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Hotel Loyalty Programs
on January 27, 2012
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UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // TRAVEL ]
For a long time I viewed the status admiration people show at Flyertalk as pretty non-sensical. But I have learned a couple of things:
- hotel chains treat your like royalty (in some hotels) when you have their highest status tier
- when you bring your family you can upgrade to a suite (while just paying the regular room rate), this really lightens up the 'head of the family' aka my wife
- you get breakfast included - for a family of 4 it's $100 or more per night
Plus it's a lot of fun to be consumed by a challenge. Now most loyalty programs have high requirements for becoming such a frequent 'stayer' but there are usually a number of shortcuts. One of them is the Hyatt Status challenge - after 'just' 16 nights you get Diamond and while you are on the challenge you get Gold benefits.
The Frequent Miler outlines a good strategy that combines the challenge with a current promotion.
I think the best way to do that is to check the list of the cheapest Hyatts and find a good vacationing spot. Then sign up for the challenge beforehand and switch properties after 8 nights. You essentially get a 'free' vacation (due to the points earned) in a nice Hyatt and the Diamond status.
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Entrepreneurship
on January 27, 2012
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George M. Groutas
Folks,
this blog was dead for quite some time now but I feel this can be changed quite easily and I hope I can keep on blogging from now on.
Since our last trip I have been immersing myself in the world of Flyertalk and Milepoint. Both communities provided an enormous amount of knowledge in all things travel and especially loyalty programs.
For most of my life I dismissed loyalty programs as an annoyance. I simply could not believe there is any value in it. I could not be more wrong - thanks to the 'decoding' done at Flyertalk and selected blogs there is enormous value in many of those 'silly' promotions.
This is a different entrepreneurial avenue and has become one of my favorite hobbies.
I have done trips last year to Europe (Germany, Turkey and Egypt), China and Japan and South Africa - all in First or Business class and mostly for free. I stayed in luxurious hotels for very affordable prices and my eyes were opened to how well the airlines industry connects this planet.
I'm also working on starting two new startup projects and I'm always looking for more entrepreneurial ideas.
So let the fun begin!
Filed in archive
Global Economy
on April 12, 2011
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williamcho
I always admired Singapore as it has built itself from a jungle-swamp to one of the richest nations (or rather city) on earth in a short time frame. Much progress is always around and the city remakes itself every decade or so (it real tears down buildings so quickly that many streets changes in 20 years).
We tried a trip to Sentosa - not long ago a sleepy, rather tranquil place which has become a flow of people streaming to and from it. Singapore has become pretty pricey (at least seen through the USD exchange rate) with prices for meals and hotels moving skywards. The city seems full of just built 'Serviced apartments' or new condos. There is no way escaping the seemingly ultra-fast growing economy (up >10%) from its 2009 crash levels. Friends we met reported rents doubling in 3-4 years and house prices in many neighborhoods reaching 20-30illion SGD! Expats who otherwise thoroughly enjoy Singapore do consider moving elsewhere just to escape the prices. Inflation has become an issue much beyond what the government reports (remember there is no real free press in Singapore).
My explanation is Chinese mainland funds making its way into the city Parking money in Singapore is an attractive option for many Chinese (if you can get the money out) as it's a friendly, Chinese speaking but not Chinese controlled environment. It's a great hedge against whatever may happens in the mainland. Real estate is often the first choice for such investors. The low interest rates on the USD may play a role too, but Singapore has no currency peg but instead actively manages the exchanges rate (but in rather wide bands).
So depending on which side of the China bet you are on - Singapore (and many other nations) may strongly correlate with the future of China. All developed economies who saw a strong growth pattern in recent years (such as Australia, New Zealand and more recently Germany) have done so because of China's driving demand. This was often THE single source of growth. So it seems in Singapore.
Should China continue to grow unimpeded by bad investments and over-leveraging of its banks - Singapore and its real estate will do great. Should China wobble, Singapore will reduce its speed and may see a crash. But the city has done a great job to diversify and has many other ways to grow - it may do better as many expect.
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