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Expect more travel brands to extend their reach into the dining experience going forward, especially since consumers have to eat every day and may only travel on occasion. And after all, the way to anyone's heart is through their stomachs, right?

InterContinental Hotels Group wants to make it more rewarding for its more than 100 million IHG Rewards Club members to book restaurants on OpenTable or order takeout on Grubhub.

The company announced partnerships with both Grubhub and OpenTable to give IHG Rewards Club points to its members who use IHG channels to book restaurants on OpenTable or order food from Grubhub. IHG channels include the IHG app, its website, and IHG Connect, the company’s on-property Wi-Fi.

While airline and hotel credit cards often reward cardholders for dining out, this is a unique initiative whereby a hotel company is incentivizing its loyalty members to dine out and order in by using its own branded channels, working in partnership with more established food delivery and dining platforms to power the transactions.

It’s a way for IHG to play a more active role in its loyalty members’ in-destination travel experiences, as well as their everyday dining experiences, as well.

“The benefits that we offer IHG Rewards Club members are based on extensive research into what they want from a loyalty program,” said Liz Crisafi, IHG’s head of loyalty, partnerships, and portfolio marketing for the Americas. “Members have told us they would like more ways to earn points while dining. These collaborations allow us to provide benefits that enhance the food and beverage experience for our members, whether ordering delivery to their hotel room or dining on or off property.”

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Tags: airbnb, grubhub, holiday inn express, ihg, loyalty, opentable, resy

Photo credit: La Boucherie on 71 is an OpenTable restaurant member and a part of the new InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel. IHG Rewards members who book a reservation at this restaurant using an IHG channel will now earn IHG Rewards points. InterContinental Hotels Group

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