Disappointed because I was upgraded, no chain-smoking, and some IHG insights

I spent a night at the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida, in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India last week. I've reviewed this hotel before, so I'm not going to write about it again. But I was upgraded to a suite (apartment room, as they call it), and I'm disappointed. However, the visit was useful to some extent, and I learned some new stuff. Here's more.

The reason I'm disappointed

I've made it clear earlier, that I'm a big fan of suites...well, who isn't? My only problem with suites is that the larger space results in me spreading my stuff around over a broader area. That means packing up is that much more difficult. Aside of that, I'm truly grateful for the extra space, particularly when traveling with family or a larger group.

The real reason I'm disappointed this time round is, believe it or not, I was hoping to review a standard room. I realise that most folks don't book or get upgraded to the suites at hotels, which is why a review of a standard room is much more useful. 

And while the hotel's website can provide some information, the personalised nature of a review (such as the ones on travel blogs like ours) is more broad based and covers various aspects of the hotel. For instance, the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida's hotel photo gallery includes only 3 pictures out of 7, that relate to standard rooms. The other 4 are from the suites. 

During my previous stay, I'd linked my stay confirmation (booked by my client) to my IHG account, which possibly explained the upgrade. However, that wasn't the case this time round. Yet, they had the room ready, including a welcome letter indicating my membership status and the number of points I had in my account. Clearly, they had done their research, so full points for that!

No chain-smoking

At check-in, I asked for a smoking room, and was told that I could smoke in my room. I assumed this meant that it was indeed a smoking room, but the room itself had no-smoking signs. 

So I called helpdesk to reconfirm the smoking status, when I got this rather strange reply! 

Sir, you can smoke in the room, but no chain-smoking please.

I have to assume that the room itself isn't kosher for smoking, but can handle smoke to some extent. It certainly didn't smell like a typical smoking room. 

Nonetheless, they sent up an ashtray within minutes.

Some insights about IHG

I got chatting with one of the front desk agent when I had some free time in the evening. I enjoy these kinds of interactions, because it helps gauge a hotel's interest in its guests, as well as giving me a chance to understand more about the hotel, the chain, etc. And in general, I've found that (at least in India) hotel employees are normally not aware in detail about a hotel's loyalty program, beyond the obvious.

Well, this time round, I was in for a surprise, as the agent knew quite a lot about IHG Rewards Club. Having found common ground, we got talking. Here are some learnings:

• You can earn 1,000 points before registering for a promotion, if you register during your stay at an IHG hotel. For instance http://ihg.com/accelerate1000 allows you to do this, provided you haven't already registered for the promotion.
• Employees get highly discounted award nights rates; sadly they cannot share these with you. Typical rates for most Indian properties are 5,000 or 10,000 points a night. This, compared to between 10,000 and 30,000 points a night for members depending on hotel category.

IHG's Friends & Family rate

This one I've known for some time, but we've never written about it. There's a family and friends rate such as this or this, that IHG employees are allowed to publicise. The employee may earn a small referral commission for this. Discounts are typically around 8-10% more than usual, when using a F&F rate. 

You'll need to use this form, and going by Internet reports, there's a very small chance that the hotel may ask for verification of employee details. 

However, these are non-cancellable, fully-prepaid rates, and do not earn points or qualify for stay credit. For that reason, I've never used this rate. However, it may be useful to save some money if that's your priority. I searched for random hotels and dates, and here's an example of prices.

Bottom line

Is there one? I'm not sure. I had a pretty good stay at this hotel. I know who Vasant Lad is, as also a few other senior IHG employees. And I think I know what the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida refers to as chain-smoking (I didn't get busted, so I must've done something right).