Choice hotel programs
 

What is the general experiance of people with choice hotels. Despite the fact that I am a starwood member I have never stayed at any of their properties simply because:

A: I usually travel as a party of five people. (2 adults and 3 childern) and majority of starwood properties do not allow more than 4 people in a room.

B: No breafast is served in any of strwood properties while free breadfast in my favorite Comfort Suites and you add five people! Now that is a big saving.

Also I was thinking of appying for their visa card by BOA. Any thoughts on that. For some reason I dont see many choice previleges fans on this forum. Am I right? Please enlighten me with your thoughts.

I'm a member of both SPG and Choice Privileges and I feel that SPG is better with regard to redemption options (no blackout dates and capacity controls), but Choice Privileges has an advantage with locations. You don't have to stay in a major city because there are Comfort Inns all over the place.

I got the Choice Privileges Visa card last year and redeemed the bonus points for a free night. I think the general rules about redemption are that you cannot book a free stay more than 30 days in advance, but that was not a problem for me. Overall, redeeming the points for a free night seemed pretty painless to me. Now, I think you can book free stays online. I will try that this summer. I think the only drawback with this program is that points expire after two years, whereas with SPG I don't think there is an expiration date.

A good feature of the Choice program is that there are no blackout dates or capacity controls. If they've got a room, you can redeem a reward for it. [One limitation, as the previous poster said: For domestic, can't book more than 30 days out; for international, that's relaxed to 60 days.] I have had no problem redeeming. Also they are always running promotions, like the current one which is triple points (or miles) for rooms booked at their web site (double points or miles for all other bookings).

The 30-day rule also applies to Canada. It seems the rule could be overcome by booking 1 or 2 rooms; canceling 1 30 days prior; and then booking an award.

That is a nice sneaky but legit plan. I dont see any harm in it. So far I have seen no obvious disadvantage with chice hotels program. The only thing that stands out in starwood is the nice redemption feature with no black out dates, but it lags behind in the number of hotels, restriction on the number of children in a room (3 in my case) and free breakfast for all which is a big plus in my case with a party of five people.

People have unique cirumstances and accordingly there is no one program that is perfect for all. However when I see my situation, I think I will definately go for choice privileges program.

Triple Miles makes Choice a good option
 

I stay about a dozen nights a year at Choice Hotels, but most of my stays (10-12/month) are with Intercontinental (IC) or Starwood (*W). Where I travel, the quality of Holiday Inn or Sheraton is generally nicer than the Choice properties, which are in turn generally nicer than, say, a Four Points. The other two factors are breakfast (better at Choice, best at HI Express) and free hi-speed internet access (most IC properties have it, but not Choice).

I don't use Choice Privileges for anything but miles, so for me it comes down to a cost comparison--nighly rate vs. value of points/miles. Usually IC comes out ahead when they have one of their promotions going, and *W has a good one right now, too. They both end on 3/31, though, so in April, the Triple Miles offer with Choice is very competitive: 750 airline miles with each stay. I'll probably be spending most of my time at the nearest Comfort Inn next month.

I just today became a member of this program today.

I am travelling to Eugene, OR, if anyone has any reports of the Quality Inn on Franklin Blvd. kindly share your reports.

I traditionally stay at Holiday Inn & related brands, but the rate was more than double at a HI & very far away from where I needed to be for my meetings. I am looking forward to it.

Does the Choice Point Group have a status matching program?

Thanks,

Ric

I have been a priority club member for years but recently added choice privileges. The Comfort Suites are a decent value and a good option for an extended stay. I figure I may as well get points the few times I stay there.

I should also mention that I asked the Choice Hotel to match my status, Choice Hotel doesnt do this.

Ric

Just curious...how long does it typically take for miles earned with Choice Hotels to post to your airline mileage statement?

I too am interested to know this. I have never stayed with this group, so I cannot answer.

Ric

I had a couple of stays in early March as part of the triple credits promo - posted at Southwest roughly three weeks later. Hilton and Best Western allow one to see the stay credit post internally in one's hotel account; I do dislike the Choice system of having to wait for the stays to actually hit the airline itself.

I am a member of both programs, but prefer to earn frequent flyer miles with Choice rather than points. I previously earned points, but changed my earnings preference when I experienced extreme difficulty locating a room with only 30 days notice. I know this isn't the case everywhere, but I attempted to redeem points in Summit County, CO during ski season with no luck. Obviously, location and time of the year was the problem I had, but I have enough hassles with airline mile redemption so I don't need it with hotels, as well. On the other hand, Choice does have a considerably more extensive portfolio of hotels than Starwood.

May be you could have solved this problem by making an advance reservation and then cancelling just before you want to redeem your points? Should'nt that work?

I'm a choice platinum member with more than 80 night in 2003, 4 & 5.

My perspective:

a) As reported earlier Choice almost always have some sort of promotion going, for the first 4 months of this year it's been 3X points. Let's put that in perspective: I'm paying around $80 per day for the room but I'm getting 2400 points per night in credit. I can later this year rent the same room using points for 6000 points per night - very nearly a 1 : 2 free room rate, you will not find that with any other plan hotel, airline or other similar program.

b) It would never occur to me to compare Choice to SPG - the products offered are totally different and I doubt that anyone who is used to Starwood would be satisfied at most Choice properties. Choice properties typically run from the "hey this is not so bad" to the "oh my god what have I done". Never dangerous but also never better than average I would compare Choice as a whole to Best Western not Sheraton.

c) Ah yes, that free breakfast. Can be a value, but realize that it's generally just some watered down OJ, cold cereal and muffins. Still if all you want is a quick bite in the AM before starting the day they will get it done.

d) Locations. Choice properties tend to be smaller, older and less full service compared to Starwood - the positive is that they are just everywhere. Any good size metro area is likely to have 10+ Choice properties. There's almost always one where you need to be. I'd say 50% are properties I'd never return to a second night but which served their purpose for the short stay I had.

e) Redeeming awards. I've never, no matter where, no matter when had a problem finding a room in the general area I wanted to stay 30 days ahead. Sometimes it's not at the property I want but something in the area has always been available. It's no surprise to me that one couldn't find a free room at a ski resort during high season, I imagine the same problem might come up at the beach on 4th of July - but then I imagine SPG might have similar difficulties.

I've been running on way too long.

Hope this helps someone.

Aloha

Lihu'e 1k

Wonderful post with excellant comparison between choice and SPG. Although I think you were a bit harsh on the breakfast side. Not all properties offer the same service. I would say 30% of the time you will be surprised to see full continental brakfast buffet with hot cereal and eggs.

Thanks for the kind words, glad to help.

You are of course right, some properties really do exceed on the breakfast.

It pays to check out the properties in areas you return to time after time, they can vary considerably.

Lihu'e 1k

And..even HOT WAFFELS.. at some locations.. ^

Do you need to be a member of the Choice program to earn FF miles on stays?

Yes, I think you have to be a member and then at the time of check in you give your membership number with your preference

No. I'm not a member of the Choice program and I have always gotten my airlines miles. Usually I just present my airline membership card at check-in.
The reason I'm hesitant of joining the Choice program in the first place is they might screw up and give me Choice points instead.

Give the airline info at check-in and confirm it is on your folio at check-out.

Choice - is lousy in posting points
 

It took about 2 or 3 reminders to have points posted after each stay. I avoided staying at Choice Hotels. My recent trip hasn't been posted for 3 weeks.

My last two back-to-back stays posted correctly (including bonuses) after just about three weeks without my having to contact Choice.

I think this has everything to do with the individual property.

My own experience is mixed. The Quality I frequent never missed giving me points, for 4 years they were perfect. Very suddently last fall it became hit or miss and from the start of this year they are batting 0.000. I've complained repeatedly and always get a shrug of the shoulders. :mad:

To their credit I send in the receipts on the 15th day (Choice says allow two weeks) and they credit my points, bonuses etc within a week or so. Still who wants to try and manage all this?

I also notice (though I admit this may be just dumb luck) that web bookings seem to give points with near zero trouble while reservations made directly with the hotel are more prone to problem.

Lihu'e 1k

This is great news! If you reserve online, do you have the opportunity to input your FF number at that time?

No, there is no way you can input your FF number during the online reservation process.
However, make sure you give them your FF number at check-in and verify it again on your printed statement when you check-out.
It usually takes about 2.5 weeks for the miles to show up on my account.

I guess Canadians don't count.

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I have been in Choice Priveledges for a year or so, and their program does have some advantages. (I normally do HHonors) Recently they had a "stay 2 nights, get one free" promotion which netted me 2 free nights. I wasn't able to redeem the free nights at all of their properties, but generally there were three or four properties in each city where I could redeem the points. I have also found that their hotel rates are a little cheaper than a comparable Hampton Inn or Fairfield Inn, especially with a senior citizen's rate. Their telephone reservations staff is usually very helpful, too. I would caution that their properties vary widely in quality, and it is not always easy to pick a good property. For example, their Clarion Brand is advertised as being superior, but the ones I've seen tend to be dated and a little seedy. One, in Charleston S.C.was downright filthy. I've had my most pleasant stays at the Confort Inns and Suites properties. When booking, look for their gold and silver award winning properties. They tend to be better quality. Also look for the newer properties.

Sleepytime

Thanks for your input. That helps a lot. I guess there is no one shoe that fits all sizes. Does any one know or remember any Choice properties that were really good? Some recommendations or really bad experiences?

The sleep inn and suites, and comfort suites tend to be newer and have more amenities. Valdosta Ga, off I-75 Sleep in and suites had hot breakfast items and happy hour with free drinks for 3 hours each evening, for example.

:D

I agree with the previous post: Sleep Inns and Comfort Suites are nice. I haven't had a bad experience at any of those properties. ^

Your presumably haven't been to the Comfort Suites near SNA (Orange County CA airport). It is NOT one of the "typically" newer ones (to use the wording of the poster you were agreeing with), and while it's not guarnateed to be if you just stay there once, if you stay there repeatedly you're bound to notice it's not likely to be anyone's first choice (at least if price is factored out):

The "suites" are simply dividers only a few feet long that stick out into the one and only room, between the sofa and the bed.

The breakfast is undependable. On more than one occasion the juice inside the juice machine has been spolled. There are very few breakfast items, and whether any of the ones I want to eat are there is hit or miss.

They've given me a key to an occupied room.

For my first half year of staying there, not a SINGLE post to an airline posted correctly. (Their whole system requires that they subsitute the airline FF number for the Choice Priveleges number at check-in time, but for a long time this particular location had a computer system that couldn't handle that.) Even after that was "fixed", it still doesn't post sometimes, because it's a manual process (and the result is not verified on my folio).

Almost every room I get there has SOMETHING that doesn't work right that night, but I can't predict what (unless I get the same room twice in a short period, then it's simply the same thing not repaired!).

... On the other hand, I've stayed at new-build Comfort Suites in a few other locations (lke the one next to OAK) and been very pleasantly surprised (after using this location as my "reference", because the SNA area is where I need to stay most often).

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us on this forum. What I dont understand is why you had to stay couple of times at Comfort Suites near SNA (Orange County CA airport).? One bad experince should be enough. :confused:

I am glad to hear about Comfort suites at OAK as I shall be staying there in early August. ^

I need to stay near SNA oodles of times a year, and it's on my own dime. The Comfort Suites there is $70ish a night (AAA rates), which no one except the even dumpier Red Roof Inn (which doesn't award miles, and which doesn't even TRY to offer breakfast) can match. (Best Western is next, for a few dollars more, then Candlewood Suites, then Holiday Inn, and after that the price goes three digits. To get an under-$$$ rate in HHonors, I have to trudge up to the Disneyland area -- Garden Grove/Anaheim -- and even then only non-convention weeks.)

I stay at the Comfort Suites only when it has a bonus that I need more than any other bonus at one of the other affordable hotels. (Sometimes they have triple miles/credits promos, other times stay twice and get minimum 6000 points promos.)

I wouldn't stay there if that was my only choice for breakfast, but I have dependable alternatives for breakfast at THAT location. (But it makes me wary of trying Comfort Suites at other locations if I don't have dependable alternative for breakfast lined up.)

Internet rate guarantee
 

I've been a member of the choice hotels program for about 18 months now, and overall I'm happy with what I'm getting.

As mentioned, the facilities obviously nowhere near top end, but the places I have stayed were clean and for the most part well maintained. There are an abundance of locations, and the points do add up.

I recently stayed 3 nights in PNS using points, and it worked out quite nice. Interesting that there is no tax to pay on a "free" room, but when I use FF miles to fly, there is always a tax, fee or something that has to be paid. The room in PNS really was totally free.

Having said that, my first problem I have had with them was tonight.

I made a res for 3 nights in Danvers, Ma...just north of BOS. Using my AAA rate, I booked at 93/nt. Then I checked expedia, and they had the same thing for 80/nt. So I filled out the form for the internet guarantee (where they will give you the lower rate with a 10% bonus).

They replied that because I booked a discount rate (AAA), under terms of the guarantee, my rate does not qualify.

Interesting. I found a rate that is lower than my discounted rate, and much lower than the standard rate, and it does not qualify for the internet guarantee. If I had booked the standard rate ( a higher rate) and then submitted the form, they would have to honor the expedia rate and the 10% bonus would have been more.

I get the feeling that the internet guarantee is just a way for those of us out there shopping for rooms on the internet to find lower rates on other sites for them to correct. For after I got their reply to my form submission (about an hour later), I checked expedia and now there was no availability for any of the 3 nights.

Perhaps just a coincidence, but I wonder.

This internet rate guarantee policy is very deceptive and one should always read the fine print. Same holds true for DL and other airlnies and hotels.

Once I tried to book a room at Rochester, MN and was quoted a rate higher then on the web site which was Mayo clinic special rate ($10 less per day). CSR happily obliged but with one catch: This rate does not qualify for airline miles or points.

Overall I think Choice properties are a good value for money specially for a person like me who appreciates breakfast factor as most of the time my travel is leisure with a party of five.

New Choice Visa Promo
 

Choice Privileges Visa Cardholders Earn Two Free Nights This Summer

Beginning June 1, travelers who apply for the no annual fee Choice Privileges® Visa Platinum credit card by August 31, and make their first purchase by November 1, will receive 16,000 Choice Privileges reward points. Keep reading about the Choice Privileges promotion.

Econo and Rodeway Promo
 

Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn Guests Earn Triple Miles This Summer

Beginning June 1, guests at Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brand hotels in the U.S. will be eligible to receive triple Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® credits for stays through August 31. Find out more about the Triple miles promotion.

This is a very nice offer for those who value choice previleges program. Unfortunately I applied for this card two months ago for 6000 points bonus :mad: I am so mad now. I called them and asked to get the difference but no success. I have again applied for this card with the new promotion and then I will cancel my old card. I hope BOA is not that stingy for a second card with the promotion :confused: Anybody has any experience