LHW have been losing hotels for a number of years now.

It seems they have been trying to change the business model.

There is now a Leaders Club Rate again for some hotels which offers a 5% discount on the best available rate.

It seems that many hotels are now very restrictive in accepting free night certificates.

The loss of the guaranteed upgrade for unlimited members was very disappointing

Also the best rate guarantee seems to have been weakened as well:

Rate Parity Monitoring There will be occasions when rates are distributed through extranets or wholesale contracts to third and even fourth parties, and it is critical to monitor these sites as well. To assist with this task, Leading Hotels has partnered with SuiteStone to provide monthly online rate shopping reports, which we share with our member hotels. Hotels are encouraged to test book unauthorized rates on online, including those such as Amoma.com, to identify the source of the rate, despite the small cancellation fee the hotel will have to absorb. Hotels should always include clauses in their wholesale contracts that prohibit online distribution of net rates without proper mark-up, and be prepared to act on these clauses when a partner cannot commit to keeping unauthorized rates off such websites. Leading Hotels recognizes that in such cases, these rates are not truly available or authorized by the hotel. This is why we announced in 2015 that we will no longer hold these rates subject to our Best Rate Guarantee.

http://www.cpp-luxury.com/ted-teng-c...usiness-model/

http://www.hotelmanagement.net/sales...ue-model-15239

LHW seems to be losing its grip and influence on its member hotels and the contracts are getting weaker every year