Hilton Hotels Corp. this month eliminated blackout dates from its HHonors guest reward program, one of several recent such changes from hotel companies to make their programs more attractive.
Under rules enacted Feb. 1, all HHonors members are exempt from blackout dates when redeeming reward points for Hilton stays, said Adam Burke, Hilton's senior vice president of customer loyalty. Previously, only the upper-tier Gold and Diamond members were exempt.
Several other hotel reward programs, including Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, already have eliminated blackout dates.
However, Burke said Hilton's program is unique because it will not include such restrictions as capacity controls, the exclusion of certain properties or higher redemption for what would have been blackout dates. Redemption is available across all Hilton brands.
"We have one of the most lucrative reimbursement plans, but we are constantly researching to make sure our benefits are the best," Burke said. "We wanted to do this with no caveats, no asterisks."
Hilton on Feb. 15 will become the first hotel company to allow the use of loyalty points to purchase membership with Registered Traveler provider FLO Corp. HHonors members can redeem 35,000 points for the annual membership.
"We've always been looking for ways to make travel more hassle-free," Burke said. "A few weeks ago, I was traveling through Kennedy, and the security line was hellacious, so this is a very good addition to our program." FLO said it hopes to expand the redemption offering to other travel suppliers, including airlines.
Hilton isn't the only hotel company to make major changes to its rewards program in recent months. Carlson Marketing Worldwide in January announced that it was phasing out its Gold Points Reward Network Program, which covered not only Carlson Hotels Worldwide but other Carlson operations, such as T.G.I. Friday's restaurants.
In its stead, Carlson turned to a loyalty program specifically for its hotels, GoldPoints Plus. The new program raised the amount of points guests receive per stay without increasing redemption levels, according to Carlson.
Comparing hotel reward programs can be tricky. Not only do accrual rates vary by company, but so do redemption rates and policies. Some hotels—Wyndham Hotel Group and Omni Hotels, for example—have eschewed traditional point-redemption structures in favor of more immediate rewards, such as special amenities and services.
For travel buyers, the greatest value of a rewards program is as a motivation for travelers to comply with preferred hotel policy, Hilton's Burke said. Some buyers have tried to use them to directly cut costs, but most still leave the point usage to travelers' discretion, said Mary Ellen George, general manager of BCD Travel consulting subsidiary Advito.
"There were companies trying to sweep them in and get control of them, but we see fewer and fewer taking that option," according to George. "To drive compliance, companies are saying, 'Let's embrace these programs, let the travelers get these benefits, and let's facilitate it and make it a part of our inclusive negotiations.' "
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