IHG has apparently retracted their generousness in giving us a preview. So here it is, bookable here. This is the worst PointBreaks in the history of PointBreaks… and I said that about the last one… which symbolizes a lot.
Not a single InterContinental on the list!
Out of all the hotels in Asia, there is only Goa, Bangkok, and Ube (Japan). I’m hoping this is an error. It’s completely become a list of hotels that can’t sell themselves.
Just to quick throw out a few highlights:
- …
PointBreaks is normally an incredibly generous points sale by the evil empire IHG. Each night is only 5,000 points if you book now for the next two months (now until July 31, 2014). Also, you can currently buy points for under $30 per 5,000 points on Dailygetaways.com here.
Also, remember there’s a new policy – you can only make two reservations per account per any of these hotels. Hopefully this will mean that the list won’t dry up as quickly… although, I don’t think you have to worry about that right now.
Again, here’s the list. I’m hoping it’s an error…
What really gets me is this:
They were selling points on DailyGetaways and told everyone that the list was coming out the day after their sale starts. Right? And then they don’t give a full preview like they normally do. They just give 6 decent hotels on the list and show nothing else.
The idea is to trick people into buying the points thinking there would be a good PointBreaks list… because it’s always been good. But they know it isn’t. Typical IHG deceit, imo. I see it all over their sleazy marketing tactics.
And the fact that there are no ICs on the list, says to me, IHG is done with this being an actually good promotion.
For a while I kept refreshing the page thinking that surely they’ll have better hotels than this:
Most people just see a crappy list… but me…
See I just wrote a post (didn’t publish yet) pointing out some of the scammy marketing tactics IHG does. And this weekend I couldn’t help but think about why there was no preview, and why they gave 6 hotels as an exclusive to so many bloggers at the same time as the dailygetaway… and now I know.
It’s not only scammy, it’s just dumb… Over Christmas, the InterContinental Tahiti was on the list… which is peak season. And now Thailand is going through a serious decline due to political issues, IHG has only one hotel in Thailand? A week before Martial Law was announced in Thailand, a hotel manager told me that their hotel in Phuket is running below 30% occupancy.
Oh well… I’m moving on. These are my last months as a Royal Ambassador. But it looks like I’ll spend them elsewhere. Then I’ll probably be shifting my hotel strategy for next year, as PointBreaks is done.
No offense though!
- No offense to the fine people of Ube, Japan and the workers at the Crowne Plaza… but you’re the only town I’ve googled that doesn’t bring up a wiki page or photo on the side bar. That’s a good sign that you don’t want to vacation there.
- No offense to the Crowne Plaza in Johannesburg, but it’s the only hotel I’ve ever stayed in that has glass between the bathroom and bedroom, with no blinds. Including the toilet. Ya’ll need to up the tint on that glass!
- No offense “Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Camden-I20 (Hwy 521)”, but I’ma keep driving until I reach Columbia, SC.
- No offense if you live in Torrington, Wyoming, population 6,000. I’m sure it’s a deal of a hotel for 5,000 points (nearly 1 point per person who lives there!).
THIS is what PointBreaks is. It’s not a deal.
Sorry if I’m a little down on this. Again, it’s two things. It’s that IHG marketing has really rubbed me the wrong way and the other thing is I’m just really down on this list because this is the second PointBreaks list I’ve spent in Asia hoping to find something good, and getting nothing usable except for Bangkok in the middle of martial law.
Am I alone? Is anyone else disappointed by this list? I hope you didn’t buy points for it!
Well, there happen to be two TX hotels on the list that work perfectly for what we need, so I’m happy 🙂
Definitely nothing much to go out of the way for, though.
That’s ultimately why I linked to the list. It’s not a good list… but if you’re going to be in the middle of nowhere Texas, then you might as well!
It’s summer travel season…do you really think they need to be so generous with hotels during this period?
How much of your disappointment is due to the fact that you are an RA and can’t exploit it as well as you hoped?
Yeah, it’s bad but let’s see the next list before you say the sky is falling.
There are hotels all over in low occupancy. Like every hotel in Thailand. Like in northern India. Like all the non tourist destination hotels in Indonesia. And yet, there is one hotel in SE asia on the list and it’s in Bangkok, which is in the middle of a regime change… *blinks*
C’mon. I don’t need an IC. I would due perfectly fine in the Holiday Inn in Ko Phi Phi. :-p
And the last list have ZERO hotels in SE Asia, in off peak and less ICs. I’m not saying they’re taking away PB. I’m saying it’s downward, unless you need a stay at the roadside New Jersey interstate holiday inn.
Drew, Thais are notoriously stingy with discounting hotels to farangs. When I was there in January, there were several hotels running very good promos for Thai citizens. A local guy I know told me the logic was if you are there during the turmoil, you will have no problem to pay, and if y3ou aren’t, lowering the price will make no difference. Not that unreasonable if you ask me.
Quite honestly, being able to book a 5-star hotel for under $100, or a 3-star under $30, I don’t even bother with award stays in Bangkok.
But if one hotel were to drop the price… they surely would make their money back. I guess I’m way too economics minded and it seems like the supply curve is messed up.
But yea, prices are great anyways in Thailand. And really it’s a good time to be here. :-p
I agree with your analysis, but only from your perspective. From my perspective (family of 8), this list isn’t that bad. You’re right that a lot of the aspirational hotels are not on there, but it does offer a fair number of Staybridge Suites hotels which are excellent for family travel.
Again, for you, it’s not that great, and I agree with the shadiness of some of the way that IHG marketed it, but just wanted to point out another perspective.
Happy traveling!
Fair. Staybridge is for sure better for you. But… my biggest complaint is where the Staybridge Suites are located. You’re not seeing them in Denver, or Myrtle Beach… they on interstate 13.
Either way, I hope you snag one wherever you’re headed next.
I just booked a Staybridge PointBreaks in . . . Denver, CO. 🙂
Since you are in Asia I can understand why this list disappoints you. I’m in the USA and there are several hotels on the list that I plan to stay at during my summer road trip.
Actually, the US constantly has a ton of hotel on the PB list. And you happen to be taking the interstate, this is totally the list for you.
I just booked the Holiday Inn Genoa (5 000 points / night for a suite). It is a perfect location for visiting the UNESCO listed Cinque Terre.
From the properties available in Europe, there are still others that are interesting:
– Holiday Inn Toulon – which is a perfect base to explore South of France between Marseille and St Tropez;
– Holiday Inn Turku – perfect for visiting Finland (considering the high room rates in Scandinavia);
– Crowne Plaza Vilnius – perfect for a weekend break.
I see the perfect opportunity to spend those tens of thousands of points from the Big Win.
Those are all pretty good redemptions. Especially the Genoa.
The Vilnius hotel is kind of crap and far away from anything. It’s a 1km walk to the bus stop to go down town. :-/
What, you mean you’re so over India that you don’t want to spend a month on the beaches of Goa? :-p
Goa never appealed to me in the first place. 😀
I was disappointed to find only one property in all of South America. It’s in Rosario, Argentina, a nice city (I used to live there) but not on anyone’s tourism list.
I didn’t even notice that (guess because I’m not going there). But unfortunately South America is definitely one of the most sparse regions in terms of points hotels.
How ’bout a tripadvisor contest here?
“Ube Tourism: 2 things to do in Ube, Japan”
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g298141-Ube_Yamaguchi_Prefecture_Chugoku-Vacations.html
I googled Ube, Japan and it said: did you mean “U Be In Japan”?
Not really.
But out of all the hotels in populous areas and cities… the one on PB is a hotel in the middle of nowhere. 😀
I booked a few nights at the Crowne Plaza in Bucharest that match my travel plans. And hopefully my Daily Getaways points will post before the Austin, TX hotel is booked full. All in all, it’s a crap shoot. I was lucky this go-around.
Well, you’ll be able to use those points on a decent list in a couple of months. Fingers crossed.
I understand your disappointment – big changes based on your travel style. But frankly, this list remains fairly consistent to my needs, since I use Pointbreaks mainly for those USA hotels with easy-on/easy-off highway access. No changes for me. Maybe you should consider a summer American roadtrip 😉
Hah, don’t tell Carrie that because she’s been seriously talking about an out west road trip. We’d have to buy a car first. :-p Or better yet, a motorcycle.
As a resident of Charlotte, NC
(1) Disappointed there are no hotels from North Carolina.
(2) I had the same reaction you did to Camden, SC.
As a resident of anywhere, it’s disappointing. :-p
Also disappointed. I actually did even buy some points on th Daily Getaway promo in anticipation of the list and of course they still have not even posted…. So I wasn’t even able to use them to book anything on the first day. And now the few even moderately decent properties are gone.
I believe I called that in my Daily Getaways post. Not to rub it in… But that, that right there, is how IHG operates.
As a newbie & just started living full-time on the road; I am also very disappointed and yes, I bought points.