Another Saturday means another peak into the reads we found interesting which didn’t quite make their way into full-feature posts. This week we’ll talk about the return of Starwood, a weird phenomenon where planes can cause snow, day rooms at Hilton, and more.
Starwood Hotels Relaunches Next Month: Will It Bring Back the Loyalty And Lifestyle Travelers Loved?
In 2016 the loyalty program “Starwood” sold to Marriott and their hotels’ industry-peak reputation for handling customer service well changed, according to VFTW. (In his view, both brands were kind of ruined by the acquisition, in fact.) Now Barry Sternlicht, the original founder of Starwood, has reacquired the name (which Marriott had retired) and plans to re-launch Starwood next month. Obviously the new Starwood won’t be the same hotel portfolio – it will instead include the following brands: Baccarat, 1 Hotels, and Treehouse. With just 32 hotels at the moment, it’s not going to be a big player just yet, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years.
Another interesting piece from View From the Wing, we learn about the bizarre phenomenon in which airplanes create snow. If I’m understanding it correctly, the plane can essentially introduce particles into a snow-ready atmosphere so that the little ice crystals that make up snow have something to form onto. This can happen on a plane wing and a plane’s exhaust trail. Apparently this phenomenon occurred in Denver this past weekend where planes began leaving snow trails like some scene out of a 1950’s holiday claymation movie.
Where in the U.S. Does a Middle-Class Income Stretch the Furthest?
In our Ask Us Anything, Live’s, Stephen often gets the question about where in the US he’d move specifically for the sake of miles and points earning activities. A similar point to pontificate – where in the US doe s a middle class income go the furthest? Very surprisingly, it goes the furthest in high-cost cities because apparently many of those high-cost cities have high-income jobs that outpace the cost of living. San Jose, California; Washington, D.C.; and Seattle for example are top of the list.
How to book a low cost ‘day room’ at a Hilton hotel
Apparently Hilton allows you to book a day room. (Note: the specific hours vary by hotel, but think ~9/10am to ~4/6pm.) You can do this online by simply making your check in and checkout day the same. Unfortunately, rates are not necessarily all that low… so you’ll have to weigh this option against simply booking the whole night, however, since you’ll still earn points and even elite night credits for these bookings, it could make sense for some. For example it could be a great option for people visiting London who want to be able to sleep as soon as they land since many flights arrive 7am-9am. So you could book a day room to sleep/relax/store your bag, then move to whichever other hotel you’ve booked for the night. Or I’ve had situations where I have to log onto a meeting as soon as I land, and doing this from a quiet, private hotel room is even better than finding a coffee shop and crossing my fingers that their wifi will be sufficient.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
