Today, I want to share a story from my friend, Riley Shelby, who successfully leveraged her Hotels.com status to upgrade her suite at a five-star hotel in Guatemala.
When Riley and I travel together, I always look forward to “converting” him into one of the main rewards programs with rich benefits that I have grown to love since Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, World of Hyatt Globalist and Hilton Honors Diamond states. But instead, he stayed true to his trusted Hotels.com status.
But after his recent upgrade experience in Guatemala, I’m pretty impressed. For reference, Hotels.com has two levels of status:
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- Silver: Requires 10 nights per year.
- Yellow: Requires 30 nights per year.
I’ve been a Gold member myself since 2017, with around 140 lifetime hotel nights booked worldwide, allow me to let you know a secret about the state of Hotels.com – that’s pretty close invalid.
While they may advertise room upgrades, early and late check-ins, priority customer service, and more, in reality, you’ll rarely see those benefits. When a hotel receives your reservation, it will appear as a travel agent booking listed as “EXPEDIA – VIP PREMIUM.” Usually this doesn’t make any sense for the hotel, but every now and then, they roll out the red carpet.
In my experience, potential customers are better off booking boutique hotels that don’t involve a loyalty program. This is usually the only reason I book with Hotels.com through one of the major hotel brands.
I had such a red carpet experience recently when booking on Hotels.com at Hotel & Museo Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua, Guatemala, a beautiful 5-star hotel built in a former Convent located in Old City of Antigua. The whole place is like a museum, with Spanish art and antiquities scattered everywhere.
While I had booked a standard room, I was upgraded to a suite upon check in. Without expecting much, I was shocked to find a 1,400-square-foot suite waiting for me, complete with a working fireplace, large Jacuzzi and a spacious living room.
After staying for a week, I was very happy with the service and the food. When it was time to check out, I was pleased to see another clear hotel-specific benefit: Hotels.com Gold status; 20% off all my food and drinks.
While these types of discounts and benefits at hotels booked with Hotels.com status are often advertised, I rarely see them delivered. It’s great to see the opposite for change.
While Riley admits that his experience in Guatemala is not the standard for bookings on Hotels.com, his Gold status on Hotels.com was definitely awarded for this stay.
Hotels.com’s main value proposition is an incredibly straightforward program: Stay 10 nights earn Silver and stay 30 nights earn Gold.
Plus, when you book 10 nights through the website or app (you have to log in to your account), you’ll earn one free night equal to the average cost of the 10 paid nights (excluding taxes and fees). This actually gives you a 10% return on hotel bookings with Hotels.com and you’re not limited to staying at hotels in a chain.
In theory, the benefits of Hotels.com Gold status are:
- Priority customer service.
- Price Guarantee Plus.
- Upgrade VIP room.
- Breakfast, airport transfers and spa vouchers at select hotels.
In reality, though, if you’re looking for an easy-to-understand loyalty program, Hotels.com should be on your radar. But if you’re after property benefits like suite upgrades and breakfasts, don’t expect much from Hotels.com, although every once in a while, you might be surprised.
Editor’s Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the author’s own, not those of any bank, credit card company, airline or hotel chain and has not been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of these entities.
