Originally Posted by tennster

Boy, Ft'ers are a self-congratulatory bunch. They are gods. Just ask 'em.

The fact is, hotels would be thrilled if FT programs went away tomorrow. The brands make lots of money off the programs, at the expense of the individual hotels. But, I assure you, the programs are such a huge pain in the a$s, they would not be missed. The whining about upgrades and bonuses and DYKWIAs and free this and free that...it is all too much.

Hotels disdain the whole FT empire the brands have built, and the nuts these programs have enabled. I just laugh out loud at the people who say, "I am taking my business to xxx brand; they will treat me better." Guess what, not one person loses sleep over it. Not one.

But the brands keep piling on. IHG now "fines" its hotels if the hotel does not enroll a certain amount of new members into Priority Club. So, the hotel pays via the usury fees for each PC paying guest; gets to give away their rooms for less than their expenses to redeemers; or pays when there's not enough of them. No, it's an albatross and a drain, and while they may have to pretend to be just thrilled to have another freebie staying there, it's just another cost to bear.