Originally Posted by
CPRich
Yes, that's what I've typically done. They usually send me a revised reservation confirmation with the actual guests' names, still redeemed with my points.
That's a bit safer then just adding the names as additional guests to the reservation - properties may have issues if you're the primary name on the reservation and you don't appear. It hasn't happened to me, but I was checking in a few months ago but they wouldn't allow someone to check in without the primary guest, who was supposedly a few hours from arriving.
Especially if it is a foreign location where they need to check passports against the reservation. I recently ran into this with a reservation in Prague for my sister's family, but the hotel reached out ahead of time to make sure everything was right. This has been an issue for reservations for others in Thailand and China, too. Other than that it's easy and common to make rewards reservations for other people. For awhile it was my standard wedding gift; five nights at a hotel.
I have always been clear that I will not be there, but the hotels have usually extended lounge access to my family members who are staying on my points. The Prague Sheraton did this for the aforementioned stay which was just a couple weeks ago. It is not a requirement, and I have never asked, but it has been extended several times.