Loews Resorts discontinuing You First Rewards program

[Mad Dog]

Just got an email from Loews that they will be discontinuing their You First Rewards program, effective December 6th, 2018. Loews cited that guest surveys indicated the program & services provided were no longer relevant...I find that hard to believe, but it is what it is....Great program. Sad to see it go. I got a lot of use out of it.

 

[Ridgepole]

And diesel is up $.50 a gallon in the last month. Got the same email

 

[UNIrd]

WHAT! It was the best rewards program in the industry, if you ask me. Impossible to be Platinum (was years and years ago when so many stays weren't necessary) but being Gold has been nice.

 

[GadgetGuru]

I find it so hard to believe they won't have any rewards program.

I'm thinking they'll join up with Marriott Rewards soon. Marriott is the most willing to work with independent hotels (their Independent Collection) from what I've seen.

Or, maybe Loews is for sale...

 

[Ridgepole]

It is family owned and run. The older generation may be dying off and the younger...........

 

[Mad Dog]

I find it so hard to believe they won't have any rewards program.

I'm thinking they'll join up with Marriott Rewards soon. Marriott is the most willing to work with independent hotels (their Independent Collection) from what I've seen.

Or, maybe Loews is for sale...

The email sounded like they won't be doing a rewards program in the future.

 

[Mad Dog]

It is family owned and run. The older generation may be dying off and the younger...........

Loews brought back Jonathan Tisch out of retirement as CEO in 2016 when they weren't doing well with his successor. Seems pretty hands on leader. I had sent a letter complimenting some of the Sapphire tavern employees and he sent me a really nice personal letter back, and asked if it was OK if he distributed it to his senior management (and he listed all the people he was CC it to) as to that's the way customers should be treated. Long story short, and I told the full version of this story before, next time when I was at Sapphire the manager of the bar told me Tisch had sent the letter to the Loews Universal hotels management and had them read the letter at employee meetings to illustrate customer satisfaction, and the responsible employees received employee of the month awards....So hopefully, they stay in that customer satisfaction mode with whatever they're doing in the future. I'm guessing few used the Rewards program and that's why the surveys came in reflecting that. The email did say they would be tracking frequent visitors and attempt to satisfy their stays. Guess we'll see what happens.

 

[shiekra38]

I read "You Fist Rewards Program" and got super confused

 

[Ridgepole]

:exclap:

 

[GadgetGuru]

This might just have to do with their clientele?

You can’t survive in the business travel game without a rewards program. That’s who those exist for. Most corporate travelers pick which hotels they stay in and they pick depending on how it impacts their personal rewards account.

I was a consultant in a past life and I picked my hotels based on points (amongst other things).

The Loews hotels must not have a large business traveler contingent.

 

[Nick]

This might just have to do with their clientele?

You can’t survive in the business travel game without a rewards program. That’s who those exist for. Most corporate travelers pick which hotels they stay in and they pick depending on how it impacts their personal rewards account.

I was a consultant in a past life and I picked my hotels based on points (amongst other things).

The Loews hotels must not have a large business traveler contingent.

25% of their hotels will be in Orlando by 2020 and that % is only going to continue to grow. Their hotels are also in many cases in vacation destinations overall so I do think you are right - a loyalty program simply isn't necessary for them to get by anymore - just like Disney doesn't have one. If the hotel company knows they are going to fill their rooms anyway, why offer a rewards program?

 

[Frank Drackman]

I never quite understood their reward program as very few of my stays ever counted for anything. They did not offer it at Saphire nor at Cabana. HRH changed to Hard Rock’s program long ago.

I always used an AP discount at RP and PB which caused my stays to be non qualifying.

I never have stayed at a non UNI one though (and I can’t imagine why Loews fans would not want one).

I did not get a survey (nor an E-mail). I imagine it was all in the way the question was asked. Maybe they looked at the program and saw that only a small % of guest were getting rewards.

 

[Mad Dog]

I never quite understood their reward program as very few of my stays ever counted for anything. They did not offer it at Saphire nor at Cabana. HRH changed to Hard Rock’s program long ago.

I always used an AP discount at RP and PB which caused my stays to be non qualifying.

I never have stayed at a non UNI one though (and I can’t imagine why Loews fans would not want one).

I did not get a survey (nor an E-mail). I imagine it was all in the way the question was asked. Maybe they looked at the program and saw that only a small % of guest were getting rewards.

Actually, stays at Sapphire were part of the rewards point program, since it's branded Loews. I stayed at Sapphire twice and received the points. CBBR is not branded, thus no points. Hard Rock, probably due to it's ownership program, wasn't part of the program. I also always received points when I used my AP discount....Like Gadget Guru said, I often picked my hotel and days to accommodate the points, since they always took extra care of me with rooms above the class I paid for, plus other special amenities like welcome baskets, turn down service, free paper delivery, late checkout, and other stuff. I really like CBBR but I started doing parts of my vacation at Sapphire specifically because of the points program.....For me this is a real bummer since I got lots of use out of the program. The email hinted that they were still going to do special things for frequent visitors, so that remains to be seen whether it will be anything significant.....Here's the email....
*Thank you for being a loyal guest of Loews Hotels & Co. Travel is highly personal, and we feel the same about our relationship with you. You're not a customer number or a loyalty point count-you're an individual who happens to travel and who has unique interests and needs along the way.
Through valuable guest feedback, we have found the You First isn't enticing or relevant and that a list of pre set benefits has not been meeting our guest's individual needs. At the end of the day, we're confident we don't need a formal program to recognize our very best guests, (their bold) In that spirit, we want to inform you that our You First program will be ending on December 6, 2018. We can assure you that every time you choose to stay with us, we value that decision and want to provide you an exceptional experience.
Here's what to expect next;
*Existing or new reservations through December 6, 2018 will be eligible for You First Benefits. Reservations beginning on or after December 7, 2018 will not receive You First benefits.
*You will be able to seamlessly access your reservation and preference details via a Loews account, similar to what you experienced when you logged in to Loews Hotels: Luxury Hotels | Luxury Accommodations using your You First credentials. There is no action to take now, but this summer you will receive email instructions to reset your password in order to access your Loews Account.
*Finally, rest assured that we are committed to recognizing you as one of our best guests and continuing to make Loews an easy choice for your future stays.

We look forward to making each and every one of your future visits a special experience. We know that hospitality comes from the heart, and we're dedicated to our relationship with you.
...........................................................................................................................................................
My Nov. 28 to Dec. 7th vacation gets in under the deadline, but it's adieu to You First after.

 

[Ridgepole]

Staying at Porto?

 

[damo]

I never quite understood their reward program as very few of my stays ever counted for anything. They did not offer it at Saphire nor at Cabana. HRH changed to Hard Rock’s program long ago.

I always used an AP discount at RP and PB which caused my stays to be non qualifying.

I never have stayed at a non UNI one though (and I can’t imagine why Loews fans would not want one).

I did not get a survey (nor an E-mail). I imagine it was all in the way the question was asked. Maybe they looked at the program and saw that only a small % of guest were getting rewards.

AP rates were included in qualifying stays.

Qualifying Rates include: Consortia, Volume Corporate, AAA, AARP, Government, Package, Group Association, Group Corporate, Group Government, Advance Purchase, Florida Residents and Universal Pass holders.

 

[Andysol]

Just to clear up a couple things:

-Discontinuing a reward plan does not mean they’re selling. Typically, any company that acquired them would simply integrate them into their own program after a year or so. The beloved Kimpton boutique chain is a perfect example of that with IHG. But I could see someone like a Hyatt taking them on. That would be a great fit for them.

-They won’t join a major chain’s loyalty program without acquisition. That never happens.

-This is strange. Loews isn’t a big chain at all- I could see them potentially entering a program- such as Discovery that Omnis and others use. That would be a good equal. And that program is incredible if you can hit platinum or black. But to have no reward program? No one really does that...

It never impacted me- even though I’d have 4 or 5 stays with approx 15 nights some years with them- they’d always be through chase ultimate rewards from credit card points or through orbitz from points accrued from work expenses. And neither counted towards their reward program even though I would’ve been a decent tier. So selfishly, maybe this will allow me an upgrade here and there since I never book direct but do stay often.
But this does suck for guys like @Mad Dog speaking of- what were your three top perks or things you got by being an elevated member?

 

[Mad Dog]

Staying at Porto?

yes

 

[Andysol]

You know- just throwing this out there- I wonder if Universal has any interest in acquiring Loews and doing a deal with Hyatt. Universal takes the Orlando properties and Hyatt takes the rest. IHG has been interested in small (8-15 hotel) higher end brands recently too. I wonder if Universal could make a run here or if they’d even want to.
I don’t really see the benefit to partnering with them at this point.

 

[JungleSkip]

You know- just throwing this out there- I wonder if Universal has any interest in acquiring Loews and doing a deal with Hyatt. Universal takes the Orlando properties and Hyatt takes the rest. IHG has been interested in small (8-15 hotel) higher end brands recently too. I wonder if Universal could make a run here or if they’d even want to.
I don’t really see the benefit to partnering with them at this point.

Personally I like that Loews runs the hotels. I think they do a great job, and like their staff.

That being said, I have heard of friction. I think they're the reason you don't have room keys with park admission tied to them like at Disney.

 

[shiekra38]

Personally I like that Loews runs the hotels. I think they do a great job, and like their staff.

That being said, I have heard of friction. I think they're the reason you don't have room keys with park admission tied to them like at Disney.

I wondered how well the relationship worked...I've always had a pleasant experience in all of the Universal hotels