250 nights? that's like every single work day in a year. What kind of life do you lead?

I usually do maybe 70 nights a year...and that seems bad enough!

But not for long -- thanks to skimpy hotel budgets in NYC, the bustling metropolis that is Little Rock AR, and the even more bustling metropolis that is suburban CT, *wood has not been much of an option at all this year. :(

Made it on nights first last year, then stays. Currently at 3 stays, 5 nights this year... and stuck there for the foreseeable future.

Debated a matress run, but with 22 1-night stays to go, not an option on my dime. Oh well, made Hilton Diamond (yea!) and Mariott Gold (eh...) in the interim, and points for free hotel stays while on vaca is points, I suppose.

I am a Marriott plat and on a lark, sent SPG my information. I have yet to stay at a Starwood property this year but my PLT card showed up today through early 08. Guess I will give them a try. It was so easy to get the comp.
As a Marriott Platinum you can get a comp to almost any other program. It's because Marriott Platinum is one of the more difficult levels to make. It's like being triple Platinum in Starwood... if there were such a thing.

I used to be Marriott Platinum before I switched to Starwood. The bang for your buck is MUCH better at Starwood, but to be honest... I felt more pampered at Marriott as a Platinum than I do as a Starwood Platinum. It seems as if EVERYONE is a Platinum guest at Starwood.

So if you're looking for a better stay experience, I suggest you stay with Marriott. If you're looking for SIGNIFICANTLY more return on your stays, Starwood is the place to be.

I requal by stays first. 64 stays and 87 nights so far this year.

-- CaptainG
So far this year 29 stays and 81 nights with more nights planned in December at the Sheraton Waikiki. Virtually all pleasure.

I wish knew the answer to this closely guarded secret especially the breakdown like all the comped Plat's out there from SVO. I doubt the powers that be would want us to know numbers.
I'm not sure if it's true, but I was told the number of platinum comps from SVO was limited to 1000... a very small number considering the size of the pool.

I'm platinum by the number of stays (over 70 in 2005, on track for that or more this year). My wife was comp'ed platinum because we're 5 Star Elite with the SVN (all weeks at WKORV on Maui). Since my wife rarely goes anywhere without me, for all intents and purposes, the comp is wasted.

From meeting everyone at the GM's Elites Only cocktail party and seeing those same faces for weeks at a time when we stay, we've gotten to know several other 5 Star Elite couples. The funny thing is EVERY one of them is like us... the husband is a business traveler and platinum by the sheer number of stays and the wives take the platinum comp... just in case they ever go anywhere without us.

I'd say that not only are the SVN platinum comps a very small subset of the pool, but a lot of them are wasted. This will, of course, change once we all retire. ;-)

dujvari, we bought the WKORVN properties so that we wouldn't have to be concerned about requalifying every year. We were told they were allowing 2,500 platinum comps. I had the opportunity to talk to our sales person a few days ago and he is still trying to make it to 5 star before the quota is reached. He didn't say how close they were. You feel that there will be more impact on the program when the business traveler retires, but don't you think that there will be a similar number of members who sell or divide their properties so that they no longer qualify?

http://www.webflyer.com/company/press_room/facts_and_stats/current_membership.php

I'm guessing some percentage of the 9 million number.

http://www.webflyer.com/company/press_room/facts_and_stats/current_membership.php

I'm guessing some percentage of the 9 million number.

Really going out on a limb there, aren't you? ;)

dujvari, we bought the WKORVN properties so that we wouldn't have to be concerned about requalifying every year. We were told they were allowing 2,500 platinum comps. I had the opportunity to talk to our sales person a few days ago and he is still trying to make it to 5 star before the quota is reached. He didn't say how close they were. You feel that there will be more impact on the program when the business traveler retires, but don't you think that there will be a similar number of members who sell or divide their properties so that they no longer qualify?
That's what gives timeshare sales people a bad name... you get a different story depending on who you talk to. When we first bought at WKORV, we soon found out that much of what we were told was false... not in a bad, intentionally misleading way, but false all the same. It seems like they would rather make stuff up than say "I don't know that".

Time will tell what happens as Elite households retire. I can see a lot selling off as you say... because the kids left the nest or they've found a new place. But I can also see people getting more due to their kids having kids.

Half the reason we have so many weeks at WKORV is so we can invite people. What's the use of having it if you can't share it with those you value? We look at our timeshare the same as having a summer home... except the number of rooms in this summer home is configurable depending on the number and nature of your guests. ;-)

I am a SWood Plat member and I am trying to figure out how many others are Plat? Does anyone know the percentage or SWood members that are Plat or if I check in on a average night at a normal hotel what percentage of the guests would be Plat?

I know this will vary on property, day of the week etc. but I am trying to get a feel for how special this status is. Thanks!

Depends on many of the factors you described above. Popular hotels in major cities will have quite a large number Platinum guests. For example, I was in Montreal and they had over 25 plats staying the night I checked in.

Most US hotels get their fair number of Platinums which in turn makes securing upgrades difficult at times. Overseas, you tend to have much better luck with upgrades since the ratio of Plats to regular guests is smaller.

A recent example: I was checking in at W Seattle and was a little disappointed that I couldn't get my room type preference.

The clerk said "Over half of the hotel tonight is Platinum and about another quarter is Gold." He mentioned that pretty much every king-size bed room had a Plat in it, and Gold were getting the "desirable" double-double rooms. I couldn't complain a whole lot - I was given top floor with a very nice view of Rainier. But I was surprised that the place was so Plat-heavy.

Granted, it was a midweek stay outside of tourist season. The "street" rates for W Seattle pretty much close it off to anyone without a corp rate anyway. So perhaps this was an extreme example of a hotel filled with almost entirely business travelers...

Perhaps this is one of the few benefits of Marriott Gold vs. some of the other mid-tiers: I know I will never, ever encounter a hotel so full of Golds and Plats that I can't get a king-sized bed. Of course, Marriott isn't giving me any suites either - and they didn't start when I made Plat. :mad: Suite lovers are still probably best off with Starwood, as their leisure stays are far more likely to yield a suite than at Marriott.

I stay at the Sheraton Cavalier in Calgary quite a bit and find that there are usually about 10 - 20 platinums checked in when I arrive.

They have a list they check off when you arrive, so I always take a peek.

Never really have a problem getting upgraded to a suite though...maybe 1 in 5 stays I end up with a standard room.

well it is going to get a lot more common now and worthless to get SPG platinum. check out the post about SPG giving out FREE SPG platinum to NW Plt.

SPG Plat is as common as silly questions.

You will find many SPG Platinums within the US. However outside the US you will find quite a few less. So it would surprise me if a hotel in Europe or Australia would be 50% full with Platinums and Golds.

It would be unfair to equate Marriott Gold to SPG Gold. A equal comparison would be Marriott Gold (50 nights) to SPG Plat (50 nights). This is why i don't Marriott any longer.

It would be unfair to equate Marriott Gold to SPG Gold. A equal comparison would be Marriott Gold (50 nights) to SPG Plat (50 nights). This is why i don't Marriott any longer.

Well, apparently and somehow, Marriott found out that I am Plat with Starwood and Diamond with HHonors, so that Marriott is making a serious bid for my business.

In an apparently targeted promo, I received an email offering me Marriott Gold status through February 2009 just by staying 10 more room nights by December 31, 2007! I am a Marriott Silver with 23 nights in 2007, so well short of the 50 nights to make Gold.

Looks like I will be switching some stay from Starwood and HHonors to Marriott. But 10 nights is not that many, really :D

You will find many SPG Platinums within the US. However outside the US you will find quite a few less. So it would surprise me if a hotel in Europe or Australia would be 50% full with Platinums and Golds.

Agree!

And I will say without hesitation that Starwood Platinum is still one of the most desired status, if not the most desired status, for hotels. Any disgruntled Platinum members can leave the program anytime they wish :D

SPG Plat is as common as silly questions.

No chance. If it were in fact that common, we would never get an upgrade.

You will find many SPG Platinums within the US. However outside the US you will find quite a few less. So it would surprise me if a hotel in Europe or Australia would be 50% full with Platinums and Golds.

I would agree with this statement. When I would stay at the Westin Melbourne, or any of the South Pacific *woods, they would look at you almost quizically when you came in... having rarely seen the Platinum of their species.

well it is going to get a lot more common now and worthless to get SPG platinum. check out the post about SPG giving out FREE SPG platinum to NW Plt.

Do not forget that they did the same thing for Delta earlier this year. However anyways I will have plat this year for just under 1k :D

Do not forget that they did the same thing for Delta earlier this year. However anyways I will have plat this year for just under 1k :D

Guys, I would not be ultra concerned with this. If in fact the few NW platinums that find out about this aren't already Platinum with SPG, a small percentage will actually use it to gain the status. I have a feeling that 90% of NWA Platinum members who prefer Starwood hotels are already Platinum SPGers, just from the sheer number of flights and nights away from home that earned them that status. Now if NWA Silver got this benefit... lord help us!

Well, according to this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=605004&highlight=I%27ll+start), there are only 10 platinums(among FTers). :p

Guys, I would not be ultra concerned with this. If in fact the few NW platinums that find out about this aren't already Platinum with SPG, a small percentage will actually use it to gain the status. I have a feeling that 90% of NWA Platinum members who prefer Starwood hotels are already Platinum SPGers, just from the sheer number of flights and nights away from home that earned them that status. Now if NWA Silver got this benefit... lord help us!
I have only heard about it from the NWA boards. I did not get anythign from NWA or SPG, so they did not jsut do a mass mailing. 5 years ago or so NWa gave you gold wiht 3 stays. I assume, it is some type of fast track again.

You will find many SPG Platinums within the US. However outside the US you will find quite a few less. So it would surprise me if a hotel in Europe or Australia would be 50% full with Platinums and Golds.

Let me surprise you - the Westin Rotterdam, Netherlands - conveniently located within a few hundred meters of the corporate headquarters of Unilever, ING Bank and Mittal Steel and regional offices of Fortis Bank and Royal Dutch Shell.

Also the only five star in the city - and not a bad hotel. On a weekday night it is about 80% gold and platinums - and the platinums are in the majority. Solidly sold out every Monday through Thursday. Though I am a VERY frequent guest my (junior) suite upgrade hit rate is lower than 10%. In this particular hotel being platinum means nothing (in terms of upgrades) though they have a friendly atmosphere and excellent staff.

Let me surprise you - the Westin Rotterdam, Netherlands - conveniently located within a few hundred meters of the corporate headquarters of Unilever, ING Bank and Mittal Steel and regional offices of Fortis Bank and Royal Dutch Shell.

That is a surprise and I hate surprises of this nature. ;)

I worked hard this year to get Platinum for the first time and now everyone is telling me its worthless. Such a sad life. :rolleyes:

..its less than 3 % of all SPG members, if I remember our conversation correctly.

That is a surprise and I hate surprises of this nature. ;)

I worked hard this year to get Platinum for the first time and now everyone is telling me its worthless. Such a sad life. :rolleyes:

SPG Plat is a great benefit. It is definately not worthless - quite the contrary actually.

..its less than 3 % of all SPG members, if I remember our conversation correctly.

As those platinum members are the ones that will be using Starwood's services the most that would mean that they are a much higher proportion of the actual guests staying in any hotel.

Is it odd to say that a platinum will have at least five times as many nights as the average guest? Now taking into account they will not let you in anymore if you don't sign up for the loyalty program that would mean that 15% of the population in the average Starwood hotel would be platinums - and that would mean it will be getting busy if the NW comps are coming in.

A weekend stay in a hotel primarily used by business people would result in higher chances of securing Plat Upgrade.

Let me surprise you - the Westin Rotterdam, Netherlands - conveniently located within a few hundred meters of the corporate headquarters of Unilever, ING Bank and Mittal Steel and regional offices of Fortis Bank and Royal Dutch Shell.

Also the only five star in the city - and not a bad hotel. On a weekday night it is about 80% gold and platinums - and the platinums are in the majority. Solidly sold out every Monday through Thursday. Though I am a VERY frequent guest my (junior) suite upgrade hit rate is lower than 10%. In this particular hotel being platinum means nothing (in terms of upgrades) though they have a friendly atmosphere and excellent staff.


The Westin Rotterdam (which is just opposite the train station) is certainly very comfortable. I was upgraded to an executive room on one stay, but only to a Preferred Floor on another;-(

Please do yourself a favour if you like well done burgers - do NOT order them using room service at this hotel. On both occasions, they were nearly raw and also quite cold. Room service was the only disappointing thing about this hotel.

That is a surprise and I hate surprises of this nature. ;)

I worked hard this year to get Platinum for the first time and now everyone is telling me its worthless. Such a sad life. :rolleyes:

Actually, Starwood Platinum status is something that I fight very hard to maintain every year because of the perks and advantages (average between 75 - 80% upgrade ratio) and I've even been known to do 'mattress runs' year end if I ever come up short. Starwood is the best loyalty program on the planet - bar none and Ive tried them all.

Well, apparently and somehow, Marriott found out that I am Plat with Starwood and Diamond with HHonors, so that Marriott is making a serious bid for my business.

In an apparently targeted promo, I received an email offering me Marriott Gold status through February 2009 just by staying 10 more room nights by December 31, 2007! I am a Marriott Silver with 23 nights in 2007, so well short of the 50 nights to make Gold.

Looks like I will be switching some stay from Starwood and HHonors to Marriott. But 10 nights is not that many, really :D

With the business that you can bring, why take the offer? Just ask Marriott for a status match based on stays w/ Hilton and SPG? Just do it Man!!!

The Marriott offer sapguy received is better than the usual gold challenge offered. Marriott does not usually provide status matches.

Starwood Plat is un-common because of the quality of the benefits / customer service. I do not care about who else is enjoying it as long as I get the recognition - and the funny accidents coming with it.

I discovered the status via business stays and now I mostly get it from week-end stays and vacationing since my company switched allegiance (Fools!). So you might say I am a full Platinum because I pay fro it on my own pocket - and I like it!

By the way, never got any trouble in Rotterdam ;)

This can be done easier I think.

We all know that Starwood was managing 242,000 rooms in 825 properties last year (viz. yearly statement). The average hotel then has 293 rooms.

That also means Starwood have in total 242,000*365 = 88,330,000 nights to sell. Occupancy these days is at 75%, so 66,000,000 are actually sold.

So far so good. Now we try to estimate the number of platinums in a given hotel. In the particular one I am staying at today it is 31% of all rooms sold (ridiculously high - but that is how it is here). We don't know the real fraction, but I suppose it is on average close to 5%.

The number of platinums is then derived from the total number of occupied rooms (66,000,000), the average fraction of rooms taken up by platinums and the average number of nights that platinum members stay per year.

Now suppose that a platinum on average stays 40 nights and and that on average 5% of all hotel guests in any given hotel is platinum then the total number of rooms taken up by platinums in any given year is 0.05*66,000,000 = 3,300,000. Each platinum takes 40 nights, then those 3,300,000 nights are taken up by 3,300,000/40 = 82,500 platinums

For other values of the average proportion of platinums in an average hotel we get

0.025 (2.5%) ------> number of platinums is 41,250, on average 5 platinums per night per hotel
0.050 (5.0%)------> number of platinums is 82,500, on average 10 platinums per night per hotel
0.075 (7.5%) ------> number of platinums is 123,750, on average 15 platinums per night per hotel
0.100 (10%) ------> number of platinums is 165,000, on average 20 platinums per night per hotel

The general formula is of course X*3,300,000/Y (where X is the average proportion of platinums checked in at an average hotel, and Y is the average number of nights of the average platinum). Fill in your own values for X and Y and you will have your own very personal estimate for number of platinums :-)

general formula is of course X*3,300,000/Y (where X is the average proportion of platinums checked in at an average hotel, and Y is the average number of nights of the average platinum). Fill in your own values for X and Y and you will have your own very personal estimate for number of platinums :-)

Wow, do you want to do my tax return? :)

Keep in mind that Platinum for Life is offered to Elite Timeshare owners (those that own more than 559k StarOptions per year which is about 4 weeks in a nice 2BR lockout). These owners do not ever need to stay in a hotel to be SPG Platinum. I believe that there are currently about 1300 Starwood Platinum members from the Timeshare side.

I know this is all approximate, but for total properties and rooms are you using all starwood properties or only starwood properties that participate in the SPG program?

I know this is all approximate, but for total properties and rooms are you using all starwood properties or only starwood properties that participate in the SPG program?

Not quite sure this one is addressed to me - but I have not made a difference there as the number of totally non-participating properties is a few percent, and I did not feel like going through all 825 to see which were not, how many rooms these properties had and what percentage of the room numbers they constituted; but the actual occupation percentage this year is a little bit higher than the 75% reported last year, so I think the approximation remains fairly close.