craigthemif

I suppose it's common knowledge around these parts that RA is excellent and everything else mediocre to poor.

But here's what I don't get about the mentality of RAs. You spend 5 figure $$$ per annum at multiple ICs without knowing whether that gets you RA. So then you are dropped from RA. Either IC is going to notice that you've stopped spending 5 figures because you're annoyed at being dumped as an RA so have moved elsewhere (and IC probably should try to get you back), or you still basically keep spending that money at IC because you like ICs, in which case RA is irrelevant to you.

Invitation-only just seems to me as something that rewards people already loyal. Fixed targets can attract additional wallet share as people strive towards it.

rbAA

Yes, of course, but the pictures are pretty. I have always thought of staying there, but was in a hurry to get to Barcelona or beyond.. One of these days.
And, getting back to the original topic, there are many things to complain about with RA/AMB/IHG, but they do fill a need usually at a price point that makes sense. Most hotel breakfasts (save the ones that the OP just posted, above,) are not worth eating anyway, so I always look at the savings on the rate and where I will be going out to eat anyway.
I was RA for awhile, well, until the spend requirements, as the IC's in China where I lived were reasoanbly priced and I only needed to worry about the number of nights stayed. Kind of miss it, but I'll save the money and book the better, Club level, room instead.

IAN-UK

You've got. In a nutshell. Though I think the continue-to-stay scenario is unlikely after the slap-in-the-face dumping of long term RAs.

And i guess the revenue loss is felt more keenly by hotels that hosted the ex-RA on a frequent basis, than by IHG.

craigthemif

I don't know what decision criteria was recently (or is still) used for determining RA status, but IIRC you needed to stay at at least 3 different ICs each year. So they wouldn't just give somebody RA because they really liked a specific IC that was convenient for work.

That would spread the pain more widely, to the point that it wasn't noticed?

IAN-UK

My typical year saw around 100 IC nights over a dozen or so hotels, though concentrated on a core of maybe four or five: a couple I'd been staying at for years. I have no idea if that pattern is in any way representative of others in the RA programme.

This last 12 months has been not so typical ! So far just three night at one property. And that was a Hilton.

escape4

Similar to folks at LL, I live in hotels, and similar to folks at LL, so far my conclusion is that IHG benefits are inferior to most other chains by a significant margin, either based on my personal stays (very few of them), or based on research about IHG properties which I end up deciding not to stay at because of reports I read from other FTers. I do not think I am biased in my assessment and in fact it would not be in my best interest to be biased, after all I want my stays to gravitate naturally to where I will get better treatment overall so if IHG has something good to offer I would be a fool to ignore it. ​​​nicolas75 believes IHG is a superior program - I am all ears to find out why, as I have nothing to lose to learn something useful. His comments on LL still fall short to convince me though.

If he's being upgraded to suites at properties where he has been a regular for many years then great but I am not sure it should be a conclusion that RA is a superior program than other chains where I can get upgraded to suites more often than not even as a first time guest (Marriott, Hyatt), and yes, including even Accor (!) if we're going to talk about Asia and not France. Not to mention Hyatt's guaranteed upgrades at time of booking which IHG cannot come anywhere close of matching in terms of elite treatment. I could bring lounges and breakfast into the equation but since some people do not care much I can instead focus the discussion entirely on upgrades and I think my views would remain.

That said I do not have enough experience with IHG to pretend I am the best judge of their program relative to others but based on my limited observations so far I see no reason to disagree with LL.

In any event the unclear spend hurdle is a major turnoff for me, I am not inclined to stay at lots of IHG properties with subpar benefits stay after stay looking across the street at a property from another chain where I would have been in a suite but I picked IHG instead, just to roll the dice in the hope that I will make the cut for RA in the future and possibly those benefits will match what I already have from stronger chains?

Since OP welcomes all comments then this is it from me. Likewise I also appreciate that he opened this discussion as it can be informative.

rbAA

Spend requirements, in general, are a turn-off, whether it's a hotel or airline program. Since the CS treatment is often irregular in either, best to avoid becoming too tightly connected with a travel provider. Free agency has it's benefits, though I still maintain MR PLT (staying at the JW Marriott at Khao Lak now and the elite recognition is fabulous i.e. UPG and amenity points plus drinks and food amenities served out by the beach with our dinner order,) as well as Hyatt GLOB, and IC AMB, but I look at it as a $200 annual cost that is easily covered by the 15K points and BOGO plus the Spire extension, and I usually stay at IC's I've stayed at frequently in the past, i.e. IC SF, so the CRM kicks in and they do a nice job, not RA level but fine. I don't "live" in hotels like I used to, but I also don't drink much anymore, the last few stays as RA were for my sons, IC Boston for my older son and his wife to attend a wedding, so they really used the minibar to its fullest, and an IC SF stay when my younger son and his friend came by to pick me up for a comedy show, and not only did they clean out the minibar, but we also did the lounge food and drinks. The $20 F&B AMB benefit is usually all I require for short stays, as I'm usually going out for breakfast anyway with friends or family.

I agree with your feelings about IC/IHG, but as I've said, they serve a purpose and hit a price point that often makes sense.

Jetrigger

Add me to the camp that IHG gets treated harsher than it should. Since I'm new to the miles/points/loyalty game, I've only joined AMB last year. Except for my first stay at IC Pres Cancun (from the reviews that hotel seem to ignore everything about elite status altogether), I've gotten suite upgrades from my other stays. The latest one being a 2 night reward redemption being upgraded to a 2BR Residence in IC Dubai Marina! Maybe I'm just having a unicorn experience with them, but so far, they've treated my status a lot better than Hilton's.

escape4

So how many suite upgrades in total and how many total stays? Just curious about your track record, and what destinations were besides Cancun and Dubai.

craigthemif

If you compare a Hilton in the US where "everybody is Diamond" with an IC outside of the US, you indeed will get a different experience. And COVID is ensuring that experiences are wildly variable as well. Some hotels are being even stingier with suites because of the extra effort to clean. Others are more generous because those suites aren't being sold for $ any more...

But data points are indeed great, as @escape4 suggests.

IAN-UK

Prepare for a rude awakening

Jetrigger

The only other stay was in Houston where I got upgraded to a 1 BR suite from a standard room. So 2/3 stays upgraded to suites. Not a lot in the whole scheme of things, but a whole lot better than a whopping ZERO upgrades with Hilton as Gold/Diamond.

escape4

In my opinion this is too small a sample size to draw conclusions that IHG is generous and that opinions on LL are biased.

I have received a suite upgrade (some of them premium suites) in each of my last 5 stays in Dubai spread between different hotel chains (Conrad, Hilton the Walk, W The Palm, Grosvenor House, and Grand Hyatt). The fact that IC upgraded you is good, but based on local market practices IC certainly does not stand out as head and shoulders above the rest and considering the lack of lounge access and the lack of free breakfast at IC, all things considered the overall loyalty benefits might still be inferior to other chains despite the generous upgrade you received.

So that leaves only Houston as one city where you got a good upgrade that many other hotels might not have matched. It would take far more to convince me that IHG benefits would be generous as a general rule in multiple cities of the world.

And speaking of Hilton, they are not the most generous hotel program but I have received plenty of great upgrades at their properties in many parts of the world including premium suites.