Are you aware there are tens of billions of dollars of unspent reward scheme points sitting on the world's top loyalty cards? Imagine if some of that money could be spent on booking your hotel.

Thankfully the good news is that almost all of these schemes offer members the chance to buy travel with those points: trains, planes, automobiles and most importantly for you…hotels.

We all know the most famous cards in our respective markets. But beyond the top few there are thousands of such programmes that range from credit card schemes and air miles points, right through to employer benefits schemes - that's where employees get discounts on products or vouchers as part of their pay, or as a one-off bonus.

But why should you prioritise guest bookings from this channel? A guest is a guest, after all? Well, firstly and perhaps most importantly keep in mind that such bookings don't compete with your direct sales or existing online partners. Guests purchasing on these platforms are typically not considering alternative channels to purchase - after all, they're using points! Many of the schemes offer global options to combine with other travel components, so there's a great opportunity to capture non-domestic bookings too.

Secondly, bookings via such platforms are not so price sensitive. This could mean higher yields for your hotel. Why would that be? As the customer is using points, in an environment where one point does not always equal one dollar, making a comparison with the cash value is difficult.

Additionally, often customers simply wish to spend their points before they expire, and experience shows people are willing to upgrade their choices. And finally, because the choice of hotels is normally more limited, this means you have much less competition for your hotel than through other channels.

Lastly keep in mind that this distribution route means you can offer special rates just for this channel without compromising your overall revenue strategy, or creating concerns around distribution of rates. The offline nature of these sales and the fact that people pay in points - as opposed to hard currency - means that you can be much more flexible on pricing with respect to other channels, such as your website or an online travel agent.

Overall our research - based on analysing the 50 million room nights we helped hoteliers sell last year around the world via our business-to-business channel - shows that bookings made via points and loyalty schemes also generally deliver higher value guests, when compared to the online travel agency channel. What do we mean by that? Basically such guests book further in advance, cancel less, stay for longer, and spend more once in the hotel.

Does a better a guest exist? Yes, you might say, one that comes back again. Loyalty is the name of the game if you are a reputable hotelier. But it turns out that guests who book via niche channels, such as a reward scheme, are also more loyal: they come back more often.

So how do you go about getting bookings from this channel? Can an independent hotel do this alone, or is this really just for big chains only? Like any distribution channel you need to dedicate time and resources to do this properly. But the good news is that you don't need to be a big chain, or even have multiple properties.

At its most simple you contact the big scheme providers and start from there, no doubt they´ll all be pleased to hear from you. But this can be time consuming and negotiating a fair deal could be challenging, besides there are a lot of schemes out there - where do you start?

An easier alternative however is to work with a business-to-business distribution partner such as a bedbank or channel manager that offers access to many points redemption, loyalty and employee benefits schemes. There are perhaps millions across the globe - so you are never going to come close to dealing with them all.

Not only should such a bedbank or channel manager partner be able to negotiate the best deal on your behalf, they should also have the technology solutions in place to implement this. This route would simplify matters for you and allow you to focus on what you do best: focusing on the guest experience.

Whatever your choice, the next time you hand over one of your points cards, give some thought to the bigger reward on offer for your hotel: points don't just win prizes, they also earn you guests.

About HBX Group

HBX Group is a global B2B TravelTech company that owns and operates Hotelbeds, Bedsonline and Roiback. We offer a network of interconnected products and services to partners such as travel agencies, tour operators, destinations, and hotels, as well as companies wanting to leverage the travel sector. Our vision is to simplify the complex and fragmented travel industry through a combination of cloud-based technology solutions, curated data, and an extensive portfolio of products designed to maximise revenue. HBX Group is present in 170 countries and employs more than 3700 people around the globe. We are committed to making travel a force for good, creating a positive social and environmental impact. Learn more about HBX Group at www.hbxgroup.com

Alicia Orta Stanford
Media Relations & Corporate Affairs