JTCz

Commentary from FT worth reading: https://www.ft.com/content/0f2decbb-...2-54f2631771d1

beachmouse

A Candlewood Suites is no great loss; at best they rise to somewhat adequate. But there are some really good Staybridges out there- loved the one we were at in London that was a proper and immaculate one bedroom apartment with good breakfast and nice enough evening manager's reception included in the room rate.

Admiral Ackbar

Without posting the article can you give us the highlights for those who do not subscribe to FT?

3544quebec

I missed out on Afterpay and I'll be damned if I don't get in on the ground floor on this. Because of this merger demand is going to skyrocket. I'm investing in apple orchards!

JTCz

I do not myself, I accessed it for free. It is a pretty concise write-up so it is very hard to summarize without essentially re-writing, Google "Accor-IHG: the hotel tie-up that never gets booked" and click on the FT link from search results and the prompt to subscribe should disappear.

IMH

Many of them will indeed not be missed by anyone, but the hotels IHG 'lost' also include three ICs and a handful of Kimptons.

I think that's a little harsh. I've stayed in weak CPs but also very good ones -- a couple of Australian properties spring to mind, as does the delightful SIN airport hotel.

starflyergold

IHG fits well with Accor's new found fondness for asset light operations. The deal wouldn't be cheap, nor easy. "The combined group would have 1.6m rooms — around 200,000 more than Marriott, split approximately equally between Europe, the Americas and Asia". Both portfolios of brands and regional exposure would compliment each other but "The historic reasons why an IHG-Accor merger made sense no longer look quite so compelling. A bid could still come, but the time might never be right."

hotel_user

Today ( 28th August ) is the day we find out if Travelodge in the new Ibis .... Some news in the times ....

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/b...ides-sbjqc8r2w

hotel_user

The very short bt from the FT that makes the most sense is


Using Accor’s stock as a currency to buy a more richly valued peer risks appealing more to investment bankers than to shareholders, however. And given the levels of financial engineering required, it is unfortunate, to say the least, that S&P Global downgraded Accor’s debt to junk status this week.


It is bankers doing what they do to make money for themselves. this is not a good deal for either the buyer (long term ) or the seller ( who ever that is )

Dav77

Even if now 80% or more of my stays now are with Marriott, I find IHG program can be really generous on reward, considering the points you can buy on each stay

when I have a business stay at any Intercontinental or Crowne Plaza and the option buy points + room rate is inside my company business budget (200€ x night) I can earn an average 8k / 10 k points, considering the spire elite bonus and the buy points option (Excluding if there are promos x2/3 etc)

There are a lot of crowne plaza or Indigo accepting free night at 25/30 k points (I have recently booked free nights at Dubai / Abu Dhabi / Bali)

it means a free night with just 3 payed stays.

Admiral Ackbar

Both of these programs are the opposite of what I want from a loyalty program (I understand this may be different for others obviously) and miss the old FPC even more! No points shenanigans, no upgrade BS (certs applicable on all rates), free night certificates, food vouchers and guaranteed, consistent benefits (late check-out) across all properties. Empowered front line staff was awesome as well.

The opposite of both of these basically.

flyertalker28120

It's debatable. I think IHG is pretty hackable. But it depends on what is important to you. Accor is very unhackable when it comes to points and elite status. (It used to be more hackable in that regard but it's gotten pretty lame.) However, Accor is hackable when it comes to cashback, global and private sales. If you anticipate sales, increased cashback promos etc. correctly, you can often get like 50+ per cent off. (Sometimes more in cases when extra discounts for special programs like A+ apply.)

IHG is also hackable when it comes to sales (e.g., the recent 241 offer). Sometimes, there are high cashback rates of up to 12 per cent as well, but not as frequent as with Accor.

Of course, the real hackability of IHG comes from points arbitrage (e.g., paying a mere 60-70k oints for a room at an IC in NYC during NYE when cash rates are $1000+). Elite status (at least in the "main" program IHG Rewards) is also pretty hackable.

The downside of IHG Rewads is that it's pretty points-driven. Yeah, you get room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, the occasional welcome amenity and the occasional complimentary exec lounge access (but the complimentary lounge access is limited to Crowne Plaza hotels for the most part). But the major appeal of IHG Rewards Club is that you can collect many points easily and can score redemptions that are excellent value.

IHG is a bit convoluted in the sense that it has a secondary loyalty programme which is more recognition-based. That loyalty programme used to apply to Intercontinental only (it's still called the IC Ambassador programme). But increasingly, we're seeing Kimpton, Regent, and Six Senses being integrated into IC Amb. To make things even more convoluted, Kimpton continues to have it's own recognition-based program. But again, it's being more tightly integrated with IC Amb. (Inner Circle status with Kimpton is recognized as Royal Amb status at ICs and Royal Amb status at IC is recognized as equivalent to Inner Circle at Kimptons.)

IC Amb is for-pay (costs $200 or 40k points per year), but the free weekend night at IC that comes with it usually make it trivial to recover that annual fee. There are other benefits, too, like Ambs getting a $15-$25 free spend when staying at IC or Kimpton. Or a guaranteed 4pm late check-out at IC. Plus, when you spend enough, there is a Royal Amb level which guarantees club lounge access at ICs, among other things.

Yeah, you're alluding to the Accelerate promos. It looks like they've been discontinued (along with point breaks). Accelerate has been replaced by other decent extra-point promos, though.

Dav77

where can you find often >12% (or even 10-12%) cashback on Accor reservations ?

now I find 0% on Jewel / Mr. Rebates / Topcashbak, but even before Covid, I found an average 6-8% normally

Maelstrom

Quidco has standard cashback of between 3-10%, depending on brand, and regularly has promotions that increase these rates by 50%, for up to 15% cashback.

flyertalker28120

Topcashback.co.uk currently offers 10% on a number of premium ALL brands. When they have their promo (which happens for about a week per month or so), that goes up to 15%. Note the 15% is only paid on Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Sebel, and Grand Mercure. When there's the increased cashback promo, the midscale brands go up to 12% cashback (Mercure, Novotel etc.). Unfortunately, offers for the ex FRHI brands are usually below 5%.