Unpopular opinion: We do not "hack" for hotel points. We don't have a hotel credit card and won't. Are free accomodations nice? Yes. Are they without cost? No.
The Power of Tourism Spend
Tourism is an enormous global GDP contribution - prior to Covid, tourism made up 10% of the global economy and is quickly surging to pre-pandemic levels. We are talking about trillions of annual spend. Travel has a benefit for communities, and some rely almost solely on it, but how we spend our money is significant.
Quick back story - I worked for a couple of years in economic forecasting for a major US carrier. Part of that analysis provided economic impact reports for local cities, especially around airport or frequency increases. Modeling how a dollar from a plane ticket impacts a local community is eye-opening. But those dollars are not equal.
Studies and modeling show us that there is a vast difference in spend at local businesses vs chains. Local businesses retain roughly 70% of every dollar for the community. Global corporations only leave 40% behind. Think about it this way - your three night stay cost $500. If you stay at a local hotel, $350 of that is reinvested into the community. Stay at Hyatt and a mere $200 remains behind. That is a significant difference. Some cities have reacted by implementing a tourist tax. It is not unusual in Europe, espescially Italy, to see a local tourist tax of a few euros per person a night for the first few nights.
Not All Hotels Are Equal
I am not saying that chain hotels are inheritantly bad. They do provide employment and training to locals and pay taxes. Some have made a concerted effort to be more involved in the communities like working with local providers for excursions, food tastings, and tours. For example, Hyatt has a partnership with luxury independent hotels. Boutique style hotels that focus on local culture have also become more common. There are also partnerships between chains and locally owned hotels that provide a mutually beneficial relationships - the brand drives traffic to small hotels in return for a fee paid to be a part of the brand. But others offer a sterile version of travel. The same room design, colors, mattresses, everything. It is our culture, our comfort points imported to our vacation area. And for our family, that isn't why we travel.
Same occasionally goes for the hotel breakfast. First, it is expensive when not included. Hotels that cater to business travelers know that this will be expensed and most people aren't going to bat an eye at a $30 eggs benedict. Some loyalty programs offer included breakfast or a voucher towards breakfast of $10 to $25 to offset the markup. However, if my dish and coffee total $35, then the savings isn't that great. Not to mention, I missed out on an opportunity to visit a local bakery or cafe and the local business owners missed out on my spend.
Staying, eating, and touring local allows you to immerse yourself in the culture. We love hearing from local hosts where they like to eat, swim, and explore. Some of our best restaurant finds have been suggestions for our rental host. One host even hosted us for a local festival that we would have never known about otherwise! We've also built relationships with hosts in areas that we regularly find ourselves in and stay with them again and again. These connections are really invaluable when traveling and exploring.
Booking Local
We use Booking.com pretty regularly because there are so many family run hotels, bed and breakfasts, and rentals. Booking.com has customer service and support in case something goes wrong is more on par with the amenities of a global brand if there are issues. They also have a loyalty program that offers discounts for members. Capital One Shopping and Rakuten regularly have cashback offers, between 4 and 8%, for Booking.com reservations, too, so that is additional money back. For us, it is the best of both worlds because we get the support of a chain, but support small business. If you choose not to book through an aggregator, use it as a resource to look a reviews Book directly with the hotel. Because they save on fees from aggregators, hotels sometimes offer a direct booking discount so it's worth asking.
Vacation rentals are a good option with some caveats. They have caused angst in some areas, driving up prices and forcing out residents, but in other areas it has revived a soft housing market. It is important to make sure your rental is licensed - the number should be included in the description. If not, ask. If you see their house listed on several sites (this is common), price compare or ask the owner what their preferred platform is. Fee structures are different between platforms and many homeowners do have a preference. I've gotten special offers or small extras numerous times by starting the conversation.
To maximise points, use a credit card that gives you transferrable points (Sapphire Reserve and Venture give you 3x and 2x back on your spend, respectively). Go through Delta's AirBnB portal to earn 1:1 Delta miles for every dollar spend (you do not need a Delta card, just a Skymiles number). If you have a Prime card, you can purchase an AirBnB gift card from Amazon and receive 5% cash back rewards. The nice thing about these gift cards is that they are electronic (immediate delivery) and can be made for precise amounts up to $500. AirBnb also offers experiences with locals like cooking lessons, guided tours, and art programs which also supports the community. Vrbo gift cards are a bit more illusive, but cash back rewards through Rakuten and Capital One Shopping are pretty common.
Here are some examples:
I have a $285 AirBnB stay in Rome. If I buy a giftcard with my Prime card, I can get $14.25 cash back. Or I can use my Venture and the Delta portal to give me 285 Skymiles and 570 transferable points for a total of 855 Skymiles. The cash value of Skymiles are about 1.5 cents, slight less than the gift card route, but beneficial if I need to top up my Skymiles.
Or
I am booking a $285 stay on Booking.com. I use the Capital One Shopping app for 8% cash back and my Venture card to earn 2x. The giftcard cash out from Capital One is $22.80 and I earn 570 miles to transfer to an eligible account.
You can add a third layer of rewards by using the hotel spend to make a bonus on a new travel card and
Bottom Line
So many facets of travel are about being mindful and respectful of the communities we enter. Being wise about how we spend our money on the road is no different.
Is there a time and place for those chain points? Of course! I have a legacy IHG account from my finance days when I racked up some points. I have kept it active for when there aren't great local options or when we need to stay close to the airport for an early flight out where chains have a cluster of offerings. And if you are a roadwarrior, no shame in accruing them.
When you do opt to spend those chain points, look for those that offer locally run tours and activities, shop a chain's independent hotel partnerships, and have environmental efforts in place. If you aren't sure, ask!
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