Jaimito Cartero

If the new wording is important, I think that a campaign should be started to let IHG know how we really feel. I know that I'd often trade my BOGO certs, and have only used mine a couple of times. I guess, primarily, as I don't go to $300+ per night areas very often.

uk1

IC marketeers read this forum, hence many of the new rules they come up with are designed to negate some of the ideas that appear here.

jpdx

It's hard to see which FT-discussed loophole they're closing with this particular fix. Using BOGOs with discounted rates is (used to be) perfectly fine, no "grey areas" or "abuses" at all. Imo, this change was made solely due to hotels wanting to see more revenue on BOGO bookings.

mister__big

There aren't any loopholes at all. This is a case of IHG wanting to have their cake and eat it too. They know they have to offer the BOGO as an incentive to get people to pony up for Ambassador status, but they want to limit the BOGO's value as much as they can.

Forcing people to book at a specific rate really kills the BOGO's value since they can make this rate more than rack rate which means instead of Buy One Get One, you're actually saving way less than 50%.

uk1

I was simply answering the suggestion

by explaining that they already know because they read the forum.

They actually seem to encourage loopholes. One of the main effects of taking out RA certs from referred members is to simply increase how much RAs sell the certs on ebay for. What action have they taken to curtail that?

jpdx

It's only a matter of time until we will see an Ambassador Weekend rate that's high enough to make a BOGO weekend stay more expensive than would be paying in full for two nights at a discounted rate. I'm thinking, for instance, of the $99 Travelzoo rates in SF or Scottsdale which were available last summer, vs. the $199-219 best flexible rates.

demue

+1. Yup this is potentially going into a ridiculous direction. Sometimes I really wonder what geniuses they employ.

And on top of that they are not even communicating the changes properly. I can already see the nice discussions with hotels that will say the rate doesn't qualify even though you hold and old voucher.

AMDB7

Makes you wonder, doesn't it. We all remember the survey we did recently about possible "improvements" to the Ambassador program - I don't remember ever selecting the answer "I would like to pay considerably more for my room than the lowest available rate when redeeming the BOGOF voucher that I have just paid $100 for"

Maybe my memory is going???

uk1

Over the last couple of years each of their programme decisions seems strange.

The strangest was that they started a closed forum to bounce ideas off RAs/Ambs in private and then at the point it seemed to be giving them ideas and feedback they closed it. The fact they closed it and then they made the changes that most feedback said wouldn't be attractive seemed puzzling.

One of the strangest was F&F. Basically a great idea but announced and managed in a dishonst way as though it were a genuine F&F programme ie this is genuinely a small secret programme for our genuine friends and family - whereas it was an experiment in viral marketing where they incentivated staff to pretend that they were offering special secret rates to their "chums". Most that understood appreciated the rates but felt the method was dishonest and when they discovered the programmes true nature ie open to all and an experiement and thereore treating their customers as stupid felt that IC had belittled and trivialised the relationship.

They then decided to curtail individual properties individual initiatives with respect to how they deal with RA's. This was to increase standardisation, manage expectations, and reduce complaints. Before, many RAs understood the importance of maintaing individual relationships with their regularly visited properties and got great treatment. Suddenly the flex was removed (or they tried to remove it) and properties tried then to operate RA treatment in a more uniform, standardised and reduced way. But the staff still didn't understand and RAs found themsleves fighting for even base entitlements. So RAs found a generally reduced level of benefits that was still inconsistant!

The complex arrangements whereby RA benefits vary depending on rate ie normal v F&F v points redemption v weekend etc ... and the different way properites misunderstand the programme.

Overall the programme is much less of a programme it was two years ago and this will make regular travellers less loyal and more tactical in where they stay particularly when programmes do their best to appear to do anything to gain new customers and seem not to be so interestedmore in their existing best and most loyal ones.

Just my observations ......

hub and spoke

I just received my RA package yesterday and the BOGO makes no mention of special rates or anything different from the last one I received. I still have my ambassador BOGO from last fall and they both read exactly the same way.

I just tried dummy w/e bookings at several hotels both in NA and Europe and there was no mention of a "Bogo rate" anywhere in the booking engine. My corporate rate was always available as well.

"Certifcarte is valid for room and taxes. certificate cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion. Rates openly available are not promotions"

BA1A

Good to know thanks ^

I am waiting for my renewal RA pack to arrive so hopefully it will be the same.

sansim97

Used my BOGO last week. No restrictions...

soitgoes

Of course not.
This will apply to new BOGO certificates. No one has reported receiving one of these yet.

United_Flyer3

I'm due a new AMB pack anyday soon.

Will report back on the BOGO wording.

Will be interesting to see how my next trip work out.
I've booked a F&F rate on Sat and a best flex rate on Sunday at an IC, and intend to use the BOGO for the Sunday (when I get it).

Any mention that I can't use it, will be met with a "Yes I can, I'm not willing to accept anything less!".
If they won't accept it, a cancellation will be in place for the 2nd night and I'll move to the Hyatt, and IC won't get a penny more off me afterwards!

soitgoes

That's pushing it. Some hotels don't allow F&F rates with BOGOs, and that's fair.