SPG Launch of Design Hotels
 

Today we officially welcome Design Hotels™ to SPG – and we wanted to share it here first. For those not familiar with Design Hotels, it is a curated selection of individual hotels that offer cultural authenticity and thought-provoking design and architecture. You can find more information at spg.com/designhotels later today when the SPG Design Hotels website goes live.

It is important to note that the full Design Hotels portfolio has not yet joined SPG. Today marks the soft launch, with 5 hotels to start. Additional hotels will follow on a regular basis, with 40 projected to join by the beginning of 2016.

The first SPG partner hotels include the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City, the C-Hotel in Lake Como, Italy, the Nira Montana in La Thuile, Italy, the Ten Bompas Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht Hotel in Maastricht, Netherlands.

SPG benefits offered at these hotels are a bit different than our other hotels. SPG Members who book stays in participating member hotels of Design Hotels™ through Starwood channels will receive the following benefits:
• Two Starpoints per eligible U.S. dollar spent (three Starpoints for Gold Preferred and Platinum Preferred Members, four for P75 and P100)
• Night and stay credit toward elite status
• On-property benefits of high-speed Internet access and bottled water in-room
• Gold Preferred and Platinum Preferred Members will automatically receive a Starpoints bonus as their Welcome Gift

And, Free Night redemption is planned to be available in early 2016!

As new hotels are added, you can find an updated list of Design Hotels here. Keep checking this thread the latest new and updates in the coming weeks and months.

will the BRG policy also apply to properties in the Design Hotels collection ?

I have found several cheaper rates for the Kruisherenhotel. But the BRG form does not list it (yet?). Would appreciate some clarification on this lurkers, Thanks!

FAQ seems to work now:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/design...faq/index.html

BRG Terms:

Now question to the lurkers, when will the BRG form be updated to include these properties?

BRG
 

Hi everyone,

Great to see some excitement about Design Hotels already.

Design Hotels™ member hotels that are SPG Partner Hotels booked through Starwood Channels will participate in Starwood's Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) program in a limited capacity.

Please stay tuned as more information will be available once the website is live. In the meantime we will check on the update for the form and will let you know.

All the best,

Alice Kons
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Soft Launch of Design Hotels
 

So basically as a Platinum I loose out on a free breakfast and the upgrade. Would have preferred to keep these benefits but probably can live with it considering the new options this will add to the portfolio in areas where we have no hotels now. In cities with numerous options I would likely go with another SPG option where I get those benefits.

"Other on-property benefits such as upgrades, late checkout, Your24 or Suite Night Awards will not be available at participating hotels. Free Night redemption is expected to be available early 2016."

Since these properties are not part of the "Hotels Not Participating" list for the Stay For More promo, can I assume that I would indeed earn the bonus points for an eligible stay?

Or have they just not been added yet ;)

Maybe as a broader question: do we know if the Design brand properties will be eligible for SPG promotions at all?

The alignment for Design to SPG seems to be in a 'gray zone' in terms of inclusion in other traditional SPG benefits, so I could see this going either way.

Hi CLEguy,

I have good news. All SPG Member Hotels are included in the Stay For More promotion.

Regards,

Alice Kons
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Well aren't you a bundle of good news today! Thanks!

Hi ,

In general Design Hotels member hotels will be eligible to participate in SPG promotions, but as always check the list of non-participating hotels for each individual promotion.

Alice Kons
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

We have tested the form and it seems to be loaded now. Let us know if you have any further questions.

Alice

Perfect! Ok just troubleshooting here, while looking at the SPG page for the Kruisherenhotel I see that there are two room types for sale:
- Executive club (twin and queen)
- Suite (queen)

Whilst in the description and on their own website it lists different room types:
- Deluxe
- Prestige
- Suite

SPG website description

And their own website: http://www.chateauhotels.nl/en/kruis...astricht/rooms
Which rooms correspond? Executive is Deluxe or Prestige? And how would a BRG agent compare rooms with 3rd party sites offering deluxe or prestige?

Thanks! I realise this is all new for everyone ^

OK, well that's some good news too! Thanks for providing some clarification. Even with some of the limited benefits, I still think this is a great arrangement for Starwood to partner with these properties.

We just want to clarify – “SPG Design Hotels member hotels” are included. Sorry about the confusion.

Alice

Thank you for updating us Lurker! ^

The Design Hotel portfolio has almost 300 properties in it - is it expected that all will eventually join SPG or will some of the portfolio opt out?

Not exactly my taste in hotels, but I like having more options if need be.

Cheers,

As announced on the earnings call last month, all were sent invitations. It is up to each individual hotel as to whether or not to join SPG.

my thoughts exactly....i like the fact that i will have a spg option now in a city or area where one didn't exist earlier....

Bummer, no upgrades and no breakfast. :(

It appears Plats also lose out on lounge access and late checkout. So you get points, night/stay credit, wifi, water. Sounds like the Best Western program.

Exempting properties from certain aspects of the loyalty program opens a Pandora's box. My concern is that a property that is considering to join SPG will opt for Design vs another flag that offers all SPG benefits and/or program exemptions spread to other brands such as Tribute.

Brand service standards has always been a weak point of the SPG program. Does this disclaimer mean that it will be worse under the Design brand?

First, most Design Hotels are unique properties without lounges. So you're not losing out on lounge access.

Second, Plats will get chance for category upgrades instead of the full suite upgrades, which isn't much different than any other chain.

Third, none of the Design Hotels so far added are remotely like any Best Western property.

Starwood already concluded the dominating agreement with Design Hotels--which also allows Starwood to control which hotels join Design Hotels. Your concern is overblown. New hotels likely won't be added to Design unless they truly meet the market niche specifics. Either way, there will be 40 new hotels by early 2016 at which you can earn SPG stay/night credits and earn SPG points. That's a good thing.

There is no Pandora's Box. Design Hotels is a unique, situational opportunity for Starwood to expand its footprint, and it offers more properties for those who want them in areas that are not always otherwise served by Starwood.

I disagree. What ails Sheratons with brand service standards is not what ails Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis, Element, Four Points, or Aloft. Luxury Collection and Tribute have little brand standard, and every other major chain is rushing to copy what SPG has in those. Design Hotels is just a new soft brand group of new properties into SPG--almost. Design Hotels are just like Luxury Collection or Tribute properties...except that you won't get suite upgrades and can't use SNAs. There is nothing worse. This is a net win for SPG.

I disagree. Starwood has worked hard to eradicate "limited participation" properties from the portfolio and now they are back and likely to expand in number.

Opaque brand standards are a big problem in my experience across multiple Starwood brands (I have had more issues in Westin and W's than other brands for instance). Adding more caveats devalues the SPG programme. I think Starwood might have come to a more inventive solution in the integration of Design hotels like levering SNA's for use at these properties but not normal plat upgrades. IMHO an "in category upgrade" is worthless and meaningless.

This seems a last roll of the dice to give the impression of footprint growth ahead of the sale of Starwood to try and bump up the price a little.

Soft Launch of Design Hotels
 

Good news overall. On the breakfast issue, many European properties may include at least a continental with every reservation, as they haven't quite yet discovered the ancillary earning power with biz travelers.

I haven't bothered checking, but let's say a Design Hotel has a lounge. They can charge Plats for access.

Both Italian properties could just as easily be flying the Best Western flag.

It was stated in the earnings conference call that all Design Hotels were invited to join Starwood. No exceptions were mentioned, no 'market niche' requirements.

As has been seen many times in loyalty programs, a 'one time' reduction in elite benefits usually leads to further reduction in elite benefits. There are already plenty of hotels that play fast and loose with room upgrades. With the breakfast and lounge waivers given to Design Hotels, hotels within SPG could start aggressively gaming the system for those and other benefits.

I used to live at 4 Lex. GPH is at 2 Lex. Sadly, there's no redemption there yet, and the lowest rate I saw for a weekend stay I was looking at in December was just under $500.

For redemption, it says until some time in 2016. I don't see any category listings for it either. Have they been assigned yet?

What about C&P is that going to be a possibility at Design Hotels also?

-David

Just in case anyone is lazy like me, here is a direct link to the list of Design Hotels: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/design.../all/list.html

While perhaps a valid concern, it is more likely an issue of training. With properties joining SPG with just a few days notice, it does not make sense to over promise and have people come away with a bad experience. Getting staff on to a new computer system and in New York when the hotels are already very busy at this time of year, it is just not practical to have guests waiting around while front desk agents are learning the new system and the ins and outs of the SPG program. That is likely why they are also starting with 5 hotels to work out any glitches rather than trying to have 200+ properties trying to figure everything out at once. They have already stated that redemptions are coming soon and the other amenities may very well be added too once the systems are all worked out.

One of the best parts of Starwood is that there is flexibility in the brand standards. There are plenty of other cookie cutter brands out there if that is what is valuable to you. Whether you are in Cairo or Des Moines, you can be in the same room eating the same food. I would rather have more unique experiences which is what drew me to Starwood in the first place. Perhaps some experiences may be better than others but I would rather that than having things be exactly the same wherever I am. I hate cookie cutter hotels.

I'm not sure I understand all the back and forth on brand standards. SPGs ability to control brand standards in their portfolio aside (and I do agree this isn't a strong area for SPG), it's been made clear that Design is not an SPG brand. Instead, it's a partnership so I think it would be wise to treat this as similar to the Crossover Rewards program with Delta.

I understand it's probably going to be harder for the common consumer to draw a distinction given we're talking about hotels and hotels here, but SPG has no more ability to control Design's brand standards than they do to control Delta's brand standards.

Like the Delta arrangement, it's a partnership program - stay with Design and earn some perks. Period. This doesn't represent a "Pandora's Box" for current SPG properties to suddenly opt-out of brand standards. (At least not more than they already try to do so).

I think you're misinterpreting what bhrubin said. He was talking about the requirements for a property to join Design Hotels, not for a Design Hotels property to join SPG.

I hope the Iceland properties join SPG.

Plats don't get lounge access at StR or W hotels, either, or at Luxury Collection or Tribute Portfolio hotels--because they don't have lounges. Not sure why this is suddenly an issue for another group of SPG hotels that will not have lounges.

All CURRENT Design Hotels have been invited to join SPG. What I stated was that Starwood's dominating agreement allows Starwood to control what NEW hotel properties may elect to join the Design Hotels group (not the SPG marketing brand) in the first place. We need not be concerned that new properties might elect to join Design instead of a brand like Tribute if Starwood doesn't give them the opportunity to join Design if they aren't a Design member already.

This ADDITION of Design Hotels into SPG isn't a reduction in elite benefits; it is an addition of additional properties whereby you can now use and get most but not all SPG benefits. If these Design Hotels were not incorporated into SPG at all, you wouldn't even have the opportunity to earn SPG nights/stays and SPG points, let alone eventually get the opportunity for SPG award redemptions (coming in 2016).

Regular SPG and SPG Gold members will see about the same experience at any SPG Design Hotel as they will at any other SPG hotel.

I'm not going to check all brands that you listed, but off the top of my head, I know that both the W Doha and W Guangzhou have platinum lounges. I'm sure that there more than a couple more from your list that have plat lounges.

The overwhelming majority of StR, W, Luxury Collection, and Tribute Portfolio hotels do not have any lounges. The 2 W properties you mention are apparently 2 of a very few (or perhaps the only 2?) with a lounge:

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...oha-hotel-wow/

I'm not in any way distressed by a lack of lounges. I rarely bother with them. But if you care about lounges, then you obviously would avoid most SPG hotels and hotel brands that typically lack lounges, anyway. Adding Design Hotels which seem to lack lounges due to their unique character should be another group that you can avoid.

Either way, if a hotel doesn't have a lounge, it makes no difference about Platinum lounge access, which was the original complaint about Design Hotels, none of which have a lounge.

I'm not referring to hotel/room design; I'm referring to furnishings, bedding, toiletries, etc. If I'm paying Sheraton/Westin rates for a room, I shouldn't have to accept a Motel 6 experience with old worn out furnishings, cheap sheets, and 99 cent store toiletries. That's what I'm referring to.



I am pointing out the exemption of an entire hotel group to loyalty program guarantees. The lounge exemption is just one point that I raised as an example, not the single complaint that I have about the exemptions granted to Design Hotels. I could just as easily discuss the lack of being able to choose breakfast for my amenity which is also a Platinum Guarantee. Or not being able to exercise my Platinum Guarantee of a late checkout.

why would you think you will have a motel 6 experience with design hotels????i've stayed in a few design hotels over the years & not only have they been priced differently than sherton/westin properties but every experience i have had with them has been very pleasant....

You're mixing my responses to different subjects within this thread; you're quoting a response I had to SPG's weak brand standard enforcement. And I've had more than a couple of 'Motel 6' experiences at SPG properties over the years.

My concern with Design Hotels is the exemption granted to Platinum benefits and the precedent set by that action.


Edit: I've posted the original comment and my reply in full (rather than snipped) so that the quote's taken in proper context:
You edited my statement on a discussion purely on SPG brand standard enforcement and then applied it to Design Hotels. I doubt that there is anything in terms of Design Hotel brand standards that could be enforced with the way this appears to be structured.

fair enough....i'm looking at this a little differently though....i like the fact that i now have more spg options with the introduction of design hotels....

there are a number of places i visit where design properties were available & spg had no or very little presence....i now have the option of earning points & stay/night credit when there was none earlier....i see this as a partnership (something similar to what spg has with delta & emirates) rather than a full fledged spg option so i'm happy to get some benefits as opposed to getting nothing earlier....

I understand that Design Hotels offer additional options. But I'm looking at every single SPG hotel, especially the Luxury Collection, now calculating how much they could save by converting to a Design Hotel. They wouldn't even have to change much in order to make the switch to Design Hotels.

No more late checkouts and no more breakfasts, just to name two financially beneficial changes. Likely lower fees, still have the SPG booking engine, but now also have the Design Hotels booking engine.

You are stretching in your assumption! Without knowing the fee structure this is pure speculation! Some of the Design Hotels can't offer all the benefits so how would you propose adding them to SPG if not how it was done? Hotels with specific SPG brands probably don't want to loose their brand association so they are not going to change. Hotels contemplating leaving may change but they are likely going to get less money for being in the program and offering less benefits if they move to the Design Hotel branding.