Wyndham Rewards has partnered with Points.com to enable its more than 7 million active members to buy and gift rewards points, good for items such as gift cards, retail merchandise, airline miles and free hotel nights at www.wyndhamrewards.com.
“A lot of customers want to add points for various reasons,” Robin Korman, the senior vice president of Loyalty Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for Wyndham Hotel Group Told Loyalty 360. “They might be near the next threshold or they might want to gift a stay to family or friends. This is another way we are making it easier for our customers to redeem their points.”
In July of 2012, Wyndham Rewards added a gift card option for its members.
“We want to keep our program highly accessible to all of our customers, not just those who stay with us every single week,” Korman added, pointing out that most other hotel rewards programs are geared to the business traveler. The infrequent traveler can be a valuable customer, too, when lifetime value is taken into account. So it was important for Wyndham Rewards to keep the program relevant for this traveler, too.
In adding value to the program through the Points.com relationship, Wyndham Rewards is moving in a different direction than other hotel rewards programs that have raised thresholds as the cost of rooms have gone up, Korman said. “Programs tend to get more generous when times are tough and as rates go down. As occupancy rates and prices rise, it tends to become harder for a traveler to earn a free night.”
Wyndham offers free stays starting as low as 6,000 points, while other reward options start as low as 2,200 points. Members may also choose to earn airline or rail miles with over 20 leading carriers. Points.com manages the largest consumer rewards management platform, allowing more than 3.5 million users to trade, track, exchange, and redeem their loyalty points, miles, and rewards.
Korman added that the Points.com relationship is the first of many changes for the Wyndham Rewards program planned in 2013, though details of other changes have yet to be finalized.
The Points.com relationship also builds on aggressive program expansion in 2012. As the hotel group and the program expanded their presence in Europe, Asia and in other international locations. Wyndham Rewards is the world’s largest lodging loyalty program. Similarly, the Wyndham Hotel Group is the world’s largest hotel company, with more than 7,250 hotels and some 618,000 rooms in 66 countries.