For frequent travellers, holding elite status with a hotel loyalty program has its perks. Not only can priority check-in, late check-out and lounge benefits streamline your stay, but you’ll often enjoy extras like welcome amenities, discounts and upgrades.
When it’s time to renew your status (or if you’re inches away from the next tier) and you’re a few nights or status points short, you may want to consider a ‘mattress run’ to get you across the line.
Effectively, this means booking a hotel for the purpose of accumulating nights, status points, or other rewards. And while it may seem counterintuitive to book a hotel room that you don’t actually need, the benefits of elite hotel status can significantly outweigh the cost of a mattress run for frequent travellers.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide the value of earning or retaining status. But here are some reasons why people go on mattress runs, and how to do it.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
What is a mattress run?
The term ‘mattress run’ refers to booking and paying for a hotel room for the purpose of earning rewards. It’s a strategic exercise whereby the member spends as little as possible in order to maximise rewards.
Much like status runs, which involve flying to obtain or retain status with a frequent flyer program, the rationale behind a mattress run is similar – to earn or retain elite hotel loyalty status.
Hotel status benefits vary across programs and status tiers. But, generally, elite members can enjoy perks such as room upgrades, free breakfast, lounge access, early check in, late check out, and more. For some, being able to unlock these perks is a worthwhile reason for a mattress run.
If you’re close to achieving or maintaining an elite status tier with a hotel loyalty program, then it could be worth booking an affordable mattress run. Many hotel loyalty programs have high tiers such as Platinum or Diamond, with benefits that could make the effort of a mattress run worthwhile.
Mattress runs are only possible at hotels that are associated with a tiered loyalty program, like Marriott Bonvoy, Accor Live Limitless, IHG One Rewards or Hilton Honors, to name a few.
Although not as common, you might consider doing a mattress run to unlock status with an OTA like Expedia, Booking.com or Agoda, which each have their own loyalty programs.
But no matter which program you’re aiming for, you’ll want to keep the cost of your mattress run low while maximising your rewards.
When should you go on a mattress run?
There’s no threshold for going on a mattress run. If you’re close enough to achieving or maintaining the next status tier, and you think you’ll use the benefits over your next membership year, then by all means – a mattress run may be on the cards.
Most hotel loyalty programs reset their membership year every calendar year. So, mattress runs are common in November and December, when customers want to lock in their status for the upcoming year.
As for timing, aim for mid-week stays, when hotel room prices are generally lower. If you absolutely have to go on a mattress run on a Friday or Saturday night, consider booking an affordable property – we cover more on that below.
In short, there’s no perfect time to go on a mattress run. You just need to know when your membership year ends, and ensure you complete your stay before then!
Tips for booking a mattress run
So, you’ve set your sights on hotel status. Whether you’re trying to unlock a new tier, or retain your existing status, here are some tips to get more out of your mattress run.
1. Stay close to home
This one’s a no-brainer: if you’re spending a significant amount of money to travel away from home for the purpose of retaining hotel status, then you could be spending more than you need to on this exercise.
The best way to do a mattress run is to book a hotel close to home, ideally in the same suburb or city where you live, or at most a reasonable drive away.
You could even turn your mattress run into a staycation (significant other and kids optional) and explore a different side of town. If you live outside of the CBD, why not treat that special someone to a night in the city with dinner and a show? Or, if you live metropolitan, why not take the family to the countryside for a weekend? It’s a win for everyone – and you’ll get closer to attaining or retaining your status.
Also read: Beyond a transit hotel: a weekend staycation at Novotel Melbourne Airport
2. Check that the hotel or stay is eligible
While a property may be part of a hotel group, it may not necessarily participate in its loyalty program.
For example, Accor publishes a list of hotels that don’t participate in Accor Live Limitless, while IHG similarly publishes a list of brands participating in IHG One Rewards.
Most hotel chains and properties clarify during the booking process whether your stay will earn points or status nights. If in doubt, you can always call or email the hotel prior to booking to confirm.
You’ll also need to familiarise yourself with the hotel’s terms and conditions to ensure your stay is eligible. For instance, booking a hotel room for daytime use usually won’t count as a stay for the purpose of earning status nights.
3. Book an affordable room or property
To echo point number one – don’t need to spend more than you need to on this exercise. Provided the property participates in the loyalty program and you’re chasing status based on nights, you can simply book the cheapest room. Or, go one better – book an affordable room at the cheapest hotel you can find.
If the tier you’re chasing is based on spend or points, you could get creative by charging a meal or spa treatment to your room or by presenting your membership card before payment. Again, check that these activities are eligible contributions towards your status goal.
4. Choose a program you’ll actually use
Say you’ve already racked up enough nights as a Gold member of a rewards program, and you’re three nights short of Platinum. Or, similarly, you’re a Gold member that’s around a $1,000 spend short of achieving the next tier. In both instances, you’re already engaging with the program enough to hold status. And, unless circumstances change, you’ll engage enough with the program in the coming membership year to find value in higher benefits. So, based on your track record, if you’re actively using the program and intend to do so in the foreseeable future, it could make sense to push a little further with a mattress run.
When it doesn’t make sense to do this is to attain status with a program you don’t actively engage with. For example, if you acquire hotel loyalty through a status match or as a credit card perk, you may need to achieve the usual requirements to maintain your status beyond a certain period. So, if it’s a program you seldom use, it probably doesn’t make much sense to retain status.
5. Take advantage of promotions and offers
Occasionally, hotel rewards programs run promotions that can give a significant boost to your status journey. You might receive bonus nights or bonus status points during promotional periods or for reaching a certain goal (i.e. stay three nights, receive three bonus nights.) Timing your stays with a promotion can inch you closer to elite status – you might not even need that mattress run after all!
Considerations before going on a mattress run
Sure, holding elite status with a hotel chain can be lucrative. But before your stay, it’s important to ask yourself why you need to go on a mattress.
When it comes to earning rewards, we always recommend never spending more than you need to or more than you normally would for the sole purpose of chasing points or status. The same goes for hotel stays.
If you’re spending $750 on hotel stays to unlock the next tier, but you think that you’ll be able to redeem more than $750 worth of value throughout your next membership year – for example, suite upgrades, drinks at a hotel executive lounge, discounts, or free breakfast – then it could make sense to go on a mattress run. If you travel regularly for work or leisure and value benefits like priority check-in or late check-out, then it could make sense to attain a higher status in order to streamline your hotel experience.
But if you don’t travel often, or you regularly stay at properties that don’t actually offer the tier benefits you’ve worked hard to unlock, then it probably doesn’t make sense to go through the effort of a mattress run. After all, why have the perks if you can’t enjoy them?
Summing up
Much like airline status runs, there are rationale behind mattress runs. If you’re inches away from the next status tier and you know the benefits will come in handy for your future travels, then it could make sense to spend a little bit (but not too much) to lock in hotel status for another year.
Mattress runs and, generally, hotel rewards programs, certainly don’t appeal to everyone. But if you know that attaining or retaining hotel status will yield you benefits in future, then a quick mattress run could be your ticket to a comfortable, luxurious getaway.
Featured image: Nik Lanús, Unsplash.
Also read: Where can you earn the most points at hotels in Australia?
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FAQs
Do you need to actually stay at the hotel during a mattress run?
Technically, no. But you do need to physically check in at the hotel and collect your room key for the stay to be counted.
What is the purpose of a mattress run?
The purpose of a mattress run is to achieve or maintain loyalty status with a hotel’s rewards program. Often, hotel loyalty status can unlock valuable rewards like free breakfast, room upgrades, early check in, late checkout, lounge access, discounts, and more. Going on a ‘mattress run’ can help you reach the required nights or spend to achieve or maintain a status tier.
What are the best hotel chains for a mattress run?
Mattress runs are best completed at a hotel chain that has a tiered loyalty program and plenty of properties worldwide. That way, you’ll not only enjoy the benefits of status, but you’ll have plenty more opportunities to do so.
Some popular hotal loyalty programs include Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards and Accor Live Limitless, to name a few.
But, ultiamtely, the best hotel loyalty program is one you’ll engage regularly in .
When travelling in Asia and being able to find cheap room deals (such as A$50 per night), I will sometimes check-in to 2 or 3 hotels in the same city, across the same dates, to help lift my status in multiple hotel programs.
It’s even better if you can take advantage of hotel bonus point offers to increase the benefit.