What's a good hotel loyalty/preferred customer club or program?

[Jay_O]

Hi, QUESTION - I have begun regular trips to Los Angeles, and I have no experience with hotel loyalty programs....like preferred customer programs for getting a better rate than rack rate. I'm from Vancouver, BC and am not too familiar with the chains and hotel affiliations, nor the programs in the US. Looking for value in a 3-star or more place in West Hollywood or Bev Hills area but flexible. I'd like to be able to stay longer while down there.

 

A good tip gets a good reward! thanks. Jay http://male4maleescorts.com/reviews/jayvancouver.html

[Boston Guy]

Hi Jay,

 

I have lots (lots! ;-)) of experience with hotel loyalty programs. I've switched a couple of times over the years but have pretty much settled on Marriott now. They're everywhere and the different Marriott brands (Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn) provide a good selection of hotel type so no matter what I'm looking for there's generally something I'll like nearby.

 

Except in West Hollywood. x(

 

The nearest Marriott to Weho is the Renaissance next to the Kodak Center in Hollywood itself. It's a nice enough hotel and they are very nice to me when I stay there, but it's not where I want to stay in Weho. I prefer to stay someplace near La Cienega and Santa Monica but that starts to limit the chain hotels with reward programs.

 

The Ramada is part of the Trip Rewards program which does offer some points and the Summerfield Suites is part of the Wyndham program, which doesn't offer free nights at all but offers other amenities (like free internet and free phone calls). Depending on where you want to stay in Weho, there may be other options that will work better for you.

 

BG

[LovesYng]

When I travel I use the http://www.hilton.com chains of hotels. I get hotel stay points and airline miles. Hiltons hotels are Hilton, Hilton Gardens Inns, Doubletree, Homewood Suites, Embassy Suites, Conrad Hotel (World Wide as in the Waldorf in NYC). They have great rewards in the program. http://www.hiltonhonors.com

 

When in doubt I whip it out :+

[+ deej]

As BG says, hotel options in the WeHo area are pretty limited to begin with. To add a filter for rewards programs makes it even more difficult.

 

Have you considered a credit card affiliated with your favorite airline's miles program? It would be a way to milk the rewards no matter where you stay.

 

Just curious.

 

 

 

 

PS: You making regular trips to LA is music to my ears! ;-)

[+ Billsboy4]

There are a few small boutique all-suite hotels in WeHo. They are all between La Cienega and Doheny off Santa Monica Blvd. The nicest are Le Montrose and Le Parc (they are owned by the same company). Summerfield Suites by Wyndham was sold, is undergoing renovation and is being re-named the Chamberlain. Wyndham also owns BelAge, which is at Sunset and San Vicente, which is also nice. There is another all-suite hotel called Valadon, which is a step down in terms of quality from the others mentioned above.

 

There are some other hotels on the Sunset Strip in WeHo like the Grafton, Hyatt on Sunset, Best Western Sunset Plaza, The Standard, The Argyle, etc., but traffic and parking are a nightmare.

 

There are also 5-star hotels in the area, as well as 2 or 1 star, but I kept my suggestions to the criteria you mentioned in your original post. The hotel chains have their obvious frequent guest programs, but the small boutique ones don't.

 

If you need more help, feel free to email me directly.

[OneFinger]

Jay, I'm a member of Marriott, Hilton, Raddison, Priority Club (Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza), Starwood (Sheraton/Westin), and Trip Rewards (Ramada and several other economy class places).

 

I've found that Marriott and Hilton seem to have the best (and consistent) quality. But, to make the most of the rewards programs, you really have to chose one brand and stick with it. For that reason, I have any point earned outside of Marriott and Hilton go directly to my airline miles account and I don't bother trying to collect free stays with them.

 

Most of my points are with Hilton and I've found some great free deals with them. For example, a free night usually averages 25,000 points. But they often have "specials" where they are trying to entice people to stay. So, I've booked two nights at one of the "specials" in Windsor, Ontario (just across the river from Detroit) for a total of 15,000 points. The best deal in Detroit for the same two nights was 50,000 points.

 

In West Hollywood I've stayed at the Ramada because it's right on Santa Monica Blvd and close to everything I wanted. Not my first choice of places to stay but it's convenient.

 

Again, my recommendation for rewards programs would be to chose Marriott and Hilton. Then I only stay at that one brand.

[HotdadENYC]

You have already gotten some good suggestions, but in my opinion, any Marriott or any Best Western will do just fine. They are virtually everywhere we want to be. The rewards programs are competitive.

 

Best Western has washing machines and dryers. I don't have to always trudge my dirty laundry home (unless I want to piss off the custom's guard). And sometimes I find a

 

nice hotel employee (male) who doesn't mind doing some extras for me !

 

American and/or Delta frequent flier allow you to choose hotels as well. AmeX rewards does the same thing. Look at what you have or have done, figure out where your travel and residence frequency is and choose accordingly. But, as I mentioned, some are better than others.

 

There are also several guys on here who do Continental, United and Northwest. They have gotten some great deals and you should search, seek out and chat with them as well.

 

My experiences, like my investments, may not be representative of what you can hope to or expect to achieve. You just gotta keep looking; use all of us for intros.

 

Happy Travelling,

hd NYC

[Txpaytoplay]

I too use Hilton and Priority club programs. I like staying at Embassy Suites and Intercontinental Hotels alot in my travels. When I can not get into them I go for Hilton or Doubletrees. :-)

[Steven_Draker]

Hey Jay,

My advice for West Hollywood is forget the points and think convenience.

As billsboy4 mentioned before you may try those two all-suites hotels in WeHo

 

The Chamberlain (formerly known as Summerfield Suites by Wyndham)

http://www.chamberlainwesthollywood.com

 

Le Montrose Suite hotel

http://www.lemontrose.com

 

I've stayed at both places and both have a great location, only a block or two from where everything happens.

You may inquire about a long-term stay rate.

 

Steven Draker ~

[Richard]

I gues the hotel program I use most is Starwood Preferred Guest. In general, I have good luck with the Westin chain. The only big negative I have with Westin is their penchant of charging to use the fitness center. That's true of the Westins in both LA and SF.

 

I also belong to Marriott's and Hyatt's programs, but my travel is usually to just a handful of the same cities over and over, so my loyalty program choice is linked more to the hotel I like in those cities than an attraction to the perks. I don't think I will ever have enough night stays in a year to earn status in the programs, so I just take the miles. My best guess is that I am in hotel rooms domestically about 25-35 days a year max, so that won't get me far.

 

For West Hollywood, I have tried half a dozen places, but have settled on the Wyndham Bel Age. In general, the Wyndham chain aint the best (I would rank them below Marriott and maybe on par with Hyatt) but the Bel Age is a bit of an exception. The hotel is just off Sunset on San Vicente, two to three blocks from Santa Monica. The rooms are quite large and nicely and trendily furnished. If you are staying for several days, you will appreciate the space. There is a great rooftop pool and spiffy fitness center. I can generally book a room there for about $175. If you are interested in the Bel Age, I urge people to join Wyndham By Request. There is no minimum number of stays a year to remain active, but they do get a detailed profile and the Bel Age tries to make sure it has all your preferences taken care of. I am usually upgraded from their very large studio suite to the full one bedroom suite. One nice perk of the By Request program is free local and domestic long distance calls. You can save quite a bit if you usually use your hotel phone for local calls. I think they give you free hi-speed internet access too. Although the Bel Age seems to attract a lot of professional musicians in town for recording sessions or meetings with industry execs, the hotel is amazingly quiet. The Ramada West Hollywood can be a bit of a Gay Animal House on weekends and Lord knows, I am a couple of decades behind on my beauty sleep.

 

One thing about the Bel Age some of you might love or hate is the need to use your hotel keycard for the elevator. If I have never met an escort, I like meeting him in the lobby. If he looks nothing like his picture, or hasn't looked like that since the Carter Administration, is impaired or just generally giving off bad vibes, it is easier for me to send him on his way there in a very public place, with the offer of a small sum for parking and his trouble. It has only happened twice in my life, but I figured it would be harder to do that in my room or just outside in the hallway. I am a scene avoider.

 

Thanks to Steven Draker for the information on the transformation from the Summerfield Suites; I stayed there a couple of times when the Bel Age was booked.

 

One bit of Wyndham Bel Age trivia. I have stayed there since my admin assistant booked me to stay there because it was used frequently by the Beverly Hills 90210 show whenever they required a hotel and she reasoned, it seemed nice. (She is a little like Mrs. Wiggins from the old Carol Burnett Show, but she is worth her weight in rubies to me.) The hotel has a fancy supposedly franco-russian restaurant with an army of very smooth, very professional waiters. I took guests there a few times and always focused on a cute waiter who seemed very sweet but also a little scattered compared to the others. Think of someone who often seemed on the verge of dumping a main course or two on the diners. Who was that waiter? Noah Wylie of ER fame! I told myself it was my imagination until I saw him interviewed on tv once and he mentioned that he had worked there.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Programs

 

I would agree with most people here that Marriott is probably one of the better programs. As most people have already advised, there are no Marriotts in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills, however.

 

The Hollywood location is likely more hassle than it would be worth for any of the program benefits.

 

I enjoy staying at Hyatts and I have always had good experience with their program. As several people here have pointed out, most of these (I believe all) have no fee or hassle related to joining, other than filling out the paperwork, which can be done on line.

 

Joining will occassionally get you special offers and deals not available to the public, but I rarely see Los Angeles among these offers. In general, as Richard pointed out, you simply get certain preferences followed (firm pillows or mattresses, newspaper choices, etc.) as well as the occassional upgrade, depending on availability.

 

Unless you stay at Wyndham properties regularly, you are unlikely to get upgraded. In addition to the key card problem (which you would encounter with clients from your perspective), there is no parking except for the valet, and often, Sunset Boulevard is difficult to navigate getting to or from the hotels.

 

>Thanks to Steven Draker for the information on the

>transformation from the Summerfield Suites; I stayed there a

>couple of times when the Bel Age was booked.

 

Also, given your own preferences, even if you are coming to Los Angeles solely to see clients, not all or even most will be in West Hollywood, that you need to stay in that area, and given these factors, I would see no good reason for you personally to stay at either property Steven recommended.

 

Frankly, I think Deej gave you the best advice related to getting rewards for frequent hotel stays in Los Angeles, but I would suggest you join all free programs available that you might avail yourself of. At minimum, it can speed you in the check in process, if nothing else.

 

http://www.gaydar.co.uk/francodisantis

 

http://hometown.aol.com/francodisantis/myhomepage/profile.html

[HotdadENYC]

RE: Programs

 

Franco, this was EXCELLENT advice. I too am a Marriott fan, but I recognize that they may not always be where I want to stay.

 

In lieu of that, I find a suitable place, and IF they have a frequent stayer program, I join it. You never know....sometimes they give out incentives just for joining up, given the competitive nature of many of the hotels these days.

 

I also noticed that you favor Hyatt. I generally do not, and have often avoided them. But I'm open to suggestions. Where did you stay that the Hyatt was a good deal? USA? Europe?

 

Thanks for any info you can pass along.

 

hd NYC

[+ Lucky]

RE: Programmed

 

Frankly, the advice is awfully broad:

"I would suggest you join all free programs available that you might avail yourself of."

 

But I will avail myself!

[HotdadENYC]

RE: Programmed

 

>Frankly, the advice is awfully broad:

> "I would suggest you join all free programs available that

>you might avail yourself of."

>

>But I will avail myself!

 

 

I don't think its broad at all; just join the program of whatever hotel you're staying at, see if there are any incentives and if there aren't then just move on.

 

I don't believe that Franco meant that we should join EVERY possible hotel we could POSSIBLY stay at; I think he was a bit more circumspect than that.

 

hd NYC

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Cut Or Uncut, that is the question....

 

>>Frankly, the advice is awfully broad:

 

>>But I will avail myself!

 

That is part of your charm, oh friend of Barbie.

>

>

>I don't think its broad at all; just join the program of

>whatever hotel you're staying at, see if there are any

>incentives and if there aren't then just move on.

>

>I don't believe that Franco meant that we should join EVERY

>possible hotel we could POSSIBLY stay at; I think he was a bit

>more circumspect than that.

 

I often purchase my rooms on Priceline, so the affinity programs for the hotels I stay in (three and four star properties) help me get checked in faster, get me on a nicer floor, a queen or king size bed, instead of two doubles, etc. Many other chains and smaller, regional properties have programs but I do not join those and unless someone travels sufficiently enough to get use out of the program, I do not suggest joining.

 

Obviously, anyone joining any such program should always have an email address from some place like Yahoo, Hotmail, or GMail, to minimize potential spam and junk in their "real" email address.

 

I belong to Wyndham, Hilton, Marriott, Starwood (Westin) and Hyatt. In the cities I travel, I like the Hyatt because they offer high speed internet service included in the room rate. Marriotts also nearly always have this, but I tend to prefer to stay in the properties where they charge for this, whereas Courtyard (where it is free) tends to be in locations that do not work for me as a traveling escort.

 

Hyatt has properties I like in San Francisco, Chicago, D.C., San Diego and some of the other cities I travel to, but my second choice is usually a Marriott (except for San Francisco) or a Hilton (especially in D.C.).

 

All my international travel in the last few years has been at the kindness of others, so I tend to enjoy whereever I am booked. Only one of these locations was a Marriott and it was very nice and I have not stayed at a foreign Hyatt as of yet.

[Steven_Draker]

RE: Location

 

Franco, please let me clear something up. I know that everyone has his own preferences when it comes to accommodation.

 

You said "even if you are coming to Los Angeles solely to see clients, not all or even most will be in West Hollywood."

 

I think that the same statements applies to all areas in Los Angeles. It is spread out: someone has to travel, client or escort. I prefer to stay in West Hollywood which I consider more central than Pasadena or LAX for instance. If a client wants to see you he will come to WeHo. It worked and it works for me fine.

 

"I would see no good reason for you personally to stay at either property Steven recommended."

 

The reason I recommended The Chamberlain is because of the relation quality/price. I suggest you to visit a brand new suite and compare the price with other properties mentioned in this thread.

 

Steven Draker ~