“Rediscover the best of Britain this Summer” is an InterContinental Hotels Group special offer for summer travel in the British Isles.
Terms of two special offers for United Kingdom hotels this summer:
Special Rates Offer 1: Room & Breakfast for two at IHG Hotels in the UK with rates as low as 39GBP (about $78USD) are listed in the link.
Special Rates Offer 2: Two Nights with Breakfast and One Dinner for two persons at IHG Hotels in the UK. Rates as low as 99GBP.
Rates are valid only for weekend nights of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from June 6th to September 7th, 2008, inclusive. Some hotels may offer the special rate on other days and Brighton specifically only has mid-week special rates.
While the advertisement is for rates as low as 49GBP (about $98USD), there are hotels listed in the promotion at 39 GBP for a room and breakfast.
REGULAR HOTEL SHOPPING vs. SPECIAL OFFER SHOPPING
Special offers are a key component to getting the best rate at some hotels at some times. A trip to the IHG websites does not prominently show a special offer rate for UK Hotels. The vast majority of web users simply go to an IHG website like Crowne Plaza Hotels or the Priority Club hotel loyalty program website to research and book a room in London. Perhaps you use a site like Kayak or Expedia to get an overall feel for room rates.
Regular Shopping for Hotel Rates (June 19, 2008)
Expedia.com Hotel Reservations,
London St. James Crowne Plaza, July 11-13, 2008 (two night stay)
$762.29 nonrefundable rate for two nights in a standard room, no extras
Crowne Plaza website reservations: ($1.96 = 1 GBP 6-19-08)
London St. James Crowne Plaza, July 11-13, 2008 (two night stay)
439.46 GBP = $861.34 nonrefundable rate for two nights in a standard room, no extras
486.46 GBP = $953.46 with breakfast, nonrefundable rate
Special Offer Shopping for Hotel Rates
InterContinental Hotels Group Rediscover Britain Promotion Link:
London St. James Crowne Plaza, July 11-13, 2008 (two night stay)
for two nights room, breakfast, and one dinner for 2 persons
280.00 GBP = $548.80 USD, nonrefundable rate
Expedia in this case offered a lower rate than shown on the regular reservations system of InterContinental Hotels. And IHG reservations does not make it easy for you to find the special offer for the summer savings in the United Kingdom.
The IHG Summer in the UK special offer link cuts nearly 30% off the room rate for the Expedia special rate. Both rates are non-refundable.
To give you an example of the value of this package.
London – St. James Crowne Plaza Hotel 280GBP ($550US) for
2 room nights + 2 breakfasts for 2 + 1 Dinner for 2 people
Assume a good hotel rate for downtown London is $200 per night, and the St. James Crowne Plaza is 1/2 block from Buckingham Palace. $400 value for two night stay.
Assume realistic meal rates to buy breakfasts and a dinner on your own and the meal inclusive package value added benefit is:
Breakfast = $15 per person x 2 persons x 2 days = $60 value
Dinner = $40 per person x 2 persons = $80 value
$540 real value at this hotel in terms of getting a fantastic rate of $200 per night on a two night stay and 3 meals in a restaurant in downtown London where shopping for food can be a pain.
The Room and Breakfast rate is available only for one night, July 11 at the St. James for 120 GBP or $235 USD.
I stayed at the St. James Court for a week in 1989 (before it was a Crowne Plaza) on a 50% off rate. This is a great deal for the location and in London near Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace for this summer travel season.
These special rate offers are announced in hotel loyalty programs and generally disappear, sometimes quickly into cyberspace links that can be quite difficult to find on the hotel program websites.
Two good sources for hotel special offer links are www.pointmaven.com and www.frequentflyerbonuses.com
Savvy travelers see significant savings from special offer rates.
