Not just content with being named the number one hotel rewards program by U.S. News & World Report, Wyndham Worldwide has innovated again, expanding its Wyndham Rewards program to encompass 25,000 properties worldwide. The company announced the expansion earlier this morning.
Previously, rewards benefits were available at 8,000 hotels. Now, Wyndham has added 17,000 new redemption options in the form of vacation rental condos and homes. While this expansion more than triples the number of properties where Wyndham Rewards points can be redeemed, the program is retaining its simple and straightforward redemption system wherein 15,000 points earns rewards members a free night at the property of their choosing.
Though the latest iteration of Wyndham Rewards launched about 20 months ago, Wyndham Hotels has already learned quite a bit about what travelers want from a rewards program. “With Wyndham Rewards, members have changed their travel behavior and are now redeeming points at our most aspirational properties. They are going to our best hotels to experience the best of what Wyndham Rewards has to offer, and they’re coming back again and again to keep earning more points,” says Noah Brodsky, senior vice president worldwide loyalty and customer engagement at Wyndham Hotel Group. “These additional redemption options leverage Wyndham Worldwide’s best asset—its incredible properties.”
As of today, Wyndham Rewards members may only redeem points at the 17,000 rental condos and homes added to the program, but the ability to earn points while staying at these properties is likely to start next year.
Also launching today is a new Wyndham Rewards website—wyndhamrewards.com/redeem. On the site, travelers can browse all 25,000 properties where they can redeem points, as well as view a curated list of about 250 featured properties all over the world. “A cool thing that people are going to be able to do with our new site is find inspiration for their next trip,” describes Brodsky. Beyond those top 250 properties, travelers can also search properties by activity, not just geographic location. “Say you want to go to a beach,” says Brodsky. “You can simply search ‘beach’ and you’ll see properties in Florida, Hawaii, even Thailand. It really shows travelers the breadth of our portfolio and allows them to explore their options.”
Brodsky says that as the lodging industry grows and changes, Wyndham Rewards will continue to evolve. “We’re really serious about innovating in the loyalty space. We are committed to having the best loyalty program and driving the best returns for all of our owners, and upgrades like expanding our benefits to 17,000 new properties is putting our commitment to loyalty front and center,” he says.
