Starwood "Points" Getting De-Valued

[j4sharks]

From Starwood:

"Starwood Preferred Guest will be adding a Category 7 to it’s Free Night Award redemption ladder in February 2007. This new category will feature a limited number of hotels which are often unique and have rooms which may not be standard in terms of size, configuration and/or amenities.

Free nights at Category 7 hotels will cost 30,000 Starpoints per night in low season and 35,000 Starpoints per night in high season. Please note that where there are only suite awards available at a given property, the minimum cost will be 60,000 Starpoints per night in low season and 70,000 Starpoints per night in high season; however, depending upon the type and configuration of the suite, it could run even higher in a few instances. See the properties below marked with an asterisk where this may apply.

At this time, 9 hotels are confirmed to be in Category 7 beginning in February 2007. This is not a final list of hotels which may be in this category as hotel categories are always subject to change pending review of average daily rate statistics. Right now, the 9 hotels that we anticipate to participate at Category 7 are as follows:

St. Regis, New York
Sunset Key Cottages, Florida*
W Retreat, Maldives*
Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, French Polynesia*
St. Regis Bora Bora Resort & Spa, French Polynesia*
Hotel Gritti Palace, Venice
Hotel Cala di Volpe, Sardinia
Hotel Romazzino, Sardinia
Hotel Pitrizza, Sardinia

From now until February 2007 is the time to redeem at current Starpoint pricing to lock in the best value possible.

You might as well also be informed that a lot of other hotels are moving up in category for next year and very few are moving down in category status. SPG members may now redeem for Free Night Awards online or through the Customer Contact Center up to 18 months from arrival, so take advantage of every hotel’s current Starpoint category by redeeming your future Free Night Awards before these changes in category go into effect.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

 

[dougp26364]

This is the largest problem with any points program. Be it hotel rewards or points based timeshare ownership/reservations. They can ALL lose value at the discreation of the hotel chain/developer.

It's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of points, even though I do use them and own with HGVC and Marriott, which allows TS weeks to be exchanged for their hotel rewards programs.

When we bought with Marriott, the sales staff would tell you (and still do as of last year) that 185,000 points will get you oversea's, RT air/hotel package deal, any time, any where you wanted. IMO nothing could be further from the truth. Everything we've looked at has required 235,000 points and now, many of the Cat. 6 hotels seem to have made improvements and have jumped to Cat. 7 hotels, making the point charge even higher.

It seems inflation affects everything EXCEPT the value of our timeshares. Those never increase in points awarded when exchange for points. Funny huh?

 

[taffy19]

I agree that a week is a week and you can always use a whole week at your own resort be it a week-based system or a point-based system. Less than a week is hardly enough if you have to fly to your destination. JMHO.

My motto is still to buy where you want to go most often and if you can buy it cheaper resale, more power to you.

The rest may change constantly as this industry is changing constantly too. We have been very happy with all our timeshares we have owned because we bought them for use mainly but renting may be a very good alternative now because developers start overbuilding at so many choice locations. JMHO.

 

[GrayFal]

I just posted this 'OY' in response to a newbie askingabout buying direct from Marriott.

The Marriott Point system - what you GET for those points - has been greatly reduced - and up until now, the amount of points that you get by trading in your years usage has remained the same - no increase for inflation of the points amount you need to book a hotel room.

So 6 years ago when I purchased my first Marriott week and got 110,000 points if I turned it in, I could purchase a vacation package that included 7 nights in almost any Marriott hotel and 4 round trip air tickets and a rental car for a week for 150,000 points (the TOP properties - about 25 - costs 200,000). Today, I still get the same 110,000 points - but the vacation package for Cat 5 or 6 Hotel with no rental car and 120,000 FF miles costs 235,000 and 250,000 points. Cat 7 (top) package costs 270,000.
You do the math :roll:

The one exception to buying resale is to buy a NEW Marriott from Marriott in a GREAT loaction on the first day of sale - historically in 2-3 years the price you paid directly from Marriott is equal or less then the resale price.

With Starwood - the difference (I think!) is that if you stay away from the hotel points conversion - StarPoints - and stick with your TS points - StarOptions - these should remain relatively 'equal' UNLESS each time they build/add a new resort, the StarOptions needed to reserve a 2BR Plat week are increased....Has this happen historically???

 

[grgs]

With Starwood - the difference (I think!) is that if you stay away from the hotel points conversion - StarPoints - and stick with your TS points - StarOptions - these should remain relatively 'equal' UNLESS each time they build/add a new resort, the StarOptions needed to reserve a 2BR Plat week are increased....Has this happen historically???

So far most of the Starwood-developed 2 bedroom Platinum units have been valued at 148,100 StarOptions. This includes Westin Mission Hills, Westin Kierland, WKORV, WKORV-N, Princeville, Westin Aruba, Harborside, and Sheraton Mountain Vista.

Westin St. John is one anomaly where the 2 bedroom Platinum units are only 129,800 Options. I assume this is because they assigned 148,100 Options to the 3 bedroom units to make the top tier resorts equivalent across the board. However, this greatly undervalues Westin St. John.

Sheraton Vistana Villages in Orlando is another exception--there the 2 bedroom LO Platinum units are 95,700 Options. At least that one I can understand since the purchase price is less than the others listed above and presumably Orlando as a destination doesn't have the cachet of the others.

The one I really don't understand is the Westin Lagunamar in Cancun. There the 2 bedroom Platinum units are valued at 95,700 Options. So this is one instance where it has actually gone the other way--a newer 2 BR Plat has been assigned less Options than the "standard" 148,100. I'd really like to know Starwood's rationale for this, especially since the purchase price (close to $40k) is significantly higher than Vistana Villages. It seems to me in this case that rather than sticking it to existing owners, the new Cancun Platinum owners are the ones getting ripped off.

Glorian

 

[Ken555]

The one I really don't understand is the Westin Lagunamar in Cancun. There the 2 bedroom Platinum units are valued at 95,700 Options. So this is one instance where it has actually gone the other way--a newer 2 BR Plat has been assigned less Options than the "standard" 148,100. I'd really like to know Starwood's rationale for this, especially since the purchase price (close to $40k) is significantly higher than Vistana Villages. It seems to me in this case that rather than sticking it to existing owners, the new Cancun Platinum owners are the ones getting ripped off.

During one of my 'update' meetings I was presented with the Cancun sale. I refused to buy and cited my rationale as an under-valued StarOption amount. The salesperson simply nodded and completely understood my point. It doesn't make sense to me, either. BUT...I am looking forward to visiting next year (or the year after) and saving lots of Options in the process!

 

[skim118]

During one of my 'update' meetings I was presented with the Cancun sale. I refused to buy and cited my rationale as an under-valued StarOption amount. The salesperson simply nodded and completely understood my point. It doesn't make sense to me, either. BUT...I am looking forward to visiting next year (or the year after) and saving lots of Options in the process!

I do no want to buy to Westin Lagunamar either because of the lower staroption amount, but I have no idea about how to use these "saved" 52,400 staroptions since it is not the min 67,100 needed to book at our home resort.

Maybe SVN is counting on owners letting staroptions expire given the fact there are no resorts withing driving distance for us in Northern California.