How hotels are cashing in on repeat guests amid high occupancy

This evolution of loyalty programmes from simple free-night incentives to a core revenue strategy aims to capitalize on a growing consumer base. Major chains report that members now account for the majority of occupied room nights, with loyalty points increasingly serving as a versatile currency for everything from flights to cricket tournament tickets.

In January Elie Maalouf, chief executive of IHG Hotels & Resorts, told Mint on a visit to India that a million room nights are consumed across IHG properties worldwide on an average day. Of these, 66% are booked by rewards members—a share that is rising in India and other markets. “Loyalty is even stronger now (post-pandemic) because travellers have started to value experiences and that automatically means the want for a closer relationship with brands,” Maalouf said.

Walled gardens

In India, where domestic travel demand remains strong and outbound travel is expanding, the contest is shifting from room inventory to member ownership. The more frequently travellers engage with a brand’s ecosystem—across stays, flights and experiences—the harder it becomes to switch.

For consumers, loyalty points are increasingly becoming currency, not just for discounted stays but for access to flights, curated experiences and high-demand events. For hotel companies, loyalty is no longer peripheral but core to their business. The underlying logic is straightforward: members book more directly, return more often, and spend more on property.

For hotel chains navigating rising competition and distribution costs, loyalty is no longer a marketing add-on but a structural pillar of revenue strategy. Last year, InterGlobe Hotels and Accor announced plans for a joint loyalty programme that would allow customers to use hotel points for flight bookings and vice versa, blending their hospitality and aviation rewards. Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, recently partnered with The Postcard Hotel, an India-focused luxury hospitality brand, expanding redemption options for members in South Asia.

Achin Khanna, managing partner, strategic advisory for hospitality consultancy Hotelivate, said, “Hotel loyalty is evolving from generic point-collection schemes into sophisticated, data-driven ecosystems. Earlier, their utility felt limited because rewards were distant, restrictive, and sometimes impersonal. Today, hotel companies are using analytics to understand guest behaviour in real time, offering targeted benefits, experiential upgrades, and meaningful recognition. The shift isn’t just about earning points anymore, it’s about delivering relevance, immediacy, and genuine value that makes loyalty feel truly rewarding.”

The shift is visible beyond room bookings. As the ICC Men’s Cricket T20 World Cup unfolds, Marriott Bonvoy, the loyalty arm of Marriott International, has rolled out a collaboration with the International Cricket Council across Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), with India at the centre of the programme. The partnership allows Bonvoy members to have cricket-led experiences for the next four years, using the sporting platform to deepen engagement rather than simply drive room nights. Neeraj Govil, Marriott International’s chief operating officer for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, said a majority of the region’s bookings now come from Bonvoy members and that the programme has never looked stronger, including in India.

A recent report by Hotelivate said nationwide occupancy, or the proportion of rooms sold, rose to 68% in 2024-25, up from 67.3% a year earlier. At the same time, the average daily rate (ADR) climbed 4.7% to ₹8,432, while revenue per available room (RevPAR), which blends occupancy and price, rose 5.7% to ₹5,736, indicating sustained momentum in the hotel business.

Rapid membership growth

At Radisson Hotel Group, loyalty membership in South Asia has expanded sharply. The company said its regional member base rose from about 1.5 million in 2023 to roughly 3.2 million in 2025. In India alone, Radisson Rewards now has around 3.8 million members, underscoring how central repeat customers have become to its growth strategy.

Nikhil Sharma, managing director and area senior vice-president, South Asia, said member contribution to bookings continues to climb as domestic travel deepens beyond metros and repeat stays rise across both business and leisure. For the group, loyalty is increasingly tied to direct bookings and higher on-property spends, he said.

The story is no different at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. India is among the faster-growing markets for its loyalty platform. Wyndham Rewards has more than 122 million members globally, and the company said its India membership base has doubled over the past two years. The company did not disclose how many members it has in India but said rewards members account for a significant share of room nights in the country, reflecting rising repeat travel across both leisure and business segments.

Rahool Macarius, market managing director for Eurasia, said loyalty has become central to Wyndham’s India strategy, particularly as competition intensifies in the mid-scale and upper-midscale segments, where price sensitivity is high but brand stickiness drives repeat demand.