How did bloggers know about the new PointBreaks list on Thursday before it was posted on the IHG Community online forum Friday?
The secret is we have inside information directly from IHG Americas corporate communications in Atlanta.
The email came from Atlanta on Thursday telling select bloggers that the list of new PointBreaks hotels will be posted on IHG Rewards Club Community on Friday. The official release on Monday on the IHG website is when the PointBreaks hotels become bookable at 5,000 points per reward night for stays March 24 to May 31, 2014.
Post it once, post it twice and third times a charm when you can actually book these PointBreaks hotels.
In the blogosphere where page views = income, the IHG email generated several posts around the blogosphere on Thursday, March 20 with a list of seven PointBreaks hotels to display as a teaser.
On Friday, March 21 the full list was revealed on IHG Rewards Club community forum and bloggers created a second post with the entire list of new PointBreaks hotels to inform readers the hotels can be booked on Monday.
On Monday, March 24 the full list will be posted again on blogs with the link to the PointBreaks page for booking.
In past years someone would notice the list of IHG PointBreaks hotels and post it to FlyerTalk and then bloggers scrambled to get the list organized and formatted for a blog post.
These days, IHG leaks the information to a set of bloggers who then create two posts on PointBreaks hotels before they are even bookable.
This is how marketing works in the blogosphere these days. Inside information bloggers receive in advance of official releases is a joint effort between corporate marketing and a blogger’s desire for blog page views generated from new information.
(Wink-Wink: Keep your eyes open for a blitz of Hilton blog posts on Monday that will drown out the IHG PointBreaks posts. Perhaps TravelBloggerBuzz will do a blog count on the number of posts published Monday.)
I skipped Thursday’s initial IHG PointBreaks post, since I knew the full list was coming out yesterday.
So, without further insight, here is the full list of IHG PointBreaks hotels to be posted on Monday, March 24. These hotels will be available for reward nights at 5,000 points per night for stays March 24 to May 31, 2014. There are 88 hoels in the USA and 63 international hotels.
One of these days I will get to that InterContinental Cleveland on PointBreaks and visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
United States (88 Hotels)
Alabama
Holiday Inn Express Dothan North
Holiday Inn Express Greenville
Holiday Inn Montgomery Airport South
Arkansas
Holiday Inn Express Batesville
Holiday Inn Epress Pine Bluff/Pines Mall
Arizona
Holiday Inn Canyon de Chelly (Chinle)
California
Candlewood Suites Orange County/Irvine Spectrum
Holiday Inn Express Lathrop-South Stockton
Holiday Inn San Diego North Miramar
Colorado
Candlewood Suites Craig-Northwest
Connecticut
Holiday Inn Express Hartford-Downtown
Holiday Inn Express Southington
Delaware
Holiday Inn Express Seaford-Route 13
Florida
Georgia
Holiday Inn Express Atlanta-Johns Creek
Holiday Inn Express Blairsville
Candlewood Suites Columbus Fort Benning
Candlewood Suites Warner Robins/Robins AFB
Iowa
Holiday Inn Express Sioux Center
Idaho
Illinois
Holiday Inn Express Le Roy-Bloomington Area
Candlewood Suites Aurora-Naperville
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Candlewood Suites Bowling Green
Candlewood Suites Radcliff-Fort Knox
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Candlewood Suites West Springfield
Michigan
Candlewood Suites St. Joseph/Benton Harbor
Minnesota
Missouri
Holiday Inn Express Warrensburg
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
Holiday Inn Epress Forest City
Holiday Inn Express Williamston
North Dakota
Holiday Inn Express Minot South
Nebraska
Holiday Inn Express Omaha-Southwest
New Jersey
Holiday Inn Philadelphia South-Swedesboro
Holiday Inn Somerset-Bridgewater
New Mexico
Candlewood Suites Roswell New Mexico
Nevada
New York
Candlewood Suites Elmira Horseheads
Candlewood Suites Nanuet-Rockland County
Ohio
Holiday Inn Express Greenville
Holiday Inn Express Mt. Vernon
Oklahoma
Holiday Inn Express Weatherford
Pennsylvania
Holiday Inn Express Frazer-Malvern
Rhode Island
Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick (Airport)
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Holiday Inn Express White House
Texas
Holiday Inn Express Brownfield
Holiday Inn Express Duncanville
Utah
Stayridge Suites Salt Lake-West Valley City
Virginia
Holiday Inn Express Kilmarnock
Candlewood Suites Richmond North-Gen Allen
Washington
Wisconsin
Candlewood Suites Milwaukee Airport-Oak Creek
West Virginia
Holiday Inn Express Charleston-Southridge
Wyoming
Asia & the Pacific (10 hotels)
The People’s Republic of China
Crowne Plaza Beijing Zhongguancun
India
InterContinental Marine Drive-Mumbai
Republic of Korea
Phillipines
Taiwan
Africa & the Middle East (3 hotels)
Kenya
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi-Yas Island
Europe (27 hotels)
Austria
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
France
Holiday Inn Clermont-Ferrand Centre
Holiday Inn Express Marseille-Provence Airport
Germany
Holiday Inn Express Baden-Baden
Holiday Inn Express Guetersloh
Italy
Holiday Inn Milan-Linate Airport
Lithuania
Netherlands (Holland)
Russia
Holiday Inn Moscow-Vinogradovo
Spain
Holiday Inn Express Madrid-Alcorcon
Holiday Inn Express Madrid-Leganes
United Kingdom
Holiday Inn Express Antrim-M2, JCT. 1
Holiday Inn Doncaster A1 (M), JCT .36
Holiday Inn Express Liverpool-Knowsley M57, JCT .4
Holiday Inn Express Swansea-West M4, JCT .43
Holiday Inn Leeds-Wakefield M1, JCT .40
Americas (23 hotels)
Canada
Holiday Inn Express Sherwood Park-Edmonton Area
Holiday Inn Express Whitecourt Sourtheast
Holiday Inn Surrey East-Cloverdale
Holiday Inn Halifax Harbourview
Holiday Inn Express Chatham South
Holiday Inn Express Toronto-Mississauga
Brazil
Holiday Inn Express Sumare Ave. Sao Paulo
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Honduras
InterContinental Real Tegucigalpa
Peru
Mexico
Holiday Inn Express Manzanillo
Holiday Inn Express Tuxtla Gutierrez La Marimba
Holiday Inn Express Guadalajara Iteso
*****
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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