How does EVT treat you as an elite?

[jackthomas]

Might be speaking into a void here- but figure we could see how other EVT elites are treated per other chains/groups.

To kick things off- 2 recent stays

Property: QT Gold Coast
Status: Gold
Room booked: King Oven View
Room upgraded/type: King Ocean View deluxe
Room Rate: $290 a night.
Early check in/late out: early check in at 11am- no late check out needed
Welcome drink: wasn’t offered despite benefit

Great staff, nice renovations and great views while the air show was on. Gold dining benefits offered, although strictly adhered to needing to be dining per T&C’s - other hotels also given to me with just drinks.

Property: The Oval Hotel (Adelaide)
Status: Gold
Room booked: Parkland King
Room upgraded/type: Parkland King
Room Rate: one night- $320.
Early check in/late out: neither necessary
Welcome drink: Sparkling, red or white. Sparkling was tolerable.

Liked the restaurant, obviously the atmosphere being inside the stadium is great. Nice hotel, good staff, great location being a bit out of the city.

 

[Buzzard]

An EVT Black, I get mixed recognition.
Always get 50% off dining at participating properties. At Kennigo BNE I've had check in as early as 9ish to being asked to pay ($30?). Recently at Kennigo the latest check out I could get was noon, only to get a call to my room at 11 reminding me that it's check out time . Overall I'm happy with how I get looked after.

 

[jackthomas]

Would be interested in your broader experience as black, QT hotels are my favourite, but I don’t dedicate a large percentage of my hotel spend to EVT due to the pretty lazy status recognition.

 

[SYD]

Didn’t most give up on EVT after Rydges exited? Although, QTs aren’t bad.

Ironically, my EVT card and Discovery card both have the same Rydges number.

 

[CaptJCool]

How you get treated begins to be a case of repeatable stays and getting to know the staff there

Lots of mistakes happen at their end

The nightly rate mentioned above are way beyond what I would pay (limit say 200-240 per night) however, regularly looking to pay no more than $140 per night.

Free room nights are pivots to avoid higher weekend rates and heavily booked periods… and I switch and swap between various places to avoid the “loyalty” tax plus it’s a constant cancel and rebook for a lower nightly rate.

So I usually combination
Weekly rates are much better

So given the points earnt as a Black member, somewhere around 4-5 nights paid for a free (150 points stay)

Work the system on this
Rare are the room upgrades
Rarer the early check-ins
Hens teeth of late checkouts (got told in one place the room staff go home at 3pm!)

$25 daily credits
$10 skip the room clean for the night
Welcome drink cards
50% discounts
All this list mean you can eat & drink for next to nothing

If there’s no daily credit, go eat elsewhere

 

[Buzzard]

Black is now by invitation.
When you could earn it, it was pretty easy to get, 5 stays by memory.
I like EVT even without the GHA recognition. EVT have regional properties that suit +1 and I, for example Albury, Bathurst, Armidale and Tamworth. Sydney airport although on the pricey side is also handy for us. We don't live in SYD so it works for us when flying out of or into there. QT Newcastle is brilliant IMO.
Unfortunately free nights are no longer 150 points, it varies by property.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I gave up on EVT when they made the last lot of changes; far lower value than before.

 

[oz_mark]

Didn’t most give up on EVT after Rydges exited? Although, QTs aren’t bad.

Ironically, my EVT card and Discovery card both have the same Rydges number.

Rydges are very much a part of EVT Stays.

EVT Stays and Discovery had the same number by design at the time they were issues.

 

[CaptJCool]

Rydges are very much a part of EVT Stays.

EVT Stays and Discovery had the same number by design at the time they were issues.

Can’t say I’ve ever heard of Discovery

Chaining up a set of what likely once were independent hotels ergo corporitisation does come with benefits of economies of scale, shared resources and so overall a lower cost base

 

[oz_mark]

Can’t say I’ve ever heard of Discovery

Called GHA Discovery these days (renamed about the time Rydges left GHA)

 

[esquire]

QT Newcastle, QT Canberra, QT Perth are great and treat EVT Black well. QT Sydney is a good place to use a free night - and use the dining discount on expensive wine and food. (Expiring points is the biggest issue for me!)
Rydges are highly variable - some very average (NT, Northern Qld) , others very good. Quite like the Atura brand as well as the Independent hotels in Adelaide.

 

[QfHrGr]

Called GHA Discovery these days (renamed about the time Rydges left GHA)

Rydges was never in GHA. The 2 loyalty schemes joined up, staying separate but shared membership- Rydges loyalty was called PGR and Discovery (Global Hotels ) and you could stay at either hotel group and get reciprocal tier benefits. It was rather coughbersome but quite handy at the likes of the much more expensive Pan Pacifics and Parkroyals. Earn top tier in PGR quite cheaply (I think 10 stays or 30 nights) and be top tier GHA as a result getting suite upgrades and lounge access at the Pan Pacs and Parkroyals. It was wonderful. In those days some Rydges also had club lounges - Capital Hill ACT, World Square and Amora (Margaret St since left the Rydges brand) in Sydney. I can't recall when the Wentworth in its period of insanity was badged a Rydges whether the L5 club lounge was operating.
When it started, a PGR member would get automatic membership in GHA with the PGR membership number carried across.
GHA has their own numbers. It must have been an absolute nightmare for the hotels' staff to manage.
Understandably I think it all ended as quickly as it started and by the time PGR was renamed EVT Stays, that partnership was well and truly dead.

 

[oz_mark]

Rydges was never in GHA.

Rydges were absolutely part of GHA, although at the time GHAs loyalty program was just called Discovery. However, you had to choose which program you wanted benefits from - it was one or the other. If you came from the PGR direction (and got a Discovery number that way), you would generally get the PGR benefits.
But you could be a member of Discovery and not PGR, and you would get Discovery benefits.

The partnership dies at the relaunch of Discovery as GHA Discovery.

 

[QfHrGr]

Rydges were absolutely part of GHA, although at the time GHAs loyalty program was just called Discovery. However, you had to choose which program you wanted benefits from - it was one or the other. If you came from the PGR direction (and got a Discovery number that way), you would generally get the PGR benefits.
But you could be a member of Discovery and not PGR, and you would get Discovery benefits.

The partnership dies at the relaunch of Discovery as GHA Discovery.

My experience and recall of the scheme seems to be vastly different to yours.
We never had to opt for one or the other & made full use of both benefits.. An excerpt of an email from Pan Pacific Perth re our upcoming stay in Dec 2014 confirms my take on that;
"As discussed, please be assured that your Rydges PGR R10xx_xx Black status is indeed equivalent to our GHA Black status, and you will enjoy all relevant benefits our black members are entitled to. I would just kindly need to ask that you provide your Rydges membership card at check-in ..."
I also found the email regarding the GHA tie up. Yes you had to opt in to enjoy the GHA benefits (in addition to PGR's own benefits not instead of). It was at no cost to us for benefits at over 400 GHA hotels worldwide so we opted in. Wow what it opened up around the world from being top tier in what was primarily a domestic+NZ hotel loyalty scheme.
"Memories from the corners of my mind ..."

 

[oz_mark]

They two programs were synced up in terms of levels, but if you came from the Rydges PGR direction, Rydges would see you as a PGR member. But iif you were a Discovery member without a PGR number they would see you as a Discovery member.. The published benefits were different between the program.

 

[Buzzard]

After achieving PGR Black and getting Discovery via that route, I got some amazing benefits in Europe as well as the Pan Pacific in MEL.
Up thread I mentioned thinking it was 5 stays to get Black but @QfHrGr you are correct, it was 10 stays.

 

[QfHrGr]

They two programs were synced up in terms of levels, but if you came from the Rydges PGR direction, Rydges would see you as a PGR member. But iif you were a Discovery member without a PGR number they would see you as a Discovery member.. The published benefits were different between the program.

That's right, they were linked but separate loyalty programs so as a PGR member staying at a Rydges you would get the PGR benefit's which were at that time:

• 15% off our best rates online
• 50% off meals and drinks*
• Earn 20 reward points per eligible room night – 150 points redeem a free night
• Complimentary bottle of water or welcome drink
• Late check-out of 6pm

and if you stayed in a Discovery hotel you would get the Discovery benefits which back then was:

• Free bottled water
• Free local newspaper
• Ability to earn local experiences
• Late check-out of 6pm
• Room double upgrade
• In room market amenity
• 24 hour guaranteed room availability

You would not earn PGR points but you would earn points towards "local experiences" which differed between hotels. Some were actually very generous.

I'm going to end my involvement on this side track here and let someone steer it back on thread. I understand the thread is about how EVT treats currently not the way we were. Its been fun Cheers @oz_mark

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

For a last minute booking stay back in December.

Property: Rydges Mount Panorama Bathurst
Status: Gold
Room booked: Deluxe Spa Suite
Room upgraded/type: n/a
Room Rate: $199 a night, including a $25 daily dining credit.
Early check in/late out: no early check in needed- late check out received.
Welcome drink: benefit used at the restaurant
Other comments: Family (2A, 2C) really enjoyed our stay last year. Particularly driving on the famed track a number of times at varying times during our stay. IIRC there was also a further credit offer for not requiring daily housekeeping. Dining discount was honoured.

Interestingly the available rate for this year's same dates is quite similar (without the credits).

Like others, don't really use the EVT chain as much nowadays. It's at the point where the stay points are meaningless because they expire and not enough accrued to even redeem a base reward. At least when planning holidays/getaways the chain gets a look in.. But a more oft-used stay location is the Sydney Airport prior to a morning international departure (recalling member benefits excluded/not provided). But it more about the convenience getting to the airport in a timely manner.