Originally Posted by
fromYXU
You need to read the rules. The programs can change anytime, usually in the program's advantage, leaving you without legal recourse. But that is a different topic all together.
NOR1 is a means for businesses to sell their product. I don't like it because the inventory being sold is what used to be available for me to upgrade.
I would not have to read the HHonors T&Cs to know that there is a "We can change our rules in order to screw you at any time..." clause. I just naturally assume that any frequent traveler T&C is going to have that clause.
But, if you do read the HHonors T&Cs, you will not find any reference to NOR1 or any concept like it.
Perhaps this all falls under the concept of "upgraded accommodations (subject to availability..." which, with NOR1 means "we will limit availability, if we can, by selling the upgrade which you, as a Diamond, were hoping for to a non-status customer with an extra $9 in his pocket."
Yes, in the very near term, the hotel is seeking to do what businesses should seek to do... enhance revenue.
However, loyalty programs are supposed to increase revenue also, albeit in the longer term, by attracting and maintaining a loyal clientele.
Decreasing the integrity of the loyalty program, by making a farce of the benefits promised in return for frequent custom, IMHO does not enhance the likelihood that the loyalty program will achieve its intent.