Have you changed your hotel stay pattern due to PC devaluations?
 

Curious about this.

There's been a lot of disappointment expressed on various threads (harder to achieve plat, increased redemption levels, fewer promos) in the last month. How many people actually took their business elsewhere due to these changes? And, where did you go? Or, have you redoubled your efforts to hit plat with PC?

I decided to give SPG a try this year (I just achieved SPG plat through a status challenge). As a result, PC already missed out on >$3000, but I suppose they've done the math and decided that many will spend extra trying to hit plat to offset those that defect.

I tend to stay at hotels for around 40 nights per year, so plat status is difficult to achieve in any program (PC may still be easiest), but gold status in PC is virtually worthless so I took the plunge with another program. I'll re-assess at the end of the year :)

Yes it hits me too, I have given up on them and only stay on them on PB to burn the rest of the points purchased. Mr. Nacho is running Marriott Plat Challenge now so we are moving our stays to Marriott.

Club Carlson matched my IHG Plat to CC Gold within a couple of days.

Five out of seven stays so far this year (that would normally all have gone to IHG) went to Radisson or Park Inn, with room upgrades on three occasions.
I should be able to accumulate a sufficient number of nights to maintain Gold with CC and that is exactly what I will do.

I used to be a proud member of Priority Club and would stay in their hotels out of preference, including using their hotels as the bases for my teams - so they got good money out of me, but hey, I got good service.

As time has gone on, things started slowly getting worse, but only little by little, so I may have grumbled occassionally but my behaviour remained the same.

However in 2012 I found that I could no longer justify keeping the group as my hotels of choice - check-in and out had slowed, no obvious bonus for the loyalty (no a kit-kat doesn't quite do it for me).

Then there was the Best Rate Guarentee - well tried it twice - 1st time ended in a row, but eventually HQ took up my case and it was resolved with apologies. Next time I claimed - got blanked out. Now I am not stupid, I manage to hold down a good job with budget and commercial responsibilities - so I think I understand the scheme and whether I should be credited or not.

So I decided that I had to break the unbilical cord and have now done so. Whilst I will not be a platinum member after this year, I don't need to be - I get better service in the other hotels I choose - if I don't I change hotels.

Unfortunately ICH seem to have taken the "Marketing" route to customer satisfaction - keep telling us how well we are treated and we will eventually believe it. I wrote a paper a few years ago about BMI and how they were doing this and what the end result could be - I was unfortunately proved right.

Customer loyalty is driven by happy customers - not by marketeers getting together with lawyers.

Rant over - goodbye ICH and thanks for the Kit Kats.

No change for me, as rewards stays are not my main motivation towards PC (Royal Ambassador is).

By the way, I think that all major hotel groups (and airlines) follow the same strategy regarding points [devaluation].

Not quite sure that grass is greener at other chains: PC is quite generous (not so difficult if you are really loyal to get a lot of points and maintain status), and Point Breaks is unbeatable.

Simple answer is Yes. Because of the changes to the program but also due to the fact the ongoing promotions are very dissapointing and also it is so hard to work out whether you are going to get an upgrade / benefit at any given hotel.

I switched to Hilton towards the end of last year and achieved Diamond status for this year and am working on next year. The program is not as generous in terms of free nights but is more generous in terms of benefits during stays IMHO.

Have only stayed twice this year with PC at properties I know and like (and cities where Hilton isnt a good option) - I will still probably try and maintain Plat this year in the hope things improve.

Yes, PCR is not on the radar anymore. Only points stays ytd.

As I've mentioned elsewhere....issues with getting true value/quality stays on points in recent years (Strangely enough PB stays were the best quality not the 25K stays but rarely locations I really wanted) and ultimately the 2013 qualifying changes finally convinced me to move on after being an IHG supporter since the 90's. Leaked offers to FT cranked up points earnings for sure but PCR misjudged some of their customer base over time. Had not PCR demanded more stays for Plat requalification I'd have probably kept my same patterns just for the points. I can only speculate that after PCR's use of easy crack-points to build up membership totals served the day and now that they have peaked a large portion are expendable under the latest musings of the Marketing guru's to stay more or pay higher rates to earn Plat. Its likely an upside for 2014 Plats but will cost PCR $$ as members drift away...loyalty is only as good as the program.

Myself and Mrs.Surfer are burning up points this year while still PCR Plat but my HI/HIX paid stays have gone to Hilton with a Gold Challenge that just got bumped to Diamond. SPG/Delta stays remain the same but IHG and other stays moving to Hilton as vendor #3. I will keep IC Amb though as I like the IC locations for personal stays mostly and mostly buy the room I want so status is irrelevant. So far I've had excellent stays with the Hilton Brand and have 120K in aged pts banked prior as a Blue so I will build on that for 2014 spending and bumped up HH status will help.

Yes .

I decide to give them one year to try. I will make a decision by December 2013 and review how IHG have been performing compare with previous years.

So I am not changing my stay pattern yet. But I may do so after 2013 if it falls further down the road of deterioration or marriottisation.

Yes, but only due 2for1 (IDEX1). Do not care about points devaluation at all.

I've replaced IHG with Marriott.

Will stay at IHG hotels only when absolutely unavoidable and only with non-qualifying rates (F&F, 2-4-1 or Priceline NYOP).

Will also take a look at whether Delta's Crossover Rewards pans out or not.

I have also found Club Carlson to be much more consisent in upgrades compared to HI, the extra benifits fo all nights qualifying and the weekend 1+1 or 2+2 nights paid/free is a great perk.

I still have stays with PC, and there will be enough to earn plat (mainly now due to locations only), but with the devalution in points I may as well spread it around more, and get points with the other chains that have hotels I like when they are in the area.

It has helped to break loyalty patterns that were established.

Have actually swapped to Hilton.

I have found heir normal Hilton brand to be on par price wise with HI but are actually ten times nicer.

Slightly OT, but only just -- to paulmoscow, or others who know: I know F&F rates are "supposed" to be non-qualifying, etc. But do RAs still get upgrades, etc. on them? It's been ages since I booked one...

I'm giving up on RA after requalifying again in late December -- just can't be bothered anymore.

I've burned off my PC points and did a status match to Club Carlson. But, I'm still evaluating my options.

I've moved a lot of stays to Hilton. The free breakfast as a gold is something that was always missing at IHG and the rooms are fairly equal in price to HIs in Europe. I've already gotten enough points in the last 4 months for a free week in the Maldives.

I've now rented apartments in my main focus cities in China so that I don't have to even stay at hotels. It's definitely a cutback in terms of earnings, but I have a suite every night. It's amazing what you can get in China for the price of a 5 night IC stay.....

2-for-1 and 35% off are still useful for me for airport stays and such.

Yes, I am changing my stay pattern. And no, I am not leaving IHG/PCR just yet.

I enjoyed the earned RA status for a few years, but the programme getting a bit boring. Random promotion codes no longer exist, lost all the fun of finding 4-digit codes on FT. Double/triple points opportunities are all gone, what are they thinking about? The inconsistency among hotels is still a big problem, could easily end up with a terrible CP/HI, but still paying good money. This year's devaluation was the final push, only if last year's wasn't bad enough.

So once again I have to compare all hotel programmes by using my own criteria. Marriott came out the top, especially the life time elite status is a unique selling point comparing to IHG (SPG and Hyatt has poor coverage in the UK and the Far East).

So I guess 60% of my business will go to Marriott, and 40% remain with IHG simply because they have better coverage in the Far East - particularly in the cities that I need to travel to. Probably just enough nights to keep my RA status with IHG, will make sure I use all RA benefits for each stay, and draw particular attention on the mini bar :)

Some hotels are more stingy than others (regarding the quality of upgrades), but I have yet to see one that refuses RA benefits on a paid stay.

I don't think Marriot or SPG will work for me, IC/PCR/HH programs seem to meet my travel pattern/needs best.

I plan enough nights in 2013 to keep PCR Platinum for 2014, in the hope the new less easy Platinum re-qualification requirement will reduce PCR Platinum member count in 2014, allowing , hopefully, better and consistant PCR Platinum benefits in 2014 at HIX/HI/CP (free internet and free breakfast)
Obviously I hope to keep my RA status, if I can put in enough IC nights too.

Not sure I want 20x HH Stays in 2013 just to keep HH Gold as I think one can do a HH Gold/Plat challenge yearly as it is not a 'Status Match' limited to once in a lifetime.
As I now have HH Gold I can move some nights to Hilton and I like the Airmiles from the HH scheme

If PCR non-IC bennies remain the same for 2014 with no improvements, that is, no free internet, no free breakfast, no bennies on points stays, then I see myself taking a HH Diamond challenge and switching many nights over from Jan2014.

I believe HH points stays also get HH bennies, and count towards year nights totals, unlike PCR/IC, something I'd like PCR/IC hotels to provide, so another reason to switch more stays to HH for me.

Still an IHG platinum for 2013 but will be my last year after holding the status for as long as I remember. I am also Diamond at HH.

I stay about 60 business nights and 10-15 personal in chain hotels but the PC/IHG offers very little now compared to HH where I always get upgraded, free wi-fi, a free drink and double dip Avios and HH points. At IHG I seldem even get acknowledged.

So for me its Hilton, Carlson , Marriott and as a last resort IHG. Shame really but I guess they are content with the business they are getting or they would up the game.

After being Plat many years, 2013 will be my last. I have two preferred chains to cover my travel all over the world and IHG will be replaced in 2014 if not sometime this year.

I just got my first round of promo points and it appears that it's indeed true that only base point will count towards elite status. I wouldn't mind if the perks is right, but as most know, PC Plat is meaningless. There is virtually no tangible perks at most hotels. For $6000 pre-tax dollars a year, I'd expect more perks than what's being offered.

This is the worst move IHG could have made :(

No, still enjoy IC hotels. Already split years ago my stays between the 3 major chains.

The PC enchantment began to fade after I was not targeted for Crack the Case, missing out on 4 free nights will do that. Last year I cozied up to Hyatt thanks to an excellent summer miles promotion. This year looks like Marrott due to MegaBonus nights and a reasonable BRG policy. When outside of the top 100 metros, I may dwell on the doorstep of a HIX again.

Yes. I have moved a lot of my stays away from IHG; I don't bother to use the Amb BOGOF voucher any more, ever since that was changed a couple of years back. Then after last year's devaluation I moved away from some of my regular IC stays. Now, after this latest round of devaluations, I don't feel that it's the same loyalty program that I used to belong to any more.

In the space of a couple of years, IHG/Priority Club have managed to turn me from someone who would rarely even consider staying in a non-IHG hotel (since the days of six-continent club) into someone that feels virtually no loyalty at all to the IHG chain!

Well done bean-counters at IHG; another "life-long" customer lost! :rolleyes:

This thread has told me about the base points only counting. I have been plat for over 10 years and have now cancelled all IHG reservations. I will also burn the 500k points I have and be done with this company. Any IHG reps take note of this thread.

It must have taken extraordinary patience to remain a Platinum member for 10 years. Apart from stays at a few HI's, I've found the returns, the recognition, generally dismal - especially in the UK.

I've been fortunate enough to retain RA over far too many years, and I'm not overly interested in points. I'm happy with my treatment at IC hotels, so keeping the RA status is my only real concern in the programme.

Though, as I recently got Hilton Gold thrust upon me, I might try some of their hotels in places where the HI offer is un-rewarding

It just emphasises, I suppose, that different patterns of usage create different expectations, different perspectives.

Yes. I probably average around 15 paid stays per year on businesss and have been Platinum for around 3 of the past 6 years....mainly due to promotions and credit card points. Now that these don't count towards status, combined with the increase in points required for reward nights in good locations, it doesn't make sense anymore. I'll see out this year with Platinum status and then move on to Premier Inns and laterooms.com bookings. Won't bother with another hotel loyalty scheme as PC was the only one that worked considering my relatively low hotel stay frequency.
I know IHG won't miss my 15 paid nights, but I think there are a large number of business and leisure customers who chose IHG hotels because it was the only loyalty scheme that rewarded them for a relatively low stay frequency. I hope they have done their sums properly and know what they are doing....

The impression I get, and to be honest, the impression I have always got, is that the corporate head office does not really give a d***, they have cheap poor quality call centres, and have knocked the loyalty program 3 times in the last 13 months.

I think IHG will just see this as a side effect and argue that they cannot keep everyone happy, and are willing to loose some loyalty, believing they will make it up elsewhere and make savings with reduced liabilities to the loyalty program.

The hotels themselves are much better and the ones we go to regularly appear to value loyalty, they will continue to get our business, but I have just booked a bunch of stays, and out of 7 that would have gone to IHG, now only 2 have gone there.

Have I changed my pattern? Definitely yes!

I have moved all of my stays (100+ nights a year) to HH. I used to split my stays quite evenly between PC and HH, but now it is over.

Not qualifying for the "Crack the case" was the first crack in my loyalty. Maximising the point gain using multiple promotions is now gone. The last advantage of PC, the possibility to redeem points cheaply in expensive cities is also gone now.

I am happy I was able to spend nearly all my points before IHG inflated the redemption rates this year. I will watch the PointBreaks to spend the remaining ones.

I hold Platinum status for four years now but I will not bother to renew it this year. I will only come back to PC if they offer a Sweet Dillema - type promotion, but even then only for its duration.

IC Prague
 

I booked the IC Prague at 40,000 points before the devaluation. Fortunately, the hotel is now only 35,000 points per night. Cancelled and rebooked. Saved 15,000 points for the 3 nights.

However, given that all other chains (Hilton, Marriott, Starwood) have been devaluating their points I won't change. Priorityclub is still the easiest of the bunch to earn bonus points on. 50,000 points for a free night at Le Grand in paris is much easier to attain than 30,000 starwood points for the "W" in Paris.

Switched to SPG
 

Towards the end of last year I switched my business fully over to SPG and achieved their Platinum challenge. The treatment I get at Starwood properties totally trumps my old IHG stays. I was finding that even having RA status was only resulting in the same single level upgrades that Ambassador only level membership provided. With SPG I also get Club and Lounge benefits as standard, which isn't a benefit of RA. I never really raided the mini-bars, so Club benefits are of more interest to me. Also getting virtually no benefits at IC specific branded properties on reward point stays disappointed me as I really don't want to stay in the lowest room categories that are available on points. With SPG, even reward stays count towards gaining Elite level membership, along with room upgrades and all other programme benefits. Earning 10 Suite night awards each year is also a great perk.

I feel that the priorityclub and the Ambassador programmes have really devalued over the past couple of years and especially with this years' latest redemption changes.

Normally put all my nights (>130, mostly ICs) at IHG but this year will put roughly half with Hyatt.

Thinking about it I will be staying at CP's more this year than last year, with less IC night's. CP's often have Club rooms, and I can buy a couple of beers a night at the bar instead of getting from a free inroom minibar.

A London CP at £140+tax a night with £40/night incidentals for 5 nights gives me £900 spend x 16 points = 14,400 points and 7,200 bonus points, for a pricier IC 5night stay I get a measley 2000 points + 2000 plat/RA bonus points and nothing for my meals either.

I avoid IC Hotels when I book full week stays + even stays longer than 2nights at IC's, as against CP nights, due to the far far greater number of points I get at CP from both cost of room and my extra spend, ie meals/beers. If I was not an RA I could not really justify IC over CP nights.

I feel unwanted at Europe/Asian IC's due to the inequality with USA having converted to points per US$, whilst in Europe a meager 2000 per stay is awarded and often when European nightly room is at least double the USA IC cost.

I now need those extra points from CP versus IC to fund the increased points/night from the PCR 2012 and 2013 points hikes to my award nights.

Funnily it was using points for award nights that got me staying at IC's in the first place, as I accumulated loads of unspent points from my CP stays, and then I got used to paying for IC nights occaisionally.

Definitely have changed my stay patterns. I find the 2000 points/stay to be quite pathetic for ICs in asia and europe and will only book IC if its a 1 night stay, and even then, rarely.

E.g in HK, though the IC HK is a really nice hotel with beautiful harbour views, I find it extremely difficult to justify as I usually end up staying in HK 3-4 nights per trip. I have switched my stays to either the RC or the W and sometimes the JW. Considering that I spend about USD 2500 on average/ stay, the returns from IC is pathetic compared to the RC or the W.

The cities I usually end up in are Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok. Plus some of the second and third tier cities in China where only PC has decent coverage.

I could go on and on.. but the 2000 points/stay I get is just pathetic considering the spend and the blurb about staying in ICs being about the 'luxury hotel experience' and not for points rings hollow as their competitors in those markets are as good as if not better then the ICs.

I guess the only way I would prefer to stay in an IC in Asia and Europe other then on redemption nights would be if they aligned points earning to spend as in the US.

Two years ago, I was over 20 nights per year at IHG.

Last year, those all went to Hilton, mostly because of the nice breakfasts that overseas Hiltons give to HH golds. IHG still got some stays.

Now because of the devalution and general lack of promotions by IHG, my stays are now 100% Hilton.

Yeah, HGI won't miss just me, but multiply that by everyone else, and that's got to hurt.

Same thing here. About 10 business stays and 10 vacation stays on rewards or Pointbreaks.

Will they miss my $2500 annual spending? Probably not.

But In my service business, 80% of revenues are generated by existing, not new customers. The migration of small but loyal customers may have a significant impact on their revenue base.

I am taking a break from PC for 2013 at least. I did not renew ambassador which is what attracted me the the hotel group to begin with. I have never had much luck the Points Break so I will just hold on to my points until a special trip opportunity allows me to use them. Maybe by then PC will be be my fav program again.

New plan for my IC 2013 stays
I am about to add hotel hopping for week stays, say IC-Hilton-IC-Hilton-IC now I have HH Gold. In Park Lane IC and Hilton are near by to make hotel hopping painless. Two fold purpose, get 3sets of IC points per week + jump to HH Diamond on stays.

Then with HH Diamond I can switch my IC RA stays to Hilton with Room/Siute Upgrade, Free Internet, Guaranteed Lounge, Points per $ spend for all nights AND spending points, HH award nights give a)bennies b)count a qual nights

To keep me at IC's in Europe, IHG need to equalise IC points with USA to points per $, else I am moving to Hilton when I get HH Diamond. If I find I like the Hilton experience will move CP stays too.

I average about 150 nights a year in hotels, which was roughly split between HI and Marriott. I'll likely stay the nights to renew platinum this year, just in case they sort this out next year, but once I have that status renewed I'll be looking to move my business elsewhere - I get far better benefits from my Marriott platinum than IHG before they made the changes, they're now way better and Hilton is looking attractive as my 2nd place.

I would prefer IHG to move into $ per point PLUS a minimum 2,000 points per stay style...lol...greedy me.