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Four Seasons doesn’t reward guests with loyalty points. I have outlined the reasons for the lack of a loyalty program below, and just before you ask, no Four Seasons is not part of any other loyalty program either, so it’s not part of Marriott Bonvoy rewards, Hyatt, Hilton, Accor, IHG or any other loyalty program.
There have been rumors wafting about regarding a consumer Four Seasons loyalty program for years. The truth is that none of these rumors have come to fruition. At least not yet! The only way to get loyalty style benefits is to book through a high-end travel agency like our own luxury travel concierge.
Our concierge prices are identical to the offers on the Four Seasons website, but when you book with us, you will also benefit from our official Four Seasons partner agency perks, which are added in for free. We are not cheaper than the FourSeasons website, we are the same price, but the free perks we offer (outlined below) are massively valuable.
We offer similar free upgrades, free breakfasts, and free perks at other luxury hotels, including Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria, Hyatt, Andaz, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, InterContinental, and more.
There is a way to get cheaper nights at Four Seasons hotels. Your best bet is to book a 3-for-2 free night offer or to book out of the main season when they discount some of their hotels quite heavily.
For example, you can book Four Seasons Grand Hotel Du Cap Ferrat (pictured above) in November, just before it closes, or March, just after it opens for less than half the price of a summer stay. It may rain in November or April, but a stay at a Four Seasons hotel is always fantastic, even in the rain!
So, returning to the main focus of this article, I now share ten reasons why Four Seasons doesn’t reward guests via a loyalty program.
1. Four Seasons Already Has An Unmatched Brand
Hotel chains offer loyalty programs to attract regular guests to properties within their portfolio, both to hotels they have already stayed at and to new hotels under the same brand. Four Seasons hotels are the best in the world so Four Seasons already has a strong brand. So strong, in fact, that it does not need to offer loyalty points to keep guests loyal. Once you have stayed in a Four Seasons hotel, I’m sure you’ll understand what I mean and will, like me, keep returning. Four Seasons attracts guests regardless of whether or not they offer loyalty points.
2. Four Seasons Offers Better Service
Why do people keep returning to Four Seasons hotels even though there is no loyalty program? One of the main reasons is their service. The service across Four Seasons hotels is almost faultless. Speaking both as a guest and an agent, we rarely, if ever, get complaints from Four Seasons guests. Any problems are handled quickly and efficiently. The staff genuinely cares whether you have a good stay. They care so much that they learn your name. And this is one of the many features that keeps customers loyal.
3. Four Seasons Are Consistently Excellent
You can rely on the quality of decor, services, amenities, and overall experience at Four Seasons hotels. You do not have to worry whether a property you are destined to visit is tatty or not well maintained. Your room and all the communal areas at any Four Seasons hotel or resort will be consistently excellently maintained, so you don’t need to think when you choose to stay at a Four Seasons. You know it will not disappoint you and will be an excellent choice. Customers remain loyal as they know they will have an excellent stay with no nasty surprises.
4. Four Seasons Beds
Have you ever arrived at a hotel only to find the bed you are sleeping in is not to your liking, too hard, too soft, the pillows may not be the sort you like and are used to, and god forbid, the linens may not be completely fresh? Well, you don’t have this concern across Four Seasons hotels as their cleaning protocols mean the room you arrive in will be immaculate, and the mattress will be both expensive and superbly comfortable. I have never had a bad night’s sleep at a Four Seasons hotel, and that alone is a brilliant reason to be loyal to the Four Seasons brand, even without the incentive of points or rewards.
5. Four Seasons Stops You Making a Mistake
Some online forums attract luxury travelers who like to complain about Four Seasons hotels. They moan that Four Seasons hotels are not quirky enough and don’t always embrace local cultures as much as brands like Aman Hotels.
This may be true, but these travelers are losing the point of a Four Seasons hotel. Four Seasons offers a consistent, reliable level of luxury on a scale unmatched by any other brand. Yes, some Aman hotels may be more unique, and some boutique hotels may offer more local ambiance and quirky features, but this is not why you book into a Four Seasons.
You book a Four Seasons for the high level of luxury, a reliably excellent hotel, excellent service, and consistent product in the rooms and the communal areas, and you book into a Four Seasons for an excellent night’s sleep. You are booking a home away from home where you will always feel comfortable and cared for. Most travelers will stay loyal to a hotel that provides them with this level of homely comfort. They don’t need points to attract them as the experience is enough of an incentive for them to book.
Yes, other hotel options may be more quaint and charismatic, but you risk rooms that may be badly maintained, and doest match the pictures you found online, and you don’t know what you might get. From my experience, non-Four Seasons hotels have thrown me with disappointing experiences, including kid’s crayon drawings on the walls, cracked bathtubs, dirty sinks, sticky surfaces, and sometimes downright odd breakfasts and room layouts. You can avoid making a mistake by booking into a Four Seasons.
6. Loyalty Programs Can Attract Guests That Don’t Want To Stay
Many loyalty rewards programs like Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt cater to business travelers who stay at mid-range Marriotts on business and then use the points to buy themselves a “free” vacation stay. Equally, canny credit card point collectors can rack up huge volumes of loyalty points by spending on their credit cards. They consequently spend these points on stays at hotels, usually for leisure and sometimes for business too.
Although this is a good thing, it does mean that if you aren’t an avid point collector or a heavy business traveler, you will have to spend your dollars on a stay at a Marriott hotel where others are simply burning their loyalty points. Even top-end Marriotts and Ritz-Carlton hotels will let you spend your Marriott Bonvoy points at their hotels. This means that guests may not want to stay at that specific hotel and are instead choosing to stay at that hotel because the stay is free.
At Four Seasons, everyone is a paying customer. Everyone wants to stay at that Four Seasons hotel. There’s no one staying there on loyalty points, and no one is just using up their loyalty points to stay there. There is also no one staying there when they don’t really want to on a loyalty mattress run.
The typical Four Seasons clientele stay because of the outstanding service and amenities and are less concerned about price or points, so Four Seasons does not need to offer an additional loyalty program.
7. Loyalty Point Collecting Can Take The Joy Out Of A Stay
Loyalty programs might even take some of the joy out of some guest’s stays. People can get bogged down in collecting and spending points and can end up at hotels that are not their first choice. Then when they book their stay on points, guests are often charged extra for breakfast, a decent room, an extra bed, etc. The overall experience can be bittersweet. Yes, your night is free, but being nickel and dimed on the extras and being allocated to a base room can be disappointing.
At Four Seasons hotels, people really, truly want to be there. They are there regardless of whether Four Seasons has a loyalty program or not. They don’t need to worry about earning and burning points and maintaining status during their stay. They live in the moment and enjoy their stay for what it is—a brilliant experience. There is something to be said for such simplicity in travel.
8. Four Seasons Partners With Advisors Rather Than Offering Points
There have been rumors for years about launching a loyalty program, but the truth is that Four Seasons doesn’t have one and doesn’t need one. Rather than offering a few cents or pence back on every dollar or pound spent to eventually generate enough loyalty points for a free night, they partner with luxury travel advisors who recommend their hotels and offer their clients free benefits when they book with the advisor.
These travel advisors, like our own concierge, are delighted to share privileges at all Four Seasons hotels and resorts with clients who make bookings with them.
9. The Official Line
The official line on why Four Seasons doesn’t have a loyalty program can be found below, from a Skift article with Four Seasons’ CEO in 2014:
“Our view of our guests and certainly our feedback from our guests is they’re far less concerned about accumulating points to be redeemed for rewards as they are in a position where they’re recognized, and we understand their preferences and can serve them in that highly personalized way they’ve come to expect.”
10. My Thoughts
Four Seasons doesn’t want or need to cheapen or damage its brand by offering loyalty points. There isn’t another more consistent luxury hotel brand with such a large volume of rooms and properties.
There’s no loyalty program for Porsche cars, and they sell well. The same goes for Prada or Gucci. People buy these products because they want them. People stay in Four Seasons hotels because they want to.
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