Just reading these posts causes me to reflect on significantly changed stay/spend patterns over the years and changes to status. Is odd. Maybe it helps the thread data set I'm not sure.
Just looking now, I have had RA renewed. But whereas most of you old hands are Inner Circle, I have never had this. Mind I've never been to a Kimpton until this year. I did and have now stayed the grand total of 'one' very pleasant night now. And Inner Circle status has been awarded
But about stay history and status. Below is my rough stay and Spend history. Apols I have no idea on precise spend the vast majority of it for most years being company spend but can summarize it the summary important numbers:
1994-2012 (Pre IHG & a few years Six Continents)
- Between 230-280 nights per year. Maybe 2-3 of those more than 280.
- Pre Program was collecting miles then advised (think was 2000/2001) it was better to do hotel points and got instant RA. Have had ever since.
- Room Spend - Booking maybe a level above base (estimate average maybe £250 p/n) and getting very desirable upgrades
- Extras Spend - Very low in reality. Living off Inclusive Lounge/Mini bar & 'some' feature restaurant spend. Lot of hotel car use, daily. Car highest spend.
- Zero use of points but huge accumulation.
2012-2019
- Between 75-85 nights per year (conscious effort to do less, long story)
- Room Spend - Pretty much the same, booking a level above base & I'd guess £300 p/n (for the sake of memory/age/time/inflation) - Stella upgrades
- Extras Spend - Very low. Same pattern of hotel us with maybe a modest increase in spend. More restaurant, 'some' spa, lot of car.
- Very little points use, mainly donation to family for middle/lower end hotel stays. Maybe 300k during the period.
2020-2021
- Near zero activity like most of us I guess - time at home getting fat and not so lazy
2022
- A modest 60 nights activity (in fact I think it's 58) but interestingly over 50% points usage. Actually more like 65% points rather than hard spend.
- Room Spend - less nights but higher unit cost for non points stops (due to location & timing) - estimate nearer £420 p/n (very approximate but notably higher than previous)
- Extras Spend - very high, something of a spend vacuum effect with more vacation than work stuff. You name it, we did it and spent it! But ironically less hotel car!
- Very high points use - Approximately 2.7 million used.
And when the IHG decision making lever was pulled? Three RA bells (super news, not to be sniffed at) and three Inner Circle Melons ... also great new news for me and will be put to good use.
But the pattern has massively morphed over time from huge number of nights to very modest number of nights. From low peripheral spend to much higher peripheral spend in the last year. And room unit cost has increased but you might expect that over a near 30 year period. Not small trend changes.
I should note that this is driven a bit by the high points accumulation. The wife keeps reminding me that we have this huge bag of points (it neared 5 million at one point) and that we need to use them. She was right of course but I'd always been aware of status and nights reducing.... and also being a bit lazy to strategically use them to best effect. So this year I thought, what the hell, burn the points as wisely as possible and if we loose status then fair enough, we can see what the rest of the hotel world has to offer.
But in reality using points rather than cash has not impacted status ... rather it's gone up with the Inner Circle thing. Maybe coincidence of course.
And the reality is I still have a significant cache of points which in reality I still think (after all these years) gets equally as much visibility with senior hotel management and Opera console button pressers if not IHG.
So make of that what you will. It has changed my approach to how to use cash/ points, nights invested and how to spend. But I cannot entirely accurately explain how.
Also if any of you have a crib list of benefits of Inner Circle, I'd be very happy to hear about them.
