The real risk isn’t “depending on the booking engine” specifically: it’s the programme being tied to any operational provider (booking engine, PMS) instead of living in the hotel’s own data ecosystem. When that happens, a change of provider \u2014 which happens more often than anyone would like \u2014 can mean losing the programme guests knew, or rebuilding it from scratch.<\/p>\n
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Why it’s worth getting right<\/h2>\n
Loyalty, when it works, really works: membership of hotel loyalty programmes grew by 14.5% in 2024, and members of these programmes now account for 52.8% of rooms sold at hotels with an active programme (CBRE). In terms of profitability, these programmes generate on average 5.2 times more revenue than they cost to run.<\/p>\n
But not all programmes are equal. The average guest may be enrolled in more than 15 different loyalty programmes, and engagement with them has dropped by 10% in recent years (Extole): simply signing up no longer builds loyalty on its own. Hotels that adopted at least two of the 2026 trends over the past year \u2014 instant recognition, AI personalisation, experiential rewards or paid membership models \u2014 report, on average, 23% more revenue attributable to their loyalty programme than the previous year (BookingWhizz). And paid membership models, when the value proposition is right, work: paid members book 2.3 times more often and have a 71% lower churn rate than free-tier members.<\/p>\n
There’s also a simple economic argument for investing in this: retaining a guest costs 5 to 7 times less than acquiring a new one, and a booking that comes through a referral from another guest has close to zero acquisition cost, converts above 50%, and retains 37% better than other channels.<\/p>\n
What a loyalty programme needs, wherever it comes from<\/h2>\n
Regardless of where the programme comes from, these are the elements that make the difference between one that’s sustainable and one that gets abandoned within two years:<\/p>\n
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- Tiers with clear rules<\/strong>. What conditions qualify for each tier, whether that status lasts a year or is reviewed, and what happens if the guest no longer meets the conditions (does the tier automatically downgrade?).<\/li>\n
- A defined points economy<\/strong>. How many points are earned per euro spent, whether extra points are awarded by tier, whether points expire or not, whether points can be pooled by family, and what happens when specific milestones are reached (for example, an extra bonus on reaching a certain points threshold).<\/li>\n
- Referral rules and one-off promotions<\/strong>. Extra points for both the person referring and the friend who signs up, plus the ability to run time-limited promotions without touching the standard programme’s rules.<\/li>\n
- A member portal<\/strong>. Where the guest can see their benefits, their transaction history, and raise claims \u2014 not just receive an email with a discount.<\/li>\n
- Cards on the phone<\/strong>. Letting the guest add their tier card to their phone’s wallet without relying on the hotel’s own app: in markets like the UK or Spain, most guests use Apple Wallet, though it’s worth supporting both ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How GuestMaker Loyalty solves this<\/h2>\n
- A defined points economy<\/strong>. How many points are earned per euro spent, whether extra points are awarded by tier, whether points expire or not, whether points can be pooled by family, and what happens when specific milestones are reached (for example, an extra bonus on reaching a certain points threshold).<\/li>\n