Starwood Preferred Guest - Stay credit and SPG points for conference rate - not via SPG.com?

I am going to Capetown in November for a conference and have requested a reservation with a conference designated travel agent for hotel reservation as SPG.com rate at Arabella Sheraton is ridiculously expensive. I am curious if I am able to get stay credit and SPG points if the reservation is done through a conference designated travel agent. Anyone have similar experience?

I am going to Capetown in November for a conference and have requested a reservation with a conference designated travel agent for hotel reservation as SPG.com rate at Arabella Sheraton is ridiculously expensive. I am curious if I am able to get stay credit and SPG points if the reservation is done through a conference designated travel agent. Anyone have similar experience?

I am going to Capetown in November for a conference and have requested a reservation with a conference designated travel agent for hotel reservation as SPG.com rate at Arabella Sheraton is ridiculously expensive. I am curious if I am able to get stay credit and SPG points if the reservation is done through a conference designated travel agent. Anyone have similar experience?


You will not earn you starpoints is when the rooms are settled to a master bill that your company pays. If you're paying the hotel with your credit card, company or personal, you generally earn points for it.

There are other instances that come into play, like how the reservation was booked and if it was an "eligible" rate.

Not to be Debbie Downer, but I would do a search here in the Starwood forum and check starwoods T&C as this has been discussed many times.

Here is an example
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=389190&highlight=group+rate

You will not earn you starpoints is when the rooms are settled to a master bill that your company pays. If you're paying the hotel with your credit card, company or personal, you generally earn points for it.


Is this specific to company pay? I ask because I stayed earlier this month at the Westin: Melbourne where all three rooms were booked to one credit card (not mine) yet I got the * points.

Is this specific to company pay? I ask because I stayed earlier this month at the Westin: Melbourne where all three rooms were booked to one credit card (not mine) yet I got the * points.

No, the company can still pay and you can receive the points. However, it depends upon how accounts are settled and the reservations are set up.

If you are given a choice of properties (not all of them Starwood) and the company has arranged to pay by direct bill, then you can still get credit for choosing the Starwood property.

If the company chose one hotel (in this case a Starwood property) and set up the charges to be paid off a Master Bill, then you won't get credit.

If another guest used their credit card to pay for three rooms in Melbourne and you got credit for all three rooms, then I think you got lucky. In order to be credited, you have to personally settle all charges at check-out. You can use a company credit card to do so, but you still have to sign and pay. To be credited for three rooms on a single stay, you have to do the same plus be the guest of record for the other two rooms.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

I am going to Capetown in November for a conference and have requested a reservation with a conference designated travel agent for hotel reservation as SPG.com rate at Arabella Sheraton is ridiculously expensive. I am curious if I am able to get stay credit and SPG points if the reservation is done through a conference designated travel agent. Anyone have similar experience?I just wanted to post my experience for the benefit of anybody who asks in the future.

I attended a conference in Anaheim last week. The conference had contracted with several hotels in the area and offered discounted rates at each, but the rates were only available if you booked through the conference's website. I booked the Sheraton at the Park through the designated site and put in my SPG number at the time of booking. This wasn't a pre-paid or a master bill scenario -- just a regular reservation with payment settled to my credit card at check-out.

However, the reservation never appeared on spg.com in my list of future stays. I was able to find it by reservation number, but that was it. When I called SPG to see if they could add my SPG number to the reservation, they said it wasn't possible and that I would have to do it at check-in.

The front desk did add my number at check-in, and my bill indicated I would receive xxxx Starpoints for the stay. However, I received points only for incidentals and no stay credit.

Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Hopefully others have better luck. On the other hand, it was the first time in years that I paid as little as $154/night for a hotel room. :)

If you are given a choice of properties (not all of them Starwood) and the company has arranged to pay by direct bill, then you can still get credit for choosing the Starwood property.


Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com


William,

Can you clarify direct bill for me? I'll be in India next month and made arrangements with a tour company to take me to see the Taj Mahal. I asked them to book Starwood properties.

I'll be paying them and they will pay the hotel. Will they be getting direct billed so I will get the credit?

If another guest used their credit card to pay for three rooms in Melbourne and you got credit for all three rooms, then I think you got lucky. In order to be credited, you have to personally settle all charges at check-out. You can use a company credit card to do so, but you still have to sign and pay. To be credited for three rooms on a single stay, you have to do the same plus be the guest of record for the other two rooms.


That's more or less what I expected. I showed my card because I wanted credit for my stay if possible i.e. physical presence on property. The desk clerk said she'd take care of it and all I expected was my yearly stay to go up by one but when I checked, I had 2K points (1K US for all three rooms x2).

Guess I'll chalk it up to karma for missing air miles on part of that trip.

William,

Can you clarify direct bill for me? I'll be in India next month and made arrangements with a tour company to take me to see the Taj Mahal. I asked them to book Starwood properties.

I'll be paying them and they will pay the hotel. Will they be getting direct billed so I will get the credit?

No, you wouldn't be credited for these. A direct bill is a billing situation set up between your company and the hotel directly. This is a tour operator situation, which is not eligible.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

William,

If the bill is paid with a master account, will there be a stay credit & no SPG points? Or no stay credit & no SPG points?

:confused:

Thanks!

YVR2010

William,

If the bill is paid with a master account, will there be a stay credit & no SPG points? Or no stay credit & no SPG points?

:confused:

Thanks!

YVR2010

If the bill is paid through a Master Account, there is no stay/night credit and no Starpoints, except maybe for eligible incidental charges.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

William,

Could you verify that blort's experience (below) is consistent with SPG policy for rooms reserved centrally through a conference with a conference rate BUT paid by one's own credit card at check-out (NOT master bill)? I was at the Sheraton Boston last week for a conference and received points only for incidentals.

Thanks.

I just wanted to post my experience for the benefit of anybody who asks in the future.

I attended a conference in Anaheim last week. The conference had contracted with several hotels in the area and offered discounted rates at each, but the rates were only available if you booked through the conference's website. I booked the Sheraton at the Park through the designated site and put in my SPG number at the time of booking. This wasn't a pre-paid or a master bill scenario -- just a regular reservation with payment settled to my credit card at check-out.

However, the reservation never appeared on spg.com in my list of future stays. I was able to find it by reservation number, but that was it. When I called SPG to see if they could add my SPG number to the reservation, they said it wasn't possible and that I would have to do it at check-in.

The front desk did add my number at check-in, and my bill indicated I would receive xxxx Starpoints for the stay. However, I received points only for incidentals and no stay credit.

Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Hopefully others have better luck. On the other hand, it was the first time in years that I paid as little as $154/night for a hotel room. :)

William,

Could you verify that blort's experience (below) is consistent with SPG policy for rooms reserved centrally through a conference with a conference rate BUT paid by one's own credit card at check-out (NOT master bill)? I was at the Sheraton Boston last week for a conference and received points only for incidentals.

Thanks.

If it was me, I would send the hotel bill via fax to Program Services at 519-633-8557. Or, if you have a scanner, scan the folio, attach it to an email and send the email to research@starwoodhotels.com.

I'm fine with letting them decide whether this stay was eligible or not. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

I'll give it a shot and see what happens...

If it was me, I would send the hotel bill via fax to Program Services at 519-633-8557. Or, if you have a scanner, scan the folio, attach it to an email and send the email to research@starwoodhotels.com.

I'm fine with letting them decide whether this stay was eligible or not. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

So how does this all fit with the Prefered Business program? I couldn't spot the full T&C's but under the employee benefits it says "Two Starpoints for every eligible U.S. dollar spent at Starwood hotels". Note no asterixs playing in numerous caveats. For me, as an employee, I'm not clear of the value in the program if I'm already an spg member. It would seem perhaps there is a very specific market for this program.

I've not really fully thought this through (so please spot the holes in this logic!) but I wonder if there is a missed opportunity here for *wood. Our company runs events, both internally and for clients, and so often books multiple rooms and pays centrally, presumably negotiating a better rate. At a crude guess we probably booked in the region of 4000 nights last year, and our parent probably 10 times that. But that doesn't necessarily create a loyalty between the two parties. We ended up using multiple chains. And the tool that does create loyalty , spg, isn't used. Even just giving stay status rather than points might help influence. So, for example, I've already had 4 nights this year that I don't get any recognition from. If they did count, I would have more invested in the spg program, and would be more likely to use *wood in my discretionary travel.

William,

Got my points. Thanks!

-Jon

If it was me, I would send the hotel bill via fax to Program Services at 519-633-8557. Or, if you have a scanner, scan the folio, attach it to an email and send the email to research@starwoodhotels.com.

I'm fine with letting them decide whether this stay was eligible or not. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com