Marketing

Hospitality loyalty rewards portfolios expanding

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May 22, 2024

Hotels are expanding the opportunities available to loyalty members, likely in response to increased competition and desire to grow direct bookings and capture more traveler spend.

That's a prime finding of iSeatz's fifth annual State of Loyalty: Hospitality Rewards Report.

Some reward categories are expanding more than others, such as wellness, according to a press release. There was also a notable uptick in sustainability-related rewards and earning and redemption opportunities with vacation rental partners.

This year, 27% of the hotels and hospitality groups in the analysis offered loyalty-integrated sustainability initiatives, compared to just 14% in 2023. Most of the sustainability redemption options focused on allowing members to donate points to sustainability-related organizations or causes.

"Hospitality loyalty programs are the ideal vehicle for delivering value to guests and members and signaling that hotel brands are in sync with their priorities," Andy Hermo, iSeatz COO, said in the release. "The continued growth among sustainability-related rewards reflects travelers' increasing awareness of the ecological impact of their travel choices."

The report's other key finding was that many major hotel brands significantly expanded their earning and redemption opportunities across different brands in their portfolios or with strategic partners. One-third (33%) allow loyalty members to earn points when staying at vacation rental properties this year. A similar percentage (27%) allow members to redeem points earned with the hotel brand for a stay at a vacation rental property or a vacation club under their corporate banner or with a vacation rental partner.

Additional findings include:

• 68% of hotels and hospitality groups provide earning opportunities for dining, up from 55% in 2023.
• 45% now allow members to redeem points for live events, up from 32% in 2023.
• 67% of hotel brands allow members to earn and redeem points for wellness activities, up from 47% last year.