When it comes to traveling, hotels can take an inexpensive vacation to a very expensive vacation in a blink of an eye. As the hospitality industry can be very competitive, most major chains offer a customer loyalty rewards program. While most travelers have their preferred hotel chain, some travelers (like me) really just care about the bed and, if we’re lucky, a free breakfast. This can make choosing a rewards program rather difficult- especially when you add a credit card in the mix! My goal is to examine four popular rewards programs and try to determine which one helps you accumulate free rooms faster (this is ignoring the credit card options which can help you earn rooms the fastest).

The Hilton’s reward program is called Hilton HHonors and includes partners such as Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, to name a few.

Quick Facts:
*can be redeemed at over 3,000 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*can use free room (category 1) at 7,500 points
*the more you stay the higher your status becomes (VIP) which means the faster you accumulate rooms
*best option for accumulating rooms is getting 15 points for every $1 you spend on your room

Marriott Rewards is a highly popular rewards program. There is something about Marriott that leads me to believe it has a cult following, which I suppose could be a good indicator of quality.

Quick Facts:
*have the ability to earn up to 25,000 bonus points if you refer up to five friends
*earn 5-10 points per each dollar you spend at participating Mariott hotels
*has blackout dates
*can be used at over 2,700 hotels worldwide
*category one rooms available at 7,500 points

Sheraton’s rewards program is known as Starwood Preferred Guest and is in conjunction with Westin and the W hotel as well as many more.

Quick Facts:
*can be used at over 860 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*three tiered membership levels
*2-3 points for every dollar spent at hotels
*free rooms at category 1 with 2,000 points
*stay four consecutive nights on points and get a fifth night for free

Holiday Inn’s program is known as Priority Club. One thing I like about the Holiday Inn is that it includes five star resorts but also has the cheaper but still nice option of Holiday Inn express (which does offer breakfast).

Quick Facts:
*can be used at over 3,800 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*has capacity controls (have limited amount of discount and free rooms they will book a night)
*earn 5-10 points for every $1 you spend on your hotel room or eligible charges (and increases as you get   higher up in the club)
*Three levels ranging from club level to platinum elite
*free stays at 10,000 points

Comparing and contrasting these four different programs it may seem that the Sheratons’ reward program would be the best when you have the opportunity to stay in a free room at 2,000 however, they only have 860 hotels worldwide, and you also only get 2-3 points per dollar. The Hilton and the Marriott are pretty close with just a few key differences such as blackout dates and referring bonuses. I like Holiday Inn’s program but you need 10,000 points to get your free room although it may be a nicer room than Marriott and Hilton’s category 1 room. I guess what it really comes down to is what you personally prefer and what you find convenient. I would take time and figure out which program is right for you and your travel needs.

***These are not all the facts please look at fine print when signing up for a program***

*Photo credit goes to Brian Hansen (Follow him on twitter: @bhans) *

Tags: budget, hotel rewards, hotel room, reward points, vacation

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Travel News, Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.