Get Extra Perks With Shangri-La Luxury Circle: How To Book With A Travel Advisor

Several hotel groups have preferred partner programs for travel agents, like Accor Preferred, Belmond Bellini Club, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hilton for Luxury, Hyatt Privé, Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, Marriott STARS, Oetker Collection Pearl Partner, Peninsula PenClub, and Rosewood Elite.

One of the lesser known programs is Shangri-La’s Luxury Circle program, which was first launched back in 2016. In many cases this offers better benefits for Shangri-La stays than what’s offered through other programs. In order to take advantage of this you’ll have to book through an eligible travel agent.

What amenities does Shangri-La Luxury Circle offer?

Luxury Circle offers the following amenities at all Shangri-La and Kerry properties:

• Upgrade to the next room type category at the time of booking, subject to availability
• Hotel credit of $100 USD (or 10% of average daily room rate, whichever is higher), per stay
• Complimentary full breakfast for two, including in-room dining
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• Welcome amenity

As you can see, Luxury Circle perks are generous — an upgrade of one category at the time of booking is a perk that only a handful of properties offer through programs like Virtuoso, as a point of comparison. Rooms are upgraded to the next room category within 24-48 hours of booking, if the room is eligible and the next category up is available at the time of booking.

Many Shangri-La properties have nightly rates in the low $200s, which makes a $100 hotel credit for a one night or short stay a fantastic value. For guests whose average daily rate exceeds $1,000, which isn’t hard to do at a property like the Shangri-La Paris, the one-time hotel credit will actually increase with the average rate.

As far as breakfast goes, Luxury Circle offers full breakfast for two guests daily, including via in-room dining — that’s tough to beat!

What rates qualify for Shangri-La Luxury Circle bookings?

The Shangri-La Luxury Circle rate is the same as the best available rate, which is typically the flexible or refundable rate, and carries a standardized cancellation policy that is unique to each hotel.

While Luxury Circle rates aren’t published publicly and cannot be booked directly by guests through Shangri-La channels (more on that below), you can most easily determine the rate by checking the best available rate online.

As far as upgrades go, not all room categories are eligible for upgrades, but many of the base room types generally are, and a travel advisor affiliated with Luxury Circle should be able to advise which room types are eligible.

What hotels can you book with The Luxury Circle?

Luxury Circle rates are available only at Shangri-La and Kerry properties, and are not available at Traders and Hotel Jen properties. You can find a full directory of Shangri-La properties here.

How can you book Shangri-La Luxury Circle rates?

In order to have access to the above amenities, guests must book Luxury Circle rates through an affiliated travel advisor. If you want to check the rate yourself, Luxury Circle rates should be the same as the best available rate published online by the hotel.

If you’re already working with a Virtuoso advisor, they likely have access to or are already affiliated with Luxury Circle. If you need a travel advisor or would like to check rates, Ford and his team are happy to help, and can be reached at [email protected].

There is one way to make Shangri-La Luxury Circle stays directly online, though it still (sort of) uses a travel advisor. Specifically, the TravelWits portal lets you book Shangri-La Luxury Circle rates directly. You’re still booking through a specific travel advisor’s platform, but it’s great to be able to compare rates.

These portals do have to be password protected, so if you’d like to use Ford Beckett Travel’s portal, you need to email [email protected] to request the password. From there, you can easily book these reservations on your own.

Bottom line

Shangri-La’s Luxury Circle program offers extra perks for stays at Shangri-La properties, including complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade, and a property credit. While the exact details will vary by property, this is a phenomenal opportunity for any Shangri-La booking. Shangri-La has some world-class hotels, especially in Asia.