Kimpton "Free Night" Redemption Rate
 

Not sure if something changed with the synxis backend that Kimpton uses but you can now view a lot more detail of the booking rules for past reservations. Including oddly the IC free night stays and the Karma certificate free night stays.

IC free nights rules seem to be:

CRO DO NOT BOOK: Transfer to the Inner Circle VIP Reservations Line Must be an Inner Circle Member at the time of booking. No Certificate will be presented upon checkin - PAPERLESS Subject to availability, blackout dates may apply, good for 1 standard category room. Non-transferrable, no monetary value, no Karma stay credit offered, Inner Circle upgrade benefit applies at checkin if available

Certificate free night rules seem to be:

CRO DO NOT BOOK, MODIFY or CANCEL - Transfer to Special Service Desk! Guaranteed room availability for those rooms at $57 inclusive of tax. Extreme Circumstances may represent a blackout date Must Use: DB, RM & CU Request Codes when booking; CRO may add notes or requests to booking. Do not remove or change the InTouch member number.

Couple interesting notes - looks like some folks are still holding onto the "InTouch" program name. And with only a $57 redemption to the hotel operator from Kimpton for a free-night room, no wonder more and more frequently its harder to find dates that are available for redemption.

Was it the same $57 for all past reservations? I wonder if it varies based on the property. In any case, $57 is in the ballpark for what the big hotel programs pay in award night reimbursement rates, except for the times when a property is at almost full capacity (and since Kimpton has capacity controls, I'd assume that hotels don't open up award availability at those times).

Interesting because I have transferred a free night to another Kimpton member. I guess they must have put my name on the reservation as well.