ChoiceHotels

Spring Promotion Registration and Freddie voting are happening now so don't forget to participate!

We know we can rely on our flyertalk members to help us constantly improve our program! We took strides to make things better for our Elites in 2017 by introducing our Elite Welcome Gift at all of our hotels. We hope you value the Choice Privileges rewards program as much as we value you. Please remember to vote in this year's Freddie Awards - the highest honor for travel loyalty programs - by March 31st! The link to vote is below for your convenience:
Freddie Awards

Also, as many of you have noted, pre-registration for our spring promotion is now open! Stay two separate times between April 2 and May 25, and you can earn enough points to redeem for a future FREE night. Link for promo registration is below:

sanmandude

Question for @ChoiceHotels company rep?-
Do I need to cancel & rebook my stays between April 2 and May 25 for me to be eligible for this promotion. I booked them before I signed up for this promotion.

ChoiceHotels

Nope! As long as you have registered and check-in for two separate stays between April 2 and May 25 you will be eligible.

OhDoctor

Freddie votes seem like a pretty big ask for a program that's widely panned for a variety of reasons, as a casual perusing of the threads on this forum would indicate. In fact, if it weren't for Nordic Choice and a handful of Japanese hotels, it seems like Choice might be regarded as the worst hotel loyalty program out there.. although this probably reflects more on US-based Choice property owners more than the rewards program itself.

EDIT: For the sake of being helpful, I'll add that if Choice didn't severely limit the award booking window, it would make an immense difference. I have several upcoming stays in Norway and Sweden, yet I have to wait quite some time before I can actually book them, even with Platinum status.

sdsearch

Thanks for the official notice.

Any idea why it's still showing on the main Choice Hotels site? (The Freddie Awards thing is showing there, but still no mention of this promo starting in half a week.)

jackal

I'm torn. Choice is my go-to program (I'm Diamond, if that tells you something), largely because of the promos and Average Daily Rate of stays and cheap redemptions. I find it a very financially rewarding program.

But as a Diamond member, I really shouldn't have to deal with:

-rarely getting recognition and almost never getting a tangible benefit like an upgraded room (at the rare Choice properties that even have upgraded rooms, of course)
-worrying that the hotel isn't going to honor my reservation (I've been walked or attempted to be walked I think four times now, and by "walked" I don't mean nicely being comped a room at a nearby, nicer hotel but rather just being told that they're sold out and don't have a room for me, too bad)
-absolutely no real-time escalation path for when there's an issue at a hotel (if a franchise isn't going to deliver on basic expectations such as honoring my reservation, the Choice Diamond phone line absolutely should be empowered to either compel the hotel to honor it or arrange for an alternate option at no additional cost to me--or, actually, at no cost to me as per the Choice Hotels International walk policy)

I won't vote for any other chains for the awards--well, except perhaps IHG, which frequently has some stupidly lucrative promos--but I'm also having a hard time voting for Choice because as good as the program has been to me, I have a hard time supporting it winning an award when the standards are so poor, especially for a top elite member.

I know I'm getting what I'm paying for, but at the very least the security of knowing my booking will be honored without complaint is really not very much to ask...

OhDoctor

This is the biggest red flag, by far, and these forums are filled with a slew of similar horror stories. Simply put, this should never be an issue. Ever. If once and a while, they "walk" you the proper way, that would be annoying but understandable, as it is with Hilton, Marriott, etc. To show up for a reservation you placed 3/6/12 months ago as an elite loyalty member and be told basically "Buzz off" makes this entire discussion a non-starter.

sanmandude

Thank you @ChoiceHotels. My other question is are prepaid reservations at your website eligible for this promotion or to earn points on their stays?

ChoiceHotels

Yes, prepaid rates are eligible for Choice Privileges points and promotion bonus points.

sdsearch

It's showing now on the Deals page (you may have to click the "+:" to see the link to get to the Deals page), but it's still not on the main page, like previous promos always were IIRC.

Are they hiding this on purpose to see how many people find out about this promo only from other websites (such as FlyerTalk), or is someone just asleep at the wheel?

Fletch

sdsearch

And now, a day later (and three days into the promo), it's finally showing on the main www.choicehotels.page (as Book Stay Repeat), in the place where the Freddie's thing was through yesterday.

EVA777

Having just been denied a reservation (can't call it "walked") I find this program and the associated support to be appalling. I'd rather vote for my local roach motel before Choice.

OhDoctor

Right.. with the caveat that we're talking about US-based Choice properties. This doesn't seem to be an issue with the exceptional Japanese and Scandanavian properties.

jackal

I find it disappointing that the @ChoiceHotels rep who was posting on this thread earlier hasn't showed up to address this topic (or even offer some fake, content-free apology), which we're clearly not alone in encountering.