Global Hotel Group Signs up NH Hotels in Loyalty Pushback on Big Brands
Photo Credit: NH Gran Hotel Calderon, Barcelona, Spain. NH Hotel Group
Skift Take
Global Hotel Alliance notches up 21 million members after signing up Spain’s NH Group. It might now have an eclectic mix of global independent brands, but will need to watch its rivals' next steps closely: if they're not merging, they're leveraging their considerably greater size and scale to secure new loyalty partnerships outside traditional hospitality channels.
Loyalty and distribution platform Global Hotel Alliance has signed a partnership with NH Hotel Group that will now nearly double its membership reach, as rival chains further evolve their own programs to win more direct business.
The Spanish chain has 340 hotels globally, which boosts the alliance’s network to more than 800 hotels, covering 40 brands in 100 countries. The hotel group's 10 million NH Rewards program members now switch over to Global Hotel Alliance’s Discovery loyalty program, expanding it to 21 million members.
Hotels are expanding their loyalty schemes in a number of ways. They offer guests more flexibility in the new post-pandemic world, but the end game is to coerce repeat guests into booking directly on their websites, which helps properties reduce the amount they pay to third parties, particularly online travel agencies.
They're getting more creative. Marriott, for example, has 55 million Bonvo
