My Thoughts On Hotel & Airline Employee Discounts

This week I got wonderful news from my baby sister: she works for a hotel now! Okay, she’s not a baby anymore and wonderful might be a bit of an exaggeration. Regardless, she could count on one family member being excited. As soon as she told me I was researching all the details of her benefits… really I mean discounts.

Jenny, A.K.A baby sister, just moved to Arkansas and I have no idea how long she sees herself living there. In any case, I’ve already brainstormed a few years of vacation time involving Hilton, her new employer. I’ll fly her out too so I don’t have to settle for “family and friends” discounts.

My problem with employee discounts in the travel industry is that they undermine or negate their own rewards programs which are far more beneficial. Sorry to say but employee discounts actually offer less to their employees than their rewards programs do. Not only do employees pay more, but they get less.

If Jenny goes on vacation she could stay at a Hilton for 50% off instead of choosing between all the other options in the city. If she instead chose to stay with a Hyatt, she could be earning elite status as well as rewards points. By watching promotions whenever I stay at a hotel, I usually earn enough points for another stay but with the benefits of elite status, and enough points for a stay at a nicer hotel. In other words, in cheap cities I pay for stays and earn enough points to redeem stays in the expensive cities. An employee gets 50% off in both cheap and expensive locations.

The best example would be the current Marriott promotion (which isn’t even the best). For two paid nights I earned a free night certificate valid at category 1-4 hotels (which includes 80% of their hotels). On top of that I earned enough points for a free stay and so did my wife for the refer-a-friend bonus. So for two stays, between my wife and I, we have enough points for two more stays plus a free night certificate at a category four. If one stays at a cheap Courtyard Marriott and redeems their certificate for a JW Marriott, the value has more than doubled. I pay full fare at cheap courtyards in Asia but will use my certificates for Expensive hotels in Europe -approximately a savings of 75% not including the elite benefits like meals, lounge access and the reality that I as a Hilton Gold member will probably be upgraded before my sister, a Hilton employee. (To be honest, my paid stays were with free gift cards, but that’s beside the point).

Compare

• My sister gets 50% off all (almost) locations and I pay full fair at cheap places and get a free night at expensive places.
• My sister get’s upgrades if they are available, Hyatt and SPG elite members get confirmed upgrades as well as complimentary upgrades.
• I get free breakfast and free food in the executive lounges and commonly receive welcome gifts.

However, this is a win/win for someone who works for a company with a less impressive rewards program. If I could choose a hotel for my sister to work at it would be Four Seasons. Why? Because a stay costs a lot and gets you nowhere close to a free stay with their rewards program. Yet, they own 41 of the T+L’s 500 Best Hotels. Quite a feat. I already told Jenny that Fairmont was my second choice… Though it’s doubtful my suggestion was appreciated.

Airline employee discounts are a little more complex and may not be as easy to compare. From what I understand though, it’s not as easy as using United or AA miles. If a reader understands the fees on international flights I would appreciate an email about the subject. The main perks are discounted travel and buddy-passes. That’s fine, but I’ve already booked international business class tickets for myself and multiple friends this year using miles. Plus it’s hard to beat $35 in fees for a Cathay Business Class flight from Hong Kong to NYC (using AA miles). Have you seen Cathay Business Class? (On my next flight I’ll wander back to biz class and get a picture for you).

The other aspect I would be interested in learning more about is the retirement program. A friend of mine retired from Southwest a few years ago and seems to enjoy some really great benefits. The discounts seem to be much more lucrative on domestic flights.

In the end, if you had to choose between a job you enjoy and a travel industry job you hate in hopes of enjoying travel, choose the better job and earn your discounts by learning the ins and outs of rewards programs. Because the reality is, my sister and I both can travel with huge discounts but I earn my discounts in the Marriott lounge and she earns hers by folding towels (joke, she doesn’t fold towels. Yet another comment made that she may not have appreciated).

Jen, if you’re reading this, don’t get the wrong impression… I’m finding a way to work that employee discount.