manucanuck

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East
Location: Tseung Kwan O Hong Kong
IHG status: Gold / Partner is Platinum
Paid / Award night: Paid
Breakfast in restaurant: No and No
Club Floor: No
Club lounge access - No
Room upgrade to next category only, and there's no difference between superior and deluxe

Viennafly

Thanks for the information. Was not aware that Club lounge access is an option besides the points or drink voucher. At checkin (which was after midnight) I was only asked which benefit I wanted without naming the options. Hopefully, I will have a better stay next time.

BinSabai

that is typical for the group wide policy. just fake upgrades (no difference between the rooms) and no other benefits for Platinum Card. why should we continue to spend nights at IHG hotels

mcgahat

Hotel: Crowne Plaza LAX
Location: Los Angeles Airport
IHG status: Platinum
Paid / Award night: Paid
Breakfast in restaurant: Yes on weekends and holidays - If lounge is closed they give coupons
Club Floor: No, was on level below club, not sure there is a difference
Club lounge access - Yes, if it is open

This location is my favorite, great benefits and I will keep coming back!

hockeyinsider

Probably because there are enough properties that still provide decent benefits, but, yes, in general I find IHG to be an utterly useless program. I only stay at properties when (1) I have to because rates at Marriott or SPG are too high, (2) I have a free night with the credit card to burn, or (3) I'm arriving in the evening and flying out early the next morning and the point redemption is good. I've had platinum status for about five years but in the last three years do maybe four nights a year at IHG properties.

BinSabai

I was Platinum for over 15 years and each year was far over the nights required to renew.
the program was ok some years ago but since 2-3 years, benefits given are less and less and managers also lie about benefits they will provide
so it is time for me to switch to other Hotel chains

scubaccr

And that is exactly why you get treated as low priority guest, a CC Platinum with just 4nights (based on your stay history in this post), low rates or points only, and your IHG hotel can see you have no loyalty have almost no IHG stays, so prioritises other guests for upgrades.

For those guests who earn Platinum/spire status, hotels can and will see your stay/spend history and reward IHG loyalty (earned status) appropriately with upgrades/lounge-access.

In last 7-8 years, 600 nights plus, my lack of IHG upgrades is total of just 2x nights even on award and PB nights, one non-upgrade was even a last minute on the day of stay award night at HI that apologised saying full and gave me foc breakfast to makeup.

It is not just IHG, all brands, HH/MR etc have a CRM screen for guests and where treatment is discretionary (eg multi cat upgrades), hotels will look at and act on these screens info

yurtripper

Thank you for confirming my impressions that the CC which gives Platinum is not worth keeping - as the recognition seems to be non-existent unless you stay enough not to need it in the first place.

And what if you put enough spend on the CC to earn Spire? Presumably you also think that in that case it's fine for IHG to treat such a 'Spire' just the same as a zero-status guest.

If that's the way they want to play it then fine, but they should at least be upfront about it when touting the virtues of having and using their credit cards.

boekel

what is the benefit for IHG, if you put enough spend on your CC to qualify for Spire? Why should a hotel prefer somebody who has applied for a cc vs somebody who spends a lot of nights in the hotels and / or leaves a lot of money with them?

For having your CC you earn one free night, which likely exceeds the annual card fee. I don't get why you are whining around. The majority of people even doesn't have the chance to apply for such a CC.

yurtripper

I think you're getting things the wrong way round. I'm not saying that hotels should treat Plats/Spires better than those who got it the old school B-on-B way, but if the people who have been given such status via IHG are only treated the same as the lowest tier, what is their incentive to divert future stays to IHG rather than other programs? The great majority of people in an IHG hotel (ex-US) are not going to be elites anyway (or even members), so it's not like the hotels have to treat people who are elite via CC much worse in order to make way for those that have it via stays.

I'll get Plat status in MR (and hence SPG) via a status challenge later this month. Yes, it's a form of shortcut but I still had to hit a fair few places in a short time to get that. Does that mean that SPG should look at me every time I book a place and say 'Well he didn't get to Plat the hard way so we shouldn't give him any worthwhile upgrades.' Sure, they could do that but if I got no upgrades for the whole year as Plat what would be the odds of me wanting to re-qualify in the normal way?

Incentives drive actions. MR, SPG and others provide the status challenge in the hope that people will see the benefits of top tier status and want to maintain it, but they're only going to do that if they're not treated as second class citizens once they've got there. I get Gold at HH via the Amex Platinum but I don't see them refusing me breakfast just because I got it via Amex.

BTW, my IHG card isn't from the US and I don't get a free night just for having it. In fact, I'd have to spend the equivalent of over $12,000 on this card to get a free night! Hardly freeloading.

BinSabai

I am Platinum due to the nights spent for over 15 years, last year around 50 nights.
and the benefits are getting less and less, a couple of upgrades, usually "fake" (no difference or just an optical between room categories; that is a common policy to pretend towards the guest that they got a upgrade), hardly any Hotel left, which grant Lounge Access (if you do not book exec Floor), benefits like free wifi, newspaper are actually granted to all guests etc.etc.
It will be my last year Platinum in IHG!

scubaccr

No evidence of less treatment than 4years or so ago on my own stays. But I can see since April2015 and lifting of recession regards businesses and higher hotel occupancy rates, with consequential firmer/higher nightly rates, hotels don't need to be so rewarding to capture their guests as during 2011-2015

With RA qual changes during 2017 to only count IC $$$ spend, and ignore IHG non-IC hotel spend, virtually all my stays are in IC's since Jan2017 or if non-IC using my points, but 100% upgrade rate, eg
o CP Z South Beach Miami (2 award nights v $700++ ) = Upgraded +2cat in Soldout Hotel
o CP Z South Beach Miami... as delighted with hotel/location manager added 2x more paid nights for me (base room at $250++ night), and upgraded me to best room in hotel
o HI Amsterdam (2 award nights) = Double upgrade to Exec Room
o HI + Suites Manila (1 award night) = +1cat Upgrade
o HI CDG (upcoming 2weeks time, award night) = modded day after booking

Per earlier post, I was not saying CC Plats with minimal nights won't and should not get any upgrades, just that good hotels at all chains/brands do seem to prioritise upgrades for their a)bums in beds elite status holders b)their regular guests, sometimes exceeding the benefits minimum in t+c's too.

One always hopes the hotels worst rooms go to the "priceline bidders" not any IHG elite.

barracuda93

Wow, even Spires are treated that bad there? Had a flex booking there, will drop it, I guess.

dw

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach
Location: Redondo Beach, CA USA
IHG status(s): Spire
Paid / award night: Paid
Breakfast in restaurant: N/A
Upgrade to club floor: Granted
Club lounge access: Granted
Club lounge services / quality: Limited but satisfactory selection of hot and cold items for breakfast; evening service included 2 glasses of wine or beer per person
Other comments: Was pre-blocked into a room on the "Club" floor (highest floor), but technically club lounge access is one of the three welcome amenity options (other than points or drink vouchers). On my most recent stay they actually went ahead and gave me all three.

Expat_852

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Newcastle - Stephenson Quarter

Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

IHG status(s): Spire Ambassador

Paid / award night: Paid

Breakfast in restaurant: Supplemental Charge

Upgrade to club floor: n/a as had booked a suite that had club access

Club lounge access: n/a as had booked a suite that had club access

Club lounge services / quality:
* Situated on the top floor, L-shape on plan, comprising a lounge area alongside the entrance atrium with views over the railway station / city to the North and an F&B area with views over the Quayside / River Tyne to the East, so plenty of natural light. Main entrance door at the lounge area with a second at the F&B area.
* Hot & Cold selection served at breakfast in the morning. Not as extensive as a main buffet but the selection was sufficient for our family.
* Alcoholic drinks and snack-food buffet served in the evening.
* Tea, Coffee, Soft-drinks and simple snacks (e.g. cookies) available throughout the day.

Other comments: No problem for children to access the lounge.