Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. on Wednesday will begin offering a
rewards program, a first for the luxury chain, that both offers its own perks
and partners with parent company Marriott International’s rewards program.
Citing strong customer demand for such a program,
Ritz-Carlton Rewards will have a similar structure to Marriott Rewards, with
points accrued based on dollars spent at Ritz-Carlton hotels and elite status
levels based on number of stays. Besides typical rewards such as airline
tickets, Ritz-Carlton also will offer high-end perks such as personal shopping
excursions at Neiman Marcus, photography workshops with National Geographic
photographers and luxury cruises.
“We have already brought together some of the most exclusive
names in travel and retail. This is just the beginning,” Ritz-Carlton president
and COO Herve Humler said in a statement. “We will continue to add global
partners offering our members the very best in customized and one-of-a-kind
memorable experiences.”
Ritz-Carlton also will work jointly with the Marriott
Rewards program, with Marriott members able to earn points at Ritz-Carlton
hotels and elite members of Marriott’s program eligible for special benefits at
Ritz-Carlton properties, including room upgrades and free high-speed Internet
access, which Marriott on Monday announced that it was adding as a global perk
in its rewards program for its upper upscale properties.
Rewards programs are not as ubiquitous among luxury
properties as they are among chains in the upper upscale tier and below.
Ritz-Carlton’s chief competitor, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, does not
offer a formal rewards program, for example, while other luxury chains, such as
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, already have such programs in place.