Carlson Debuts New "Club Carlson" Hotel Loyalty Program

MINNEAPOLIS, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, will officially launch its new hotel loyalty program, Club Carlson(SM), on March 31, 2011.  Formerly known as goldpoints plus(SM), the new program offers members an enriched array of first-class redemption opportunities and enhanced benefits, as well as new vacation options through partnerships with CWT Vacations and Club Med®. To support the launch of Club Carlson, Carlson is offering a "Stay Twice, Earn a Free Night" offer at any of its more than 1,000 branded hotels worldwide – including Radisson®, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson(SM), Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza® hotels. Existing and newly enrolled members who register and then stay twice at a Carlson property during the promotional period between April 15 and June 15 can earn a free night's stay to use by December 31, 2011.  

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"We are pleased to debut Club Carlson, our new loyalty program which is designed to be one of the most rewarding programs in travel and will enable members to enjoy a remarkably fast way to a free night stay," said Heather Passe, vice president, marketing, loyalty and e-commerce, Carlson Hotels.

Redemption:

• Through a partnership with CWT Vacations, Club Carlson will offer U.S. members a choice of hundreds of independent hotels in top vacation destinations including Hawaii, Las Vegas, ski resorts and cruises.  
• Club Carlson has teamed up with Club Med, world specialist of upscale, friendly multi-cultural all-inclusive vacations, to offer Club Carlson members in the U.S. and Canada the ability to redeem points toward stays at any of the 80, all-inclusive Club Med resorts worldwide, including the newly renovated Sandpiper Bay in Port Saint Lucie, Fla.
• Members can redeem points at any of Carlson's 1,070 hotels in 77 countries, including the company's 42 stunning resorts in the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
• To provide members with low point redemption options, Carlson has added 20 new retail and restaurant partners, including Best Buy®, iTunes, Target® and T.G.I. Friday's® restaurants for U.S. members.

Consumer Privileges and Benefits:

• Club Carlson offers  free Internet at all Radisson hotels worldwide and all Carlson hotels in North America.
• The program has no blackout dates on standard rooms.
• Rollover nights allow elite members to roll over extra nights to qualify toward their next year's elite status.
• The new Concierge elite tier provides members with complimentary room upgrades and continental breakfast; early check in and late checkout; a 75 percent point bonus on eligible stays; and starting by mid-year, access to a special Concierge Service line for theater and sports tickets, and reservations at top-rated restaurants anywhere in the world.  

Club Carlson Do The Math Site:

Carlson restructured the program to maximize the speed at which consumers' can earn free nights. Club Carlson launched DoTheMathSite.com, where consumers can easily compare how quickly they can earn free nights at many of the industry's major hotel brands.

Club Carlson app:

To expand its reach to the mobile audience, Carlson is launching a new mobile application on March 31 for iPhone and Android devices, which will feature express booking, personalization options, GPS mapping and the ability to redeem points. The app also links to "Explore Destinations," a best-in-class feature, which stores more than 4.4 million points of interest from local restaurants to tourist attractions. 

Benefit to Small to Medium-Sized Businesses:

A new extension of the loyalty program is specifically designed with small business owners in mind that allows both the individual traveler and the business to earn points for stays.  Business owners can use their points to reduce future travel expense or offer them as employee rewards.

For more information about the new Club Carlson program or the Stay Twice, Earn a Free Night offer, visit www.clubcarlson.com, and its new social sites, clubcarlson/facebook and clubcarlson/twitter, beginning March 31, 2011. To qualify for the offer, members must register at www.clubcarlson.com/freenight and book qualifying stays between March 31 and June 15, 2011, for stays between April 15 and June 15, 2011.  

About Carlson

Carlson is a family-owned, global hospitality and travel company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. Carlson encompasses more than 1,070 hotels, including Radisson®, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson(SM), Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza®; more than 900 T.G.I. Friday's® restaurants; and a majority stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel®, the global leader in business travel management. Carlson operates in more than 150 countries and its brands employ about 170,000 people.  http://www.carlson.com

SOURCE Carlson