Should SPG provide grace period to make status?
Jan 23, 2018, 8:48 am
#31
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I'll bet that some of those vehemently opposed to flexibility/grace period were wildly supportive of the (arbitrary, secretive, without rhyme nor reason) double nights/double stay campaigns ( allowing many with fewer stays /nights than the OP to enjoy benefits at P75, denied to him).
Huh? In my business, I don't tell anyone how I determine my prices. Why should Starwood provide transparency regarding an internal decision making process? Do you know how airlines determine pricing? How about GM, how do they determine their vehicle prices? More relevant to us FTers, perhaps, has Boeing released its pricing algorithms publicly? Do you think that they should?
Jan 23, 2018, 9:06 am
#32
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No surprise but it would be better for everyone if SPG demonstrated some equity and transparency in the way it manages those double night/double stay promotions. Instead they prefer to say it's all determined by some secret algorthym. Ie, complete BS.
The point remains: the OP stayed more nights than others who were able to take advantage of those secretive promotions and yet receives fewer benefits. And this goes on year sfter year.
I'm not sure that a grace period is a good idea. I'd prefer equal treatment for ALL members in the push to reach the thresholds.
The point remains: the OP stayed more nights than others who were able to take advantage of those secretive promotions and yet receives fewer benefits. And this goes on year sfter year.
I'm not sure that a grace period is a good idea. I'd prefer equal treatment for ALL members in the push to reach the thresholds.
Jan 23, 2018, 9:16 am
#33
Join Date: Jan 2016
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Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, Marriott do not do it the same way. They have a more transparent system. It is to be hoped that Marriott continue their policy in the merged program.
Last edited by yosithezet; Jan 25, 2018 at 8:02 pm Reason: Fixed markup
Jan 23, 2018, 9:20 am
#34
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Jan 23, 2018, 9:50 am
#35
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Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, Marriott do not do it the same way. They have a more transparent system. It is to be hoped that Marriott continue their policy in the merged program.
Last edited by yosithezet; Jan 25, 2018 at 8:07 pm Reason: Removed content getting personal.
Jan 23, 2018, 10:04 am
#36
Join Date: Jan 2016
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No, they do not offer targeted promotions to achieve status, eg, double nights/double stays on a selective basis . The targeted promotions are for points, eg double points for stays or for using a credit card. SPG is very much the outlier in the way it conducts targeted promotions.
Last edited by yosithezet; Jan 25, 2018 at 8:07 pm Reason: Removed redacted content
Jan 23, 2018, 10:32 am
#37
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No, they do not offer targeted promotions to achieve status, eg, double nights/double stays on a selective basis . The targeted promotions are for points, eg double points for stays or for using a credit card. SPG is very much the outlier in the way it conducts targeted promotions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co...ffer_targeted/
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/08/hya...shortcut-2017/
Did Hilton Renew Your Diamond Status For Free? - One Mile at a Time
Last edited by yosithezet; Jan 25, 2018 at 7:07 pm Reason: Removed content which violated FT Rules.
Jan 23, 2018, 10:47 am
#38
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SPG on the other hand makes selective, targeted offers, double nights/double stays to some and leaves others out completely. They are very different things.
Last edited by yosithezet; Jan 25, 2018 at 9:16 pm Reason: Removed redacted content
Jan 23, 2018, 11:06 am
#39
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Those offers have nothing to do with the point Im making. The Marriott one....every member got an offer based on where there were in the night count. It didnt exclude anyone. it was all in, in some way. The Hyatt offer was universal , if one had the card ( and they copped a lot of criticism from those living in places where the card is not offered).
SPG on the other hand makes selective, targeted offers, double nights/double stays to some and leaves others out completely. They are very different things.
SPG on the other hand makes selective, targeted offers, double nights/double stays to some and leaves others out completely. They are very different things.
Whether it is double nights, or a free extension, or a challenge - the method is irrelevant. They are all targeted, and they are all forms of A/B testing to see what changes behavior.
It's not personal - it's business.
Jan 23, 2018, 2:55 pm
#40
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I'd probably make an exception (if I were SPG) for someone on the border of SPG49 vs. SPG50 who had a reasonable excuse (uncontrollable, external, and one-off). Particularly for someone with a long track record at that level. Doing it in the form of "oh, you didn't make your SPG 5 nights election; we can retroactively do that" would be the best, but even an explicit SPG 50 for 49 would be ok in some circumstances.
SPG74/75 and SPG 99/100 don't seem as worthwhile. Keeping those as more strict enforcement is reasonable.
Shouldn't be an official/external policy but should be internally consistent.
Strict interpretation is not the worst possible, though -- an inconsistent waiver policy would be worse.
Ultimately it's just a hotel loyalty program. If someone getting status with a phantom night or two is likely to bring $5-10k additional revenue in the next year, for $100 or so in incremental program costs, it's a rational business decision. "Fairness" to the rest of the users has some value, too, though. (If upgrades were non-rival, people here might care less, which is why SPG 75/100 levels really shouldn't be something we care about someone being granted "unfairly", but apparently people do.)
SPG74/75 and SPG 99/100 don't seem as worthwhile. Keeping those as more strict enforcement is reasonable.
Shouldn't be an official/external policy but should be internally consistent.
Strict interpretation is not the worst possible, though -- an inconsistent waiver policy would be worse.
Ultimately it's just a hotel loyalty program. If someone getting status with a phantom night or two is likely to bring $5-10k additional revenue in the next year, for $100 or so in incremental program costs, it's a rational business decision. "Fairness" to the rest of the users has some value, too, though. (If upgrades were non-rival, people here might care less, which is why SPG 75/100 levels really shouldn't be something we care about someone being granted "unfairly", but apparently people do.)
Jan 25, 2018, 9:25 pm
#41
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Moderator Note
I have spent some time cleaning up this thread to remove quite a bit of bickering and personal attacks. This is not the type of behaviour that is acceptable in this forum and will not be tolerated. If I have missed some of the cleanup, feel free to RBP the post. I am re-opening the thread for dispassionate discourse. Any further violations of the FT Rules, for instance continued getting personal with other posters, will lead to disciplinary actions per the FT Rules.
Thank you,
yosithezet
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Thank you,
yosithezet
Co-Mod, SPG Forum
Jan 25, 2018, 11:23 pm
#42
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Last year I got a free (unrequested) bump from P50 to P75. The email said I got the bump because I was "two or less nights away from reaching this milestone in 2016 - and because you've been with us for more than five years...." I found it to be a nice gesture but certainly not expected. I wouldn't have an issue if others got similar status upgrades since they were already Platinum (50). My biggest perceived benefit of P75 is the extra points and others getting a few more points doesn't affect me.
Jan 26, 2018, 5:34 am
#43
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Hi folks,
This year I tried to make SPG75 but ended up SPG72. Wrote to SPG and was coldly denied grace period to make up the 3 nights needed to make SPG75.
I'm not pulling DYKWIA nor expect corporation to kowtow to everyone that's *almost* made it. But just want to hear some of your valuable opinions. Should companies such as SPG be more lenient and offer short grace periods for people that almost made it up another tier, or should they stick by the rule to the letter and tough and tough?
This year I tried to make SPG75 but ended up SPG72. Wrote to SPG and was coldly denied grace period to make up the 3 nights needed to make SPG75.
I'm not pulling DYKWIA nor expect corporation to kowtow to everyone that's *almost* made it. But just want to hear some of your valuable opinions. Should companies such as SPG be more lenient and offer short grace periods for people that almost made it up another tier, or should they stick by the rule to the letter and tough and tough?
Jan 26, 2018, 5:45 am
#44
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They do, 365 days worth. 
Jan 28, 2018, 5:07 am
#45
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I don't think you tried hard enough. Should have just hotel room run the last 3 stays somewhere.