I just joined this program this weekend and booked a 5-night stay for December. The website was surprisingly good - far more functional, streamlined, and responsive than any of the big American chains. No stupid animations or other Ajax-y junk going on: just a nice clean site the way designed to work for travelers connecting via Wifi or cellular networks. ^
But the concerns about the hotels' not being well-integrated to the corporate site has me wondering. My question is this: when I booked my room, the website said "Our gift to you, EUR40 per day to spend in the hotel only when you book at Solmelia.com." Their rate was identical to the large Internet portal sites, so I booked there.
Now I wonder: how does the hotel know I had the 40EUR/day deal? My booking confirmation doesn't mention it and there was no way to click on the special offer banner to print off T&C's. Now
Spounce's post makes me wonder if the hotel even knows I'm coming. It's one of their large higher-end Spanish hotels, the stay is well in advance, everything is straightforward.
It's a business trip...but still, it's 200EUR so I feel like I should at least try and figure out if I'll really get it.
Based on my rate, it looks like I'll earn about enough points for 1 award night. Not sure when I'll use it but hey, maybe it'll someday be my excuse to throw in an overnighter in Madrid or Barcelona.
