IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) is finding new, creative ways to disappoint customers and no one should be surprised.
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IHG’s New Program
The brand that’s home to Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels (restaurants too) Hotel Indigo, Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts, Staybridge Suites, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts and of course, Holiday Inn Express retired its IHG Rewards Club and replaced it with IHG One Rewards.
They added benefits and tiers that should have made the program a compelling one, but the execution has been lacking. Customers have reported not receiving the benefits or a compromised version that might satisfy the requirement but barely.
New Boss, Same As The Old Boss
Two of the new benefits of IHG One have already been rolled back: true lounge benefits and the use of credit card free nights. In short, lounge benefits have been truncated in some properties to a separated room within the lounge with an inferior product when it’s accessed by status holders as opposed to guests that pay for a lounge-access room. Upgraded rooms to Club level may not include access to that club. Credit card free night certificates have been confused by honoring old certificates and topping them up then not but only if you have the right card. It’s a mess.
Despite the new logo and name, some additional tiers, and on-paper benefits, it’s not a different program. Yes, it’s got a new façade, a shiny coat of paint but can a top-tier guest expect to receive lounge service? No. Can they expect to receive breakfast in exchange for 75 nights? Probably not How about some sort of a suite upgrade guarantee? Nope. Can you trust the program to honor the commitments it makes with its co-brand credit card provider? Emphatically no.
When you cross off the added benefits published, with the added benefits actually received and not rescinded, it’s still a woefully unimpressive loyalty program. That’s an absolute shame given the addition of Regent Hotels, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Kimpton upscale brands over the last few years. Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott all offer superior benefits at the same level, Hilton and Hyatt for 20% fewer nights.
When will they learn?
What Would It Take For IHG To Make A Competent Program?
I have been genuinely racking my brain trying to understand what it would take for IHG to assemble and operate a competent and competitive loyalty program? Marriott, for its faults, does have a loyal following that actively chases its points. No matter how they Bonvoy their customers, some will continue to strive for the upper echelons to my amazement.
Hyatt has a rabid following, one that was only eclipsed by SPG until that program went away in the Marriott merger. Those customers drive real revenue to Hyatt hotels and franchisees. Doesn’t IHG see that this is possible? Do they not look to other programs in the airline and shopping space that have been so profitable that they prop up American Airlines when the company consistently loses money from flying passengers and cargo?
It’s a gut feeling but I blame culture. I lived in the UK (home to IHG) for three years and go back at least once annually for an extended period. Friends there, even business owners, don’t chase points even when they are on their doorstep because it’s not really part of their culture. Credit card rules also limit affinity card sign-up bonuses so there are few examples on a day-to-day basis for the behavior that could drive more revenue for the company.
A transformation of the loyalty program even with added benefits couldn’t withstand even a few months of a more generous program before stepping back into their old ways. Maybe it’s management that needs to be switched out.
Conclusion
Every other hotel program and travel provider has figured out that loyalty programs are an important part of the business model. IHG wanted to do more, tried to do more, but their culture of not operating on a comparable level has reduced these slim benefits again. I’m not sure if IHG will ever put together a competent program, but I can assure you that this is not it and the parameters that might make doing so possible, are not in place.
What do you think? Why does IHG have trouble creating a valuable loyalty program that keeps its promises?
I gave up on Reward programs many moons ago. This applies to airlines, hotels, rental cars, airport lounge passes, and credit cards. As always, programs require more and more points, miles, or money for an ever diminished level of service. If in doubt, just look at the traffic jam at Delta Sky Club lounges. Also, PAX and patrons are getting tired of the COVID excuse. It’s time to get your act together.
Half the articles on this web site highlight failed expectations. It’s the new norm in the hospitality and transport industry. We all need to get use to it.
I agree it’s more cultural than anything else, but I think that it’s more to do with China than the UK- after all, this country has no shortage of mugs lining up to pay £1k in taxes and fees on a ‘free’ Avios ticket to DXB or NYC flying with hapless minimum wage FAs and catering that resembles a ‘TV dinner’.
I think that IHG know they are outranked in the USA (competitors with better footprint and loyal customers) and Europe (outside of the UK, nobody has any hope of competing with Accor’s presence, plus there are great local hotels and regional chains in most markets), so they’re focusing on the Greater China market, where loyalty programmes tend to be lousy, and they mostly feel the need to be competitive in that context.
Agree with nearly all of your points, particularly the importance of China to IHG. That is their growth market. As someone who spends a lot of time is Asia, getting free stuff just because simply doesn’t happen. There is almost no tipping. No lucrative credit card games. Upgrading does happen but is more rare. If you want something, you 1) ask for what you want and 2) should generally expect to pay for it. Prices are generally fair and execution on delivering the expected product is generally good. IHG program is well suited for those markets. Your points for Europe are also spot on. When most of these blogs talk about hotel loyalty programs, they’re primarily talking about the US, which seems a little ridiculous given that nearly all US hotels are really weak. Terrible food. Hidden and misleading fees. Service that is generally really bad. Not the stuff that inspires loyalty.
I traveled before and all through covid staying at IHG completing 80 to 90 nights per year. I gave them up the first of this year and switched exclusively to Hilton. I understood during covid that we would lose some benefits. But as travel returned they did nothing but change the program and never bring back any of the good things that were IHG. All you see there now are full hotels with no benefits no upgrades and no service.
I’m a top tier on IHG and I don’t even bother to read their emails anymore. Mainly to avoid frustration and dismay. Won’t be top tier next year, that’s certain.
Don’t pay for anything extra and you won’t be disappointed. I travel basic with no frills.
IHG is a sorry excuse for its past.
Diamond Elite here, with one exception in the middle of nowhere, every stay this year has been sub par or straight maddening
I do think a recent article in Loyalty Lobby led some bloggers down the wrong path by way of a poor choice of words. If you look at the milestone bonuses, it is clear as day that you have to stay 70 nights to earn free lounge access. Thinking that a room upgrade gives you free lounge access and related perks is wishful thinking IMHO, but just not common sense. Someone gives you a better room on a better floor and you want lounge access, too? Stay 70 nights and earn it for free or pay a little extra on check in. “Thank you” would be nice, too.
I’m glad IHG put this t in writing but calling a clarification a devaluation seems unfair.
My apologies. You can also choose annual lounge membership after only 40 nights. Should you choose a confirmable suite benefit, for example, at 40 nights, you have a second opportunity to pick an annual lounge membership up at 70 nights.
You may want to tell BA flyers that people in the UK don’t chase points. I feel like BA loyalists are some of the most creative and obsessed types in the entire hobby.
I will never stay at a IHG HOTEL,after they dumped 40 years of points I had earned.
I actually love IHG. In the US I appreciate the broad footprint. Are most of the hotels in US great? Nope. But Marriott and Hilton aren’t consistently better. Sorry Hyatt fan boys, just not enough hotels to be taken seriously. I have had no problem with breakfast benefit being recognized since launch this summer. Most of my stays this year at full service hotels have been in Asia. None of the IHG hotels have played games. For those of us who pay for most of our own hotel stays, that IHG hotels are often cheaper in most cities is a big selling point. Hyatt is consistently charging a premium in most markets, even for basic Hyatt Place hotels. Writing about program benefits without discussing room prices is the most misleading habit of nearly all travel blogs. If you think paying $75 more per night with Hyatt because you know you’ll get that breakfast benefit makes sense, you may want to reconsider your financial priorities.