IHG acquired the majority of a small chain of Regent Hotels in 2018 (read more here), and they became a loyalty program participating in early 2019 (read more here).
IHG essentially runs three partially separate programs of IHG Rewards Club (for all brands), InterContinental Ambassador (paid plan for InterContinentals), and Kimpton Inner Circle (only applicable to Kimpton).
You can access IHG’s page for elite benefits here.
READ MORE: IHG Rewards Club Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
InterContinental has a higher invitation-only Royal Ambassador (RA)-status that requires spending above $10,000 in a calendar year to get an invitation. IHG decided to include spend at Regent and Kimpton brands (read more here) towards RA last year.
IHG also now allows Ambassador members to use their free weekend night vouchers (second night free) for stays at Kimpton hotels, including stays midweek (read more here).
UPDATE: We have now received the following clarification from the IHG spokesperson:
InterContinental Ambassador is pleased to announce that from 30th July 2020, Ambassador will be extended to Regent Hotels & Resorts on a trial basis until 31 December 2021, excluding Greater China. The Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night was recently extended to Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and as of 30 July 2020 will be further expanded to include Regent Hotels & Resorts valid any day, excluding Greater China. IHG® Rewards Club and InterContinental Ambassador information pages are currently being updated to reflect these changes along with member communication.
This means that three Regent hotels in Berlin, Porto Montenegro, and Singapore will honor Ambassador benefits from July 30. The Regents in Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing won’t.
IHG has now added Regent Hotels under InterContinental Ambassador:
Note that there is an asterisk (*) but nothing on the page that it could refer to. Also, there is not a word of Ambassador benefits (beyond standard IHG Rewards Club) on the Ambassador program terms and conditions (access here) when staying at Regent.
Conclusion
I have requested clarification from IHG when Regent Hotels became part of the Ambassador-program (now that they are included on the befits page).
Logically, Ambassador benefits would be extended to both Kimpton and Regent if their spending already counts towards the Royal Ambassador-qualification. Let’s see how long it will take to integrate Six Senses as a new brand that would fit the Ambassador-program far better than the IHG Rewards Club.
IHG needs a complete revamp of its guest loyalty programs (more of that next week) that don’t drive loyalty at all compared to Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott.
