Oh, how the hotels want you to book direct with them, on their websites, via their smartphone apps, or by phone!
The major hotels’ now-ubiquitous best-rate guarantees were proffered to assure travel consumers that there was nothing to be gained by booking elsewhere. And the withholding of loyalty-program points for stays booked through third-party sites was designed to give customers a positive reason to book direct.
Notwithstanding such assurances and incentives, the online travel agencies still account for a significant portion of the hotels’ revenue and profits. The next step: discounts exclusively for loyalty-program members who book direct.
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Hilton and Marriott recently began offering their program members direct-booking discounts ranging from 2 to 10 percent, depending on the day of the week and the number of days in advance the stay is booked. And this week, Hyatt followed suit, with its own version of a members-only discount.
According to Hyatt:
The Hyatt Gold Passport member discount, available beginning today at Hyatt hotels in the U.S., Canada and Australia, strengthens the value for travelers who book directly with Hyatt and builds guest engagement. Additional direct-booking benefits include Hyatt Gold Passport points, Online Check-In and Express Checkout, mobile reservation management, and around-the-clock customer care, including through social channels.
Of course, such tactics are a thumb in the eye of the online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com, that stand to lose bookings and commissions if travel consumers take their business direct to the hotels.
That puts the hotels in the awkward position of having to maintain amicable relations with the OTAs, which account for roughly half of all online hotel bookings, even as they strive mightily to undermine them. In theory, that establishes a competitive nexus, between the hotels and third-party distributors, which could benefit consumers as the contending parties vie for their business.
At least as far as the discounts go, however, there’s less there than meets the eye.
Hyatt promises discounts of “up to 10 percent.” But as with the member-only rates offered by Hilton and Marriott, the discount amounts are left to the discretion of the individual hotels and are sure to vary widely. And in a random sampling of test bookings, the AAA rate was sometimes lower than the Member Discount rate, with fewer restrictions.
So if these “exclusive” rates aren’t reliably the lowest-available rates, what’s the point?
That’s a question the hotels would prefer you didn’t ask.
Reader Reality Check
How do you book your hotel stays: direct or through an OTA?
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Hyatt Hotels Corporation is on the fast track to growing its brand, its property portfolio and its loyalty partnerships. While not the biggest hospitality company, it is laser-focused on being the best by expanding its geography and listening to customers. Even during the tough pandemic era, Hyatt found opportunity to grow in key markets and evolve with the ever-changing travel landscape. All of this helped position Hyatt for the post-Covid travel boom, benefiting both consumers and investors.
To the list of hotels that offer discounted rates to members of their loyalty programs—Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, InterContinental, Choice—can now be added the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites).
It’s been awhile since Hyatt’s last systemwide bonus promotion. That will be remedied beginning next month, with a new offer that, at least for high-frequency travelers, will have been well worth the wait.
For $85 and a little bit of legwork, TSA PreCheck lets you skip the airport security line on domestic flights. It’s a nice service for frequent travelers wanting to save time, and a privilege, you’d think, worth paying for.
In the world of hotel marketing, offering special rates for loyalty-program members who book direct with the hotels is the tactic du jour. Since Starwood deployed its members-only rates late last year, Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott have followed suit. To that list can now be added InterContinental Hotels Group.
All travel suppliers want consumers to book direct, making their reservations on the company’s website, via the company’s smartphone app, or by phone through the company’s reservations center. Direct booking means the airlines and hotels pay no commissions to intermediaries, so the full price of the flight or room night flows to the provider, not to Expedia or a Main Street travel agent.
There’s nothing new about discounted hotel rates available only to members of the hotel’s loyalty program who book direct. Of the major chains, Starwood was the first to offer member-only rates, beginning last year. And Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and InterContinental have since followed suit.