Loyalty programme addict and Hilton HHonors member, Up in the Air?s Ryan Bingham, better known as George Clooney: as a frequent traveller, one would t Loyalty programme addict and Hilton HHonors member, Up in the Air?s Ryan Bingham, better known as George Clooney: as a frequent traveller, one would t

Marriott triumphs at Frequent Traveller Awards
Marriott International bagged the bragging rights when the company took home 11 of the 15 hotel loyalty awards at the Frequent Traveller Awards 2010 — testament to the success of the programme which has more than 33 million members.

The accolades included Programme of the Year for both the Americas and Europe/Africa, Best Redemption Promotion, Best Earning Promotion and Best Redemption Ability in all regions.

The winners in the remaining four categories were Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Starwood and Hyatt, which won two awards.

Story continues below
Advertisement

The Frequent Traveller Awards, which held its first event in 2010, are voted on by more than one million frequent travellers from more than 200 countries.

Loyalty programmes by the numbers
Starwood
“Members looking to redeem their Starpoints at one of our most luxurious hotels in Dubai will need 20,000 to 25,000 points for a free night at the Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, or 30,000 to 35,000 points for a stay at Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort and Spa.”
Senior director, digital, loyalty and partner marketing, Steven Taylor

Marriott
“A customer would require 30,000 points to redeem a night at JW Marriott Dubai. There are a number of seasons throughout the year when we run pointsavers promotions which means the customer would require less points to redeem a night at the hotel.”
Vice president sales and marketing, Middle East and Africa Jeff Strachan

Hilton
“The standard rates of HHonors points needed to earn free nights vary by hotel, but the average rate to earn a free night at a top-tier hotel is between 40,000-50,000 HHonors points.” Senior vice president for global customer marketing, Jeff Diskin.

Rotana
A member would need to earn “starting from 35,000 points” to exchange them for a free room night at a Rotana hotel in Dubai.Loyalty programme director, Elie Saliba.