The loyalty programme worth choosing a brand for
The major programmes, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, Accor ALL, each manage hundreds of millions of members and have direct partnerships with airlines, credit cards, rental operators and an expanding set of corporate-programme integrations.
For the business traveller, the loyalty programme increasingly decides which brand gets specified in policy and which one doesn’t.
The Best Hotel Loyalty Programme award, part of the Travelling for Business Awards 2026, recognises the scheme that delivers, measurably, on the maths the traveller actually does. The category is judged independently of Best Luxury Hotel Brand, Best Upscale Hotel Brand and Best Budget Hotel Brand, a brand can run an outstanding hotel product without running a market-leading loyalty programme, and vice versa.
Judging examines earn rate against spend in real redeemable value, status benefit value and consistency across the portfolio, redemption availability at flagship properties and peak weeks, corporate programme integration, and the breadth of the partnership network. Public benchmarking from The Points Guy and GBTA traveller loyalty research informs the panel’s view. Coverage in Travelling for Business magazine tracks programme changes year-round.
The category complements Best Frequent-Flier Programme; cross-loyalty integration between airlines and hotel groups is increasingly weighted as the partnerships deepen.
The 2026 panel includes corporate loyalty leads and frequent users across multiple programmes. Sponsorship is open – see the sponsorship page.
Hotel loyalty programmes are judged on the maths the traveller actually does. Earn rate against spend, points per pound or dollar in real, redeemable value, heads the criteria, with status benefit value and consistency across the portfolio judged hard. Redemption availability is examined in the moments that matter: peak weeks, flagship properties, last-room-available behaviour at the rate the traveller expects. Corporate programme integration, how the scheme behaves under a negotiated rate, how it interacts with TMC bookings, counts because most of the bed nights sit there. Partnership network breadth, including credit card, airline and rental partners, closes the assessment.
Hotel brands with a loyalty programme
Entries open: 1 June 2026
Shortlist announced: 15 August 2026
Winners announced: 22 October 2026
Free to enter. Editorially judged. Five minutes to submit.
Need to send large files? Email awards@cbmeg.co.uk with the category name in the subject.
One sponsor. No competing brands. Once secured, the category closes. Investment from £7,500.
