Awarding reward programs to guests is one of the most popular marketing strategies in the hotel and tourism industry. Customers, mainly frequent travelers, are also keen to avail themselves of the hotel rewards programs to get the best bang for the money. You might feel overwhelmed to navigate hotel rewards programs by considering numerous factors that might seem to lead to nowhere. But there’s a way to simplify the task by focusing on two aspects – the number of points earned for each dollar spent and the monetary value of each point. This approach makes sense as you can use the parameters as a benchmark to compare the worth of the rewards on the same terms. It becomes easy to identify the best and the worst offers in terms of value. However, it is essential to ensure that you use the points to derive the benefits.
Look at the rankings of the hotel rewards programs
Try not to calculate the worth of the best hotel rewards programs. Refer to online ratings readily available that rank the hotels by evaluating the programs. The ratings are a percentage of the points earned for every dollar spent. The websites that do the ranking use the numbers to award ranks to different hotels evaluated during the survey.
You get a ready list of hotels rated based on the value of the rewards as explained above. For example, you might find that the list topper is Radisson Rewards Americas with 12%, and the lowest ranking is Hilton Honors at 5%. The other rank holders are World of Hyatt at 9.5%, Wyndham Rewards at 9%, IHG Rewards at 8%, Best Western Rewards, Marriot Bonvoy at 7%, and Hilton Honors at 5%. Consider the numbers as dollars you receive for every 100 dollars spent, and you will understand what the list means to you.
However, the figures in the best hotel rewards programs help you make a start in evaluating the programs, and many other factors can influence your choice. The quality of hotels and elite status perks are essential considerations because even the best rewards programs will be meaningless if it does not match your lifestyle and expectations.
However, the rewards rating provides the essential guidance about where to start from, and then you can add your inputs to make a decision.
Analysis of the performances
The top hotel rewards programs change every year, Anor Radisson tops the list because it offers the highest points per dollar and an increase in the point value. The hotel offers 20 points per dollar at most of its establishments in the US which is much higher than its competitors. The value of points has doubled from 0.3 cents per point in 2020 to 0.6 cents per point in the following year. It is much lower than Hyatt’s 1.9 cents per dollar.
To make proper meaning of the list, you must understand the principle of the ranking system that does not only focus on the highest monetary value offered by the hotel’s rewards programs. Instead, it stresses combining the highest currency value of the rewards and the amount of currency awarded.
When evaluating the best hotel rewards programs look at their applicability because there might be conditions attached.
Point and mile valuations
The method of ranking described above applies to traditionally using the points for hotel spending. However, you might even consider a credit card offer or points promotion that offers lump sum points. To judge the worth of the offers, you must refer to the points and miles valuation chart that shows the raw value of the currencies. The list indicates the Rewards Programs in terms of cents per point. Since the value of hotel points differs considerably, you should deduce the actual value of the promotions by multiplying the values by the number of points you hope to earn. If the number of points is identical, then the points’ value should help decide which offer is better.
Evaluating the hotel rewards programs based on the rating list published online will provide ample guidance in understanding which offers are best for you.