Global Hotel Groups Bet on Customer Loyalty To Beat Online and AI Agents

The world's largest hotel chains are aggressively pushing customers toward direct bookings as they brace for a future where AI "agents" could reshape how travelers find and reserve rooms. Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Wyndham have all expanded their loyalty programs and perks in recent months, aiming to reduce their reliance on online travel agents like Expedia and Booking.com that typically charge commissions of 15 to 25%.

Marriott's Bonvoy program reached almost 260 million members by the end of September, an 18% jump from the prior year. Hilton has lowered the barriers to elite status and struck partnerships that let members spend points outside its hotel portfolio.

AI-powered booking tools could route customers away from brand-conscious decisions, but they could also offer hotels a cheaper distribution channel than traditional OTAs. Marriott CFO Leeny Oberg said at a conference this month that AI bookings "could potentially be cheaper than the OTAs." Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti called tools like ChatGPT and Gemini "a unique opportunity" to reduce OTA dependency.

Don't Be Stupid

[SlashbotAgent]

they could also offer hotels a cheaper distribution channel than traditional OTAs. Marriott CFO Leeny Oberg said at a conference this month that AI bookings "could potentially be cheaper than the OTAs."

Now, don't be stupid! He does not mean reduce the price of a hotel room. He means cut his cost and increase his margin.

Re: Don't Be Stupid

[Z00L00K]

My loyalty doesn't lie with a chain but with a specific hotel at each location I visit. Location is often beats chain.

Re:

[PPH]

Location is often beats chain.

This is true. The management of particular facilities can vary widely within a chain. And that can affect the quality of a stay dramatically. Also, you often want to pick a location that is convenient for your itinerary*.

*Anecdote: I was a part of a team traveling to work with a vendor at their facility. Our companies 'preferred' agency tried booking us all at an airport hotel. About 20 miles from the vendor's site. I cancelled my booking and found a nice residence inn, about 5 miles to the office. Better

Re: Don't Be Stupid

[Z00L00K]

And if I can have walking distance between hotel and the facility I visit it's even better. No need for a cab or public transport.

Re:

[mjwx]

they could also offer hotels a cheaper distribution channel than traditional OTAs. Marriott CFO Leeny Oberg said at a conference this month that AI bookings "could potentially be cheaper than the OTAs."

Now, don't be stupid! He does not mean reduce the price of a hotel room. He means cut his cost and increase his margin.

It would do both. You can offer a cheaper price that cuts out the middleman and gives a bigger margin to you.

But they sold out to the OTAs years ago so they have an enforceable agreement not to do that. Dug their own grave with that one, now the Priceline/Expedia effectively own them, piss us off and no customers for you.

I remember the 90s and 00s, hotel groups (Hilton, Accor, IHG) used to have really good loyalty programs but devalued them when OTAs became popular. It's a bit late to regret that now.

Re:

[SlashbotAgent]

It would do both.

No, it would fucking not.

That they could reduce the room price doesn't mean that they would. Not for one second.

The only thing that would reduce the room price is significantly increased vacancy.

Re:

[mjwx]

It would do both.

No, it would fucking not.

That they could reduce the room price doesn't mean that they would. Not for one second.

The only thing that would reduce the room price is significantly increased vacancy.

Erm, it happens all the time. It's not a zero sum game.

Travel, in particular air travel is proof of this as airlines stopped paying commission to agents (particularly outside the US), so you ended up with both lower prices and better service by booking direct.

Any hotel or airline that would opt for emtpy rooms/seats over lowing prices, especially when you can lower prices and still increase per unit profit will not be in business very long.

This is really the worst defence of an abusive industry (tr

I'm concerned that they are concerned...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

What seems most concerning is that they are freaking out about 'agentic' when the status quo is a combination of direct price comparison and sale through travel agents that are taking a 15%-25% cut.

Best case, it's just a matter of there being something about suits that makes them believe anything you say about 'AI' with an inhuman fervor; worst case that's the reaction of someone who expects the leading botherds to enjoy enough market power to take an even deeper bite than the current travel agents do; w

Buy direct is often more expensive

[FeelGood314]

I would have no problem booking a hotel directly with the property but most of the time expedia or one of its clones is cheaper. Do they really expect me to be loyal and pay more?

Re:

[magamiako1]

Yeah, you mean to tell me that even with a 15-25% markup it's still cheaper to use travel sites than to book directly? LOL, give me a break.

I like using the travel sites for a few reasons:

1. I can book an entire trip at once, tying the travel together into one coherent package. I can time the hotels, cars, and flights together easily. For most people who book, wouldn't it suck to realize you booked the hotel for the 14th when your flight gets in late on the 13th and realize you have no hotel room that eveni

Re:

[test321]

Try outside the US. I'm in EU and according to my friends who operate a hotel, booking.com charges 10 € per night or so. I just checked Expedia and it's a steal. On Expedia the local Holiday Inn. is at 111 € just the stay, or 138 € with breakfast. Directly booking from the IHG.com website (holiday inn) website has the same "standard room" at 102 € per night with breakfast (same dates, 4 weeks from now).

Bonvoyed

[Registered Coward v2]

Marriot has lowered the value of Bonvoy to the point the main perk I get as someone at the highest tier is upgraded rooms and club access if the property has one. Bonvoy members have a term for what Marriott is doing, it's being "Bonvoyed."

Re: Bonvoyed

[LindleyF]

Club access for free is a decent perk. I'm Bonvoy Gold, and too often that gets absolutely nothing.

Re:

[Zelucifer]

Honestly, if you're not going to hit Platinum, there's no reason whatsoever to be loyal to Marriott. I have lifetime gold and I'm probably 50 nights away from lifetime platinum, so I'll stick with them for a bit more time, but other than that I'm relatively brand agnostic at this point.

Club access is great, if you're at one of the dwindling number of hotels that offers a club.

Re:

[Zelucifer]

Agreed. I'm not sure what this article is talking about, Hilton has made some minor improvements, but Marriott has continued to be less and less rewarding for customers. Between the point devaluations, the lack of brand standard enforcements, and the lack of benefits, for the average consumer you're better off booking through a third party when the rate is cheaper. I can't think of a single change Hyatt made within the past 6 months, same with Wyndham.

The Problem With Hotel Perks

[Thelasko]

Most hotels are independently owned. Just because it says "Marriott" on the sign does not mean the hotel is owned and operated by Marriott. If the hotel owners don't want to provide these perks, these plans mean nothing.

Re:

[mspohr]

Not owned by Marriott but definitely operated and marketed by Marriott.
The owners are silent and have no say.

Quality matters

[fropenn]

I would be more loyal if quality was more consistent by brand. Even some of the top brands, such as Hyatt, the hotel quality really varies greatly from location to location. So if I'm going to pay Hyatt prices, I want to expect good quality every time. Unfortunately, that's not the case with any of the brands so every new location requires reading lots of reviews, looking at maps and street views, etc. I stayed in one Hyatt Place, for example, where the pool had been shutdown for more than a year and the ai

Booking with chains may not be trouble-free

[UnknowingFool]

In 2024, Marriott entered into a 20 year partnership with Sonder Holdings Inc, a company that managed short-term rentals, to add 1,500 rooms. Marriott customers could book Sonder rooms through Marriott. Unfortunately in November 2025, Sonder filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) and refused to accommodate booked reservations. That left many Marriott customers with no reservations [hoteldive.com] and in some cases no refunds. Marriott however will not cover the amounts and in some cases could not accommodate their cu

They expect me to be "loyal" ?

[mspohr]

What a joke.
I'm not loyal to any corporation that is only concerned about profit.

Booking with the hotel really helped me last month

[wwphx]

I needed to cut my stay short by two or three days, and because I booked direct on the hotel site and not through a third-party site, I had no problem. They said if I had not booked direct, they could not have stopped the charge because of the site wanting their commission cut. At the same time, you have to look at whether or not you're booking a non-refundable room rate or you may be stuck regardless. You still have to be a savvy shopper.

Airlines vs Hotel.

[gurps_npc]

I am sure that hotels are looking at airlines and trying to use the same frequent flyer model.

But it will not work.

1) Convenience. Often people live in a location where only a few airlines or even a single one has significant presence. If you live in Salt Lake City you know Delta is going to be your main airline. If you live in the Nethererlands, KLM. If you live in Egypt, EgyptAir. Etc. Not hard to pick one to be you main service - even if your always have a choice.

The same does not apply to hotels.

Had to look up "OTA"

[jenningsthecat]

To me "OTA" is an acronym for "Over The Air". Apparently it also refers to "Online Travel Agent". It might be good if editors added that tidbit to the summary, as I suspect I'm not the only one to be confused by this.

They should form a group

[nospam007]

And allow people to book any of their hotels on a single site.

Maybe call it Booking.com?

How I booked my last few hotels

[Snotnose]

I knew where I wanted to end up, Google maps showed me hotels close by. I looked for one that looked acceptable, then cheapest.