Hotel loyalty programs have a retention problem. Members accumulate points, redeem them for free nights, and get bored. Hilton's answer: send them on cruises.
Why should global giants have all the fun? Southeast Asian hotel brands are also diving into India’s boom, with culture, domestic demand, and experiential travel in overdrive, it’s far too hot a market to watch from the sidelines.
Small Luxury Hotels is betting on India’s hinterland - bold, given even the tourism ministry is looking to crack this. But if anyone can send global elites road-tripping through Himachal, it’s those who built a business on charming tiny hotels in the middle of nowhere.
Hotel loyalty programs are shifting to greater transparency, more experiential moments, and deeper digital integration to adapt to AI trip planning, says Skift Research.
Hilton is following the money, not the hype, even if that means telling eager owners in some markets that their “cool” lifestyle hotel can’t beat a dependable DoubleTree.
Hotels with high turnover struggle to maintain service standards and face high recruitment costs. Hilton and Marriott are among the companies taking steps to address the challenge.