Originally Posted by
GHA_Insider
I'm sorry you had a difficult booking experience but I suspect that the hotel was just telling you they are really full at this busy time of year. Only a handful of new Titanium members have qualified since last week under the new rules, so that will not have made any difference.
Room upgrades and late check-outs are usually only confirmed at the time of check-in, according to availability.
I believe the main issue is that existing black members no longer have any incentives to stay beyond what is required to maintain the status. GHA previously had a unique selling point of the local experience and 9am check in/6pm check out. However both of this benefits have been removed or reduced. In reality, I would invest my money on other loyalty program since GHA no longer has an edge as their rewards has been merely reduced to rebates which is similar or worst than other hotel programs. Basically what needs to be done is to incentivize the titanium members in wanting to continue staying at GHA's brands. While I understand the need to reach out to the mass market, one mustn't forget its loyal members who has dedicatedly earned 30 nights every year. One suggestion would be to make another tier above titanium with better benefits so that people will continue exploring and staying more at GHA's properties. Another suggestion would be to bring back local experience. For customers who have already hit 3 brands, perhaps they can earn one additional local experience for each new brands stayed beyond the 3rd brand.
*Edit as I thought my previous post was not published hence this new post*