Understanding the basics: Why do hotel brands and booking companies have various schemes to attract loyalty?
Today the hotel industry is a very competitive one so it is no surprise that competition is rife amongst the hotel chains and online booking websites alike in competing for your business. Whether it is hotel chains offering airline style loyalty status programs whereby perks and privileges can be attained or airline and booking website schemes which offer points, ’secret prices’ or even reward night redemptions these programs are a sure way to entice the consumer into brand loyalty.
Should you sign up to multiple programs and use more than one rewards scheme?
The answer to this question isn’t necessarily black and white. We’d always recommend that its never a bad idea to be signed up to too many reward programs as long as they don’t cost anything or require any obligation as been spoilt for choice for options and competitive pricing is never a bad thing.
The more difficult question to answer however is whether you should go all out in just subscribing to one program or spreading your loyalty over multiple programs. If you become heavily invested in subscribing to one particular rewards program or loyalty scheme you’ll certainly rack up perks and privileges faster although if you are always after the best price and prefer to frequent a range of different hotels it may be better using multiple schemes in the interests of securing better prices or more universally applicable benefits.
The 3 Main Rewards Schemes
Direct Hotel Chain Loyalty Programs
These schemes are generally operated by major hotel groups themselves and typically require booking Hotels directly through the hotel group itself. Hotel reward schemes are designed to attract loyal and repeat customers to that hotel group’s portfolio of properties and in returns offer status schemes that can unlock a variety of privileges and perks for the members particularly as their status increases. Similar to an airline points scheme members often get exclusive access to things like complimentary room upgrades, extended check in and check out times, hotel food and beverage credits and special concierge services. These schemes are best suited to those who have found a hotel group whose properties are extensive and are a good fit for all their needs and price range
Booking Website Rewards and Special Pricing Schemes
Competition amongst the numerous hotel booking websites is fierce and therefore it is no surprise that they all have various schemes to compete for your business. Whether this might be ‘member only’ or ‘secret prices’ which often have varying levels of genuineness or schemes which lead to free nights (such as on the 10th night) these websites cater well to those without any particular brand loyalty to either hotels or airlines and those who like to shop around for the best price. Some hotel booking websites also partner with cash back rewards schemes where you can earn several percent back on bookings.
Airline Hotel Portal Points Schemes
Many airlines including Australia’s largest carrier Qantas have their own hotel booking portals which are connected to their frequent flyer programs. They usually offer an almost as extensive range of properties to book and very similar prices to the major booking websites however they offer rewards in the form of points. Typical bookings can attract up to 4 points per dollar spent with some select hotels offering even more. If you are heavily invested in a airline frequent flyer scheme, booking hotels with that airline is a a good way to compound extra points quickly
Our overall advice depends on individual circumstances
Overall there is certainly no right or wrong answer as to whether you should be loyal to just one scheme or use multiple or favour one particular type of scheme although for different individuals with different circumstances some schemes may be more suited than others.
For those who already predominantly frequent properties owned by mainly by the one hotel group and are already satisficed with their property offerings partaking in a direct hotels loyalty scheme is probably the best option as it will avail exclusive privileges and perks for a member to enjoy when they already stay at those properties.
For those who have no track record of brand loyalty to either an airline or Hotel Group and tend to stay at many different hotels and across different brands it is probably wiser to seek out a hotel bookings website which offers the best benefits for you whether that might be free reward night schemes, exclusive pricing or participation in cash back schemes.
Finally, for those who are heavily invested in an airline frequent flyer scheme and don’t have any particularly strong hotel brand loyalty using your airline’s hotel portal is probably the best way to go as its an easy way to quickly compound points on hotel bookings which are often what are already otherwise often expensive and and a strong points earning opportunity.
One thing is for sure however is that it never hurts to cast the net wide and keep your options open when it comes to deciding what rewards scheme suits you best. As long as membership is free and without obligation there is no harm in being involved with multiple programs but it certainly ianly pays to consider which programs offer the best benefits for you and whether it is worth investing significant loyalty into one program for most exclusive benefits or keeping your patronage more open to score more generic benefits across the board!
