Industry NewsBrandsHilton Overhauls Rewards Program

Hilton Overhauls Rewards Program

On Jan. 31, Hilton announced a major overhaul of their rewards program. Formerly, Hilton HHonors, the rebranded “Hilton Honors” offers members new and industry-first perks, as well as leverages Hilton’s scale to better serve the program’s more than 60 million members.

“Loyalty is at the core of our customer strategy,” said Mark Weinstein, senior vice president and global head of loyalty and partnerships at Hilton. “We’re putting customers to heart. We’re building digital innovations and transforming our guest experience to really focus on what our customers most want and need, taking the friction out of travel, and making it a little more fun and joyful along the way.”

Weinstein also noted that loyalty is a big business driver for the Hilton engine. There are currently 60 million Hilton Honors members, 9 million of which joined in 2016. “[It shows] how much our customers are enjoying engaging with us to form personal, one-on-one relationships,” he added. On any given night, 55 percent of guests at a Hilton hotel are Hilton Honors members.

Acknowledging this huge population of members was key in the initiatives being launched within the Hilton Honors program. There are four major benefits that are due to launch in 2017.

The first is a more flexible way to use points. Using a sliding scale feature, members can decide how many points they want to spend on a particular room and make up the difference in cash.

Starting in the spring, the new system will also allow points pooling, so members can team up with friends or family to use points together while traveling. “We’re going to be the first program in the industry to allow members to use their points in that way,” Weinstein said.

The third initiative, which starts this summer, has Hilton Honors partnering with Amazon. The partnership will allow members to use points to make purchases from the online retailer. “We’re allowing our members to be more empowered to find flexibility, more utility, and the ability to engage with us in everyday activities across Amazon.com here in the U.S.,” Weinstein explained.

And finally, the Hilton Honors will introduce a benefit for Diamond members. If a member has been at Diamond status for at least three years, but has a year during which she’s not traveling as much, she can still keep Diamond status for an additional year. Weinstein described that this was to help foster lifelong relationships with Hilton Honors members. “It’s a great example of how we’re being much more human about travel,” he added.

Kate Hughes
Kate Hughes
Kate Hughes, Editor, LODGING Magazine

RELATED ARTICLES

Dreamscape Hospitality Assumes Management of Three Hotels in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas—Dreamscape Hospitality announced that it has assumed management of three hotels in Houston, Texas. "We are excited to deepen our presence in Texas through...

Hilton Announces Plans to Debut Spark by Hilton in Puerto Rico

PONCE, Puerto Rico, and MIAMI, Florida—Hilton announced the signing of Spark by Hilton Ponce, marking the upcoming debut of the brand in the Caribbean...

Wyndham Announces Partnership With Cygnett

DELHI—Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced a new strategic alliance with Cygnett Hotels & Resorts that will not only introduce its La Quinta by Wyndham...

New Pyramid Global Hospitality COO Continues Focus on Big Data to Benefit Owners

Pyramid Global Hospitality Chief Operating Officer Eric Habermann retired in April following seven years with the company and a nearly 40-year career in hospitality....

Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa Launches Scholarship Program

Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, a 605-room resort, announced the launch of a scholarship program to support the continued education of its colleagues...

Hilton Surpasses 500 Hotels in Florida

MCLEAN, Virginia, and MIAMI, Florida—Hilton announced a major milestone as the company surpassed 500 open hotels across Florida. This growth was fueled in part...