ByrdluvsAWACO

For those of you that receive the big targeted promos(ie. 7/70), can you list the properties you usually stay and the rates you usually pay?

For example....

• Do you primarily stay at Hiltons and ES'es and DT's or other upscale properties?
• Do your rates average $100+? $200+? $300+?
• Do you have a lot of hotel charges during your stays?
• What is your status?
• How do you qualify for status? Stays, nights, points?
• Do you continue to earn points after qualifying for top-tier?

goingsomewhere

Seems like one thing is a given: The formula never includes me.

planeluvr

The formula is {ta da} : If you have a lot of stays, no need to offer a promo to get you to stay more.

If you show a decrease in stays {ta da}, here comes a promo.

pitflyer

It's not that simple. I've had large decreases in stays with no targeted promo. Also the other way (large increases). Ah, we should get a mole to work for one of the big hotel frequent hotel stay companies, since they all target now

andrzej

Doubt very much that you'll find a formula, but here is my story.

Comped Gold about 3 years ago due to my AA status. Once Gold my stays were as follows: 1/3 of stays were Priceline, 1/3 award (converted AA miles) and 1/3 paid. Gold requlified the old fashioned way last year. This April I was not even close. Received the Silver card in the mail, but Gold on the website. Confirmed I was still Gold during an early May stay. Up to this point I never received any promo notification. Read about the 3/5/7 stay promo here on FT. Called the HHonors Gold line and was refused, but offered the 5/10/15 night stay for 1/2/3 free nights. Signed up. Also read about the fast track offer for Diamond, checked my HHonors page and there it was, 7 stays before 7/31 gets me Diamond. I'm down to 3 stays now. . About 2 weeks ago I received the first e-mail promo from HHonors EVER, for the double summer points.

Good luck trying to figure it out!

ATLKarl

I seem to get a lot of promos (not the x3 though even though my boss did ).

I've been a HHonors memeber and a Diamond member for just over 3 years and stay at a Hilton property every week (42/52 weeks). They're usually HI's or ES. The rates usually hover around $110-$130 2/3 nights per week...

I know this won't help at all in your figuring of this but good luck!

Portolan

Got the stay 8 = 80,000 points targeted promo. Clueless as to why since at the time I received the promo, I had 7 or 8 reservations on Hilton.com within the qualification period and ended up with 9 or 10 just the way it turned out (in other words, I got rewarded for what I was planning to do anyway...no behavior modification on my part). I stay about 1/3 the time each in Hilton, Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn. About half the time at government rates and the other half at AARP (i.e., not paying top dollar). Might have been a perceived lull in my stays just before the promo came out since my travel tends to clump during certain months of the year, but my average number of stays/nights per year has been steadily (but not dramatically) increasing over the last few years.

doglover

I regularly got decent promos until I earned diamond the hard way. Now if I get a targeted promo at all it's the lamest of those being offered.

pinniped

I got a nice 2x points promo from Amex last year - 2 months' spending on the card was doubled to 6-10 points/dollar. I racked about 20,000 bonus points with that one.

I had been using HH Amex as my primary card, then switched to SPG Amex about six months earlier. I was actually surprised that Amex was so eager to tease me back to HH from SPG. After the promo, I went back to SPG Amex.

I never get promos from Hilton directly. I have always been a cheapie when it comes to paid stays in the HH family. But higher-end business stays tend to be at Marriotts, whereas I look for Hamptons and HGIs for paid stays in HH. I'm surprised they don't do a little more brand-specific stuff - maybe to tease a Hampton guest into HGI's, an HGI fan into the mainline DT's/Hiltons.

Super Larry

This isn't true. My last stay in a Hilton was last August (2004). Since then nothing. I'll lose my Diamond status very soon. No promo down my way.

Doesn't matter, went to SPG (comp Platinum )and I've been treated like a king since day one. It will take a fabulous promo from HH to get me back to them.

When I'm not staying at an SPG property, I'm staying at a PC property. Their promos are just great and now I'm Diamond with them.

It does work out for me and too bad for HH!

Xyzzy

Who gets which promos is up to the Hilton marketing department. From what I've seen that means it's as good as letting monkeys assign promos at random.

I'm a diamond and have been for a couple of years. I usually come in at 29 to 30 stays/year, 45 to 50 nights. I was selected for the 2x promo last time (endign 6/30). I *****ed and spewed and they noted my account to give me something that maximizes points "next time." Who knows what that will be or when.

planeluvr

No kidding? That must mean that the marketing gurus have their own formula on who and what promos to offer. In other words, they offer promos that fits a certain profile and criteria that meets the programs needs and/or their sponsor (i.e. AE, Visa, etc.).

I was being flippant about the simplistic view everyone has about the promos.

troyintn

I have cut back on Hilton, because of the lack of promos. Thinking I would get some more. Will make PLAt with SPG next week. Already made Diamond for the year, but have cut back a ton. Still have not seen a promo or anything from Hilton and Honestly doubt they noticed my travel has been down this year. Thinking about trying to make Hyatt this year also, but my boss might not like the price.

PHLGovFlyer

Do you primarily stay at Hiltons and ES'es and DT's or other upscale properties?
Do your rates average $100+? $200+? $300+?
I primarily stay at ES and Hiltons at govt rates ($100-$150)


Do you have a lot of hotel charges during your stays?
My only additional charges to the room are for parking


What is your status?
How do you qualify for status? Stays, nights, points?
I’m a Diamond and got it through number of stays


Do you continue to earn points after qualifying for top-tier?
Yup

I got the stay 8 get 80,000 points promo and already completed it and got the points. I tend to get bonus points promos but never the “stay X get Y free nights type of promos, which I’d prefer

Super Larry

Good use of the emoticons . Maybe if you would have used them in your first post about the formula, everybody would have seen the humour in it