DallasEsq

I thought the complete opposite; the only reason to split the programs was so that they could be sold seperately. Radisson in the US is pretty awful now anyway, the brand lost the nice Austin property on Town Lake and the Chicago Blu is not being maintained well at all.

notquiteaff

What do you think is going to be the future then from a loyalty perspective? Rad Rewards Americas merges into Choice Rewards? Will Choice then offer back and forth transfers with rest-of-world Radisson Rewards? Or will they sever that link? Will there be Radissons where guests earn Choice points and follow Choice brand standards and Radissons on another continent where guests earn RadReward points and the properties follow Radisson brand standards?

If the idea is to rebrand everything in formerly Radisson Americas, those owners would have to spend money on the rebrand, so they might as well evaluate if Choice is really their best new home. So what Choice then really acquire? A loyalty program that has little value and engagement, properties that are owned by franchisees and might be reflagged to something else, and a big headache

GUWonder

I doubt it; at least unless and until Nordic Choice and the like gets around to cutting its ties with Choice in the US. And even then I doubt it. The Radisson Americas side is way cheaper to buy than the EMEA side. And Choice may be in a less financially advantageous position for additional acquisitions now than it was a few months back, more so now that it has the Americas to pay for.

GUWonder

Choice Privileges still has the bank card thing going for it, and Choice won’t be voluntarily shutting that down. Instead I expect they would keep the Choice loyalty program as the survivor.

There is a good reason why this acquisition is priced as it was: the Radisson Americas business is at risk for getting even weaker and weaker for reasons indicated in the above post.

NickB

uhh? There are barely a dozen Comfort hotels in the whole of France, half of which are in the Paris area. This is dwarfed by the multiple Accor low and mid-range brands, which have hundreds of properties in France (well, it is a French group after all). Among the large groups, I guess the second and third ones (albeit very far behind) would be IHG and Marriott with Hilton in 4th place. Choice in general, and Comfort in particular, is an ultra minor player in France.

christianj

I thought the same thing when I read that comment.

tom_MN

Apparently there's been a reorganization. In the 2015 era driving across France every town had a Comfort Hotel and a Best Western. A Comfort Hotel I stayed at near Marseille airport is now a Greet Hotel, an Accor brand.

Adding that when coworkers ask me what is the best hotel rewards program I say Choice. The stay twice get 8000 points is in effect most of the year. This is true for a mostly non-large city client base where Marriotts and Hyatts are rare so status doesn't get much, and Hiltons (Hamptons) are around but that is not a very rewarding program. IHG has traditionally been a rewarding program also, a little less so in recent years, but my go to program since a higher quality on average over Choice.

notquiteaff

I don�t recall that at all. Multiple road trips through France, and my recollection is a total dominance of Accor at the lower end of the hotel market. But we are getting off topic.

Man, I am glad we aren�t coworkers

NickB

Best Western were (and still are) very common (although I must say I never regard BW as a proper chain as such as it is largely a collection of individual properties with nothing in common and no brand standards). There never was a time when every town in France had a Comfort hotel. It has always a minor player which never was anywhere near the huge number of properties in the Accor portfolio (Ibis, Novotel, Mercure, etc...)

tom_MN

If you didn't have many large city stays you would come to the same conclusion, at least in the US. There are good Choice redemptions (the ones in Norway are exceptional) but it is normally for me an overnight on the road between home and somewhere else. I still have those stays, and liking road trips probably always will. Longer resort stays and city downtown stays are hard to work well with Choice points.

Anyway, I have created a Global Radisson account and submitted a request for points for the Iceland stay 11 months ago, I hope that is not too long ago to get them, and will transfer the Americas (I hate that term) Radisson points to it.

TTT103

I place them in the same category as Wyndham's portfolio of properties. They run the gamut from OK to pretty rough around the edges.

Here's an example (BTW, the hotel is still a flagged Quality Inn on Choice's website):

https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/l...6598f0736.html

notquiteaff

Our stays are a mix of big cities, airports, resorts, and highway locations (roadtrips). 50% US, 50% international. Our minimal "lodging standard" is generally HIX/Hampton Inn. Occasionally a Best Western if the reviews are good and it's a location where our other go-to brands aren't available. We don't need/look for/pay for "aspirational" properties.

I don't know a ton about Choice today - in my younger days I stayed at many lower end Choice/Wyndham/Motel6 properties because they were affordable to me.

Wyndham and Choice are two programs that I don't want to spend mental energy on. Hilton, IHG, Marriott and to some degree Hyatt are enough for my needs. Radisson has been dormant for me, and everything else gets booked through hotels.com if available (and price is reasonable).

TTT103

I used to think the same about Wyndham, but I had a good run with them before Barclays shut me down. I managed three two-week award stays at their all-inclusive properties in the Caribbean, as well as four two-week award stays in the national parks. While less than mediocre properties domestically, Wyndham does have a nice footprint, and quite honestly, I can deal with a so-so Days Inn, La Quinta, or Baymont Inn if it means that I'm at the gateway to a national park, where the lodging options are truly limited.

notquiteaff

We do that occasionally, too. But not often enough to collect points in their program. It would take too long to get an award. Easier to pool all the �misc� properties into the hotels.com program. Perhaps the Wyndham (or Choice or BW) credit cards would help unlock some value� but I need fewer cards, not more

TTT103

Amen to the fewer cards. I'm down to about 40K with Wyndham, and when those are used, that's one less program for me to deal with. Had Barclay's not shut me down, I'd likely still be charging away on my Wyndham card. I had to chuckle when I saw that the issuer of the Choice card is also Barclay's.