Marriott’s great 25% off + breakfast offer in UK and Europe
This offer has actually being going on for a while. I didn’t plan to write about it in the first place but just realised recently that it’s actually quite decent, so will briefly talk about it today.
(more…)Save 70% on Nordic hotels with Choice’s points sale
You probably have heard of the name Choice Hotels, but very few people understand their loyalty programme (me neither). This is partly due to their weak present outside North America, and most of their hotels being in the middle or low end.
Fraser Suites 3-for-2 sale and Diamond fast track
Like Ascott Hotels, Fraser Suites is a hotel group dedicated to the serviced-apartment market. They are running an interesting promotion – where you can get a decent deal as well as top-tier status – which is worth a look.
(more…)Park Plaza UK & Netherlands flash sale: rate starting from €59!
Park Plaza, a brand within the Radisson Hotels Group, is running a very good flash sale at the moment.
Stay at one-bed apartment in central London/Paris/New York for £80!
You may not have heard of its name, but The Ascott is a hotel group specialised in serviced apartments based in Singapore. Their footprint in Asia is quite good, with some properties across Europe and Middle East too, especially strong-ish presence in France. Its two major brands are Ascott and Citadines.
ASR (Ascott’s loyalty programme) is running a very, very interesting promotion at the moment. As you can see on their website, you get 100% bonus when you purchase at least 200,000 points.
The promotion runs until August 31st, and the points are valid for 2 years. It seems you can purchase max. 400,000 points in one go, although I’m not sure if you can purchase multiple times.
So how does this work?
- Given the 100% bonus, you pay 1.25 SGD (72p) for every 1,000 points
- You can redeem 1,000 points for 2.5 SGD (£1.44) when booking hotels
ASR has a very similar redemption system to the one of Accor’s. Basically you get fixed value out of your points when you redeem them – and in this case, that value doubles your cost!
Well I have only 2,000 points in my account, but you can see I’m not lying:
It means that by purchasing points, you only pay half of the rate of any hotel advertised on their website. Well not all, as you can’t use it on hotels managed by partners, but as far as I know those hotels operate mainly in China.
Let’s look at some examples. All the prices below are for one night, one room, double occupancy, on Saturday August 1st.
You pay £58 for a classic room (25 sqm) or £83 for a one-bed apartment (45 sqm). Or more centrally:
Citadines Trafalgar Square London
You pay £72 for a studio room (25 sqm), £115 for a one-bed apartment (39 sqm), or £202 for a two-bed apartment (70 sqm, hosting 6 ppl!)
You pay €66 for a studio room (25 sqm), or €94 for a one-bed apartment (35 sqm) with Eiffel Tower view!
Citadines Kurfürstendamm Berlin
You pay €30(!) for a studio room (25 sqm), or €66 for a one-bed apartment (42 sqm).
It is €52 for a classic room (20 sqm), or €90 for a one-bed apartment (38 sqm).
There are many more bargains out there and it’s not limited to Europe, but in New York, the Middle East and Asia too. Considering the 50% off, and you can even stack it with discounted rates offered on the website, I doubt you’ll find any rate that is not decent.
Given that points are valid for 2 years, it may make sense to buy some speculatively even if you don’t plan to travel now. Of course you lose out on the benefits if you are elite with Marriott, Hilton etc, but many prices we see here are irresistible. If you are travelling with family or lots of friends, and/or stay for a long time, Ascott can be a great option as many rooms are equipped with a kitchen / kitchenette and a laundry machine.
Great Radisson EMEA sale: free breakfast and €50 hotel credit!
As Asia is recovering from the pandemic, we have already seen a lot of incredible hotel promotions in China and Southeast Asia. Hopefully Europe will slowly follow suit – and gladly we are already seeing one from Radisson Hotels.
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