Hi all guys.

I read your forum almost daily and today I decided to join this community

I live in Switzerland I my travels are almost always business-related. When I fly for vacation I don't have a preferred destination, I basically go where I (and my girlfriend) want to go.

When I travel for business I can't choose the hotel (my company has a partnership with Hilton and Marriot). Now I'm looking at the loyalty program offered by different hotels. I'm basically looking for the best program for me, the problem is I don't have a favorite hotel. I always book via booking.com and this bring me to the second question: do you earn points even if you book via other websites? From what I understand the points are earned based on how much you spent, am I right?

So long story short:
When I travel my destination is within the Europe, I would say 20-30 nights per year.

If it matters I don't need super luxus hotels, I usually go to 4-5* and my only request is a whirlpool (shared is also ok).

Thanks for your time

You gotta book from the hotel website also spg is going if you want to fly using those points

Welcome to FlyerTalk, hcl.

Unfortunately, no. So you either have to change your habit of always booking on booking.com, or else give up on earning points.

You can certainly compare hotels on third-party sites, but especially if the rate is no higher than at the hotel program's site, book at the hotel program's while logged in so you'll get the normal points, the extra points from any bonuses you may have been able to register for, and the night count toward possible elite status).

That's not specific enough. Which hotel program have properties varies in different parts of Europe. For example, in Scandinavia, outside the capital cities, pretty much the only chains you'll find are Carlson (Radisson, etc), Choice (Comfort/Clarion/Quality), and Best Western. On the other hand, there are no Choice properties in Spain, while Marriott (which is pretty useless in Scandinavia) has lots of properties in Spain.

Welcome to Flyertalk, hcl!

If you are staying at Hiltons and Marriotts already as part of work, you might want to concentrate there, at least for a while.

Spreading stays around to 5 different hotel programs won't help you any.

But many of us save so much with booking.com, Priceline, Hotwire, etc. that it outweighs the elite hotel benefits.

wow I'm impressed. You guys are quick!

Thanks for the clarification about points and booking.com

I understand that "Europe" doesn't mean anything specific BUT we actually decide 20-30 days before our depart and the destination can be Paris, Vienna, Oslo, London or whatever we want to visit. So my question now is: which is the best program with the most sparse hotel coverage?

Hilton and Marriotts are great hotel for Business, but I prefer to stay at Le M�ridien with my GF I'm not sure why but actually is a way more romantic.

As a side note:
I'm Hon with MM and the only benefit I use is the award flight / upgrade class with miles. Don't get me wrong but I don't need all the side things you have with Hon status. For long haul flight business class is more than enough, I fly first just because my company pay for this. So my expectation from hotel loyalty program is free nights / better room but preferred check-in lane and other things are not for me.

AS SAID: don't get me wrong, if you are Hon, Diamond or whatever and you use all the benefits you get from that status well... better for you

Star wood miles are pretty useful although not the best for hotel stays depending on the situation so at least if you choose to transfer it to an airline it's pretty good. It's pretty easy to reach status with star wood as free stays count.

At least some hotel programs give you points and nights/stay credit on certain travel agent bookings such as AmEx. Don't assume that your corporate travel agent isn't one of these. If you have a choice on business travel hotels, try to pick one and direct most of your business travel toward either Marriott or Hilton rather than splitting it pretty evenly. Doing this will get you decent status in one program. For leisure, you might decide that getting upgrades and lounge access at either Hilton's or Marriotts dominates Le Meridiens.

Thank you all

if you like Le Meridien, look at alternative brands within the Hilton and Marriott families, such as Autograph Collection. You might find places that still give you Hilton/Marriott benefits but are more romantic and unique that standard Hilton and Marriott properties.