Raffles

Indeed. Obviously you can argue it both ways, though - why refuse RA to a great customer who would only benefit from it twice a year?! The cost to IC is minimal on this basis and the customer is happy.

wonderbret

I think you just hit the nail on the head. I know that (especially in the US) a lot of people really, really want the status. Not just RA, but any status. Why be so concerned if your rarely, if ever, going to be able to use the full benefits?

Shareholder

Anyone who doesn't stay at ICs regularly, and thus has at least a quarter to a third of their ICH stays at this brand, really doesn't need RA. When I stay in cities with an IC, that's the brand I stay at. However, many of us travel more frequently to cities that don't have such a property. But isn't the point of the RA program to ensure PC members who do visit cities with ICs actually select that brand over the other ICH ones? So anyone staying just once or twice a year at an IC, but has over 60 nights at various other ICH properties, really has no need for RA.

GordonGordon

I notice that this question has been asked so many times in this forum and I guess here is the simple answer:

A lot of people who stay mainly at lower brands (CP, HI, HIX, Staybridge, Candlewood & Indigo) do stay at IC for REWARD nights, and this is why they need RA. Although RA benefits do NOT apply to reward nights at IC, still many...many IC hotels give full or partial RA benefits. Besides, I don't think people who stay mainly at HI would want to make redemption on HI or HIX on their leisure trips; they simply want something nicer than HI, and IC is the best choice beside CP.

Keep in mind that people who stay only 2 PAID nights/year at IC doesn't mean that they won't stay at IC for REWARD nights. Unless IHG strictly enforces the "minimum" benefits for RA who stay on points (which I don't like to see) otherwise RA status is still very attractive for those who don't stay much at IC on PAID nights.

In addition, people who stay 60 nights/year ONLY at HI for sure generate much more PC points than those who stay 60 nights/year at IC only. They have to find ways to burn the large amount of points, and I think free nights at IC is a pretty good choice.

TravelGuy1965

Previous qual only required 1 night stays at 3 different ICs plus > 50 nights at priority club hotels. As to what the interest IHG has, that was their decision and it has been that way for quite a while.

He is fairly loyal to IHG given he has over 90 night a year with priority club hotels. Its just not many at ICs.

The point of him re-qualifying is for the RA referral.

I have about ~10 nights a year in ICs but don't usually make the 50-60 total nights so his re-qual will get me a referral to keep me RA for next year.

Having RA for those ~10 nights is very very special to me. Nice rooms, club access*, and mini-bar. * At least club access in some ICs that have them such as the IC San Francisco which I love to stay at with RA status.

TravelGuy1965

Even with only a couple nights at ICs a year RA status makes a huge difference on those stays. For example my friend would not have stayed at the IC's in Rome or SanFran if I didn't get him RA status last year with a referral. He likely would have stayed at a different hotel program.

As another poster mentioned hotels do often give some RA perks on award stays. He had additional nights in Rome on award nights and they did upgrade his room as RA to a full suite but did not provide the mini-bar. So there are benefits.

Aisle Seat H

Exactly.

I can assure you all from my own experience that nothing has changed in the last few weeks - I was renewed RA (in early June) with less than 50 nights, but with stays so far plus future bookings in my membership year that will give me just under 50 nights.

Even PC/Amb. are not stupid enough to p*ss off high revenue pax by raising the bar in the current economic climate rolleyes:

antonius66

I suppose it is all relative though. I mean, the benefits of RA are usually minimal in cost to PC, but they have to cut people off at some point to maintain the "eliteness". In my case, I went from a few nights in ICH properties to 30-35 this year after getting RA referral, and all but 3 of those are in ICs. I, however, will not get renewed at that many nights, which is a shame because ICH has gotten a HUGE surge in revenue from me from my being RA, which cost them very little against what I brought in. However, as I said, they have to draw the line somewhere. Pity, because I am sure my stays will dry up again next year after losing RA.

IC6A

I know one of my friends. He qualified RA by staying in hotel for 47 nights. Then the second year stayed for 40 plus nights and requalified. Later he stayed only 36 nights due to a big cruise he did. So he did not qualify for the re qualifying game. And last membership year, he stayed only 10 nights to qualify for the platinum and did not make an effort to re qualify for RA. The others nights he started to stay in different Marriott and Hilton where better deal comes out.

edlin303

I for one travel for business to many locations without ICs. I racked up 120 nights last year, mostly in small towns with HIXs and if I'm lucky CPs. However, when I travel for pleasure I try to go to places with ICs so I can use my BOGO and other RA benefits. I am lucky to get 10 nights a year at ICs, but if it weren't for RA I would probably have 0, and much closer to 0 ICHG nights.

What is the point earning Platinum when I get no benefits from it? I would rather move my stays somewhere where I get perks on business travel as well. I am not jumping ship yet, but I can say with almost 100% certainty that if I don't requal next year, I will change chains for most of my travel. With 600k+ points in the bank I don't need to earn more any time soon, and I can switch to a chain with better day to day perks like Hilton. If they did improve Platinum to have some real benefit it might be different, but right now if I'm honest the most I ever get from it is free breakfast which the company would have paid for anyway.

Savage25

C'mon people....how many times have we heard the 60/70/80 nights and top 1% stories already?

EdV

So I haven't followed this thread closely but just read through quickly: is the gist that we still don't know anything firm and this is all still the normal rumors? Safe to assume that best we know the 50nts / 3ICs is the rule?

Should be interesting for me as my RA expires end of Sept. I'll have at least 42 nights paid, with 8 of them being in 3 differents ICs. We'll see if I get the letter soon....

rupert_s

You could always gamble on a mattress run? 8 nights @ US$50 = US$400. Sell the resultant RA cert on ebay to cover your costs and more and get another year of RA... (Of course they'd need to renew your RA status @ 50 nights for this to work - hence the gamble)

vsevolod4

AFAIK, nights at non-ICH hotels don't have the same impact on requalification as do nights at ICH hotels. There are a number of posts on the "downgraded RA - post the facts" with people who have between 50 and 60 ICHG (i.e. including CP, HI, HIX) who have been downgraded. I don't recall anyone with 50 ICH stays being downgraded.

I do have a sense that revenues may also be at play. Before ICH merged with HI, qualification for SCCA was based on either a defined number of room nights as an SCCE (the mid tier level) OR a certain dollar spend. I don't recall specifically, but believe it was 60 nights or $10,000. And I remember that both were tracked. So I would not be surprised if the definition of "top 1%" had a revenue component.

Since RA (and A) are statuses that are relevant only in ICH hotels, it stands to reason, that ICH hotel stays are the relevant stays, perhaps with some extra credit for staying in the others.

I agree with the overall sentiment that there's more speculation abotuthis than facts, and that it would behoove ICHG to be far more transparent about what constitutes qualification.

TravelGuy1965

That is my thought based on the collective wisdom that has been posted on the various threads in the forum. It did not need to be very many actual IC nights. Just 3 different ICs. There were a couple specific examples from posters with example like this last year.