Old Jun 18, 2016, 4:39 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: HadesNL
Update 2023:
- it seems no new RA have been invited by IHG
- criteria for RA requalification are still unknown
- geographical location of member / country account registration seems of some impact due of covid19(restrictions/availability)
- RA is processed in weekly batches starting december 2022
- proof by nicolas75 shows RA qualification for 2024 seems to be strictly based on IC hotels only (not Regent, Kimpton, SixSenses anymore)

As per Tim O'Brien's post about IHG-corporate explaining RA criteria:

As you are aware,
Royal Ambassador is our invitation only tier with the number of members invited each year
limited to ensure our hotels are able to consistently deliver on the benefits promise,
elevating your stay experience at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

Although we do not currently have a published criteria for Royal Ambassador,
consideration is determined by variable activities within a members account such as
- qualified paid room nights & spend across our luxury brands (, 2023 EDIT: Post-Pandemic from 2024 InterContinental only : Pre-Pandemic also Kimpton & Regent ) ,
- member region,
- primary hotels,
- category (of the hotel class / $ price levels compared to currency rates / competition / city / region / country / continent )
- tenure (repeat custom / average spend at hotel)
Accompanying or adjoining reservations,
such as the additional rooms of your family etc are not included for Royal Ambassador consideration
but are included in determining Spire Elite status within IHG Rewards Club
.


* FT:IHG forum community group consensus / empirical evidence shows
- that members must have stayed at different unique hotels per city / country / region / continent
the amount of uniques needed for RA qualification is unknown but generally extended long stays at just 1 hotel do not qualify
- IHG-corporate showing keen interest in how much guests are spending $ at hotel's own operated F&B / Spa / transport / extra services / other venues
atacama40 has given us insights that extra spend at the hotel charged to the hotelfolio generates EQP but also flags the database as high valued spending guest
- one must have AMB to get considered for RA invitation by IHG as they seem to evaluate over a longer period the length of one's tenure / devotion / spend / undisclosed criteria at stayed IC-hotels

2024
Royal Ambassador 2024 (Re)Qualification - statistics

Thank you everyone who graciously shared their status and statistics. I took the liberty to compose an overview.
The common factor that is instantly recognisable is:
  • everyone has a valid AMB membership
  • everyone has spent a good amount in $
Shoven
IC: 69 N - 4 unique IC - $17400 - 2 unique country

AndyMick
IC: 96 N - 10 unique IC - 7 unique country - 164778 EQP

Ithink
IC: 78 N - 10 unique IC - 27000

Richelieu
~

ProjectSunburst
15 unique IC (USA) - $35000
Kimpton spend: $11000

Milleage Millionaire
IC: 100 N : 58 revenue & 42 award - 166514 EQP

Raynyan
~

Nicolas75
~

ILS2
$20000

HadesNL
IC: 41 N - 8 unique IC (2x USA, 1x UK, 3x EU, 1x Indonesia) 250458 EQP

Marlin1978
IC: 40 N - 9 unique IC (USA + EU) - $13000

HClee01
IC: 30 N - 6 unique IC - $8700
2x Kimpton / 1x Regent : 22 N - $7400

VAbeachgirl
IC: 88 N - 14 unique IC - 8 countries
2x Kimpton : 7 N
total $20000 (IC + Kimpton)

PremexecSNA
IHG : 85 N - 147000 EQP of which
90% revenue stay
85 % IC + Kimpton
10 unique IC
15 unique Kimpton

Darby1970
IC 100 N : 59 revenue of which
37 N : 11 unique IC (USA)& 4 (non-USA)
187682 EQP

Atacama40
IC + Kimpton : 40 N : UK, ME, Asia
Roomrate > 1000

EmeraldLady
11 unique IC : 4 continents
IHG: 87 N
$20000

Dmac1418
IC: 3 N - 2 unjque (IC Houston MC & IC San Diego)
6S Fiji $22000 (room: $10000 + spend $12000)

Smythmeister
~

Additional statistics can be found in the comments of LL
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/12/03/...4-share-yours/
The only other place on the whole interweb that has an interest in Royal Ambassador.
============================

2023
Below our FT-members from the IHG forum with RA status
some of whom have graciously shared their statistics to shed some light
-----------------------
Mileage millionaire: 155359 EQP - IC nights 58 - total nights 108 - unique IC 15
Shoven : $16000 - IC nights 49 - Kimpton nights 8 - total nights 57 - unique IC 5 - unique Kimpton 2 - [unique countries UK/Thailand]
Stimpy: overall stats higher than Shoven
Nicholas75 : 230236 EQP - 93 EQN
Raynyan : 190000 EQP - IC/Kimpton nights 90 - unique IC/Kimpton 10
Vsevolod4 : $24000 - IC nights 67 - total nights 87
Vabeachgirl : $17500 - IC nights 75 - Kimpton nights 4 - total nights 79 - unique properties 13 [unique countries 7]
Hclee01: >$12600 - >156K EQP - 54 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 1 - unique Regent 2 [unique countries Singapore/Thailand/Taiwan/Japan]
Chinatrvl :
Ithink : 220.000 EQP - 47 EQN
Ninjalad : 150000 EQP - IC nights 34
Andymick : 145000 EQP - IC nights 100
Gentleman adventurer :
Marlin1978 :
Pseudo nim :
Hadesnl : 250000 EQP - Kimpton/IC nights 30 - 44 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 2 [unique countries UK/NL/FRA/Indonesia]
Itadakimasu : 120000 EQP - IC nights 12 - 51 EQN
Atacama40 : >25000 - IC nights 60 - unique IC 8 - unique Kimpton 1
Eein : corporate rates global & local
Raynyan's friends : RA extension because their account is Japanese registered
Tim O'Brien: after own friendly persuasion effort : $8,500 - IC nights 79 of which 49 at pres.suite - unique IC 4 [unique countries US/AUS/CAN]


----------------
The only other place on the internet that has an interest in RA (re)qualification statistics is at the comments at Loyaltylobby,
more 2023 RA datapoints can be found there:
https://loyaltylobby.com/2022/12/09/...re-your-stats/
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/01/18/...re-your-stats/



==============================================

Update 2020 / 2021:
RA status was extended due to the global pandemic of covid19


================================================== =======

Update 2019: The RA status granted at the start of the calendar year 2017 and 2018 has been based on IC revenue. As from 2019 criteria again have become vague. RA is not achieved through IC spend only. Other, unknown elements are taken into account as well. (Fact: Some users with very high +25k IC spend were not renewed in 2019.)

Update December 2018: it looks like some accounts are proactively being renewed in December 2018, well ahead of the stated expiration of Jan 31, 2019. It is currently unknown what criteria were used, but previous years appeared to indicate around $10K++ in IC spend only.

As before, please Divide EQPs by 10 to get $$$ Spend
================================================== =====
December 2019 / January 2020 Link to RA Renewals & Upgrades
================================================== =====
================================================== =====

JANUARY 2019 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 73 IC nights, $14.6K IC spend ($17.7K total),
Shoven 70 (50) IC nights, $17.3K IC spend ($17.3K total),
Unterwegs 52 IC nights, approx $12K net IC spend. No other brands this year! No more mediocre HIs to make status.
Kaix 63 IC nights, $14.4K IC spend ($15.1K total)
Tim O'Brien 26 IC Paid Nights as at Dec 27, when notified of RA renewal, 140,171 EQP, IC Net Spend 14, 017.
Vsevolod4 IHG total 132, IHG total paid 101, IC nights 85, IC Qualified Spend $16.5K, total EQP 398,800, Kimpton nights: 3, RA Ambassador Kit renewed Dec 27, RA renewal (again) and Kimpton Inner Circle upgrade Jan 4.
kaka(mom) 34 nights 1 country (all IC), IC spend:23k USD
Lewis42 / 81 Total (unknown IC) / $16k IC / $2k Kimpton / 4 Continents
81 nights total
$18k Kimpton / IC (about $2k kimpton)
stays in 4 continents

been Ra for ~3-4 years

ID;Name;Confirm;Kit msg; Revenue ;Nights;Challenge?;Additional Info

40;stimpy;+;none; $9,000.00 ;50;?;RA since 2001 - exceptional renewal
38;turner32;-;none; $9,000.00 ;?;?;8/9 years as RA
49;hannes08;+;01/16/2019; $9,990.00 ;52;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
17;Lewis42;+;12/27/2018; $10,000.00 ;?;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
27;scienm;+;none; $10,032.00 ;32;?;8 years RA
25;hclee01;+;none; $10,142.16 ;37;?;current RA since 2014 - manual renewal
18;annihilation;-;none; $10,605.00 ;39;?;
51;crosskonaftw;?;none; $10,700.00 ;35;?;not yet RA
30;Land-of-Miles;+;none; $10,999.00 ;19;?;
16;Kimsbrand;-;none; $11,297.88 ;5;?;not RA yet. 13,532.92 USD total?
48;Urby38;+;12/27/2018; $11,300.00 ;47;?;Royal since 2012
42;SAWorldVoyager;?;12/21/2018; $11,391.52 ;?;?;
14;Cielito_;+;none; $11,511.00 ;62;no;77/62/8 with 12042 USD after batch
45;whimike;+;none; $11,700.00 ;?;?;RA for about 7 years
10;Unterwegs;+;12/27/2018; $12,000.00 ;52;yes;
44;serendipity1211;+;01/16/2019; $12,300.00 ;45;no;first-time RA
28;cazane;+;12/27/2018; $12,600.00 ;61;no;4 prepaid nights not posted until 27th 11890 -> 12600
11;VaBeachGirl;+;12/27/2018; $12,750.00 ;68;no;
50;lukah;?;none; $12,800.00 ;80;?;3 years RA
15;336;-;none; $12,900.00 ;16;2000;NOT completed challenge / Lots of adjusted stays
1;DonPedro;+;12/21/2018; $12,971.00 ;49;no;
47;SD2019;+;none; $13,000.00 ;35;no;stays erroneously adjusted or marked as overlapping
36;BRUSS;+;01/16/2019; $13,001.00 ;?;?;
13;Tim O'Brien;+;12/27/2018; $14,017.00 ;26;?; Kimpton;
33;marlin1978;?;12/27/2018; $14,182.00 ;46;no;
26;Kaix;?;12/27/2018; $14,400.00 ;63;?;
9;Pseudo Nim;+;12/27/2018; $14,600.00 ;73;?;
41;PMMMDL;?;?; $15,000.00 ;50;?;
23;nicolas75;?;12/27/2018; $15,000.00 ;81;?;
5;sharps1337;+;12/21/2018; $15,200.00 ;79;no;
3;Raynyan (friend2);?;12/21/2018; $15,500.00 ;69;no;
22;pantanal;+;12/27/2018; $16,000.00 ;?;?;
24;vsevolod4;+;12/27/2018; $16,319.00 ;84;no;
34;boekel;?;12/27/2018; $16,950.00 ;60;no;
21;ILS2;+;none; $17,000.00 ;40;?;
8;skaya (2x);+;12/27/2018; $17,000.00 ;?;?;
7;shoven;+;12/27/2018; $17,304.00 ;50;?;
51;EmeraldLady;+;12/27/2018; $18,000.00 ;47;?;
32;Mr. Chan;?;12/21/2018; $19,582.00 ;45;yes;completed challenge
46;kaka;+;12/21/2018; $20,001.00 ;34;no;
31;christenlabelle;?;none; $22,000.00 ;51;1k + Kimpton;
39;marcel.baden;?;12/27/2018; $22,000.00 ;77;?;
35;Flying Lawyer;?;12/27/2018; $22,135.00 ;70;?;
37;Roey007;?;none; $25,000.00 ;42;?;9 years RA - 9k adjustment: no kit message with 11k before
12;IThink;+;12/27/2018; $25,000.00 ;85;no;
19;HadesNL;+;12/27/2018; $28,273.90 ;52;?;
4;Raynyan (friend3);?;12/21/2018; $30,000.00 ;73;no;
29;btravers33;?;12/27/2018; $30,000.00 ;98;?;
2;Raynyan (friend1);?;12/21/2018; $32,000.00 ;75;no;
20;Raynyan;+;12/27/2018; ? ;70;?;~30 nights not counted somehow
6;samjnz;?;12/21/2018; ? ;?;2000;


04 JAN 2018 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 139 (116)/85/192K, of which $18K in IC
Boekel 85 (70)55/170K, of which $15K in IC
Tim O'Brien 29 IC Nights 2 Non IC IHG nights, 341,976 EQP
scubaccr 55 paid IC Nights , us$13,000++ / 4paid non-IC nights us$900++ (plus 8x IC reward nights, 20x non-IC reward nights) <== Sorry.. forgot to cop exact EQP values before 1/1/2018 acct zeroing
Cielito_ 81/77/5 - $7,353 F&B + $11,656 Room = $19,009 IC net spend - EQP 468,000 (First Time RA)
hclee01 50 IC us$13k++
Land-of-Miles ?? IC us$10.5k++
cazane 60 IC us$11.8k++
VaBeachGirl 54 IC us$13k++
PiffPaffPuff 60IC us$25k++
??????? 35 IC us$10.2k++ <== first time RA ref PiffPaffPuff colleague
Spitcool 40 IC us$15k++
Eltham 40 IC us$12k++
shoven 43 IC us$15k++ <== first time RA
skaya (partner) ?? IC us$10.2k++ <== renewed
darby1970 62 IC us$13k++
The Mileage Millionaire 102 paid IHG nights / 100 paid IC nights / 229k EQP / $22.7k++ IC spend
Orion_1 8 nights at IC, spent at 2 properties - USD 10,200 in total at ICs (honeymoon...)
HadesNL Elite qualifying points: 239,095, Qualifying nights: 39
Aussielori 50 IC us$8k++ 9.2k overall renewed on 16 jan

04 JAN 2018 RA LOSS STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====

tarek.h ?? IC us$9.1k++

sharps1337 IC us$9.9k++ (and 129 non-IC us$17k++ )

04 JAN 2017 RA RENEWAL STATS (Please include 2016 y/end EQP count)
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s
SCUBACCR 80/56/13 EQP=14,979 (Split $12864 + $2115)
HANNES08 76/46/10 EQP=11,200
OZ_CATALYST 75/63/8 EQP=14,700 (first Time RA) ($12414 at ICs)
TAREK.H 46/37/4 EQP=14.500 ($10,917 IC Spend)
TravelTheWorld66 147/33/11 EQP=27.972 ($8500 IC Spend)
HCLEE01 67/50/6 EQP=14880
ATACAMA40 82/56/10 EQP=??,???
VaBeachGirl 84/42/12 EQP=15,000
Land-of-Miles 87/73/10 EQP=40,000
SSH4POOH 132/99/28 EQP=50,000
???????? 75/35/8 EQP=??,??? (First Time RA, ref SSH4POOH)
iThink 82/36/11 EQP = 18,200
aussielori 75/45/5 EQP =15,100
1010101 50/48/4 = 12,500
MYSTERY7 63/45/? EQP=25,000 (First Time RA)
EmeraldLady 68/42/10 EQP=15,500
NKU 86/80/5 EQP=20,000
Petrus 110/40/3 EQP=20,000 ($8500 IC Spend)
JOHHENRIK 74/65/10 EQP=16,800
SyLance 76/76/4 EQP=17,500 (RA again after 3years missed)
Pseudo Nim 90/58/15 IC spend $9,500, $17K across chain (175K EQP)
Tim O'Brien 58 nights, EQP 474,576 , July 31, 2017 Year End, renewed to Dec 29, 2017
HadesNL 22/20/7 and us$20,000 ref two posts.
PROTEOME 53/36/? $25,000 (Plus further 30x IC Non-qual nights and 18 IC Award nights) <== nb Maybe/Maybe-Not the IC Non-qual $$'s count as about half EQPs spend, probably > 10k IC qual spend
Chinatrvl 88 nights (in all brands, but c. 75 in ICs), 300,000 EQP, ADR c. 115 USD as I stayed mostly on a locally negotiated rate (spend c. 10k USD)
Unterwegs 78(my count 86)/63/10/285.000 (according to email, I would have expected less. my spending estimate is 15-20K$)
Lewis42 77/39/10 EQP=16010
Whimike 88/35/12 EQP=14220

04 JAN 2017 RA Demotion to xxx Ambassador stats (if > 75/30/3)
==================================================
NAME IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s

[Archived - no longer valid] New (Royal) Ambassador Criteria

A document was unintentionally available in the internet about changes to the (Royal) Ambassador Qualifying and Re-Qualifying criteria.
The document is available on

http://viewfromthewing.img.boardinga...Ambassador.pdf

Older discussion
There was an ongoing discussion about the criteria for some time. This thread is now closed.

update from Executive Liaison Sept, 2023,
spend at other IHG luxury brands does count for RA, and Renewal.
Brands weren't stated, but reasonable to assume Six Senses, Regent, and Kimpton.

















Print Wikipost

New RA qualifying criteria based on IC Revenue

Old Jan 18, 2019, 5:30 pm
  #3166  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 182
I received my Ambassador eStatement for December today. The mentioned qualifying nights match exactly the number of my paid nights minus adjusted nights.

E//:
Originally Posted by Tim O'Brien
congratulations, is it Dec 30, or 31st?
In my case: ​​​​​​App shows Exp. Dec 30, desktop version Dec 31.
Tim O'Brien likes this.
Cielito_ is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 12:37 am
  #3167  
Marriott Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,917
I also don't understand why I didn't get Inner Circle. Not that I particularly care as I've never been to a Kimpton but I was going to start (if they count for RA renewal) - but without Inner Circle, I won't bother.

Maybe I'll email Ambassador once everything settles down to see what can be done.
Pseudo Nim is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 1:26 am
  #3168  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 167
Originally Posted by Tim O'Brien
congratulations, is it Dec 30, or 31st?
December 30th as written above.
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cazane is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 2:43 am
  #3169  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in a cabin
Posts: 6,513
Emailed DC two weeks ago. Not even the courtesy of a response yet. No downgrade or renewal line on my account.
They could at least have the courtesy to respond to a customer of 7 years with RA 6 of those.
annihilation likes this.
Petrus is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 2:45 am
  #3170  
336
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,443
Originally Posted by Petrus
Emailed DC two weeks ago. Not even the courtesy of a response yet. No downgrade or renewal line on my account.
They could at least have the courtesy to respond to a customer of 7 years with RA 6 of those.
Petrus, what are your 2018 stats at IC? USD spend, EQP, # nights?
336 is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 4:29 am
  #3171  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Marriott Platinum, IHG Spire
Posts: 160
Originally Posted by Petrus
Emailed DC two weeks ago. Not even the courtesy of a response yet. No downgrade or renewal line on my account.
They could at least have the courtesy to respond to a customer of 7 years with RA 6 of those.
Good luck. I tried to start a discussion about the inequality of the renewals or invites to RA and to at least get the numbers they have on file for me as I have a lot of errors on my account. Instead they chose not to reply. This just makes the situation worse. I am now thinking about removing IHG from our hotel booking system completely. Before, I was just going to move my stays.
annihilation is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 5:02 am
  #3172  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: ES
Programs: BAEC GGL, IHG RA, Globalist, ALL Diamond
Posts: 110
Originally Posted by Pseudo Nim
I also don't understand why I didn't get Inner Circle. Not that I particularly care as I've never been to a Kimpton but I was going to start (if they count for RA renewal) - but without Inner Circle, I won't bother.

Maybe I'll email Ambassador once everything settles down to see what can be done.

There really doesn't seem to be any logic in the invitations for Inner Circle .... I requalified with 18k spend in IC's and 47 nights of my 70 were paid IC's. I also had 5 nights in 3 different Kimptons, but no invitation to Inner Circle in my case either. On 15 Jan, I booked a night in the new Kimpton Fitzroy in London and ticked the box - keep me informed or whatever. Next morning, my account showed Kimpton Karma Activation and that evening, Royal Ambassador Status appeared (Kit message on 27/12)
EmeraldLady is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 7:47 am
  #3173  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 3
I just got the RA account activity yesterday with $13K net IC spend and 35 nights (no challenge). Thanks for the PMs.
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SD2019 is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 8:50 am
  #3174  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: IHG Ra, TK PE, AF PT
Posts: 15
Originally Posted by Tim O'Brien
you should with those numbers, have you checked for any errors in the account?
it all looks normal, just one short stay marked as overlapping. Maybe they are still in process of upgrading the accounts?
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lukah is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 1:24 pm
  #3175  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: IHG Ra, TK PE, AF PT
Posts: 15
Originally Posted by 336
So 80-25 InterContinental nights only?
yes, 12.8k net spend in ics, and approx 2.5k other ihg brands. No renewal yet.
lukah is offline  
Old Jan 19, 2019, 11:02 pm
  #3176  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by lukah

it all looks normal, just one short stay marked as overlapping. Maybe they are still in process of upgrading the accounts?
i wld reach out to makati to get the mechanics fixed.
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Old Jan 19, 2019, 11:05 pm
  #3177  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by lukah

yes, 12.8k net spend in ics, and approx 2.5k other ihg brands. No renewal yet.
you shld qualify, if you don't drop them an email............
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2019, 1:42 pm
  #3178  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: EU
Programs: IHG Diamond / RA / IC | LH FTL + United Gold
Posts: 59
Updated the sheet:

Spoiler
 
Spoiler
 
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sharps1337 is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2019, 5:04 pm
  #3179  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by sharps1337
Updated the sheet:

Spoiler
 
Spoiler
 
Thanks Sharps1337,

i have dumped your updated spreadsheet in the Wiki.
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Jan 21, 2019, 3:49 am
  #3180  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in a cabin
Posts: 6,513
My spend was on the lower end between 7.5K and 8K. 3 IC's and around 25 nights.
Not expecting an exceptional renewal, but a response would be nice.
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