flying_blue_white_red

Not sure if this is the appropriate forum, if not, mods please remove.
Why no hotel/resort in entire Kenya can be booked through that website till the end of the year ? Whether by paying cash thus earning miles or by paying with miles only?
It's clearly possible to find hotels in DR of Congo, Burundi and even in South Sudan (all of which are much less touristic ). In the past I've use that website for multiple Mombasa and Nairobi stays without problem. Tried under Chrome and Firefox too if that matters.
Are they any other "popular" holidays destinations not available via https://hotelsformiles.flyingblue.com/ ? Any specific reasons? Or shall I just switch to Tanzania or South Africa for a future vacation ?

TIA

fifty_two

Hi

the hotels for miles , which started as a standalone product until being rebranded under hotels for miles and integrated under FB banner , is provided by rocketmiles (used to be pointshound but they both merged in 2022)

In fact regardless of loyalty program you cant find any property in kenya from rocketmiles, but so far other destinations like noukachott , erbil or juba are available as you noticed

Based on what you said

it is a sign that rocketmiles most likely withdrew voluntarly or unvoluntarly from kenyan market

If getting FB miles for your stays in kenya is a criteria then you have two options.
.

1. go with booking.com but you need to use the dedicated website to earn FB miles (prices might be slightly different)
2. use your preferred loyalty hotel program and enable FB earnings before your stay

As far as i know accor is mostly in nairobi + some properties in countryside for safaris , they have very little footprint in africa generally speaking besides few exceptions

However In east africa raddisson and to some extent marriott are the biggest well known players who are FB partners

I know of course you cant compare stats for zanzibar and juba , but the demand for tourism to places like DRC, south sudan or burundi exists , you have no idea how many people i met on their ways to those places or who express desire to visit them

flying_blue_white_red

Many thanks for the very detailed explaination fifty_two!
It could be good to learn if it's only temporary or not.

The main goal is to burn some miles in one of the family friendly seaside resorts on the east coast. Tanzania - Zanzibar - geared more towards honeymooners/couples (which is very good too) doesn't have the same vibes as Kenya. The big hotel chains, outside the cities, have (had!) limited choices compared to Hotels For Miles.
But, yeah, ultimately in town, let's focus on the FB partners.

Outside Africa, any other tourist hotspots removed by Rocketmiles?
Again thank you!

fifty_two

i would recommend to contact rocketmiles and ask them directly

It might be due to some stories between kenya and rocketmiles , same vibe as the beef of Turkey vs Booking.com , where now only foreign customers can book turkish properties through booking.com

I would say that , financially speaking , burning miles through rocketmiles is not always the best way to redeem them , but if your goal is to get rid of them in kenya only , check for hotels availability in cities you want and then convert them to your favourite hotel program , radisson for instance (usually rate is 1:4)

Not that i am aware , cause i havent used it since 2022 , i just checked few markets after your post , now i am mostly using booking.com