Topguest additional points for checkins [Update Jan 2014 - program has ended]
 

I searched for Topguest and didn't see any mention of it on FT. I'm not sure if this belongs here, or Travel Technology, or maybe S.P.A.M. but according to their FAQ you earn points in the program of your choice, not pseudo-points.

From TechCrunch:
Right now it sounds like you can only earn rewards at The Standard hotels but their FAQ makes it sound like SPG points and Delta SkyMiles might be next up.

I think FourSquare is stupid but I'd consider using it for SPG points. It's amazing how much data these programs are going to be able to collect if they really catch on and aren't just a fad. I bet shops will figure out how to correlate what you actually purchase with your foursquare profile, a goldmine for marketing!

Thanks for the link, I'll keep my eyes on it.

Who do they REALLY work with now?
I saw the FAQ which has this footnote "Pending confirmation by upcoming program partners.", and also the homepage only has "The Standard" listed as a partner...

As far as I can tell, just "The Standard" right now.

I don't see why anyone would use this to "check in" other than the points.

its not like you can actually check-in, you still have to get a key....

The points are the point.

They just added Priority Club:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/22/top...vestors-video/

Nothing stupid about that... sounds brilliant to me!

We're on the cusp of a wave of geo-based services fueled by smartphones with GPS capability and their convergence with other devices. Google Android is going to enhance a lot of it, and players like Foursquare, Topguest, etc. will capitalize.

As recently as a couple years ago, when I traveled, I would pack/carry a digital camera (for pictures and videos, both), an MP3 player, my cellphone, a netbook, and a GPS watch (by Garmin, for running), and a PND for the car (also a Garmin). As the months passed, I began to leave one or more of these at home, allowing, for example, my cellphone to take the place of my MP3 player when I'd run. I'm now at the point where my smartphone can do the functions of *all* of these devices, and sometimes it is the only thing I bring. (Given, I often need the power and convenience of the netbook and PND, which aren't completely replaced by the smartphone because of size and power, so they still make some trips.) Anyway, my point here is that the smartphone is becoming a lot more powerful and popular of a device, and as geo-services are tied to many of the apps, you can expect services like Topguest to increase in popularity - not fade away as a fad.

Might want to fix the topguest link so it isn't https...

OK, giving it a shot
 

Got a HI on my way to / from work.

Thanks; I just did so (it worked when I first posted). I just used foursquare to check in at a local holiday inn express. I'll be interested to see how long it takes for that to propagate to Topguest and then to Priority Club.

I had tried "checking in" at a Staybridge Suites location using Yelp but no points posted. I emailed Topguest about it and they let me know that they are having problems connecting with Yelp.

I tried checking in via Foursquare (pushing the check in to Twitter) this morning and the points posted within the hour.

Posted to topguest or Priority Club?

Points are posting to TopGuest. According to an email I got from TopGuest's customer service, points will flow to Priority Club within 4-6 weeks after they post to TopGuest.

Got this via email last week, just bothering to post now...

My first set of priority club points just posted, roughly two weeks after I started checking in.

can you "check in" and get points , without actually going there? Maybe by typing in the address on Topguest, or somewhere else.

For those of us who arent as familiar with FourSquare, can someone give us a brief overview on how this program works. Is it worth it for substantial point earnings or are we talking 2-3 points every week or so?

There is some latitude on distance. Using Foursquare I only need to get within 2-3 blocks of the property. Twitter will allow you a greater distance, I live a little over a quarter mile from a Crown Plaza and can hit it from my living room.

50 PC points per check-in. I have 2 properties I can hit on the the commute so 500 points per week with minimal effort, could easily double/triple that with some work or manipulation. I can't see it lasting as there is no revenue stream.

Are you getting more than 50 Priority Club points per day? I've got 3 PC locations on the way to work -- a Staybridge Suites, a Holiday Inn Express, and a Candlewood Suites. However, when I check in via FourSquare at more than one of those locations per day, I still only get 50 points credited. I'd be curious if you're able to hit two properties a day for 100 points total.

Thanks!

It has happened, both via foursquare. I am not as diligent as I should/could be about check-ins so my activity is erratic. I will try and monitor the results this week.

According to this article

http://www.businesstraveller.com/new...nts-for-virtua

"Users must first register with Topguest, and link their Priority Club account with the scheme. They will then receive 50 points each time they check-in at an IHG hote using a LBS app, although note that only one "geo check-in" per day will be eligible for the points. Points will be credited to the member’s account within six weeks of checking in."

Okay, I give up.

I do not understand how this works. I suspect that the term "check in" is being used differently in this thread. It does not appear to be related to checking in to a hotel stay.

I went to both the Foursquare and the Gowalla sites, but there was no useful information (to me). Gowalla doesn't support Windows Mobile devices, so that's a showstopper for me. With Foursquare, it appears that you have to post your location to some public forum.

Can someone under 20 please explain this crap?

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

I'm not under 20, but I'll give it a shot.

There are two types of "check in"s being referred to here. One is checking in to a hotel, getting a room key, having to pay the hotel. The other is essentially logging into a mobile application or website and reporting your current location to that website, which requires no payment of any kind. You do *not* need to check in (get a room) at a hotel to check in (report your location) with foursquare. Now, your "check in"s with foursquare can be public, or they can be private (as far as I can tell - I haven't checked to make sure that private check ins are still seen by Topguest), and you can link your Topguest account directly to your Foursquare account (no need to publish things through Twitter or Facebook). If you check in (report your location) at a place that Topguest recognizes as a Priority Club hotel, some hours later, they will credit your Topguest account with 50 priority club points. Some weeks later, those points actually get transferred to priority club.

Is that clearer than the press releases they've been putting out and the sparse FAQ that they've got? If not, I can try to rephrase :)

They can be private, I do not share my check in's and they are still reported to topguest.

Thanks.

So let me get this straight: I have to be within some radius (what is that radius?) of a participating location, then make the overt act of posting some status update to that effect in order to get the points? But I do not have to do any business transaction with that location? How does it determine whether I am within that radius-- by cellular triangulation or by GPS (my phone does not have GPS built-in)? Is there a way to have it automatically update without my involvement?

So the points only credit when "checking in" at a related location (PC hotel in this instance)? I was under the impression points are earned based on all credits no matter where they are. But, the hotel foursquare "checkins" make more sense. What about other loyalty program checkins...do you have to check in to their specific locations to earn the points?

I'm mid-30s but I'm hip to this stuff. In fact, I have some business ventures relating to it. I touched upon the concept in post #8 above, but this link gives a more specific overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foursqu...ial_networking)

Geo-based social networking services are quite under the radar right now, but perhaps the most explosive area of connected growth. Using GPS and other location technologies, they allow users (with permission and intent, of course) to share their location with friends, advertisers, applications, and other people and services to better communicate, shop, and live. A very basic example is using a smartphone to mark the precise spot where you parked your car so you can navigate to it later without a second thought. A more complex example is where you "check in" (press a button that records, logs, and shares your location) to various establishments and places so that your friends may know where you are (and perhaps be notified automatically if they are nearby so they may meet up), so that businesses may better target offers to you (for example, a pizza shop offering a free slice for the next 30 minutes to anyone within a 3 mile radius), or so that you may learn about or share information about the location with others.

Specific to this offer, TopGuest is simply offering points when you "check in" (press a button on your smartphone to log/record/share your location, as described above) at particular hotels as an incentive to do so, thereby growing the service user base and also driving more business to the participating hotels (in theory).

This is what baffles me about the FaceTwitSpace movement. Why do people want others to know where they are and what they are doing at all times? Why do these people think that others actually care about where they are or what they are doing? When did this big shift in the internet users' feelings about privacy occur? Personally, I like to remain as anonymous as possible on the internet, and I think that most people felt similarly until the past few years. Even offline, I have "friends" that I would never let other "friends" know existed. Viz.- Relationship George and Independent George from Seinfeld.

Oh, but thanks for the explanation, mooper.

Jazzop,

I think you're missing two operative points.

First, while the "FaceTwitSpace" movement was originally based more upon connecting virtually instead of in person, it is moving in the direction to include both. A year or more ago, most sharing was simply in the form of pictures, quick blurbs, etc. about what users are doing. Now, with geo-based data coming on board, it is possible to collaborate in person and/or provide something of value outside simple updates to what others are doing.

Second, and more notably, the privacy level is completely optional. As you are someone who is clearly weary of sharing your location, etc., you can simply avoid registering/using these services and have your concerns quelled. Or, if you are only moderately comfortable, you can set your preferences to allow sharing with people/features that you want. On the other hand, if you are like me and you both enjoy openly sharing information as well as see some benefits to doing so, you can customize your settings and memberships to suit your comfort level. I would love to have businesses send me targeted offers that provide lucrative opportunities within the parameters I set, and I also love the idea of having my friends contact me when they're nearby or have some comments related to my activities. Not everyone is like me - most people aren't nearly as open - but I like having the option. While Facebook and other networks presented situations in the earlier days whereby many users signed up and didn't realize how much was being shared (I consider this the fault of the user - not the service - for it's foolish to sign up for something you don't fully understand or aren't willing to risk not understanding), the privacy settings have been made much more clear and configurable now, for the most part.

My experience is FourSquare doesn't even make you be anywhere close. I just search for Holiday Inn and one 20 miles from me comes up, checkin via foursquare - then done.

True, but note the anti-fraud measures Topguest alluded to in the email they sent a couple weeks ago (I reprinted it in post #15, above in this thread). That doesn't mean you can't still check in remotely every day and get the 50 points, but it sure makes it much less likely that the loophole will continue for long because they might start cross-referencing actual hotel check-ins with the geo-network check-ins.

My experience with FourSquare is that it will check you in from any distance, but if you are too far away it tells you that your not eligible for a badge. My assumption was that this means you don't qualify for points either, but only an assumption.

From my experience, it depends on your phone and the accuracy of its GPS/location service as this is probably how the Foursquare app determines if you are close enough.

Have anyone's topguest points actually posted to their reward program account?

Yes, I've had Priority Club points post (about three weeks ago - I'm guessing that it's a once a month process).

Oh okay. I was having issues a month ago where none my checkins were showing up in my topguest account. This was fixed 3 weeks ago so hopefully they'll post over at the end of this cycle.

Read "The Transparent Society" by David Brin. Written in 1998 based on an article from 1996!

If there are 3-4 IHG hotels within an area, can you check in at all four within about a 5 minute timespan or does TopGuest not reward checkins like that?