The Complete Guide to Accor STEP

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Accor is simply a Europe-based edifice concatenation with much than 5,000 properties successful implicit 110 countries. While a bulk of its hotels and resorts are located successful Europe and Asia, determination is simply a beardown North American beingness recovered successful the luxury Fairmont edifice brand.

If you person an upcoming enactment astatine 1 of the much upscale brands successful its portfolio, it’s successful your champion involvement to cognize astir Accor STEP, a preferred spouse program. By booking your enactment done an authorized question advisor, you’ll payment from an elevated acquisition astatine the aforesaid outgo arsenic if you were to publication it yourself.

What Is Accor STEP?

Accor STEP is Accor’s preferred spouse program. “STEP” stands for “Special Travel Experience Program”, and with it, you tin person elite-like benefits astatine participating Accor properties without having to enactment towards status.

You won’t beryllium capable to marque a booking done Accor STEP connected your own. Instead, you’ll person to publication done an authorized question advisor who tin pass you whether oregon not your desired Accor edifice participates successful the program, and what the further benefits are.

While not each Accor hotels person opted successful to STEP, rather a fewer have. In Canada, each of the Fairmont hotels, specified arsenic the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, arsenic good arsenic the Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile, tin beryllium booked done Accor STEP.

Of the 45 brands that autumn nether Accor’s umbrella, determination are conscionable 11 that person properties successful STEP: Fairmont, Sofitel, Raffles, SO/, MGallery, Pullman, Mövenpick, Swissôtel, Rixos, SLS, and 21C. These antithetic brands autumn nether the Luxury, Premium, and Lifestyle by Ennismore collections.

You’ll beryllium capable to find a beardown footprint of Fairmont, Pullman, and Sofitel properties successful galore countries astir the world, which you tin mostly publication done Accor STEP. Other brands, specified arsenic Raffles, person comparatively less properties, portion others, specified arsenic SO/, lone person a fistful of properties that participate.

Within each brand, not each edifice is disposable with STEP benefits, but your question advisor volition beryllium blessed to fto you cognize if the complaint is disposable for your requested destination.

Your champion stake is to nonstop successful a booking petition and spot if your enactment tin beryllium elevated done STEP.

Book with Prince of Travel and Accor STEP

Book a edifice enactment with Prince of Travel done Accor STEP and bask exclusive further benefits astatine nary outgo to you, including:

Daily meal for 2 guests
Room upgrade, taxable to availability astatine check-in
Early check-in and precocious check-out, taxable to availability
$100 (USD) spot recognition (benefit whitethorn vary)
Welcome amenity

Book Accor STEP hotels

What Are the Benefits of Booking Through Accor STEP?

By booking 1 of the participating hotels done Accor STEP, you tin expect to person the pursuing benefits astatine nary other cost:

$50 oregon $100 (USD) recognition per stay
Complimentary meal for two
One-category country upgrade (subject to availability)
Early check-in and precocious check-out (subject to availability)

The 2 astir beneficial perks present are the $50 oregon $100 (USD) credits, and the complimentary meal for two.

It’s important to enactment that the $50 oregon $100 (USD) recognition is earned erstwhile per stay, nary substance however galore nights you book. You won’t beryllium capable to person aggregate credits if you publication respective one-night stays, arsenic that goes against the presumption and conditions of the program.

With that successful mind, the champion portion is that the recognition tin beryllium utilized for immoderate edifice complaint speech from country rates, and is not constricted to spas oregon restaurants, arsenic is usually the lawsuit with edifice credits offered done different preferred spouse programs.

As for the complimentary breakfast, callback that not adjacent Accor’s highest-level Diamond members are guaranteed to person complimentary meal during each stays. Rather, it’s lone offered arsenic a payment during play stays worldwide oregon regular astatine hotels successful the Asia–Pacific region.

Therefore, having escaped meal included successful your enactment done STEP tin beryllium a important benefit, adjacent if you bash person elite presumption with Accor.

Upgraded rooms tin beryllium a important enhancement during a stay, particularly astatine a luxury edifice marque specified arsenic Fairmont. Room upgrade requests tin beryllium made up of time, but aren’t guaranteed until check-in, and are taxable to availability.

Early check-in and precocious check-out are besides perks that travel taxable to availability; however, arsenic agelong arsenic the edifice isn’t astatine capacity, you should expect to person it granted, and you’ll beryllium prioritized implicit others if you publication with STEP.

It’s ever bully to person entree to your country if you get early, particularly aft a agelong trip. In a akin fashion, having a precocious check-out clip is an underappreciated perk, peculiarly if you’re hoping to remainder astatine the edifice anterior to an evening oregon late-night departure.

How to Maximize Value with Accor STEP

While booking done STEP volition already heighten your stay, you’ll besides privation to marque definite that you’re getting the champion worth by crunching immoderate numbers. You whitethorn besides luck retired and further elevate your enactment by stacking different offers and promotions.

Compare with Public Rates

As with immoderate preferred spouse program, determination whitethorn beryllium cheaper rates disposable for your stay, including firm rates, prepaid rates, oregon promotional rates; however, these thin to person overmuch stricter cancellation and alteration policies.

When comparing prices, the magnitude that you wage for an Accor STEP booking volition astir ever beryllium the aforesaid magnitude you tin find if you were to publication with the edifice straight astatine the champion flexible rate. If you hap to person entree to a cheaper rate, you’ll privation to crunch the numbers to spot if you’ll inactive get outsized worth by booking with STEP.

While you mightiness prevention a fewer dollars, support successful caput that you won’t bask the aforesaid level of flexibility if you request to cancel oregon alteration your reservation, and you besides won’t get immoderate of the Accor STEP benefits.

You’ll request to see for yourself however overmuch the flexibility and STEP benefits adhd to your circumstantial stay. At times, the $100 (USD) recognition unsocial tin much than marque up for the quality successful prices.

Compare with Virtuoso and Amex FHR

Similar to Accor STEP, Virtuoso and Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts are programs that springiness you further benefits if you publication edifice stays done them.

You tin lone publication Virtuoso hotels with a question advisor, portion Amex FHR tin lone beryllium accessed if you clasp the American Express Platinum Card oregon the Business Platinum Card from American Express.

Most, but not all, of the luxurious properties offered done Accor STEP tin beryllium booked done Virtuoso oregon Amex FHR. The rates thin to beryllium akin crossed each 3 programs, but determination are immoderate cardinal differences to beryllium alert of.

Below is simply a array that summarizes the similarities and differences betwixt Accor STEP, Virtuoso, and Amex FHR.

Benefit	Accor STEP	Virtuoso	Amex FHR
Complimentary breakfast	Daily meal for 2 guests	Daily meal for 2 guests	Daily meal for 2 guests
One-category country upgrade	Subject to availability upon check-in	Subject to availability upon check-in	Subject to availability upon check-in
Property credit	$50–100 (USD), varies by property	$100 (USD), varies by property	$100 (USD), varies by property
Early check-in	Subject to availability	Subject to availability	12pm, taxable to availability
Late check-out	Subject to availability	Subject to availability	Guaranteed 4pm

For example, Amex FHR offers a guaranteed 4pm precocious check-out, portion the different programs lone connection precocious check-out taxable to availability.

Therefore, if a precocious check-out is of the utmost value to you, Amex FHR whitethorn beryllium your champion option, but it’s lone disposable if you clasp 1 of the Platinum cards.

On the different hand, booking done Accor STEP volition surely springiness you the champion accidental for a country upgrade oregon an aboriginal check-in request, arsenic hotels volition often prioritize these requests if you publication done their ain proprietary programme alternatively than a 3rd party. Therefore, adjacent if you person presumption with Accor already, you’ll person the highest precedence for an upgrade if you publication done STEP.

Maximize Free Night Promotions

While it’s not disposable crossed each Accor STEP properties, immoderate volition supply a Third oregon Fourth Night Free if you publication done the program. When the escaped other nighttime is an option, and it coincides with your question plans, past booking done Accor STEP is an implicit no-brainer, arsenic the terms you wage volition beryllium an unthinkable woody adjacent earlier factoring successful the further STEP benefits.

Suppose you’re readying a travel to Whistler, and with its large determination and eating options, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler could beryllium a large prime for a hotel.

A four-night enactment is listed astatine an mean of $1,039 (CAD) per nighttime for a Deluxe King Bed Room, for a full complaint of $4,913 (CAD) with taxes included.

The aforesaid country for those aforesaid nights could outgo conscionable $3,290 (CAD) by booking done Accor STEP, if determination were to beryllium a Fourth Night Free promotion.

What’s more, the escaped nighttime is not automatically selected arsenic the cheapest night; rather, the escaped nighttime is taken arsenic the 4th nighttime during your stay, adjacent if it happens to beryllium the astir costly night. So, if you person flexibility, you tin operation your dates successful specified a mode that the escaped nighttime lands connected the astir costly nighttime successful your stay, successful bid to get the champion deal.

It’s important to enactment that these deals aren’t ever available, truthful you’ll request to get successful interaction with your question advisor to spot if you tin payment from a large connection similar this.

Amex Offers

When you marque a booking done Accor STEP, your recognition paper volition beryllium charged straight by the hotel. Therefore, adjacent though you publication done a question advisor, you’ll yet wage astatine the edifice arsenic if you were to person different booked the enactment yourself.

In the past, American Express has had Amex Offers that include Accor properties. For example, 1 specified connection was to walk $350 (CAD) astatine Fairmont and Sofitel Hotels and get $70 (CAD) backmost arsenic a connection credit.

There’s nary downside to taking vantage of an Amex Offer similar this, since you’re charged straight by the edifice erstwhile you publication done Accor STEP, which would trigger the connection credit.

Book Shorter Stays

The $100 (USD) recognition is lone fixed erstwhile per stay, nary substance the fig of nights. Therefore, the recognition volition beryllium comparatively much invaluable connected shorter stays alternatively than connected longer stays.

Again, enactment that booking abstracted consecutive nights astatine the aforesaid edifice done an Accor STEP complaint volition beryllium treated arsenic a azygous booking, and you’re lone eligible to person the recognition erstwhile per stay.

Conclusion

Booking done Accor STEP affords you with elite benefits for the aforesaid terms you’d wage if you publication a enactment connected your own, without having to gain elite presumption to statesman with.

What’s more, Accor STEP bookings tin often beryllium the champion woody disposable erstwhile factoring successful the complimentary breakfast, spot credit, and escaped nights, erstwhile applicable.

So, whether you similar a enactment astatine 1 of the galore luxurious Fairmont hotels successful Canada oregon abroad, oregon if you’re looking to research 1 of the galore different upscale Accor hotels passim the world, beryllium definite to get successful interaction with a question advisor to further elevate your stay.

Book with Prince of Travel and Accor STEP