Starwood Hotels now offering bonus points for foursquare checkins

The Starwood Preferred Guest program is now offering bonus points and other incentives for checking in at their hotels on foursquare. Starwood Hotels comprises nine hotel brands, including Sheraton, Westin, W, Meridien, St. Regis and Aloft.

Foursquare users who link their SPG account to foursquare are eligible for 250 bonus Starpoints when they make their first checkin at any Starwood hotel between now and July 31. They must have a reservation at the hotel to qualify.

Those users will be entered in a drawing for a five night resort getaway, including airfare. In addition, users checking in before May 31 will be eligible to find a free resort night that will be hidden each day at one of their more than 1,000 hotels worldwide.

The person who checks in the most across all Starwood properties each month will be named the SPG Mayor. They’ll be given the opportunity to share their travel tips and favorite destinations on the Starwood foursquare page.

For almost a year, foursquare users have been able to earn hotel reward points through Topguest at many of the major hotel chains (Starwood was not included). Those points did not require a reservation, so they could be awarded to anyone who visited the hotel, whether they were actually checking in or just getting a drink at the bar. As such, the point awards were typically very small.

By linking the rewards to actual reservations, Starwood is able to make the points and incentives much more attractive. They know that each person they’re rewarding for checking in is a verified hotel guest.

What do you think of the promotion?