Aussies are amongst some of the most value-driven members of hotel loyalty programs in the world, new research from Marriott Bonvoy has revealed.
Almost half of Australian respondents (46%) in the Loyalty Trends 2026 survey said the key reason for remaining in these programs was to score bonus points through directly booking with a hotel.
Meanwhile, 43% said ‘more ways to earn and spend’ was an important improvement of hotel loyalty programs.
In addition, 52% earn hotel loyalty points through nights and stays and 57% redeem them on property upgrades.
According to the report, this behaviour shows that Australian travellers are ‘value optimisers’, driven by “whether loyalty tangibly improves the travel experience or delivers visible savings”, such as perks.
“Understanding these behaviours enables hotel loyalty programs to design loyalty that rewards the right actions…while maintaining flexibility across different travel patterns, including ‘bleisure’,” stated Marriott Bonvoy’s report.
The study also found that across the Asia Pacific (excluding China) 89% of travellers participate in at least one loyalty program, with hotels the most popular.
