mecabq

Looking to book the Hyatt Place Dubai / Wasl District. For many days the World of Hyatt member rate is AED 149++ (around $41; comes to around $54 all-in) with 72-hour cancellation.

When I try to book a three-night stay, it offers a "Stay 3 Pay 2" rate -- i.e., stay two nights, get one free -- and the average rate over the three nights comes out to ... AED 150++. (The breakdown shows 225, 225, 0 for the three nights.) And this rate is nonrefundable, with no additional benefits. Any one, or two consecutive, of the same three nights can be had for AED 149++ per night. (Sample dates: 07/25-07/28.) I wonder if all three of the nights in the "Stay 3 Pay 2" count towards elite qualification?

Some deal! Good lesson to always benchmark the individual night rates when one comes upon a multi-night package like this.

Often1

It isn't phony in the least. It's pretty standard for many supposed deals offered around the world by hotels and others.

Just like any other service, it pays to calculate the total cost, e.g. the total outlay for the service and then determine what is best for you.

mikew99

Coincidentally, I ran into this "phony" 3-for-2 rate yesterday with a chain of serviced apartments that I frequent. Their advertised 3-for-2 rate actually costs more than the cheapest promotional daily rate (and, as in your case, the daily rate is postpaid and cancelable, but the 3-for-2 rate is prepaid with no cancellations allowed).

The problem, of course, is these teaser BOGO and 3-for-2 promotions usually require purchase at full price. It's a lot of work, but I see no alternative but to check all the possible rate combinations (individual nights, long-stay rates, promotional codes) to determine the best offer for a stay.

jameswes

No, the third night generally will not qualify for elite qualification. I definitely have seen the 3rd/4th night free promos be a good savings, but I agree you need to be really careful because they are generally non-refundable

FlugE

In my eperience, no. I missed out on quite a lot of points once as it was my last stay within the promo period and I needed every night to count.

mecabq

I called it "phony" in the sense that it gives no value. There is zero possible reason to book the package in this case -- it's the same price (actually AED 1 higher), more restrictive cancellation rules, with fewer WoH benefits than the standard rate.

It's also phony in the sense that the nominal rate jumps to AED 225++ for each of the two paid nights under the "Stay 3 Pay 2," while the standard nightly rate is never as high as 225 this time of year. Yes, the standard rate can be higher than 150, making the 3-for-2 a possible value in some windows over the summer, but I have not found any time period in which the standard rate is as high as the quoted rate for the paid nights in the 3-for-2 rate. It irks me a bit (in a FlyerTalk sort of way) that they pull this rate of 225 out of thin air and claim that the third night is free.

I have booked plenty of buy-X-get-one-free packages; it's true that they are generally more restrictive than standard rates, as you'd expect. But doesn't having the nominally paid nights at a rate that is higher than any prevailing standard rate (and with the same or worse conditions) defeat the purpose?

Edited to add:

It's actually even worse. One can't even book the typical standard rate as an alternative to the "Stay 3 Pay 2." For example, over the three nights from 07/25-07/28, the member rate is AED 153++ for any combination of one or two nights. But when trying to book all three nights as one stay, the 3-for-2 package comes up as AED 500++ total (250, 250, 0 for the three nights) -- while the member rate inexplicably jumps to AED 225++ per night (675 total). (It's the same scenario throughout the summer.)

I get that hotels have various packages involving minimum stays, weekends, and other promotions, but this just seems like they were trying to get too cute with packages and did it wrong.

MSPeconomist