Jagger3939

Email sent out this morning to rewards members:

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Important Program Update
Hello XXXXXX,

As a valued member, we want you to be the first to know about an important change we’re making to Wyndham RewardsŪ. Earlier today, Wyndham Hotel Group announced its intention to sell the Knights InnŪ hotel brand to RLH Corporation. As a result, effective May 2, 2018, the brand will no longer be a part of Wyndham Rewards. Here’s what this change means for you:
• Members can continue to earn Wyndham Rewards points for Qualified Stays at Knights Inn hotels with check-in dates on or before May 1, 2018 and checkout dates on or before May 10, 2018. Members may also redeem Wyndham Rewards points at a Knights Inn hotel between now and May 1, 2018.

• Beginning May 2, 2018, members who check-in to a Knights Inn hotel will no longer earn Wyndham Rewards points for any nights of that stay, nor will they be able to redeem points at Knights Inn locations.

• Members may continue making reservations at Knights Inn hotels for stays with check-in dates after May 1, 2018, but should do so with the understanding that those reservations will no longer earn Wyndham Rewards points. Go free and go fast awards with check-in dates on or after May 2, 2018 should be honored, however, as of May 2, 2018, you may no longer book additional award nights.

• Subject to the above, any existing reservations you have at a Knights Inn will be honored.Wyndham Rewards continues to be the world’s most generous hotel loyalty program, and we look forward to welcoming you to redeem again soon at thousands of hotels, condos or homes around the globe.

Should you have any concerns about upcoming reservations or questions about this change, please contact Member Services at 1-866-996-7937. Additionally, answers to frequently asked questions are available here.

synergistic

Guess we're lucky we finally found a place in South Florida... We stayed at a Knights Inn here for several weekends early this year, using GoFast. Nothing fancy but the full sized fridge was appreciated. Staff was pleasant and never failed to give us a very late checkout - something we aren't particularly used to in Wyndham properties.

OhDoctor

Addition by subtraction, as they say.

TTT103

I'm shocked that Wyndham sold Knights Inn for only $27M. Maybe they ran the brand into the ground as much as they could, and decided to dump it.

purplenightskylovertv

Thank freaking God. My dad hated Knights Inn back in 1982 and he still hates it.

sdsearch

Simultaneous with addition by addition:

Wyndham to buy La Quinta

While they're not all consistent, overall La Quinta is a much better brand than Knights Inn. So IMHO a great swap.

OhDoctor

Yes, I would say that's a small step up. Though will not really help when looking to spend Wyndham points at aspirational properties.

sdsearch

This is Wyndham. I don't expect them to buy any brand that has aspirational properties. That's just not what this program is about.

This program works if you use points when "ordinary" hotels get expensive (say, due to an "aspirational" event). It's not very well suited for people who only use points for "aspirational" properties and nothing else.

Since I"m more into aspirational events (totality zones in total eclipses, for example) than aspirational hotels, this program works well for me.

I belong to many other hotel programs too, and when I want a better hotel on points in a non-event circumstance, I use those instead of WyndhamRewards. WyndhamRewards work for me mostly because they're about the last hotel program bookable with points to have availability during events that book up most other hotels far in advance.

OhDoctor

While this is certainly not a high-end chain, I've had a least a few desirable redemptions (with Tryp properties in NYC and Puerto Rico), and I've heard that the Shellborne in Miami Beach was popular for points redemptions until they sold it off last year. It's nice to have those options, even if you're not expecting the world of the brand.

sdsearch

Yes, but that's mostly with just a couple of the brands they currently have. I(And there's already a separate thread for that.) meant that it's unlikely they'll acquire more such brands with "aspirational" properties any time soon.

Wyndham's "bread and butter" is in the budget to midscale categories, which most people don't consider "aspirational".

jebr

Agreed. For me, the biggest current problem with Wyndham is there's too many budget hotels that don't meet a basic minimum standard of cleanliness. (Well, based on Google/TripAdvisor reviews, anyways, though I've been to a couple that are borderline.) If a hotel has bugs consistently listed in the review, doors are broken, etc. then that shouldn't be a branded hotel under any chain. Wyndham seems to have too many properties that are below that minimum standard, and Knights Inn seemed to have an especially large degree of such hotels.

If Wyndham can make their bottom experience be essentially a clean Super 8-type experience (though the offered breakfast isn't required if it's not part of a brand standard) that would be a huge improvement. The rewards program has the best value when it's seen as a ticket to get a decent, if not aspirational, property in an aspirational location. The fact that I can build up points on inexpensive Super 8 rooms and redeem them for a decent hotel in a downtown core is really the selling point of the program for me.

frugal_flyer

Knights Inn is unquestionably the most bottom of the barrel chain out there. Motel 6 looks like the Ritz in comparison, in my experience. Having said that, I am not happy that Wyndham is divesting itself of the brand. As bad as they are, Knights Inns are almost always the cheapest option for the budget-conscious.

Honestly, if there was a minimal level of consistency across the board regarding cleanliness, I could accept the shortcomings of Knights Inn. Even the horrible shower/toilet area not big enough for an amoeba!

I agree with sdsearch that the Wyndham redemptions work best during big events at regular hotels. Staying at the Wyndham Baronne Plaza during Carnival in New Orleans on points sure beats paying upwards of $300 a night cash for a room. The hotel is nice, but certainly not extravagant. Its location during this busy time is what it had going for it.

One thing I hope Wyndham doesn't change is letting you book reward nights anytime. As opposed to, say, Choice where most people have to wait until within 30 days out to book.

purplenightskylovertv

Motel 6 looks like the Ritz...that's funny. There is no longer a Knights Inn in Asheville near the airport...it's now a Super 8, which also sucks in my dad's experience. Thank freaking God Knights Inn is leaving, as my dad never liked that hotel back then.

Choice Hotels is better in every regard, unless you listen to my aunt's opinions on Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn.

Well they deserve it. Anything you see in Wyndham's brand collection all entails the cheapest rooms just like Vantage and Accor. They are all inconsistent, which is why Marriott and Hilton are way superior (Hyatt counts too, even though they cost more). Choice Hotels is nowhere near as inconsistent as Wyndham, Vantage, and Accor, save for some properties that get 1/2-star averages on Tripadvisor.

storewanderer

Great move by Wyndham. Any decent Knights Inns that want to stay in the Wyndham network can surely convert to one of the other garbage hole brands like Travelodge once their contract ends with Red Lion.

Next they should dump off Travelodge, and do a major purge on Days Inn and Ramada garbage hole brands. Super 8 brand needs a pretty significant remodel/capital program but given how many of those were actually purpose built it may not be so difficult to make that happen. Knights Inn was clearly where they were dumping garbage that could not even meet the awful standards of brands like Travelodge, Days Inn, or Ramada.

La Quinta is a very good addition for Wyndham as well. Yes, La Quinta isn't perfect by any means but they are at least at the level of a Comfort Inn and just a little below a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton in my experience.

Jagger3939

I agree Knights Inn as a whole is pretty much done as a brand... let alone still be apart of the Wyndham network. However, I don't entirely agree with the Ramada line. I travel a bunch for business and have stayed at a variety of Ramada's across the country... I think the majority of them are decent places (for a budget-business hotel). My biggest complaint about the Ramada line is that they have started to allow non-purpose built properties to re-brand under the Ramada name. Sometimes I don't mind it, as some of the properties are nice.. but other times, you can tell it's an ex-crappo that doesn't fit into the brand model. With that said, I think Ramada has stayed consistent with their quality and standards which is a major reason I still value the Wyndham brand. If they were to sell off Ramada, I would reevaluate. The brand isn't as bad as what you make it out to be IMO.