FlyerGoldII

Confirmed (at time of booking) early check-in?
Confirmed (at time of booking) late check-out?
Giving upgrade or other certs to close family or friends?

CanadaDH

Those benefits have all been Accorified. No more certificate transfers, and no more guaranteed late check in or out.

Nick Art

Not to forget: No more certs.

Eagle_traveler

Not to forget: No more loyalty from a lot of former FPC members

Admiral Ackbar

After I burn all my certs bye bye Accor. I am sure they will miss me /s

mellon

I would think Accor has to be seeing a huge drop off in customers at Fairmont? I guess they bought a new chain and lost most of the customers.

Nick Art

I think it is still too early to judge here. I certainly hope so though.
The problem in my case is that my loyality is actually with the specific Fairmont hotels and not their program. While the FPC has been the best hotel loyality program of all time and being replaced by something truely horrifying, I'm not sure this is enough to push me away from my favorite Fairmont properties. It really depends on weither the Fairmont quality still stays the same. I guess I'll decide on this matter in the coming year, but tbh, I don't know where else I would go then... Four Seasons? Ritz Calrton?
I just don't know yet.

Curse you AccorHotels!

kaizen7

Eagle_traveler

Four Seasons doesn't have a loyalty program. However, with Fine Hotel and Resorts from Amex you get perks (upgrade, breakfast, internet, food or spa credit) and they also recognize your loyalty and personalize your stay.

Last summer, I stayed for the first time at a Four Seasons. I decided to stay at the Four Seasons Whistler instead of the Fairmont. Prior to my stay, I asked them to make a personal profile with my preferences. My stay was personalized and it felt like I have been a guest with them for the last 10 years.

CanadaDH

I had a couple of Four Seasons stays last year, and fully agree. They're treating everyone like a guest with top tier status.

When I visited IST last year, I had a choice of the brand new Fairmont, the Raffles, and probably a big pile of really mediocre Accor brand properties, where I would have received Platinum benefits at all of them. Not really feeling the love for Accor, I stayed at the FS on the Bosphorus, and it turned out to be a great choice. Same thing for a couple weeks later down in MRU. I think they had a So Sofitel on the island, which looked pretty crappy in the photos, so I chose the FS. The lack of any loyalty program and status didn't matter at all. I would happily go back to a FS. I think I also booked an Amex Fine Hotels rate package for those two stays.

Fully agree. I have a loyalty to a few favourite hotels, which I would stay at regardless of their affiliation. Where else would somebody stay in places like Montreux, Lake Louise, Banff, Quebec City, etc.? There is no other property around that could possibly compare. It's in places where there are other great options that I look elsewhere.

totti

I could not agree more. I am not sure how much business Fairmont is going to loose, simply because in several places they have the best location/hotel. Banff is a prime example. I would not want to stay in a different hotel when in Banff, similarly to Jasper and others. It is obviously very different in places like Toronto where you have great alternatives. But most of my Fairmont stays are because of the hotel as well, not the loyalty program. But in Whistler for example, I will now definitely try the Four Seasons even though the Fairmont has a slightly better access to the hill.

CanuckFlyHigh

I am staying at the Four Seasons vs. Fairmont in Whistler three times this winter. If Whistler was still FPC, I would stay at the Fairmont, but without the guaranteed suite and/or room upgrades, it's FS time.

CanadaDH

At Whistler, I really like Fairmont Gold. So, I never got any upgrades there anyway under the FPC, since certs never applied to Gold. I just had to book it, and I probably still would. I stayed at the FS at Whistler years ago (before I became a Fairmont regular), and I think I like Fairmont Gold at Whistler better than the FS there. Both are great properties.

The only thing I don't like at the Chateau Whistler is the walk to head out skiing. You basically come down the guest elevators on the wrong side of the hotel, and then have to walk all the way across the lobby area, before heading down the stairs to the ski valet, and then a long walk across the ski valet area, then outside and up the stairs. A bit convoluted IMO. This is where Fairmont Tremblant excels. The guest elevators open right at the ski valet, which is also right next to the doors to the ski-out.

totti

I will definitely try the FS. I got some really nice rooms at the Fairmont and several upgrades even without using certs. This is probably because we stayed there quite frequently. And the Fairmont will always hold a special place in my heart since it was where my wife and I skied together for the first time. For me it is mostly the guaranteed late checkout that I really miss. It was so great to ski all day, have a quick shower and then head back to the city in the late afternoon/early evening. I have now stayed there twice since FPC is gone and all they offered was a checkout at 1pm or 2pm.

I'll now see what FS has to offer