Hotels

Hilton Unveils Loyalty Program Updates That Borrow From the Airlines

Deanna Ting

Photo Credit: A rendering of the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. Hilton today is adding new features to its Hilton Honors loyalty program, making it easier for members to redeem points for stays and/or merchandise.  Hilton Worldwide / Hilton

Skift Take

We're surprised no other hotel loyalty programs have yet attempted to do what Hilton is doing here. These updates, for the most part, reflect an acknowledgement on Hilton's part that no two hotel guests are the same, and that loyalty programs designed solely for road warriors aren't enough to compete in today's increasingly competitive loyalty landscape. Side note: We're so happy they decided to drop that extra (and very unnecessary) "h" in Hilton Honors, too. Oh, and it's just Hilton now, not Hilton Worldwide.

If last year's big hospitality buzzword was "lifestyle," this year's could very well be another word that starts with the letter L: "loyalty." At Hilton, loyalty could not be more crucial, especially this year. A year after launching the biggest marketing campaign in the company's history, "Stop Clicking Around," which promoted discounted Hilton Honors members-only rates for direct bookings, Hilton is debuting loyalty program updates designed to make its program even more appealing to travelers, whether they're road warriors or leisure travelers. Today, the company announced four major program updates to Hilton Honors, formerly known as Hilton HHonors. Each of the new features, said Mark Weinstein, Hilton's senior vice president and global head of loyalty and partnerships, was designed to satisfy the needs of both "frequent travelers who want more ways to use their points" as well as "less frequent travelers who want to engage more with fewer points." A quick glance at the new