Travelers who are fed up with dynamic pricing loyalty schemes where the cost to redeem those hard-earned miles or points varies between not available and more than I have in my account may have a place to turn, at least when it comes to their next hotel stay. Global Hotel Alliance represents 44 hotel groups and over 840 four- and five-star hotels. Its GHA Discovery loyalty program boasts over 29 million members and is gaining three million new members per year.
You're not alone if you aren't familiar with GHA or its loyalty program. Only about two million members are based in North America, a legacy of its unique structure. Founded in 2004 as a way for smaller chains to compete with bigger brands and their massive budgets for technology, distribution and sales representation, GHA launched its first frequent guest program a few years later.
That initial play was focused on experiences, according to EVP Strategy Kristi Gole, a former executive with Neiman Marcus. Each hotel would create something special; for example, in New York, a hotel would combine tickets to a Broadway show (that anyone could buy) with backstage access (a bit trickier to attain). In December 2021, the program was relaunched, keeping the experiences but adding Discovery Dollars as its earn-and-burn currency.
"It's brilliant," says Mary Gostelow , an award-winning journalist who covers the hotel industry, adding, "There's real money involved. Discovery Dollars are valued one-to-one pegged to the U.S.
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