How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[Lynda2475]

A queston for those with All Accor plus, if I buy a membership now does the 12 months start now, or is it tied to calendar year?

And if tied to calendar year, can i use the free night for Jan next year, if I book now?

 

[oz_mark]

12 months starts now, you'll have to the end of May next year.

 

[Lynda2475]

Also I notice Accor Plus has no benefits for USA (even though it has a Pacific coast), if one has a decent number of US hotel stays is there an equaivlent plus progam worth Aussies looking into? I currently have a booking (via qantas) at a great rate for the Fairmont in Chicago, I was thinking of canelling and rebooking via All Accor for the status benefits will see me well and truely pass gold, but QF Hotels will earn me more QFF points (as again US stays dont benefit form the All Accor QF partnership).

 

[sudoer]

So interestingly

1) Gave corp TA my ALL number, it was in reservation
2) Emailed ALL, they said yes it was in the reservation no problems
3) Didn't appear in APP - however the APP kept sending notifications about the upcoming stay so it was there, but not showing....
4) Got to hotel, number was not in the reservation, had to be re-added

PITA!

It is a PITA, I find it easier to email the property directly instead of bothering with ALL.

 

[jakeseven7]

It is a PITA, I find it easier to email the property directly instead of bothering with ALL.

ALL fowarded the email to the hotel who said they had added it (sorry missed THAT step!!!) will edit

 

[sudoer]

Also notice Accor Plus has no benefits for USA (even though it has a pacific coast), if one has a decent number of US hotel stays is there an equaivlent plus prgam for there worth AUssies looking into?

Maybe IHG Ambassador? US$200/year. Or an Aspire Amex is effectively purchasing Hilton Diamond for US$450/year.

Club Marriott has some similarities to Accor Plus, but is also APAC only.

 

[Lynda2475]

I was specifically thinking in the Accor brand, I thought I heard a guy in Fiji mention a Fairmont program, maybe I need to google.

 

[sudoer]

I was specifically thinking in the Accor brand, I throught I heard a guy in Fiji mention a Fairmont program, maybe I need to google.

Fairmont President's Club was folded into LeClub before the ALL rebrand. I don't think there's an equivalent of Accor Plus for Accor properties in the US other than the standard status levels/benefits (noting that APAC is the only region where Plats get breakfast)

 

[sudoer]

I currently have a booking (via qantas) at a great rate for the Fairmont in Chicago, I was thinking of canelling and rebooking via All Accor for the status benefits will see me well and truely pass gold, but QF Hotels will earn me more QFF points (as again US stays dont benefit form the All Accor QF partnership).

Now I see you've added this to the original post I quoted. What's the price difference if you cancel and book direct? Remember that you can always purchase ALL Gold via Ibis Business for 90 EUR for 2 years (from memory) but you can't connect both Ibis Business and Accor Plus to the same ALL number.

Personally I don't think ALL Gold is worth chasing, I stayed maybe 50-60 nights with it across a 4-5 years and found it rather underwhelming. Compared with ALL Silver the only tangible benefits are the possibility of early check-in and a space available upgrade. I very rarely got a decent upgrade.

I'm rambling a bit but my advice is to go with whichever rate is cheapest and not bother chasing ALL Gold.

 

[Lynda2475]

Thanks, the DYKWIA who was bragging about it in Fiji probably hasnt been to US since Covid.

 

[Lynda2475]

What's the price difference if you cancel and book direct?

About AU $75 but I was also going to email to find out why ALL doesnt have the best rate for the same room.

The QF Hotels booking is refundable (and 12 points per doller due to promo and points club) until the day before the stay, my plan was to keep my eye open for any decent ALL promos if I see a better price or inclusion or bonuses then I will cancel and rebook. I liked the fairmont as was one of the few hotels that guaranteed a walk in shower and not a shub.

My upcoming stays in Adelaide, Scotland and NY are with IHG properties, I currently have no status with them but I liked the properties and locations and will have some status after trip is done. I would be just shy of Gold (based on spend not nights) with ALL when I arrive in Chicago as do have 1 nighta t Sofitel at LHR but I could probably do 1 more night locally somewhere and get there (and maybe use the $50 freebie NSW has given me).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

A queston for those with All Accor plus, if I buy a membership now does the 12 months start now, or is it tied to calendar year?

And if tied to calendar year, can i use the free night for Jan next year, if I book now?

Very good question. I was in a similar conundrum last month, pondering signing up for Accor+ towards the end of April. Fortunately, my Accor+ membership is good to the end of April 2023. I will also point out that I was hesitant on signing up for the membership. After all, $400/year is a big ask. However, I've since determined that this was an excellent investment, having made back the annual membership fee on the hotels I have booked this year (thanks to the lower rates). For instance, I'm saying at the Ibis Sydney Airport for $85 AUD next Friday thanks to an exclusive offer Accor had for its Plus members. Meanwhile in September I'm staying at the Tribe Perth for $435 for 4 nights, not bad for a designer hotel with a cancellable, pay-at-hotel rate. This is the primary reason why I give a toss about Accor here in Australia. They tend to have the cheapest rates for hotels across the board (I'd challenge you to find a Marriott or Hilton property in Australia that is in the $100 range).

The restaurant benefit is also pretty good whereby you save 25% on most Accor hotel restaurants throughout APAC. With that type of savings, dining in can actually be quite comparable to eating at a proper restaurant (and within spitting distance of eating at Macca's without any coupons). For me, I'm a simple person, I don't stay at the Ritz Carlton or Raffles (at least not on my own money), favouring ~$100/night hotels and the value I'm getting out of these Plus offers makes it worth the while. And if that wasn't enough there's also the free night stay at an APAC hotel thanks to the Stay+ benefit.

Also I notice Accor Plus has no benefits for USA (even though it has a Pacific coast), if one has a decent number of US hotel stays is there an equaivlent plus progam worth Aussies looking into? I currently have a booking (via qantas) at a great rate for the Fairmont in Chicago, I was thinking of canelling and rebooking via All Accor for the status benefits will see me well and truely pass gold, but QF Hotels will earn me more QFF points (as again US stays dont benefit form the All Accor QF partnership).

There aren't any specific benefits of being an Accor+ outside of APAC. However, one promotion that may interest you specifically for us Accor Plus members, the status night fast track. If you're a Silver and stay 1 night, you'll get 10 bonus nights credited to your account. When you hit Gold and stay one night, you'll get a further 15 bonus nights credited to your account. I'm easily going to hit Accor Platinum this year thanks to this promotion.

For me this isn't much of a turn off for me since Accor doesn't have hotels in North America. And I know some will say Fairmont, and as a Canadian I should be proud of the Fairmont hotels, but I mean those hotels are limited to a couple key cities. If you're travelling to those cities, then yeah it can make sense. But I also know Accor elites who live in North America who tell me that the quality of Fairmonts in North America went down the tube the moment Accor acquired and "managed" them.

The nice thing about North American hotels is they've got a lot of competition. It's very easy to find a Four Points or Courtyard for under $100/night, and I've even been to Westin's for around $120/night. Ditto for Hiltons, IHG and Best Westerns. IMHO I'd go so far as to even argue that if you are in North America you're better served by a Marriott than an Accor, particularly if you have mid-tier status.

-RooFlyer88

 

[sudoer]

About AU $75 but I was also going to email to find out why ALL doesnt have the best rate for the same room.

You could try the BPG and report back with how you go!

Best Price Guarantee

Found a lower price elsewhere? No problem!

all.accor.com

 

[Lynda2475]

I guess it depends on how you like to travel, Im not as price sensitive as you @kangarooflyer88 so am prepared to pay more to be super comfortable and in convenient location. If travelling for pleasure I generally like to stay somewhere that is nicer than home with premium bedding and a walk in shower (avoiding SHUBs can be hard to do in the USA irrespective of price point).

Lst 3 trips to NYC I actually stayed in a loft style apartment on the LES (originally as an airbnb but became good friend with owners after first stay and used to just book direct with them for mates rates), unfortnately they sold up during covid (and moved to the carribean) and so this time im staying a at newer IHG hotel a couple of blocks away.

But when looking at hotels in Chicago shubless options were very limited in the neighbourhoods I was willing to stay in, and the particular Fairmont had best reviews (even better than Softel), although i was considering the Virgin Hotels Chicago | Hotel in Downtown Chicago but bad reviews on noise.

Im just working out if there will be benefit to using ALL to book Chicago and when ot buy Accor Plus (of course shoudl ahve done this before my Fiji Sofitel stay).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Im just working out if there will be benefit to using ALL to book Chicago and when ot buy Accor Plus (of course shoudl ahve done this before my Fiji Sofitel stay).

The benefit for booking the ALL rate as a Silver would be late check out and potentially a free drink voucher, having the stay tracked for status and potentially earning some Accor points that are redeemable for future stays. Whether that is worth paying extra and/or forgoing the QF points you'd earn is really a value judgement each person places on such things.

I don't think there is much of a clever strategy when it comes to buying Accor Plus. If you plan on staying at an Accor hotel in APAC sometime in the next couple of months get it now. Book the hotels you are planning to stay at (with a cancellable, pay at hotel rate) with the discounted Plus rate, then wait. Every couple of weeks Accor Plus releases a new sale and sometimes those sales align with your travel plans. Case in point, Accor had a package at the Mercure Gold Coast Resort, where you could get 3 nights stay, breakfast, daily breakfast, coughtail and complimentary (space available) upgrade to a better room for $330:


You can check out all of the Accor Plus offers right here to see if there is anything that would suit your fancy. One thing that Accor Plus might be of benefit for your Chicago stay would be that status fast track where you'd earn 10 status credits off the bat as a Silver for that stay.

-RooFlyer88

 

[drron]

Fairmont Singapore. ALL member. No stay for >3 years. So no Status.
Room booked Fairmont King unrenovated in North block. but has walk in shower.
Paid the members rate fully cancellable.
But received Gold Lounge access
Daily breakfast-lounge Prego or poolside.
Early checkin 1300. Late checkout 1400.
Plus dinner for 2 Asian Market Cafe.
Booked through Luxury Escapes. Who needs status.

 

[jakeseven7]

So interestingly

1) Gave corp TA my ALL number, it was in reservation
2) Emailed ALL, they said yes it was in the reservation no problems (after contacting the hotel themselves to check)
3) Didn't appear in APP - however the APP kept sending notifications about the upcoming stay so it was there, but not showing....
4) Got to hotel, number was not in the reservation, had to be re-added

PITA!

And ANOTHER one.

5) On check out I got charged for internet. Politely asked for it to be reversed because my number should be on the reservation. ‘Oh no sir it’s not in there - would you like to add it….?’ Seriously! So added for FOURTH time.

What’s the bet the points don’t post and I have to chase up.

Accor is a real pain.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Property: Fairmont Singapore
Status: Silver
Room booked: Fairmont King
Room upgraded: No, but received room 2519, the second highest floor in the unrenovated North Tower. Great views (see below).
Rate: Corporate
Free internet: Yes
Welcome drink: Yes, 1 voucher received. Redeemed at the pool bar, which offered a limited menu for voucher redemptions.
Early Check in/out: Late check-out requested, 2PM granted.
Other: 4 bottles of water replenished daily.

I'm only an ALL Silver, so wasn't expecting an upgrade, but was pleasantly surprised when I received a room on the 25th floor. The room is massive, with a king bed, desk and lounge chair still leaving ample floor space. A panel on the bedside table controls the daytime and evening blinds, as well as all of the lights. There's a small bar area with a fridge, kettle and Nespresso coffee machine. I didn't get any pictures of the bathroom - it was simple and satisfactory. Option to choose between the rain shower or regular shower. Amenities were of great quality.

The views from the North tower are slightly interrupted, but were great from the 25th floor.


Breakfast was included at either Prego (an Italian inspired restaurant) or Asian Market Cafe. I didn't try the latter during my stay. I found the service to be very mixed - great some days, disappointing on other days. No coffee tax, but they use Nespresso pods. There are a range of self-serve juices, as well as fruit and cereal. Otherwise, you could pick an item from the menu.



I remembered to pack swimmers mere hours before leaving for the airport, and thank god I did. The pool was a welcome treat after a day exploring in the heat. The bar located in the middle serves drinks and food. Again, the service was mixed.


Summary: The Fairmont was in a great location, in close proximity to the Suntec towers and the option to walk the entire way there underground. The room itself was big, well-appointed and had great views from up high. The service was mostly good, but a few poor experiences at breakfast let it down.

Bonus: My points have already posted just 2 days after checking out.
Bonus 2: My stay at the St Moritz in Queenstown next week should get me to Gold!

 

[kpro]

Property: Peppers Gallery Hotel Canberra
Status: Accor Plus Diamond
Room booked: Peppers Queen Room
Room upgraded/type: Yes - Peppers Suite.
Rate: Accor Plus Mothers' Day Offer, Room only
Free internet: Yes - slow, avg. 2mbps.
Welcome drink: Yes - two vouchers.
Welcome gift: Yes - cheese and cold cut platter.
Early check in/late out: 3pm late checkout.
Overall opinion:

• Check in agent was friendly, granted a late checkout without hestitation. However, did not advise of room upgrade that was provided.
• Room was spacious and was fairly modern. Great rain shower.
• Bed sheets in dire need of replacement, they were old and tired, and worse had drops of old dried blood on them.
• Breakfast was a la carte, decent enough menu and large portion size. Server was very pleasant, and even let me take away some soft drink in exchange for my drink vouchers, despite the bar being closed.
• WiFi quite slow, possibly a result of it being completely open with no password or registration required for access.

 

[forevadelayed]

Property: Mercure Portsea
Date of trip: February
Status: Accor Plus Platinum
Room booked: SUPERIOR ROOM 1 KING BED
Room upgraded: No room downgraded to standard room 1 king bed garden view. They called ahead of the booking to arrange change.
Rate: Not sure
Free internet: Yes.
Welcome drink: Wine was provided in the room but no welcome drink voucher.
Early Check in/out: Not needed.



Staying here wasn't a great experience mainly due to how they apply Accor Benefits.

The front of house staff are very professional and effective communicators - calling prior to our stay to confirm details and advising us of changes required to our room selection for our booking. The room rate was changed accordingly when we were downgraded from the room we booked. I certainly can't fault the professionalism of the staff.

The hotel is quite small, 24 rooms. We were put in a standard room that leads to the courtyard. It doesn't get much natural light and the view is limited to a patio and fence. You can hear people on the balcony upstairs. This location hosts a lot of weddings and most people staying seemed to be attending a wedding. The hotel has an amazing view across the golf course and to the coast. Can't fault the location.

The issue with the stay that led to a disappointing experience is how the hotel chooses to apply platinum benefits for Accor members.

1. Breakfast is not provided to platinum members. The reason given is that the bar and restaurant was run by the golf club. After some questioning I was provided breakfast on Saturday but not on Sunday.

It's clearly listed that Accor PLUS dining benefits are not available so did not expect any 50% discount which is a dining benefit. But it is not clear on the webpage for the hotel or your booking that breakfast would not be provided as a platinum member. The only way to see the breakfast benefit would not be applied is by checking the platinum benefits and then checking which hotels in Australia are excluded from the breakfast benefit. Who does that for EVERY booking?

2. Welcome amenity provided but no welcome drink. A bottle of wine was provided to the room as a welcome amenity but during my stay I was not provided with a voucher for a welcome drink. Eventually when I asked I was advised the bottle of wine was the welcome drink. When I suggested this was the welcome amenity I was provided with two vouchers for the bar. I felt very uncomfortable asking for something so small and disappointed is wasn't provided

3. Room upgrade not available. This is understandable in a small hotel. It was disappointing to get downgraded but this was communicated well in advance so I understood the constraints here.

I feel bad to sound so entitled about being provided these benefits but I probably would have stayed elsewhere if I was aware in advance. The webpage for the hotel says the following:

As a Platinum member when making a booking at this hotel:

I earn Status & Rewards points

I can use my Rewards points

I benefit from Platinum advantages

I cannot take advantage of the Members' rate


I don't agree this was the case at all. I have sent through my feedback direct to the hotel and to Accor via a case and via a review. I hope their approach to programme benefits will change. But I think this is one of those contract/lease arrangements that are Accor in name only and devalue the programme.

Anyone managed to stay at Peppers Moonah Links Resort? Mornington Peninsula? I'm keen to hear how this hotel holds up.