The future of Intercontinental? Changsha IC's De Facto Club Lounge
Jul 28, 2022, 11:48 pm
#32
formerly rt23456p
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
Interesting point of view.
A good friend of mine is in exactly the same situation. He is CFO Asia of a large international bank. He only travels in J and stays in 5 star hotels (he stayed for example two full months at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong while waiting for his company flat to be ready).
His assistant books his business travels for him. He is not a member of any loyalty programme. And when I asked him which airline alliance he is most loyal to, he didn't even understand the question.
I have to admit that my parents do the same (they have no idea about loyalty programmes, even if they like Relais & Châteaux: the only thing my father is interested in is whether the hotel has a Michelin star restaurant!)
For a large hotel group, I ran a strategy consulting project. It turned out that customers were considered loyal when they only had more than 8 stays per year (most people travel very few, and most customers book via OTAs, which is a massive problem for hotel groups: commissions can go up to 20%, and the hotel group has no data on the guest when booking through OTA).
FlyerTalk is obviously a very small part of the world, and in no way represents the whole market.
A good friend of mine is in exactly the same situation. He is CFO Asia of a large international bank. He only travels in J and stays in 5 star hotels (he stayed for example two full months at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong while waiting for his company flat to be ready).
His assistant books his business travels for him. He is not a member of any loyalty programme. And when I asked him which airline alliance he is most loyal to, he didn't even understand the question.
I have to admit that my parents do the same (they have no idea about loyalty programmes, even if they like Relais & Châteaux: the only thing my father is interested in is whether the hotel has a Michelin star restaurant!)
For a large hotel group, I ran a strategy consulting project. It turned out that customers were considered loyal when they only had more than 8 stays per year (most people travel very few, and most customers book via OTAs, which is a massive problem for hotel groups: commissions can go up to 20%, and the hotel group has no data on the guest when booking through OTA).
FlyerTalk is obviously a very small part of the world, and in no way represents the whole market.
Jul 28, 2022, 11:56 pm
#33
formerly rt23456p
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
Interesting point of view.
A good friend of mine is in exactly the same situation. He is CFO Asia of a large international bank. He only travels in J and stays in 5 star hotels (he stayed for example two full months at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong while waiting for his company flat to be ready).
His assistant books his business travels for him. He is not a member of any loyalty programme. And when I asked him which airline alliance he is most loyal to, he didn't even understand the question.
I have to admit that my parents do the same (they have no idea about loyalty programmes, even if they like Relais & Châteaux: the only thing my father is interested in is whether the hotel has a Michelin star restaurant!)
For a large hotel group, I ran a strategy consulting project. It turned out that customers were considered loyal when they only had more than 8 stays per year (most people travel very few, and most customers book via OTAs, which is a massive problem for hotel groups: commissions can go up to 20%, and the hotel group has no data on the guest when booking through OTA).
FlyerTalk is obviously a very small part of the world, and in no way represents the whole market.
A good friend of mine is in exactly the same situation. He is CFO Asia of a large international bank. He only travels in J and stays in 5 star hotels (he stayed for example two full months at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong while waiting for his company flat to be ready).
His assistant books his business travels for him. He is not a member of any loyalty programme. And when I asked him which airline alliance he is most loyal to, he didn't even understand the question.
I have to admit that my parents do the same (they have no idea about loyalty programmes, even if they like Relais & Châteaux: the only thing my father is interested in is whether the hotel has a Michelin star restaurant!)
For a large hotel group, I ran a strategy consulting project. It turned out that customers were considered loyal when they only had more than 8 stays per year (most people travel very few, and most customers book via OTAs, which is a massive problem for hotel groups: commissions can go up to 20%, and the hotel group has no data on the guest when booking through OTA).
FlyerTalk is obviously a very small part of the world, and in no way represents the whole market.
Jan 3, 2024, 11:06 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, AA Plat, Marriott LT P, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 178
Long stories short, the Changsha Intercontinental is just another ordinary Intercontinental in China, with nothing special about it before the changes. However, after the changes happening in IHG(Diamond instead of Spire) and 40N lounge rights etc. recently, the hotel decided to rebrand their Intercontinental club as "Jade on 27" overnight, in the exact same location, offering the same amenity(hot food and proper alc. drinks during HH) as before, functioning similarly to a De Facto Embassy, and trained their employees to tell elites(those with RA, and lounge rights due to status) that the "Jade on 27" lounge is no longer complimentary, it is exclusively for Club Room members and instead created a new "elite lounge" in their lobby bar for those with free access, offering nothing more than a variety of nuts, cookies and soft drinks.
Jan 4, 2024, 5:51 pm
#35
formerly rt23456p
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
I can thankfully report that during my stay of 29-31 Dec 2023, I automatically received regular lounge access on the 27th floor as a 40-nighter who selected the lounge membership benefit. This was my fifth time at this particular hotel although the first since July 2019 and the club lounge (or the experience) has not changed in any perceptible way. In fact, I think it has improved as the lounge staff brought over the bartender from Sky27 who made me two positively fantastic drinks after I told him which liquor I was in the mood for. In addition, as a Diamond AMB, I also received breakfast in the main restaurant as well as two drink vouchers.