Carlson's Free-Night Promotion Could Cost You

When is a free night not really free?

This Carlson promotion for fall stays is a case study in the potential costs of chasing "free."

Offer Details

Between October 2 and December 1, Carlson Club members will earn a free night certificate after completing a two-night stay at a participating Country Inns & Suites hotel, Sunday through Thursday, booked at the Free Night Fall rate. There's no limit to the number of free nights that may be earned.

The free night must be taken between December 15, 2011, and February 15, 2012.

Registration is required, by December 22.

Deal or No Deal

This promotion suffers from a short qualification period and, within that, day-of-the-week constraints.

Another negative: The two-month window to use the free night is awfully narrow.

The biggest downside, however, may be the requirement that bonus-eligible stays be booked at the Free Night Fall rate. In my test bookings, I consistently found lower rates for the same nights and room types.

For example, a search for Los Angeles-area Country Inns, arriving October 17 and departing October 19, displayed results for hotels in Calabasas and Ontario. At the former, the Free Night Fall rate was $119 per night, versus an available AAA rate of $107. And at the latter, the Free Night Fall rate of $91 was trumped by an AAA rate of $81.

Bottom line: While the free night makes for a compelling headline, this promotion is less enticing than it first appears. In particular, travelers should take the time to comparison-shop to be sure they're not overpaying to enjoy that "free" night.

Reader Reality Check

How much extra would you pay to earn a free night?

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Comments

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Wouldn't pay anything extra. I dislike their hotels. And Carlson has operated in a steel bubble for over a decade.Only recently have they improved their recognition program.Wonder what took them 15 years to smell the coffee?
Previously they had no recognition program. One would just earn points for staying and be ignored in their hotels no matter how much you spent in a year. This is amongst the most clueless companies in history of loyalty being run by folks that had no business being in their jobs.
One day they are going to do something unconditional and folks will actually want to get on board and stay with them consistently. Hopefully in the next 40 years I'm still alive to see it
If there is one thing that has any hope for Carlson it is the Radisson Blu previously SAS Radisson. It’s a great hotel brand. I hope they can create the great service and superior lodging value that they have created in Europe. However they need to study every major program and one up them not be one third as good!lol so much for the new promotion what a dud.They would have to pay me to particpate
Cheers

Posted by: don | 09/27/2011 at 09:30 AM

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