Oct 5, 2015, 12:42 pm
Last edit by: scubaccr
List of properties that have (or have not) recognised Spire. AND Provided Spire 'Specific' Benefit.
I suggest listing country, brand, property, how you were recognised (Club/not at all etc) and the month you stayed that way if anyone stays after that date we can have an update on whether things have changed.
Or if anyone can think of a better solution feel free to change it.
INDIA
CP JAIPUR - Suite upgrade, club access, happy hour with free snacks, Spire Elite label placed on your table for better treatment - Sep 2016
INDONESIA
IC Bali - local gift at check-in, room upgrade, free breakfast - Jan 2016
JAPAN
IC Tokyo Bay, not recognised at all, August 2015
NETHERLANDS
CP Amsterdam South - Spires Amenity choice now 'Lounge/Drink/600pts' on both paid+Award nights.
(On paid nights at checkin likely to be offered Junior Suite upgrade too if room is free, but not offered on awards.)
UNITED KINGDOM
CP London Heathrow. Free breakfast only. Offered discounted cash payment of 24 GBP pp for lounge access June 2016
Indigo Paddington, no recognisition. September 2015 (this hotel now gives good upgrades to Spire even when checking in late)
Indigo Kensington/Earls Court - apparently recognised. Got nothing not even Welcome Amenity, October 2015
HI Haydock M6 - J23, recognised as club. September 2015
HI London Gatwick Worth, Recognised as Club, September 2015
HI Express Birmingham NEC recognised as "basic member" August 2015
HIX Birmingham Star City, no recognition or amenity - January 2016
HIX Hamilton, recognised as club Aug 2015, recog. Spire Aug 2016
HI Birmingham M6, recognised as club Sept 2015 & Oct 2015, recognised as Spire January 2016
HIX Leigh Sports Village, recognised as club Sept 2015
HI Portsmouth, recognised as Club 22/October/2015
HI Leeds - Wakefield, recognised as club 19th December 2015
HI Luton Airport Recognised as Club 18th March 2016
HI Norwich Airport Me Recognised as Platinum June 3rd 2016
HI Norwich Airport MrsB Recognisd as Club June 3rd 2016.
USA
HI Express, Chicago, IL, recognized at Platinum (not Spire), October/2015. No benefits
THAILAND
HI Pattaya, Thailand, recognized at Platinum (not Spire), November/2105. August 2016, recognized as Spire, upgrade to Ocean View Suite but no benefits
CHINA
CP Guangzhou Haidu letter recognising as a Spire but no benefits additional to Golds. No room upgrade
CP Qingdao No letter, no recognition nothing
I suggest listing country, brand, property, how you were recognised (Club/not at all etc) and the month you stayed that way if anyone stays after that date we can have an update on whether things have changed.
Or if anyone can think of a better solution feel free to change it.
INDIA
CP JAIPUR - Suite upgrade, club access, happy hour with free snacks, Spire Elite label placed on your table for better treatment - Sep 2016
INDONESIA
IC Bali - local gift at check-in, room upgrade, free breakfast - Jan 2016
JAPAN
IC Tokyo Bay, not recognised at all, August 2015
NETHERLANDS
CP Amsterdam South - Spires Amenity choice now 'Lounge/Drink/600pts' on both paid+Award nights.
(On paid nights at checkin likely to be offered Junior Suite upgrade too if room is free, but not offered on awards.)
UNITED KINGDOM
CP London Heathrow. Free breakfast only. Offered discounted cash payment of 24 GBP pp for lounge access June 2016
Indigo Paddington, no recognisition. September 2015 (this hotel now gives good upgrades to Spire even when checking in late)
Indigo Kensington/Earls Court - apparently recognised. Got nothing not even Welcome Amenity, October 2015
HI Haydock M6 - J23, recognised as club. September 2015
HI London Gatwick Worth, Recognised as Club, September 2015
HI Express Birmingham NEC recognised as "basic member" August 2015
HIX Birmingham Star City, no recognition or amenity - January 2016
HIX Hamilton, recognised as club Aug 2015, recog. Spire Aug 2016
HI Birmingham M6, recognised as club Sept 2015 & Oct 2015, recognised as Spire January 2016
HIX Leigh Sports Village, recognised as club Sept 2015
HI Portsmouth, recognised as Club 22/October/2015
HI Leeds - Wakefield, recognised as club 19th December 2015
HI Luton Airport Recognised as Club 18th March 2016
HI Norwich Airport Me Recognised as Platinum June 3rd 2016
HI Norwich Airport MrsB Recognisd as Club June 3rd 2016.
USA
HI Express, Chicago, IL, recognized at Platinum (not Spire), October/2015. No benefits
THAILAND
HI Pattaya, Thailand, recognized at Platinum (not Spire), November/2105. August 2016, recognized as Spire, upgrade to Ocean View Suite but no benefits
CHINA
CP Guangzhou Haidu letter recognising as a Spire but no benefits additional to Golds. No room upgrade
CP Qingdao No letter, no recognition nothing
Discussion about new top tier: Spire
Feb 17, 2017, 8:18 pm
#1922
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 252
You won't believe it! IHG has quietly rolled out the new Spire bennifit! According to the gal at the front desk of the HIX Boise Airport, Spire is now the only eligible level that can chose between Points or a Welcome Amenity bag of water and trail mix! Yep, you heard that right! If you're Gold or Platinum, you only get the bonus points with no more choice for a small bottle of water...
woah mama
Feb 17, 2017, 11:18 pm
#1924
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,185
You won't believe it! IHG has quietly rolled out the new Spire bennifit! According to the gal at the front desk of the HIX Boise Airport, Spire is now the only eligible level that can chose between Points or a Welcome Amenity bag of water and trail mix! Yep, you heard that right! If you're Gold or Platinum, you only get the bonus points with no more choice for a small bottle of water...
Feb 18, 2017, 2:59 am
#1925
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Club Carlson Gold, HHonors Gold, Best Western Diamond Select, BA Blue
Posts: 1,335
I nearly passed out at this glorious news of Spire benefits. A whole bottle of water! IHG: you truly amaze me. Thank you for making the Spire tier so valuable and the envy of other competitive hotel programmes. 
Feb 18, 2017, 8:53 am
#1926
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,050
You won't believe it! IHG has quietly rolled out the new Spire bennifit! According to the gal at the front desk of the HIX Boise Airport, Spire is now the only eligible level that can chose between Points or a Welcome Amenity bag of water and trail mix! Yep, you heard that right! If you're Gold or Platinum, you only get the bonus points with no more choice for a small bottle of water...
By the way - the decor is I Love Lucy generation of cream walls, brown paint-work and grungy brown carpet and ancient ill-matching furniture. But boy, does that stand-alone aircon unit work: chugs and pumps like an ailing jet engine, but beats those centrally controlled systems hands down.
Just to be fair, the transfer worked just fine. For USD150 a night you'd expect something to work well.
Feb 18, 2017, 9:26 am
#1927
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: USA
Programs: IHG/Spire Amb., Hilton/Diamond, SPG/Gold, Marriott/Gold, AA/Plat, Southwest/CP
Posts: 270
A bottle of water? Is this a joke?
They were all "we are adding some great benefits this year" in 2016 and the only almost cool thing they added was useless Hertz status which might be cool for a small subset of travelers who don't mind their terrible service and care which rental car they drive.
Meanwhile Hilton has given me an upgrade and lounge access at every single property I've stayed at. And top tiers at Marriott and SPG are getting airline upgrades! We now get a free bottle of water that costs the hotel 15 cents and are told this is special, and a terse email reminder of the importance of booking online.
I haven't even heard them claim to be working on anything fun in a while.
I wish I had never joined this loyalty program or given IHG hotels tens of thousands in business.
They were all "we are adding some great benefits this year" in 2016 and the only almost cool thing they added was useless Hertz status which might be cool for a small subset of travelers who don't mind their terrible service and care which rental car they drive.
Meanwhile Hilton has given me an upgrade and lounge access at every single property I've stayed at. And top tiers at Marriott and SPG are getting airline upgrades! We now get a free bottle of water that costs the hotel 15 cents and are told this is special, and a terse email reminder of the importance of booking online.
I haven't even heard them claim to be working on anything fun in a while.
I wish I had never joined this loyalty program or given IHG hotels tens of thousands in business.
Feb 18, 2017, 9:43 am
#1929
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,185
Feb 18, 2017, 12:00 pm
#1930
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SFO
Programs: AA Now dirt, BA Silver soon dirt EX NW IGE. EX BA Gold EX AA EXP x9. SQ Gold
Posts: 577
The drought is over!
WOW LOL!
I guess in California for the last five years that would be a valuable benefit.....
But now we have rivers of water flowing down the street!
A bottle of water.... wow 100 nights a year what a great reward...
staggering.
Since the new year I have only checked in to an IHG hotel twice. While I have 35 nights with SPG and Hilton.... my reward for IHG.
IGH needs to take that bottle of water and poor it over their heads and wake up!
I guess in California for the last five years that would be a valuable benefit.....
But now we have rivers of water flowing down the street!
A bottle of water.... wow 100 nights a year what a great reward...
staggering.
Since the new year I have only checked in to an IHG hotel twice. While I have 35 nights with SPG and Hilton.... my reward for IHG.
IGH needs to take that bottle of water and poor it over their heads and wake up!
Feb 18, 2017, 12:14 pm
#1931
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Club Carlson Gold, HHonors Gold, Best Western Diamond Select, BA Blue
Posts: 1,335
Don't drink it all at once!
Anyway, does anyone know exactly when Spire came into being? Was it July 2015? If so, it's been more than 1.5 years that IHG have been trying to figure out in-hotel Spire benefits. That's plenty of time to come up with something.
Anyway, does anyone know exactly when Spire came into being? Was it July 2015? If so, it's been more than 1.5 years that IHG have been trying to figure out in-hotel Spire benefits. That's plenty of time to come up with something.
Feb 18, 2017, 5:39 pm
#1932
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
They did initially say it would be July 1st but weren't ready and simply changed everything they had released from July 1st to July without telling anyone.
The writing was on the walk from the very beginning.
Feb 21, 2017, 1:35 am
#1933
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
Anyone wondering why nothing meaningful is forthcoming with Spire only has to look at this to see why they don't need to.
Until there is a detrimental affect on the results/dividends nothing will change.
Impressive numbers though.
Until there is a detrimental affect on the results/dividends nothing will change.
Impressive numbers though.
Feb 21, 2017, 3:11 am
#1934
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Club Carlson Gold, HHonors Gold, Best Western Diamond Select, BA Blue
Posts: 1,335
It's a difficult situation with IHG. Overall, the programme is quite good, but that's mostly down to rewards nights where IHG points seem to be worth a bit more than others. You also have the vast network of IHG properties around the world.
The issue is the in-hotel benefits for Spire. They suck compared to almost every other hotel programme. I'd happly forego the 25K free points or gifting a Plat to someone in return for Club Lounge access and free breakfast, together with a guaranteed upgrade.
The issue is the in-hotel benefits for Spire. They suck compared to almost every other hotel programme. I'd happly forego the 25K free points or gifting a Plat to someone in return for Club Lounge access and free breakfast, together with a guaranteed upgrade.