Hotel loyalty programs are no longer just a marketing add-on, but one of the key tools for retaining guests
Hotel loyalty programs have in recent years outgrown the framework of simple cards for collecting points and occasional discounts. What was long treated as a marketing add-on is now becoming an important part of the business model of the largest hotel groups, but also an increasingly demanding area for smaller chains and independent hotels. According to a Skift Research report from November 2025, hotel loyalty is increasingly taking shape as a data-driven and experience-oriented ecosystem in which the relevance of the offer, recognition of the guest and a direct relationship with the user are just as important as the possibility itself of exchanging points for an overnight stay. Such a shift is changing the way hotels sell rooms, build long-term relationships with guests and try to reduce dependence on intermediary sales channels.
The original idea of loyalty programs was simple: a guest who stays more often in the same chain receives a reward, and the hotel in return gets a repeat booking. But the market has changed. Travelers today compare prices on multiple platforms, expect personalized service, want clear value from benefits and increasingly seek experiences that go beyond accommodation alone. Deloitte's consumer loyalty research for 2025, conducted among 5,564 adult members of loyalty programs in the United States, shows that loyalty programs remain an important factor in consumers' relationship with brands, although price, value and quality still carry the greatest weight. For the hotel sector, this means that loyalty can no longer be reduced to the number of points in an account, but must offer a tangible advantage at the moment of booking, during the stay and after the guest's departure.
From points to a relationship with the guest
The largest hotel companies are increasingly openly presenting loyalty as a central element of their commercial strategy. Marriott International states in its 2024 annual report that Marriott Bonvoy had almost 228 million members globally at the end of that year. The same company pointed out that the share of room nights by program members in the fourth quarter of 2024 reached historically high levels, namely 73 percent in the United States and 66 percent globally. These data show that loyalty programs are no longer just a database of email addresses for promotional campaigns, but a channel through which a large part of actual demand passes.
Hilton states in its 2025 review that that year was one of the most important for its growth, with almost 100,000 new rooms added to the global portfolio and the milestone of 9,000 hotels reached. In such an environment, Hilton Honors is not only a benefits program, but part of a broader commercial system that connects bookings, customer data, digital tools and the relationship with hotel owners. Similarly, IHG in its annual report describes IHG One Rewards as one of the largest hotel loyalty programs in the world and part of a platform that should bring hotel owners returns through brands, technology and demand. In an industry in which thousands of properties compete for travelers' attention, the ability to recognize and attract a guest again is becoming a business advantage.
The change is also visible among brands that are smaller than Marriott's or Hilton's system, but want to achieve greater value per guest. In November 2025, Hyatt announced that World of Hyatt had exceeded 60 million members and emphasized that members more often book through direct channels, spend more and record more stays than non-members. In the same announcement, Hyatt announced an expansion of its cooperation with Chase bank, including additional benefits for certain card users from mid-2026. This shows how much credit cards, financial partners and travel platforms have become an integral part of hotel loyalty, and not just an additional promotion alongside the basic hotel product.
Direct bookings are becoming a strategic issue
One of the main reasons hotels invest in loyalty programs is the desire to increase the share of direct bookings. When a guest books through the official website, app or own sales channel of a hotel company, the hotel generally gains more control over the relationship with the guest, pre-arrival communication and the additional sale of services. Intermediary platforms and online travel agencies still play an important role, especially for independent hotels and travelers who compare multiple options, but hotel groups are trying to avoid a situation in which the intermediary knows the customer better than the hotel itself.
According to Skift Research, the future of hotel loyalty is connected with the economics of direct demand, transparent value and relevant experiences. In other words, the attempt to retain the guest is not based only on the promise of a future reward, but also on the feeling that direct booking is simpler, more useful and more reliable. This can include more flexible conditions, free internet, late check-out, the possibility of an upgrade, personalized offers, access to events or easier management of the booking through an app.
From the hotel perspective, the direct channel also enables a better understanding of guest behavior. Data on the frequency of stays, preferred destinations, room type, restaurant spending or use of additional services can be used for offers that are more relevant than general promotional messages. However, such an approach also carries greater responsibility. Guests expect their data to be used reasonably and transparently, and hotels must be careful that personalization does not turn into intrusive tracking or unclear commercial practices.
Personalization has become an expectation, but also a risk
Personalization is one of the most frequently mentioned words in discussions about hotel loyalty. In practice, it can mean that a business traveler receives an offer for fast check-in and a quieter room, that a family with children receives a suggestion for a property with suitable amenities, or that a guest who often travels to the same city receives benefits connected with habits from previous stays. But personalization has value only if it is precise, useful and understandable. If it is reduced to automated messages that incorrectly assess the guest's needs, it can have the opposite effect.
Skift Research states in its 2025 report that among the persistent problems of loyalty programs are complex earning rules, unclear value of redeeming points, outdated technological infrastructure and user fatigue from an excessive number of programs. This is an important warning for hotel chains that are trying to expand membership without a clear increase in engagement. A large number of registered members does not by itself guarantee that a guest will return, book directly or perceive the program as valuable. If the guest does not understand how much a point is worth, when it can be used and which benefits are actually received, a loyalty program easily becomes just another unused account in an app.
Deloitte's research further shows that loyalty programs must be viewed in the broader context of consumer expectations. Members want value, but not only in the form of discounts. For hotels, this means that benefits must be convincing: faster service, clearer conditions, better availability of reward nights, meaningful status benefits and the feeling that long-term loyalty is truly recognized. When the rules are too complex or benefits are difficult to access, loyalty turns into frustration.
Programs are expanding beyond the hotel room
Another important change is the expansion of loyalty programs beyond the overnight stay itself. Marriott states in its annual report the partnerships of Marriott Bonvoy with partners such as Uber, Starbucks, United Airlines, Hertz, Royal Caribbean and Allianz, as well as experiences connected with major events. Such examples show that hotel groups are trying to be present in the broader travel and everyday life cycle of users. Points are no longer earned and spent only within hotels, but are connected with transport, food, insurance, cards, events and other experiences.
Accor stated in its 2025 integrated report that the ALL Accor program had reached more than 110 million members, which also confirms the importance of building an ecosystem around the hotel brand. Accor's model has for years emphasized the connection between accommodation, gastronomy, entertainment and experiences, so loyalty is becoming less of an administrative program and more of an attempt to keep the guest within a network of services. For hotel companies, this opens additional revenues, but also increases the complexity of managing partnerships, data and member expectations.
Hyatt's cooperation with Chase shows another direction of development. Credit cards and financial products are becoming an important source of engagement because they enable the earning of points and status benefits even when the guest is not physically in a hotel. In the announcement from November 2025, Hyatt stated that it expects growth in the economic effects of the expanded cooperation with Chase and that the benefits will be seen through additional stays and broader connection with users of travel cards. Such partnerships can increase the value of the program, but at the same time they can further distance the user from the simple question: how much is membership really worth and how easily can it be used?
What the guest receives, and what the hotel is trying to achieve
For travelers, the most visible part of a loyalty program is still a set of concrete benefits. These are points, free nights, upgrades, breakfast, access to lounges, early check-in, late check-out or exclusive prices for members. But the real value depends on how available these benefits are at the actual moment of travel. A program that promises a lot, but offers few available dates for reward nights or unclear status conditions, can hardly maintain trust in the long term.
For hotels, the calculation is broader. A loyalty program can reduce the cost of acquiring a guest, increase the share of direct bookings, encourage additional spending and give the company the data needed for better demand management. Marriott's figure on the high share of Bonvoy member room nights shows how deeply such programs can be embedded in the business model. Hilton's portfolio expansion and IHG's emphasis on a platform that connects brands, technology and IHG One Rewards confirm that loyalty is also viewed as an argument toward owners and investors, and not only toward guests.
At the same time, the growth of loyalty programs creates ever greater expectations. If every larger chain offers similar membership tiers, points and an app, differentiation becomes more difficult. A traveler can be a member of multiple programs, but actively use only those that provide a clear and regular benefit. For this reason, hotel companies increasingly compete in the quality of experience, flexibility and partnerships, and not only in the number of points per amount spent.
Artificial intelligence and new intermediaries are changing the rules of the game
The development of artificial intelligence further complicates the relationship between hotels, guests and intermediaries. If travelers increasingly plan trips with the help of digital assistants and automated recommendations, hotels will have to ensure that their brands, prices and benefits are visible in the new search environment. Skift Research states that artificial intelligence will be one of the drivers of the next generation of loyalty, especially in personalization and the connection of experiences. But the same technology can weaken the direct relationship with the guest if the booking decision is increasingly left to an intermediary algorithm.
Because of this, loyalty programs are gaining a new role: they are not only a reward for past behavior, but a way to offer the guest a reason for a direct relationship with the brand before another channel takes over. If a member knows that by booking directly they will receive a clear benefit, greater flexibility or personalized service, it is more likely that they will bypass a generic price comparison. If this is absent, loyalty is easily reduced to passive membership without real influence on the decision.
Smaller hotels face a different challenge
Large hotel chains have the advantage of scale, global member bases, apps, partnerships and financial programs. Smaller chains and independent hotels cannot easily copy such systems, but that does not mean they have no room to develop loyalty. Their advantage can be a more direct relationship with the guest, a local experience, simpler communication and flexibility in benefits. Instead of complex status tiers, smaller hotels can offer personalized service, clear benefits for a return visit, direct communication and an authentic feeling of recognition.
However, the same rules of transparency also apply to smaller properties. The guest must understand what they receive if they book directly and why they should return. If the loyalty program is unclear, unmaintained or limited to an occasional discount without added value, the effect will be weak. In competition with large platforms and chains, independent hotels must be particularly careful not to turn loyalty into an administrative obligation, but into a continuation of service quality.
Value will be measured by trust, not only by membership
The most important question for the next phase of hotel loyalty is not how many members a program has, but how many of them actually use it and consider it valuable. The figures published by Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Accor and IHG show that loyalty programs have become huge global platforms. But membership growth also brings pressure to fulfill promises. Travelers increasingly easily compare benefits, track rule changes and react publicly when the value of points falls or when status no longer brings the expected benefits.
That is why the hotel industry is moving toward a model in which loyalty must be measurable, transparent and useful on multiple levels. Points remain important, but they are no longer enough. Guests expect recognition, simpler booking, a better experience, available rewards and the feeling that membership makes sense even when they do not travel every week. Hotels, on the other hand, expect a more direct relationship, higher spending, better data and less dependence on intermediaries.
In this relationship, the most successful programs will be those that manage to combine the hotel's economic calculation with a clear benefit for the guest. If loyalty becomes merely a way of collecting data or raising prices under the appearance of a discount, trust will weaken. If, however, programs offer simple rules, fair value and experiences that the guest truly recognizes, hotel loyalty will remain one of the most important tools in global tourism. Its new role shows that it is no longer a marketing campaign on the margins of business, but one of the key ways in which hotels try to maintain a direct relationship with travelers.
Sources:
- Skift Research – report on the future of hotel loyalty, personalization, direct bookings and experience-led programs (link)
- Deloitte Insights – Consumer Loyalty Program Survey 2025 research on the habits and expectations of loyalty program members (link)
- Marriott International – annual report with data on Marriott Bonvoy, membership and the share of room nights by program members (link)
- Hilton – 2025 business review and data on global portfolio growth (link)
- IHG Hotels and Resorts – annual report and description of the role of IHG One Rewards in the group's business model (link)
- Hyatt Hotels Corporation – announcement on the growth of the World of Hyatt program and expansion of cooperation with Chase (link)
- Accor Group – 2025 integrated report with data on the ALL Accor program and the number of members (link)