woosiep

I worked pretty hard to get Accor Gold in 2017/8 - was working away a lot on business but finding a Mercure/Novotel was often a challenge in some parts of the country and so would travel more to ensure I was in an Accor- the definition I suppose of loyalty!
Travel much less in a new job so dropped down to Silver at the turn of the year.
Just bought an IBIS business card immediately status changed back to Gold. Worth it for me for French Holidays and breaks in the UK as I have had good experiences with upgrades- more so with Novotel than Mercure but in certain hotels it was virtually guaranteed.
Does make all that point chasing and mucking about with the Facebook Places app seem like hard work though!

markis10

Problem is that Gold has lost its lustre, and what occurred in the past is unlikely to reoccur with so many enhancements to the program.

Castleford Tiger

My experience

2016 - Plat via Amex
2017 - Plat through points previous year
2018 - Gold through points previous year
2019 - Gold through IBIS business, due to much reduced travel in previous year (I would have been silver). I stayed mainly at Mercure and Novotel and I noticed no change in the number of upgrades (which have always been more often that not for me).
2020 - Gold through points in 2019.

I am happy that I bought the Gold membership and it kept me more loyal to Accor than I otherwise would have given their other issues. I think that the IBIS business card has been a very good part of the programme and is real value at GBP65 in the UK.

markis10 is correct that this may not remain the same. only time will tell.

CT

yurtripper

I just bought the IBIS Business card at the UK rate (I'd had it some time ago but it had lapsed).

My status is still showing Classic. Last time IIRC my status switched to Gold almost instantly after the purchase. I've tried logging out and in again, etc.

How long should I expect it to take before my ALL status shows as Gold?

Castleford Tiger

Around 7 days for me.

CT

yurtripper

Status update: Today my account updated to Gold - Ibis Business card was purchased on Jan 19

life form

So, normal gold experience is you get almost nothing except for the drink voucher and a few extra points?

I hope this does not appear overly cynical. I was Accor Gold for a few years (earned, not purchased) and never got much out of it when staying in the middling Accor brands such as Novotel or Pullman. Provided the virus situation allows, I have some Accor stays coming up. Currently silver and thinking about purchasing gold. But I'm afraid gold might be worth even less now provided Accor's introduction of another tier level at the top, downgrading gold to the third tier.

sfo

I have been gold for many years. Drink voucher, I get water, early check-in most of the time. Never need late check-out. No room upgrades as I stay at Ibis or Ibis Styles. One or two upgrades at Mercure. Very seldom anything left in the room as a gift. Will drop to Silver next year, the gold card would cost me 90 euros. Don't think it is worth the difference from Silver to Gold

fifty_two

You can have upgrades even while being silver , it really depemds on the property .

It is not really about gold , silver or platinum but in general the benefits offered by accor (compared with other hotel chains) are very low according to feedbacks i gathered over the years

Todbringer

Well, as a bought gold I did some stays in 10 or so different hotels in Europe and did some 6-7 hotels in Vietnam.

In Europe it is a hit and miss. I usually get a present, got even a nice cookies and water in Ibis in Krakow, got a nice upgrade with lounge access in Mercure in Bratislava (not a huge lounge, but still a welcome free coffee, beer, soft drinks and snacks), free parking in some hotels,, etc., but not much in a MGallery in Paris for example.

In Vietnam I got upgrades everywhere (apart Sofitel Legend in Hanoi), including room with lounge access in Sofitel Saigon. Also, in every hotel I got really nice welcome gift, usually a large platter of fruit, water bottles daily if not already included and pastry, cakes, chocolates, etc.

Also, since I use points for stays as well, extra points are basically larger percentage of rebate. So, last year I've used my points I got from my 3 years as Accor Gold and partly paid for a week in Pullman in Dubrovnik.

I really like free drinks voucher as i usually enjoy a beer in the hotel on the first day of arrival.

So, all in all, I think it is good, although upgrade rewards could be a bit more consistent, especially in Europe. I think members shouldn't even be put in the position to ask for an upgrade since it feels like mooching or begging.

That's why I decided to, when I write a review, to mark it as a review according to Accor Gold, and to take off stars if the hotel is not owning to its obligations as part of the program. I think hotel managers are evalued by reviews and ratings as well, so if they start losing stars because they do not adhere to program rules, they might start doing it.

I know the benefits are not that great, but it is better than nothing.

All in all, I prefer Accor to other hotel chains because it has many properties in Europe where I live and it has a good quality budget hotels like ibis, which is important to me when visiting expensive countries.

VG31

I'm considering signing up for Ibis Business. There's one thing I'm slightly unclear on. Normally if you reach Gold it is valid until 31 December of the following year:

https://help.accor.com/s/article/why...W000000GqhfWAC

Is this still the case with Gold status obtained through Ibis Business? So if I sign up in January 2023 will I have Gold until 31 December 2023 or 2024?

Likewise does the same apply to the two year subscription (i.e. December 2024 or 2025 expiry)?

Thanks a lot.

fifty_two

If my memory is correct , it apply for the time you suscribe to Ibis business card , however it might not be immediately reflected in your ALL account

flyertalker00143

I don't know if it is still the case, but normally, the system immediately updates the ALL account or in some cases it takes a few hours but it's always updated the same day the IBIS card is subscribed

VG31

I signed up for Ibis Business today. I'm having issues with the guaranteed room availability. It works fine for Ibis and Ibis Styles hotels, but I checked sold out dates for some Mercure, MGallery and Novotel hotels and they are still showing as sold out. I tried a few hotels in different countries. I presume this Gold benefit should also apply for people who purchased Ibis Business? My status shows as Gold in my account and I checked the hotel blackout dates also. Thanks.

EDIT: Eventually I managed to find a Novotel in London that had a guaranteed room rate. Is it normal for it to be that hard to find?

curiousexplorer

For me I found out about Ibis Business when I was checking in at an Ibis hotel and the reception guy asked me if it would be useful. After researching a bit decided to buy it and indeed found myself staying at Accor properties from that moment on to an extent where I try to always book at an Accor hotel if one is available in the city where I am going. Without the Gold benefits (and partially the points redemption discount) I probably would have kept booking through Booking.com whatever was most interesting at the time. So probably I'm in the Accor's target market for this product and it seems it worked.