DRNew Delhi: Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel brand, announced the launch of I Prefer Alliance, an innovative new loyalty platform that allows independent hotels and regional hotel brands to extend full benefits of I Prefer Hotel Rewards to members of their distinctive guest benefit programs. Featuring a straightforward point exchange structure, I Prefer Alliance allows partner hotels to incentivize their respective loyalty members by extending access to more than 650 additional destinations across 85 countries where they can earn and redeem points, while receiving other valuable benefits during every eligible stay. Preferred Hotels & Resorts debuts I Prefer Alliance with Tokyu Hotels – one of Japan’s leading hotel groups, with 44 properties across the country and more than 700,000 Tokyu Comfort Members – as its inaugural partner.
“As Preferred Hotels & Resorts entered its 51st year of championing the independent hotel experience, we identified an opportunity to further support our hotel partners’ individual goals related to fostering more impactful guest loyalty,” said Jeri Salazar, Vice President of Loyalty, Preferred Hotels & Resorts. “I Prefer Alliance was created to provide independent hotels with the flexibility to personalize their own programs in a way that would help drive more loyalty from their current members, while creating more visibility for partner properties and all hotels that participate in I Prefer among a growing and highly engaged travel community who prefer authentic, inspiring travel experiences. We look forward to integrating more hotel partners into I Prefer Alliance globally in the months ahead.”
Adding on, Seema Roy, Area Managing Director – South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Australasia for Preferred Hotels & Resorts says, “We are pleased to debut the I Prefer Alliance Program in the Indian sub-continent. Looking ahead, we believe that this significant move will positively transform and enhance independent travel experiences in the region by empowering participating partner hotels with the tools to reward guest loyalty, and create positive demand for the industry from around the world.”
Introduced as a points-based model by Preferred Hotels & Resorts in August 2013, I Prefer is the world’s largest global points-based loyalty program for independent hotels. As of January 2019, more than three million members have enrolled in I Prefer to take advantage of its benefits, which include points that can be exchanged for cash-value I Prefer Reward Certificates, as well as elite status and additional benefits such as priority early check-in/late check-out, room upgrade based on availability, and complimentary Internet upon every eligible stay at more than 650 participating properties worldwide. In 2018, the program produced a 24% increase in reservations revenue and a 31% increase in stays to participating hotels, as compared to 2017.
Through I Prefer Alliance, partners can extend the full benefits of I Prefer Hotel Rewards to members of their respective programs upon every eligible stay. The points exchange structure for each I Prefer Alliance partnership will be unique to the structure of each individual partner’s program.
Effective immediately through Tokyu Hotels’ affiliation with I Prefer Alliance, all Tokyu Comfort Members will receive two Comfort Points for every $1 spent on net room reservations when they book any hotel outside Japan through a dedicated offer page on PreferredHotels.com or voice reservations line. In addition, I Prefer members visiting Japan will now be able to earn 25 I Prefer points per US$1 spent on net room reservations, as well as redeem I Prefer Reward Certificates, at 19 participating Tokyu hotels, four of which are members of Preferred Hotels & Resorts: The Capitol Hotel Tokyu, Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, Kyoto Tokyu Hotel, and Nagoya Tokyu Hotel.
For more information on I Prefer and to view a list of participating properties, visit www.IPrefer.com.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts Launches I Prefer Members’ Choice Awards
Preferred Hotels & Resorts – has also unveiled the winners of its first-ever – I Prefer Members’ Choice Awards. These new awards celebrate hotels worldwide that are best-of-the-best in delivering high quality standards and exceptional, personalized experiences to members of the brand’s I Prefer Hotel Rewards program, as determined by votes collected from I Prefer members in December 2018. Forty hotels were selected as winners across four regional categories.
Ten hotels were announced as winners within each of the four regional awards categories. Hotel Monteleone, a literary landmark in New Orleans’ French Quarter since 1886, was ranked the top hotel globally for its commitment to delivering an outstanding I Prefer experience to all new and existing members. In addition to Hotel Monteleone, Pulitzer Amsterdam, Royal Plaza on Scotts, and Half Moon, the diverse range of independent luxury hotels selected across 24 countries demonstrate the caliber of one-of-a-kind experiences enjoyed by I Prefer members booking stays at participating properties across the Preferred Hotels & Resorts global portfolio.
For more information on the I Prefer Members’ Choice Awards, visit www.IPrefer.com/MembersChoice.
