One BonusA loyalty program for a hotel
Updated 31 August 2026
Every booking made through an aggregator costs commission, and the guest belongs to the aggregator afterwards. A loyalty program in a hotel is, before anything else, a way of buying the second booking directly.
The direct booking is the whole point
The commission on a booking is far larger than any benefit a hotel would offer for booking direct. A benefit given only on a direct booking is therefore the cheapest distribution channel a hotel can build.
The guest has to be told, and the moment to tell them is while they are staying — at check-in, in the room, at checkout — not in an email three months later.
What to give
Late checkout, a room category upgrade when the hotel is not full, breakfast, or a fixed credit on the next stay. Each costs the hotel little on an average night and is worth a lot to the guest.
A percentage off the rate is the worst option, because it is directly comparable to the aggregator’s price and starts a competition the hotel cannot win.
The guest who came once
Most hotel guests never return, and most hotels never find out why not. Once stays are attached to people, the returning share becomes a number you can actually move, and the guests who came twice become a list worth talking to.
Common questions
How can a hotel get more direct bookings?
Give a benefit that applies only to a direct booking, and tell the guest about it while they are staying. The commission saved is larger than almost any benefit worth offering, which is what makes it the cheapest channel a hotel has.
Should a hotel offer a discount to loyal guests?
Prefer non-rate benefits — late checkout, an upgrade, breakfast, a credit on the next stay. A discount on the rate is directly comparable to the aggregator price and starts a competition on the one axis the hotel cannot win.
Own the second booking
Read next
- By industryA cafe, a pharmacy and a car wash need different programs. Visit frequency, basket size and margin decide the mechanic — pick your trade and see the fit.
- CafeA coffee shop is visited daily and sells cheaply, so a stamp card beats points. How many stamps to ask for, what the free cup costs you, and how to run it without paper.
- RestaurantA restaurant is visited rarely with a large bill, so points and levels fit better than stamps. Where to set tier thresholds and how to reward a booking, not just a bill.
- BakeryBread is bought on the way home, every day, in cash. A stamp card on a phone survives what a paper card does not, and it tells you which hour of the day sells.
- Bar and pubA bar lives on regulars and on quiet weeknights. Reward the visit rather than the spend, and use coupons to move the nights that need moving.
- Grocery storeA grocery basket is frequent and varied, which is exactly what a points rate is for. How to set the percentage, and why the checkout queue decides the design.
- ShopA small shop cannot ask people to install an app for it alone. Joining a network means the card is already in the pocket before the first purchase.
- Clothing storeFashion sells in bursts and goes quiet between them. Levels hold the gap, and a coupon timed to a new arrival beats a permanent discount that trains people to wait.