You’ve just booked a trip, and, as always, you’re looking for ways to save. This time around, you stumble across a great deal on hotels.com. You go ahead and book and then realise you can earn a hotels.com reward for every night you stay. Great!
But is it really worth it? That’s what we’re here to help answer. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the hotels.com rewards program and see if it’s worth your time and money. We’ll also give you some tips on how to make the most of the program, so you can earn those rewards faster and more efficiently.
What Is Hotels.com and How Does It Work?
Hotels.com are one of the largest online hotel booking platforms in the world, but they are certainly not a hotel chain. Their website offers a wide range of accommodation options to travellers in the United Kingdom and worldwide. With over 300,000 listed properties to choose from, the platform provides a convenient and user-friendly way for customers to find and book the perfect hotel for their needs.
One of the key benefits of using Hotels.com is the wide variety of options available. Whether you are looking for a budget-friendly hotel or a luxurious five-star hotel, the platform has something to suit all preferences and budgets. Additionally, the website features a comprehensive search and filtering system, making it easy for customers to find the perfect hotel based on location, price, amenities, and more.
Hotels.com also offers excellent customer service, with a dedicated support team available 24/7 to assist with any questions or issues that may arise. The website is also available in multiple languages, making it accessible to a wide range of international travellers.
Hotels.com is therefore a great choice for anyone looking to book accommodation – with a wide range of options, a user-friendly platform, loyalty rewards and excellent customer service, it is a reliable and convenient way to plan your next trip.
But how relevant are their reward programs, and are they worth it? Keep reading to find out.
Overview of Hotels.com Reward Programme.
The program, known as the Hotels.com Rewards program, allows customers to earn free nights at participating hotels by booking through the Hotels.com website.
It is free to join and there are no blackout dates or restrictions on when you can redeem your free nights. To earn rewards, customers simply need to book a stay at a participating hotel through the Hotels.com website. For every 10 nights booked, customers will earn one free night at a participating hotel
Eligibility and signing Up
It’s easy to join the Hotels.com reward program. All you need to do is create a Hotels.com account. It’s free, and it only takes a few minutes. Once you’re signed up, you’ll be able to start earning rewards right away.
What are the rewards?
So what are the rewards? Of course, at first glance, the rewards may not look like much, but the simplicity it offers is what makes it so appealing. The reward is simply one free night after you have completed 10 nights stay using the hotels.com website. This is a great way to save money on future bookings and make the most of your travel budget.
The Hotels.com Rewards program allows customers to earn free nights at participating hotels by booking through the Hotels.com website. The rules for earning rewards are as follows:
- Customers must book their stays through the Hotels.com website in order to earn rewards. Bookings made through other travel booking websites or directly with hotels will not qualify for rewards.
- For every 10 nights booked, customers will earn one free night at any hotel listed on the hotels.com website
- The free nights earned through the rewards program can be used at any participating hotel, but the value of the free night will be the average of the 10 paid nights you have previously booked. So if you have booked 5 nights at £200 per night and 5 nights and £100 – your FREE reward night will be valued at £150.
- Free nights earned can be used for hotel bookings valued at more or less than your free night reward. Where it is less you will not receive a refund for the difference and where the hotel night booking is valued at more than your reward night you will need to pay the difference.
- You will not earn a night credit toward a free night if you book a hotel with a discount code or if you do not complete the booking (if you don’t actually check in and checkout of the hotel for example).
- You are not allowed to redeem multiple free nights to pay for one expensive night. So, one free night will be redeemable for one night only.
- The reward night only covers the base price of the booking. You will still need to pay any taxes related to your room booking
- Free nights earned through the rewards program are valid for one year from the date of issuance. After one year, any unused rewards will expire.
- If you have more than one FREE reward night these can be combined and used together if needed
- The program is free to join and there are no blackout dates or restrictions on when you can redeem your free nights, so you can use your rewards whenever it is convenient for you.
Explaining Hotels.com Elite Status
The users at Hotels.com are assigned a total of two user statuses to function within the platform. And they are “Silver” status and “Gold” status. There is a basic status upon signing up, but it doesn’t count since it doesn’t come with a lot of benefits. You’ll level up to the “Silver” status once you’ve booked a minimum of 10 nights at hotels within one year of your account creation. And then, you can level up to the “Gold” status once you’ve booked 30 nights at hotels within a year of your account creation.
Let’s discuss the details of each elite status and how they are relevant to your needs.
Silver Status
When you’re at the Silver status, you’ll receive instant customer service when you call for assistance. It’s pretty convenient when you have an emergency regarding a hotel and need to reach the hotel assistance ASAP. Some other benefits of “Silver” status include:
- Free WIFI
- Free breakfast
- Coupons for airport transfers
- Discounts at relaxation spas
- Hasslefree refunds
Gold Status
With Gold status, you will get everything that Silver status offers plus the following:
- Access to a complimentary room upgrade
- Access to “early check-in” and “late checkout”
It is worth noting that the silver status benefits do not offer much which is not readily available to routinely to all customers so it is worth bearing this in mind.
Additional Benefits
Hotels.com now offers you the ability to earn Avios points by stacking their 10% reward night offer. All you have to do is book through the Avios portal and get started by earning 4 points for every 1 pound you spend. And as of now, that’s pretty much a 4.4% discount on your bookings while you still are eligible to earn free nights. So overall combining this with the free night offer (which is equivalent to a 10% discount) means you are getting a 14% discount overall.
Tips for Maximizing Hotels.com Reward
If you plan on utilizing Hotels.com to maximize your return, then here are a few tips you should keep in mind. First, it’s important to join their rewards program—Hotels.com Rewards—before your booking so that you can start collecting rewards points and save up for free night stays faster. Additionally, make sure to sign up for their newsletter so that you can receive deals on special packages and promotional offers directly in your inbox.
You can also save significant amounts of money by using their mobile app when booking hotels. The app provides exclusive discounts and offers that aren’t available anywhere else, so make sure to check them out! Finally, be sure to always read the fine print before submitting any payment information or confirming any bookings—this way, you won’t be hit with any unexpected fees or charges.
Limitations of Hotels.com Reward Offer
While Hotels.com’s offer is undeniably attractive, there are some limitations that you should be aware of. Firstly, it applies only to hotels booked through their website; third-party booking sites are not eligible for the offer. Secondly, it doesn’t apply to any added services such as parking or meals. Lastly, the offer is only valid in the form of a Hotels.com credit, not cash money.
Additionally, there are some restrictions on how long you have to make use of your return: you need to book a new stay within one year of your original stay, and you need to use up your Hotels.com credit within two years of earning it. This can be tricky if you don’t travel often; if that’s the case, make sure to plan ahead and mark when these deadlines occur on your calendar.
Most importantly by booking hotels using the hotels.com website you do not earn loyalty points at the large big box hotels that run membership schemes. So if you book a Hilton or Marriott hotel using hotels.com you will not earn rewards on their schemes. Having looked at the reward program at Hotels.com and compared this to hotel loyalty schemes we would recommend in most instances using the hotel loyalty schemes and using hotels.com when staying at boutiques to independent hotels that do not run their own loyalty schemes.
Are Hotels.com Rewards Worth It?
Hotels.com is convenient in providing countless hotels around the world listed on their website. You’ll love the easy booking process in more than 200 countries, and the benefits, rewards and coupons available. It’s also likely that you will find a better price on hotels.com in most instances than going direct to the hotel-branded website. (although a number of hotel branded websites offer price matching against hotels.com
Wide range of options
Hotels.com offers a vast selection of over properties with a wide range of options to suit all preferences and budgets.
Available around the world
Hotels.com is available in over 200 countries in the world, and you can get started on booking hotels pretty easily. You can use their reward system and discounts anywhere.
Convenient and user-friendly platform
The website features a comprehensive search and filtering system, making it easy for customers to find the perfect hotel based on location, price, amenities, and more.
Loyalty rewards
Hotels.com offers a loyalty program that rewards customers with one free night for every ten nights booked, providing an opportunity to save money on future bookings.
Great customer service
Hotels.com offers a dedicated customer service team available 24/7 to assist with any questions or issues that may arise.
Available in multiple languages
The website is available in multiple languages, making it accessible to a wide range of international travellers.
Trustworthy
Hotels.com is a well-known and reputable brand that ensures your booking and payment safety.
Flexibility
Hotels.com allows customers to cancel or change their bookings, but the terms and conditions can vary depending on the hotel and rate.
In short, Hotels.com is a reliable and convenient choice for travellers looking to book accommodation. With a wide range of options, a user-friendly platform, loyalty rewards, excellent customer service, and multiple languages availability, it is a great choice for planning your next trip. Of course, there are limitations on their services, but most of the time, they are outweighed by the benefits.
Bottom Line
So, there you have it. Hotels.com reward offer excellent value for money, especially when you consider that you can earn free nights at some of the best hotels in the world. Not only that, but the Hotels.com rewards program is very easy to use. With a little bit of effort, you could easily rack up enough stamps to get a free night’s stay…. But if you have a status ranking with a major hotel brand this cannot be maintained (and you do not earn points) if bookings or made on hotels.com. Therefore we recommend hotels.com when you do not have loyalty status at another hotel chain that you are not maintaining or you are booking a hotel not part of another membership program. Hotels.com is perfect outside of branded loyalty programs or if you are not a member or no hotels are available from your usual brand in the location you are visiting.
We love the ease of use and simplicity of the reward program and for us – it’s the loyalty program we use when we cannot book and earn points with our Hilton or Marriott Bonvoy memberships.
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