10 hotelsmag . com November 2018
Marriott International ’ s recent merging of its three separate loyalty programs under the Marriott Rewards umbrella has pushed an already formidable program into behemoth territory . It ’ s too early to tell how having more than 110 million former Marriott Rewards , Starwood and Ritz-Carlton loyalty members under one structure will shift the loyalty landscape — or how competitors will exploit any weaknesses the new structure has exposed .
Here ’ s what we do know :
MEMBER NUMBERS MATTER . . . TO A POINT “ Our members pay more , stay more and cost less in our distribution channels . We ’ ve used our scale to lower costs for owners even more ,” says David Flueck , Marriott ’ s senior vice president of global loyalty . Wyndham Rewards ’ 58 million members “ stay and spend around twice as much as nonmembers ,” says Eliot Hamlisch , vice president of worldwide loyalty and partnerships at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts .
Road warriors remain the most prized prey for these programs . IHG Rewards Club has 120 million enrollees — “ but we focus on
the active members ,” which total about 20 million , says Dave Canty , vice president of global loyalty programs .
Hilton in recent years has stepped up its pursuit of elites . Since 2016 the company has been offering status matches to lure the most frequent guests from rival programs . In January , most likely in anticipation of the rebooted Marriott Rewards , Hilton rolled out new elite tier perks , including a 10,000-point bonus for every 10th night after a minimum of 40 nights a year , and new bonus points for elites . Elites can also roll over qualifying nights toward elite status in future years .
DON ’ T EXPECT A HUGE DEFECTION BY MARRIOTT LOYALISTS That global portfolio of 6,700 hotels is hard to ignore . “ In today ’ s age , scale does really matter ,” Flueck says .
Change is inevitable , Canty says , and when it happens “ you always have some who will be elated and others who will feel a little disenfranchised , because they don ’ t like the direction . They will look around . But we ’ re not saying , ‘ We ’ re a big , shiny penny that you should come see .’ We ’ re not actively trying to poach people .”
Hilton announced a double- and triple-point
“ WE ’ RE NOT ACTIVELY TRYING TO POACH PEOPLE .”
DAVE CANTY , VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL LOYALTY PROGRAMS , IHG
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