Hotels

Companies + Loyalists could benefit from Virtual Mattress Running

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Companies + Loyalists could benefit from

Virtual Mattress Running

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, but why wouldn’t cash strapped hotel chains offer this as an option? It could provide much needed cash flow, retain loyalty, enhance future status, and ease pressure on the small business owners that operate many of our favorite hotels. If you don’t know what I’m talking about I’ll break it down quickly, and why I think Hotels should allow Virtual Mattress Runs.

What’s a Mattress Run?

A mattress run is where you check-in to a hotel with no intention of actually staying at the hotel. This could be for a night, a week, etc, but you’re purely doing it to hit an elite status threshold. You’re still paying the rate, and physically checking into the hotel ( or having someone else on your reservation check-in), but often times these are local hotels that you may check in for a week, turn around and go home.

What’s a virtual mattress run?

This would be where you never physically show up at the hotel. There are many hotels that allow in-app check in without ever going to the front desk. You can even get in and out of your room via Bluetooth.

This is something that hotels do not encourage and often times will result in a no show charge without any credit being given.

Why I think hotels should allow virtual mattress running

Multiple months of travel have been completely shut down, and businesses are looking for ways to not only turn a profit, but simply stay afloat. Who really cares if people are using the program to inflate their elite status if it generates cash flow when no other sources are available. Let’s take a look at a few ways this would help not only the company, but also loyalists looking to boost their status through spend.

As an aside, I think this is something that would need to be clarified prior to check-in so hotels are aware of the virtual check-in and can plan accordingly.  If hotels are aware that guests have no intention of checking in, and have agreed to not check-in during booking, hotels can manage flow and still rent rooms, potentially even show temporary over capacity if virtual bookings coincide with peak demand.

Cash Flow for the chain and operator

Virtual Mattress Running would not only generate cash flow for Hyatt ( They get 5% royalty), but more importantly, the small business owner that has franchised the establishment generates cash flow to keep them afloat. Since no one is even checking into the room

Notch up in Elite status

Right now I’m currently Explorist with Hyatt, but if I were allowed to virtually check in and add nights to my status I would seriously consider “virtually” checking into some affordable Hyatt Place/Hyatt Houses in various parts of the country. This would not only generate cash flow for Hyatt ( They get 5% royalty), but more importantly the small business owner that has franchised the establishment generates cash flow to keep them afloat.

Make Virtual Check-in Non Refundable

This seems like a fair concession since you’re effectively buying status via nights and aren’t looking for occupancy anyways. It also means that businesses can rely upon that cashflow

Credit Cards already sell Elite Nights, or grant elite status, but Franchisees miss out on revenue

Marriott has already double its Elite Night credits for personal and business card holders to 30 nights, the World of Hyatt allows you to straight up buy Globalist via spend, and cards like the Amex Platinum and Aspire give Hilton Gold and Diamond status respectively.

If you allow guests to virtually check-in, you’re again throwing cash flow to operators vs the big banks that profit off credit card purchases. However, you could utilize your branded hotel credit cards for the virtual stays to accelerate status

Maybe create Virtual Night Warrants 🙂

Allow the ability to convert, much like you’ll find in finance that gives the virtual night holder the ability to buy at a certain price, but if they want to convert it down the road to a night where they can check-in they could for do so…for a cost, or even discount on the Best Available Rate.

Virtual Nights could keep people employed longer/facilitate SBA loans

If the operator is able to maintain cashflows, but without the obligation to maintain facilities as if customers were occupying them, they may be able to keep the lights on longer and employees on the payroll ( potentially at a furlougehd/reduced rate). Combine this with SBA loans that may be wholly forgivable, and it could help buoy business through this downturn.

Recap

I doubt any of this will actually be put into practice, but much like my article on why airlines should roll back their loyalty programs to 2015, I’m not overly optimistic when it comes to a massive rebound in travel. I think, by en large, people are going to be gun-shy towards travel, crowded spaces, and staying in places that are known to show weird things under a blacklight.

These are extenuating circumstances, and travel geeks like myself, and probably you if you’re reading this, are a group of clientele that would actually make use of programs like this, and will probably be the first to test the waters of travel again once the world gradually opens up again.

Extraordinary policies are something that should be investigated in addition to the extension of status, lower requirements, and more traditional programs chains are already introducing.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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9 Comments

  • WB April 9, 2020

    I actually did this by accident last year. I digitally checked-in to my room but never made it to the hotel. My card got charged but I got the points. Don’t need to do it for this year…we’re all extended thru 2022 but it’s a great way to gain some nights if you need it in the future.

  • Christian April 8, 2020

    Huge props on an original idea. I do think that there would be a mad rush to “stay” at the cheapest Hyatts worldwide, which would cause a price war that would continually escalate. Obviously, costs on a stay that will never happen are low, but if the Hyatt Place Tulsa has rooms for $54 and everyone piles on, then some other property may very well offer a $49 rate to get the same giant surge of income. At a certain point this becomes really counterproductive. $15 a night, anyone?

  • J.J. April 8, 2020

    Why not just sell hotel status nights for $50 a piece, or whatever rate you want. Solves the same thing without involving a hotel. You could even split the profits between owners.

  • Too Many April 8, 2020

    Why would elites that have their status guaranteed for another year (through 2021) be interested or willing to shell out their own money for some stay credits that they won’t need due to the 2021 extensions? Anyone doing this would almost be guaranteed to be doing it on their own dime because no company is going to approve an expense report for a hotel room when there is no actual travel. Hotels will not likely let these nights rollover either, since it would basically provide an out for anyone when travel restrictions are lifted and they can go elsewhere. I suppose if a hotel is desperate enough would turn a blind eye, but the problem with this idea isn’t supply, it’s demand. Literally everyone is in belt tightening mode, so again, who’s gonna want to splurge on something when it’s already given.

  • Enjoy Fine Food April 8, 2020

    Love the Monkey! Great creativity!

  • Gerry Darnell April 8, 2020

    Very clever idea. It will become more attractive the longer the virus limits travel.

  • Paulz April 8, 2020

    Any other year this might be an interesting idea, but we all have our status to 2022. The only reason to mattress run is to increase status, which is dumb in this environment.

  • Hal April 8, 2020

    The problem with this is, there will be a fight for hotels in the same rewards group to be the cheapest in the world , even if by $1. Since people from everywhere would be booking there. I could build a 20 room Hyatt place but sell out 100 rooms a night on this.

    • Enjoy Fine Food April 8, 2020

      Since we are talking about “virtual mattress running,” we really wouldn’t even have to build the 20 room Hyatt Place. We could open tonight. We just need a nice website — a virtual paradise — and the ability to process bookings at $1 less than any cheap Hyatt competitor. I smell a sell-out and 5 Stars on Trip Advisor.

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