chunky649

[QUOTE=valdor;22959451]I also read someone posting that they HEARD from some ICH executive or representative that PBs are selected randomly by ICH and the hotel has no choice. I think this is untrue and the data supports my assertion:

Practically no ultra expensive major city IC on the list during busy season.
IC Cleveland on the list for 3-4 times in the past few years.
No hotels in China at all in the last list.

This is my speculation based on observations:
PBs are randomly selected.... at first, then the selected hotels are informed, and are given a chance to limit availability, or to opt out completely. Occasionally, some newer hotel may have 'missed the memo', and got on the list. I.e. some recent Indigo hotel, and most of the nice hotels in China in the previous lists. I think they've learned their lesson now. :-)

jerry305

For the record, the quote in the above post is not mine. I didn't say that.

An earlier post used improper quotes, and that's affected subsequent posts.

SEAfarer

I posted this in January:

"IHG has to compensate these hotels for PB stays, right? I think I saw that on a printout of their charges per night, when I paid some additional local taxes after a PB checkout last year. Don't know whether it gets credited 100%.

Certainly makes it less likely they're going to lean on a popular destination to join a list."

The printout had my nights in one column, and some rates that were over $100 in the next column. Just a glance, as I was seeing it upside down on their counter.

It makes sense, since IHG sells the points to us, and the points get used at their franchisees' hotels, so they aren't going to settle for just a $35 reimbursement per night. Probably a lot of accounting going on regularly between them.

IHG probably has access to just about their entire hotel inventory/revenue data, and PB is likely just part of their overall yield management calculation. Probably would like to move the Rewards program up to a unique profit center as the airlines have done, but would this be harder to do with hotels?

IHG would be using it as a loss leader to attract members to their entire system, as it has been shown to work quite well on us here. Whether they pressure/select individual hotels to join in, I don't know, but each franchisee must be doing their own math to make the decision to opt in or out.

It's pretty clear that someone(s) expecting a full-revenue summer, and not needing us to fill in with the PBs. (I suppose an alternative list of 10ks would be a good project for us to promote here.)

htb

I don't think most hotels care whether they are on the PB list or not. I'm sure they get paid the same amount of money whether we were charged 5k or 40k points for the night. They also provide the same amount of award rooms per night.

HTB.

gya007

Last week, I saw the HI in Portland-Gresham, OR available on the Point-breaks list. I bought a small package from Daily Getaways to get those points. Today I got the points deposited, but the hotel has been pulled from the list. This is classic bait-n-switch.

C'mon IHG - you can do better!!

tentseller

The hotel has not been pulled. It is removed from the list when all the Point-breaks rooms are booked.
Some hotels where 5000pts is exceptional value or desirable areas during that time get fully booked on the first day, like most CPs and ICs or summer vacation destinations.

Searching IHG point will net you a faster way to "buy" IHG points.

bait-n-switch? maybe snooze-n-lose.

jerry305

What? Why would IHG pay the hotel the same amount for a 5K night as opposed to a 40K night? IHG would lose a lot of money very fast.

gya007

Most other hotels I remember seeing are still on the list. Also, I checked on Saturday - it was showing up at 5k points. Now, 2 days later, every day until July 31st is sold out at this hotel. Doesn't sound likely to me. Can you please show me that IHG states this?


Agree...learning the hard way...

Raffles

Eh?

IHG pays a nominal flat fee to hotels for redemptions (modestly banded) unless they reach 95 per cent occupancy at which point it pays the average room rate. The fee is meant to pay the hotel for the room cleaning cost and that is pretty much all.

We are talking $30 to $50 max.

An internal IHG doc with all the numbers was posted on FT years ago.

SEAfarer

Thanks, Raffles. This might be the one you refer to:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11723124-post33.html

Lots more at this one:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...ussion-36.html

Maybe that's why they had the paid rates so low during many of the PB days? Trying to hit that 95%. I wonder when that measure is taken, at the actual checked-in date, or a cut-off a day or so before, as I think I noticed the discounted rate disappear.. (I mixed in some paid dates to complete BW.)

IAN-UK

This was certainly the case when PBs were introduced. Hotels received the same miserly compensation for reward stay, however many points had been paid. These rates increased dramatically with high occupancy, compensating the hotel for potential loss of revenue rather than simply the expense of providing a room expected to generate no conventional revenue.

Hotels had little or no say - and probably little interest - in the PB programme: the ways in which they were required to provide reward rooms, and the compensation credits, did not change.

Rio de Janeiro IC over christmas was a PB opportunity owing nothing to fire sales, or a distressed and underused property.

But things move on. I know some hotels were less than happy at elite members booking long terms stays at 5K a night. Additionally, IHG may have developed a more strategic slant to the programme.

Jaimito Cartero

If you had been paying closer attention to Pointbreaks, you'd know that properties can disappear in mere hours.

It is always possible that they will open more nights up, so check once a week, just in case. At least now you have some points at a good price, so if another deal pops up you're prepared.

NBSPGMEMBER

I'm planning a trip in early August, when will the August and September list be available? Date?

FlyerTalker688786

Well my story is different. I wanted to go to Vilnius in July. Few days ago those dates are available, but airfares are high. So I thought to wait for few days to see whether airfares will be down a bit. Yes it did (airfares went down by 40%) finally two days ago. But the PB nights all sold out...

gya007

I'm having trouble believing that one fine day all nights at a PB hotel are suddenly sold-out. When I was looking at the Portland property, at least 3-5 different dates showed available (Remember - that's all the dates I searched for; I didn't come across a single date when the 5000 points room was unavailable). A couple days later, all rooms are sold out on all nights!!

It almost seems to me that the hotel has pulled out of the PB program. I've been told I'm wrong here, but I'm that's just my perception of this has unfolded for me...