Wyndham has announced their intention to sell hotel chain Knights Inn to RLH Corporation (Red Lion) for $27 million. Starting May 2nd, 2018 Knights Inn will no longer be part of the Wyndham Rewards program.
- Members can continue to earn Wyndham Rewards points for Qualified Stays at Knights Inn hotels with check-in dates on or before May 1, 2018 and checkout dates on or before May 10, 2018. Members may also redeem Wyndham Rewards points at a Knights Inn hotel between now and May 1, 2018.
- Beginning May 2, 2018, members who check-in to a Knights Inn hotel will no longer earn Wyndham Rewards points for any nights of that stay, nor will they be able to redeem points at Knights Inn locations.
- Members may continue making reservations at Knights Inn hotels for stays with check-in dates after May 1, 2018, but should do so with the understanding that those reservations will no longer earn Wyndham Rewards points. Go free and go fast awards with check-in dates on or after May 2, 2018 should be honored, however, as of May 2, 2018, you may no longer book additional award nights.
- Subject to the above, any existing reservations you have at a Knights Inn will be honored.
In total there are 350 Knights Inn hotels across North America and another 47 hotels worldwide. I doubt this will really affect most readers (apart from those doing mattress runs), but interesting to note regardless.
Hat tip to Loyalty Traveler & Travel with Grant (via e-mail)
Good riddance. I wouldn’t waste 15,000 points on one of those, anyway.
I actually liked Knights Inns when they were new in the late 1980s into the 90s! The ones I stayed at in Ohio & Indiana were comfortable. Also, I like purple, while some people don’t. But nowadays?! Forgettaboudit! The ones I drive by look like dumpy independent hotels that have been re-branded!
It is surprising to know that the hotel chain Knights Inn would be sold to RLH Corporation (Red Lion) for $27 million and that will no longer be included in the Wyndham Rewards program. Though I do not have an interest in that, that simply caught my attention as we often pass by that place. However, that suddenly reminded me of our plan to buy an inn because we need that as an additional investment for my grandfather. We will definitely start scouting around for that as the need for my grandpa is urgent.
Shrug
good move for Wyndham to give away this blight on the chain. Had been tempted a few times to use KI properties for actual-stay “mattress runs” — but the reviews were invariably so bad, I’d pass…. KI won’t be missed. Next on the WR pruning list might be HoJo’s. avg. age may be what, 60 years or more? (and too often it shows badly)
International hojo’s aren’t bad in my experience. I did 4 days at one in Argentina that I would probably go back to. Your point is well taken tho, KI is just plain scary.
I’ve stayed in a Knights Inn once in my life. ONCE.
It was right off the freeway (somewhere in Indiana) and the walls and door were so thin I could see the walls get sucked out as the big semi trucks drove by, then flex back into shape after. The gap around the door would grow and shrink with the freeway traffic.
I don’t remember what I paid but it was too much. I’d never stay in one again. No big loss, Wyndham!
Same here, ONCE, but mine was in Tuscon. I do think there may be some value to the real estate in places like Tuscon, but not so much in Indiana.
If you can turn it back into a cornfield, there is.
27 million for the whole chain of 397 hotels worldwide? That’s 68k for each inn; must be some really major business that this chain brings in!
Yeah, that was pretty surprising for me too. $27M is pretty cheap for a decently well known motel chain..
The buyer is probably taking over a whole bunch of debt or other liabilities from the seller.
And yet — there might be a different logic at work. Reminds me of when KMART “bought” Sears…. In the end, it was a giant real-estate play, to strip them of remaining “service” all the while selling off the (often quite well located) land beneath the B&M.
Keep in mind they don’t actually own the properties, just manage them.
I’ve never stayed at a Knight’s Inn, but that’s only because of how disgusting the Knight’s Inn properties I’ve seen are, and that’s just from the outside. There’s one in Clearwater, Florida which is an obvious halfway house, and one in Southington CT which was beyond belief — one entire building was abandoned with no power/electric and windows smashed out. The remaining building had electric and some lighting, but many broken windows that were boarded up, swimming pool was green. It would have made for a perfect setting for Dan Bell’s Another Dirty Room program.
Oh man… the hits just keep on coming. What’s next? A Red Roof Inn devaluation? My heart can’t bear it anymore. 😉
lol!
This actually killed a planned mattress run for me. SPG really is the only hotel program with any value& I have a feeling Marriott will be killing that off this year :-/
Wat.
Their stay twice & get a free night promo worked with knights inn. I have a local one here that was $29/night… in May. I’d never stay there, but I’ll check in to get a free night in an actual Wyndham hotel in Boston or wherever that runs $300/night.
IHG points are basically worthless & they gutted their annual free night benefit. Hilton points are lol. Wyndham also just devalued it’s points + cash rates to uselessness… Starpoints next?
Concur with your lament…. Yet what’d I miss — the reference to WR devaluing its P&C rates….?
Oh no!!! What will I do for my vaca in Wichita?
eat at White Castle? The logo almost looks the same.