Hotel loyalty is becoming more local, more personal and more experience-driven

Marriott Bonvoy’s latest APEC research suggests hotel brands can no longer rely on one-size-fits-all loyalty programs as guest expectations shift toward everyday value and passion-based travel.

A new Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Trends Report 2026 highlights how hotel loyalty engagement across Asia Pacific is evolving beyond traditional points-based models. While loyalty participation remains high across the region, travellers are increasingly engaging with hotel programs based on their travel motivations, lifestyle priorities and local market behaviors. The report suggests that guests now expect loyalty programs to deliver practical everyday value, relevant partnerships and more personalized experiences rather than generic rewards. For hoteliers, the findings underline how loyalty is becoming a broader guest engagement strategy that extends well beyond room nights.

Key takeaways

• Travel motivations are reshaping hotel loyalty: Marriott found that travellers engage differently with loyalty programs depending on why they travel. Guests focused on food, wellness, shopping or cultural experiences show distinct earning and redemption behaviors, creating pressure for hotels to personalize loyalty offerings around guest interests.
• Food and beverage are becoming major loyalty levers: Food & Dining emerged as the strongest travel priority across APEC, with 63% of travellers prioritizing culinary experiences. Travellers in this segment are highly likely to engage with loyalty through restaurants, bars and food-related rewards, giving hotels new opportunities to monetize F&B beyond the guest room.
• Wellness travellers could drive higher on-property spend: The report identifies “Recharge & Disconnect” travellers as a major growth opportunity for hotel loyalty programs. These guests tend to spend more across hotels, spas and resorts once on property, suggesting leisure and resort hotels may benefit from packaging wellness and loyalty more closely together.
• Guests increasingly expect immediate value: Across APEC, travellers ranked everyday earning opportunities and easily accessible rewards above aspirational redemptions. Smaller, functional rewards such as F&B perks, upgrades and practical travel benefits are becoming more important than long-term luxury redemption goals.
• Partnership ecosystems are becoming essential: Marriott emphasized that partnerships with airlines, e-commerce, dining and food delivery platforms are now central to loyalty relevance. The findings suggest hotels can strengthen guest engagement by connecting loyalty programs to everyday consumer spending habits outside the hotel stay itself.
• Loyalty strategies need to become more localized: The report highlights major behavioral differences between markets such as Japan, Singapore, India and Indonesia. Marriott argues that loyalty growth across Asia Pacific will increasingly depend on hyperlocal program design rather than standardized regional strategies.
• Hotel loyalty remains one of the strongest travel loyalty categories: Hotel loyalty programs continue to outperform airlines, retail and dining programs in participation across APEC. Membership retention also remains high, reinforcing loyalty’s importance as a long-term guest relationship and direct engagement tool for hotel brands.
• Gamification is emerging as a new engagement tool: Travellers responded positively to challenges, milestone rewards and unlockable benefits. This points toward future loyalty programs combining transactional rewards with more interactive and behavior-driven engagement mechanics.

Source: WiT

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