znke252

I was recently looking at booking a stay at an Accor property in Toronto and noticed that the Fairmont RY was listed on the Accor site. The symbol indicating that Accor status would be recognized at the RY was crossed out, so it looks as if only minimal IT integration has started.

starflyergold

All FRHI hotels are now available to book on accorhotels.com. This went live on the day the deal closed. At this point no cross benefits with regard to status/loyalty apply. I expect this to change later this year.

CanadaDH

Technically, yes, available to book. However, don't bother if you're looking for a good rate. I haven't found a way to make promo codes work. I can't even bring up something as simple as the CAA/AAA rate through the Accor site.

nmenaker

It's also funny though that even today, their Accor promotion and tickle emails don't include the Fairmont brand at the bottom of the emails where it details the brand portfolio.

zrh2yvr

I am worried about the Accor acquisition. I have had mixed results from my Le Club, I don't find the benefits all that great, and I would say it brings zero loyalty.

However - my Platinum membership at Fairmont has led us to stay around 15 nights a year - in far flung parts of the world, staying at hotels we would not normally have gone to, and generally just ensuring we go to the Fairmont. We probably pay too much sometimes but don't notice.

Without the 113 - - We would probably not go to the Fairmont at all. So - we'll see what they do. The FPC program, going back to the CP Hotel days, has been my best program and the one I use the most.

nock

Agreed. We spend thousands of dollars on Fairmont properties each year. I don't know much about accor but if they mess with fpc benefits we will probably end up staying at competing properties.

CanuckFlyHigh

I also go to many Fairmonts because of the perks/certificates. We end up spending thousands, but I probably wouldnt go without the certs.

CanadaDH

I agree the certificates are the best part of the program. FPC is a bit unique in that suite upgrades confirmed at time of booking are a key published benefit. If the program was watered down to include upgrades only upon availability at check-in, even if the possible upgrades were not limited to a set number per year, I probably wouldn't bother. I'm not playing 'room lotto'. I'm not about to book any vacation with the possibility that I might end up in a regular room, and suspect I'm not alone in that travel style. Without that upgrade cert, I would simply book and pay for a nice suite, which changes the game considerably. If I'm going to be paying full price to book and confirm a suite, then Fairmont would be competing with every other property in town for my business on a level playing field, since they would no longer have any advantage beyond the quality of the property and service offered.

There some Fairmont properties that I would still continue to frequent, because I happen to really like those specific hotels. However, when visiting new places, there would be no reason to choose one over the other based on any loyalty program.

trubador

Definitely agree. I would stay at the Fairmont Maui, which is an all-suite hotel, but wouldn't waste my time in the larger cities like Boston, where so many great hotel options are available.

mahasamatman

Not really unique. Hyatt offers four of these per year, up to seven nights each, at the Diamond level.

CanadaDH

Maybe not unique. Perhaps I should have said, rare. It's not something offered by Accor, Starwood, IHG or Marriott.

FrancisA

Just to add another perspective of someone who has been FPC Plat and Accor Plat for several years.

With FPC I find the certificates worthwhile and providing a clearly defined and readily accessible benefit that I really value. For Accor, marginal upgrades (similar to SPG) is of little real interest.

Suffice to say, I stay at Accor hotels if no hotel is available for any of the other programmes (HH, IC, SPG, LHW, Marriott, Melia and some others) in which I have high status. For Fairmont I will always opt for the Fairmont if available and make sure that I get in at least 10 Fairmont stays to requalify for Platinum each year.

In my case FPC achieves its objectives as it actively attracts my business which would otherwise go elsewhere. For Accor even top tier status does not encourage me to prefer Accor hotels over other chains. Indeed the benefits are so marginal as to have no bearing on my decision-making process.

If FPC goes and similar benefits are not offered, Accor will lose my business to the competition. I would hope that they build on the strengths of FPC and keep it for at least Fairmont properties. There is a precedent for this - Marriott's take over of Protea hotels in Africa. Again, having top tier status in both programmes, I can say that the benefits of the Prokard far exceed those of any Marriott status. Marriott recognised this and have maintained a variety of the Prokard for Protea Hotels. If they hadn't, they would have lost a lot of their South African base market.

Let's hope Accor see a similar logic with FPC.

orbitmic

I must say that I have had much more luck with Accor than what most people mention in recent posts here. I think I have had Platinum upgrades on 90%+ of my Sofitel stays, including at suite and specialty suite levels.

As someone who frequently stays at hotels of both groups, I am actually very happy about them joining forces, as it will be easier for me to consolidate into one programme instead of two (for the Fairmont group, I actually kept my old Swissotel account so you could argue that I already lived through that merger too!!)

Jasper2009

I had Accor Plat status a few years ago, but was rather unimpressed with the Accor program.

Anyway, I've been trying to warm up to Accor, but Accor isn't making it very easy:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/accor...l#post27181539

tassojunior

So long Chase.