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TravelPony San Francisco 5 hotels rate analysis

There is plenty of evidence that TravelPony.com has some great hotel rate discounts this month with its $50 discount on a booking using Kate50 code and the ability to get $35 credit with a new member referral signup.

This analysis of TravelPony.com hotel rates examines a selection of the 21 hotels listed for San Francisco. Only 14 of these hotels are actually in San Francisco. The other seven hotels are in the airport area and some hotels are across the water from the city in the East Bay.

This analysis compares TravelPony.com rates for five of 14 hotels in San Francisco for a one-night stay on Tuesday, February 18, 2014.

  1. Hotel Triton – Kimpton Hotels
  2. Holiday Inn San Francisco Civic Center
  3. InterContinental San Francisco
  4. Hyatt Regency San Francisco at the Embarcadero
  5. Fairmont San Francisco

Hotel Triton – a Kimpton Hotel

TravelPony.com = $191

Hotel Triton TravelPony

TravelPony.com claims the $191 rate is 12.8% savings based on $219 rates at other online travel agency sites. Cancellation policy for TravelPony.com is full payment if cancelled within 72 hours of arrival.

Kayak Hotel Triton

Kayak confirms most OTA sites have the $219 rate which is the Best Flexible Rate offered at KimptonHotels.com.

Hotel Triton Kimpton AAA

Kimpton website has AAA King Room for $176 per night or $204.71 after tax.

Conclusion: Kimpton has a lower AAA rate for Hotel Triton than TravelPony.com rate.

Applying Kate50 $50 discount and a referral membership sign-up $35 credit makes TravelPony.com the better deal.

Hotel Triton TP kate 50

TravelPony.com Kate50 code savings for $50 makes this $173 room $32 less than Kimpton $205 AAA rate. Kate50 code requires $200 booking before discount.

TravelPony.com is the better deal with its promotion discount code, but Kimpton had lower rates for the same hotel room and one day before arrival penalty free cancellation compared to 72 hours for TravelPony.com booking.

 

Holiday Inn San Francisco Civic Center for Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014

TravelPony.com = $115 Standard One Bed = $134 after tax.

Kate50 code requires a minimum $200 booking. Not applicable to this hotel stay, yet the rate worked for Hotel Triton stay at

One of my complaints about TravelPony.com are the vague room category descriptions.

Olotels.com = $103 Double Standard Room = $119 after tax.

IHG = $154 (AAA) for 2 Double Beds. $178.75 after tax.

TravelPony.com rate defineitely beats the IHG website rates. New member credit brings rate under $100 per night.

 

InterContinental San Francisco for Tuesday Feb 18, 2014.

TravelPony.com rate = $322 Deluxe one bed. Cancel one day before arrival with no penalty. $375 after tax.

Orbitz.com = $278 Queen, classic view. Nonrefundable.

IHG.com = $293.55 Queen, Classic View cancel one day before arrival with no penalty. $341.46 after tax.

IC SF Travelpony

The rate search on TravelPony.com shows $322 rate as 6.4% discount on other OTA rates at $344.

My check of Orbitz.com showed a rate far less than $344.

IC SF Orbitz

Orbitz = $278 per night nonrefundable rate Queen bed, classic view.

Best Rate = TravelPony.com when Kate50 discount applied.

ICSF Kate50

TravelPony is $16 less than IHG rate after tax, however, bonus points for an IHG Rewards Club member will likely be worth quite a bit more than $16.

 

Hyatt Regency San Francisco

TravelPony.com = $269 Deluxe 1 Bed. $313 after tax. One day before arrival cancellation without penalty. Rate reduced to $263 with Kate50 discount.

Kayak.com = $255.73 Deluxe 2 Doubles. Nonrefundable. (EasyClickTravel.com)

Hyatt.com = $251.10 AAA King Bed ($292 after tax) with one day before arrival cancellation without penalty. $265.05 Nonrefundable. $279 Hyatt Daily Rate.

Add Kate50 discount for better rate.

Hyatt SF kate50

This is another room where TravelPony.com saves $29, however, your Hyatt Gold Passport benefits may be worth far more than $29.

 

Fairmont San Francisco for Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014.

The greatest hotel rate discrepancy found in this survey of San Francisco hotels comes with rate comparisons between TravelPony.com and Fairmont Hotels.

  • TravelPony.com = $385 for Deluxe Room. $448 after tax. Must cancel 72 hours before arrival or nonrefundable.
  • TravelPony.com = $599 for Tower Suite. $697 after tax.
  • Olotels.com = $375.76 Double Room. $434 after tax. Double Room Deluxe = $402.60. $465 after tax.
  • Fairmont Hotels = $630 AAA rate King bed. $733 after tax. Cancel one day before arrival with no penalty.
  • Expedia = $594.15 King Bed Nonrefundable. $691 after tax.

Fairmont Hotels does not have a published Best Rate Guarantee policy. According to this FlyerTalk thread, Fairmont is good about matching lower rates found on OTA sites.

TravelPony.com looks Suite at the Fairmont

What really caught my attention on TravelPony.com is this room rate for a Tower Suite at $647 after tax when using the Kate50 discount code.

Fairmont SF TP

Fairmont San Francisco Tower Suite = $647.

Fairmont website AAA rate for this same room category is $1,361 after tax for Tuesday, February 18.

Now that is one TravelPony express deal to ride into San Francisco for a stay in first class style.

Fairmont NS suite

 

Sharing is Caring TravelPony new member referral credits

TravelPony share

There are definitely deals to be found on TravelPony.com as long as the OTA offers promotional discounts like Kate50 for $50 off a $200 booking.

The website states the savings are possible in part due to the growth of the site through social media.

Can 26 Loyalty traveler readers place me in a Fairmont San Francisco suite through TravelPony credits?

TravelPony.com Loyalty Traveler’s

Member referral link: http://www.travelpony.com/?rc=sn7y.

Feel free to leave your own TravelPony referral link in the comments.

*****

We might as well all grab part of the TravelPony.com marketing budget they are spending on social media hotel discount credits.

I don’t see their travel booking model being sustainable, but there are certainly good deals to be found right now with TravelPony.com, especially when staying at hotels where your loyalty membership benefits are not a real factor for the hotel stay.

*****

Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.

Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.

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2 Comments

  • E February 12, 2014

    if anyone needs a link here is mine http://www.travelpony.com/?rc=kepw

  • Charles Clarke February 14, 2014

    Which part of their travel booking model do you not find sustainable? The initial sign up credits or the discount codes for bookings? I expect both of them would go down over time.

    These would mainly be affected by what hotel companies/TravelPoney figure as the initial cost of acquiring a customer and how much they are discounting rooms to TravelPony. They may also have another way of monetizing their customer base.

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