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I received some odd looks when I spoke at Frequent Traveler University’s Los Angeles event last weekend.
Matthew Klint, Shabbir Hakim, and I moderated roundtable discussions about elite status — and whether or not it’s worth pursuing in 2022. I also attended a great session hosted by Kevin Song and Debra Schroeder. That centered around elite hotel status.
Throughout the day, people raved about Hyatt’s Globalist status. (A lot of people in attendance were Globalists.) And it indeed seems like a fantastic elite status. (I don’t hold it because I don’t stay in Hyatts as much as I’d like to.)
When I mentioned I often stay at IHG properties — usually Holiday Inns (both Expresses and “resorts”) — and am okay with Platinum status, I noticed a few smirks. A couple of others looked like I just passed the foulest gas in the world and should get to a doctor ASAP.
There are a couple of reasons why IHG — and Holiday Inn — own part of my heart. And one of them is fairly sentimental. (I’d love to hear about any of your cherished vacation spots, too!)
Family-Friendly Properties
My business travel is slowly but surely coming back. So, that means hotel stays booked by my client. I might be at Marriott property one night, an Omni the next, and an independent property the third.
But when I travel with my family, we often stay at Holiday Inns. Why? We can stay at Holiday Inns for decent prices and occasionally snag a good points redemption. Plus, our IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and legacy IHG One Rewards Select Credit Card (no longer open for applications) each give us complimentary anniversary nights to use each year.
My almost-five-year-old loves swimming (as do most kids). And pretty much every Holiday Inn we visit has a pool.
So, she can swim in the pool and maybe play with other kids, too (when she’s not being shy 🙂 ). Not to mention, there’s usually an onsite restaurant. (The one at the Holiday Inn in Anaheim is particularly good.) We occasionally get upgraded to suites or slightly bigger rooms.
The hotel sometimes throws us a free breakfast, too.
So, for family travel, Holiday Inns usually are perfectly fine.
When I travel by myself, I try to avoid family-friendly properties. I’d rather have a nice room to work in and relax. And maybe a nice restaurant downstairs and bar to enjoy a beverage. (And preferably someplace with a club lounge.)
My First Hotel Love: the Holiday Inn Fargo
Here’s where IHG sort of came into my life (before it was IHG One Rewards).
I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. And the Holiday Inn Fargo was the hotel to host your banquet, wedding, convention, or party.
True story: the Holiday Inn Fargo was consistently named one of the 10 Best Holiday Inns in the World. (I know that’ll elicit some snark.) But I think that’s pretty cool.
The hotel featured an amazing Holidome — housing a massive pool, video games, and a putting green. Keep in mind this stuff is awesome if you’re a kid.
Even parents who lived in the local area would rent poolside rooms for a day and host pizza parties for their kids’ birthdays.
If friends or family came to town and stayed at the Holiday Inn Fargo, you visited them every second you could — just to enjoy the amazing property.
Throughout various remodels, the rooms were refreshed and the pool area got water slides and a pirate ship. C’mon, that’s pretty awesome if you’re a kid (or a kid at heart).
Seriously, I loved the Holiday Inn Fargo. Is it the nicest hotel in world? Oh, heck no. I’ve stayed at much nicer properties.
I applied for a job there in my teens. But there weren’t any openings. So I cheated on my beloved Holiday Inn — and went to work at the Radisson in downtown Fargo.
We usually stay at my parents’ house when we visit Fargo. But a couple of times have presented some opportunities for us to stay at the Holiday Inn Fargo.
The first time was when my niece was a baby. She, my sister and brother-in-law needed the last bedroom much more than we did. When my dad asked if we’d mind staying at a hotel, the words “We’llStayAtTheHolidayInn!” couldn’t come out of my mouth fast enough.
My wife looked at me like I was insane.
But once we checked in, she was very impressed with the hotel.
The next time was when I surprised my dad for his 70th birthday. I arrived in Fargo late the night before his big day. I was offered one of my stepbrother’s guest rooms. A friend offered me the guest room at his house, too.
But I turned down both so I could stay at the Holiday Inn Fargo.
I swear I could hear my stepmother’s eyes roll and head shake when I declined the offer — so I could stay at the Holiday Inn.
“But that’s your thing,” she said with a laugh.
Final Approach
I love luxury hotels. Really, I do.
Look, Hyatts are fantastic. I enjoy staying in them when an opportunity presents itself. Many Marriotts and Hiltons are great.
My travel is so split up across hotel chains that loyalty to one or two programs is difficult.
But I admit it: I’m a bit of a Holiday Inn fanboy. I’ve stayed at some duds (looking at you, Holiday Inn Anaheim) and some other great Holiday Inns (Sioux Falls! You rock!). For the most part, it comes down to nostalgia and a sentimental attachment to the great Holiday Inn Fargo.
Are there any hotels or other places that hold a place in your heart like the Holiday Inn Fargo does mine? I’d love to hear about them! Please share your story in the below Comments section.
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Like you my wife and I each have the IHG Premier and Select cards (Rene recommended them several years ago) so we have 4 FNC’s per year to redeem. I have also averaged well above 1cent per point on redemptions at IHG properties the last 4 years. We normally stay at Kimpton’s, Indigo or Crowne Plaza with an occassional IC so we get the higher redemption rates. And yes we have the occassional HI or HIE property as in smaller towns that’s all there is many times.
Hilton is my primary program but IHG is my secondary with Marriott being third. When we are staying 4 nights somewhere I try to find an IHG property to take advantage of the 4night pay for 3 with points. When the stay is 5 nights I try to use the Hilton 5 night pay for 4 with points. But my main rule of thumb is use our FNC’s which as I stated we have 4 IHG per year, 2 Hilton per year and 2 Marriott per year. Also with the Hilton Aspire cards I make sure we stay at a Hilton Resort each year to claim the $250 resort credit per card per year.
Platinum status at IHG is the most worthless out there in terms of actual benefits. I have the legacy IHG Chase card because years ago I needed some points for an event I was attending and the sign up bonus gave me the needed points. I kept the card because, at the time, it offered an annual free night at any IHG property. I was able to use it at Intercontinental properties several times. Now there is a cap on the free night at properties valued at 40,000 points or less and the annual fee has gone up (and Platinum is still worthless).
As far as the IHG brands themselves, I have found Holiday Inn Express competitive with the Hamptons and Fairfields, some Crowne Plazas are truly dreadful, some Intercontinentals are truly wonderful and Holdiay Inn seem to be all over the place. Lately, I have been using my free night at the HIX in Hilton Head (more for the setting than the amenities) but it is only a 30K/night property.
I agree. I’ve had a thing about Holiday Inns since childhood in the 50-60s when we traveled from Iowa to northern Florida to visit my dad’s family. I always whined to stay at a HI 🙂
Stop telling the echo chamber bloggers about IHG. They will all come ruin it like they did Marriott and lately Hyatt 🙂
Seriously, I agree that most Hyatt’s, many Marriotts, and Hiltons are on average a bit better than IHG but over the years I’ve gotten a ton of value from IHG. I have childhood memories of Holidomes and roadside Holiday Inn motels. The world has moved on but they still hold a special place for me. Gosh I sure miss those old Howard Johnson’s as well.
I attended the FTU Los Angeles and stayed at the nearby Indigo using Chase anniversary free-night certs. I’m a credit-card Platinum, and on that basis the hotel upgraded me to a mini-king suite (a corner room with windows facing 3 directions). The hotel wasn’t luxurious, but it was certainly good enough for my needs.
I became a fan of IHG back when they offered Point Break deals…rooms in hotels all over the world for just 5000 points per night. You could obtain those points for just $35 if you knew how. I did PB stays in Panama, Liverpool and Leeds UK, Shanghai, and several US locations…great values! Unfortunately, the PB deals are history.
Most HIXs offer free breakfasts, a very worthwhile benefit.
I so miss the PointBreaks…
SPIRE here. I’ve been a loyal Holiday Inn fan since I was a kid. My parents honeymooned at
the Holiday Inn in Wichita Falls in ’65 and paid the bill with my mother’s Gulf gas card. We stayed at H.I.’s pretty exclusively on Family Vacations throughout my childhood. San Angelo, Texas Holidome; Navarre Beach, Florida Holidome (where they filmed “Jaws”;) Holiday Inn High-rise Austin Town Lake; Holiday Inn San Antonio Mercado; all paid with Gulf gas cards. I had the Playskool Holiday Inn and it was my favorite toy as a kid. I still have it and am still loyal to the brand. I get the sentimentality for sure. ❤
My parents retired a few years ago and had big plans to use the over 400,000 IHG points they accumulated through regular stays (over 600 lifetime nights). Sadly they expired without any notice. My dad called and wrote multiple emails and even sent a letter, but they denied his request to have the points reinstated. It was a disappointing ending for them as they were loyal HI/HIE guests for years.