Originally Posted by SemiElite
Maybe because the hotel programs suck, compared to the airline programs. I've got a few hotel cards, but I generally don't bother with them, for the following reasons:
1. As a leisure flyer who doesn't travel on business, it's just not possible to accumulate 20+ visits a year, which are necessary for any real perks. OTOH, it's pretty easy for me to score some sort of status with the airlines. I'm currently 1K with United, although I got it using the double miles promo at the end of last year (my actual BIS miles last year were 61K). Next year I should be either PremEx or 1K again (if they have another promo).
2. It's much easier to stick with one airline than it is to stick with one hotel chain.
3. I have *wood Gold (comped from Amex Plat), but it's about as worthless as a Southwest upgrade.
4. A hotel upgrade simply isn't worth as much as an airline upgrade! I don't spend much time in my room, other than sleeping, so a suite just isn't all that important. What's most important is a convenient location, a clean room, a hot shower, and a comfortable bed. The few perks that are important to me are free internet, free local calls, and free breakfast. And I'm more likely to get these at the LOW-COST chains! The premium product hotels are far more likely to soak me for these (just the opposite of the airlines). OTOH, due to the confining space of an airplane, the larger seat one gets with an upgrade is VERY IMPORTANT! Also, the better food and service, and free booze are more important when you're a captive audience.
5. I reserve most of my hotel rooms on Priceline. And hotel rooms there are often MUCH CHEAPER, frequently as little as 40% of even the cheapest web price! OTOH, airline tickets on Priceline aren't that much cheaper than I can find by shopping around and timing my flights when prices are low. And again, with dubious hotel perks, I'm much more willing to give them up in return for a huge Priceline discount!
Yes and no.
Your situation is a bit different from most here, since it seems that 100% of your travel is leisure.
And most of us here would not redeem hotel miles for, say, a Hampton Inn in Peoria.
But just like with airline miles, where the big target is premium-class seating overseas, the big payoff for hotel points is high-end properties overseas. Think the Renaissance Chancery or Maarriott County Hall in London, the Hilton Arc de Triumphe in Paris, the Cavalieri in Rome. These places provide an extremely pampering experience and typically cost several hundred dollars/night. Plus, having a very nice place to stay for several days or a week is worth a
lot to me, as opposed to 6 or 8 hours in an aluminum tube.
Don't get me wrong, I've
done the transatlantic First Class thing several times already, and am planning another one soon. But it's all over in a few hours, whereas the hotel is yours for days.
And, if you have top-tier status (which is another Holy Grail for us), the additional perks could easily represent an additional hundred bucks or so a day.
Each of us has their own "sweet spot", but for me hotel points is where it's at. Regarding the prices (vis-a-vis Priceline), I'm typically in a given place for a long time, and I negotiate a rate not much more that PL -- and I get the premium goodies, too, along with the overseas property access.
YMMV.