NASHVILLE, TN ? It is a deal that hotel owners can?t help but embrace, or so goes the thinking. Promus Hotel Corp. and Visa U.S.A. have forged a five-year, multimillion alliance that will produce a Promus Points Visa payment card along with new products, promotions and joint sponsorships. Unlike other co-branding card deals, which can cost hotel owners between 2% and 6% of their revenue, this arrangement will not cost hotel operators anything. Arthur Sidel, director/partner marketing for Promus, said the cost savings for Promus hoteliers will be $1 million collectively the first year. ?The money is going back as pure profit for the hotel,? he said. The Promus Points Visa card allows cardholders to accumulate points that can be exchanged for free nights at any Promus branded hotel including Doubletree Hotels and Guest Suites, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Club Hotel by Doubletree, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Embassy Vacation Resorts. Cardholders earn three points for every dollar charged at a Promus hotel and one point per dollar spent for all other purchases. To encourage use of the new card, members will receive a first-use bonus of 3,500 points, more than 50% of the points required for a free room night. Additional benefits for consumers are a six-month introductory finance rate of 0% and balance transfers of 5.9%, and no annual fee. The Promus and Visa partnership will also expand to include Internet, print and broadcast brand advertising; point-of-sale signage and promotions; and reservations prompting. The companies will also develop cooperative database efforts, travel trend research and travel agency program. Promus said it has a customer base of potentially 6.5 million guests worldwide that it will be looking to target.
