Is Hotel Elite Status Worth it Anymore?
If you’ve been following along on our travel adventures, you’ll know that I am strongly in favor of obtaining hotel status to help maximize the benefits you receive when traveling. Previously, I’ve discussed why the “golden age” of airline status is over and unless you travel for work or spend enough money with a particular airline, chasing airline status just isn’t worth it, in my opinion.
Boat arrival entrance at the JW Marriott Venice
This is Why I Chase Hotel Loyalty Program Elite Status
I always want to optimize the value I am getting from my hotel stay, whether it is in terms of overall cost, value of points being used, or other perks like free breakfast, room upgrades, special offers for free nights, or other promotions that may be available.
These perks help save a tremendous amount of money, especially when traveling as a family of four and can come from having hotel program loyalty status or booking through a hotel collection.
Hotel status room upgrades have their perks - more space, bigger rooms, better locations, great value!
Marriott Hotel Status
I have Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status that unlocks free breakfast at almost every Marriott hotel brand we stay at, club lounge access (if available), welcome amenities, room upgrades (better view, larger room, suite upgrades), extra points, late checkout and many other perks.
Obtaining Marriott Bonvoy status is fairly easy right now and having a Marriott Bonvoy personal and business credit card helps get me more than halfway there towards Platinum Status, where most benefits you want access to will start. Add on a few Marriott promotions throughout the year and a few trips and we are at Titanium.
The perks received from having a worthwhile hotel loyalty program status depends on how you value the benefits and can depend on each hotel, but I would say the breakfast benefit can range from ~$40-$100 per day and the other benefits like room upgrades, late checkout and amenities just make your trip a little more enjoyable. Not to mention that benefits are typically much better when traveling outside the United States, as lounges can include alcohol in the evenings and almost a light dinner, which can help optimize the value you receive even more!
It is fairly easy to obtain a high enough hotel loyalty program status where you can start unlocking benefits like lounge access, free breakfast, room upgrades and other benefits that help make family travel easier and stress-free.
It almost feels too easy right now to get status and when everyone is an elite, no one is an elite. I’m sure we will see changes in the future with popular loyalty programs from Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and IHG, as obtaining status has been easier than in the past, but until then having hotel loyalty program elite status is a no-brainer and if you don’t have it you’re definitely missing out. Many Marriott resorts properties “play games” and offer the bare minimum when it comes to breakfast perks and your mileage may vary (YMMV).
And even if you don’t have status or don’t care for it, you can still optimize your next hotel stay and get the elite experience to make yourself a VIP by utilizing credit card programs (Amex FHR, Chase The Edit Collection and more) or travel advisor programs (Marriott STARS/Luminous, Hyatt Prive and more).
Note: A previous version of this post first appeared on The Family Travel Bulletin