Hotels.com used to have the most compelling hotel rewards program for those who don’t want to be loyal to a specific hotel group. Major changes were just implemented to this, and it’s very bad news. For most people, rewards have been cut by around 80%, which is brutal.
While this was first announced a few months back, I wanted to post an update, as the changes have been implemented as of July 6, 2023.
In this post:
How the Hotels.com Rewards program used to work
Let’s start with some context. Hotels.com Rewards was the name of the popular online travel agency’s rewards program. Prior to this change, the program was simple and extremely rewarding. Hotels.com Rewards essentially offered a reward of 10% for your hotel spending:
- For every 10 nights stayed, you got one night free; this came in the form of each night getting you a “stamp,” and 10 stamps getting you a free night
- The value of your free night was equal to the average of your spending over those 10 nights
- You could choose which night you redeem for, so it didn’t have to be your 11th night; if you redeemed at a hotel costing less than the average amount you didn’t get a refund, while if you redeemed at a hotel costing more than the average amount, you just had to pay the difference (so that was the better option)
Hotels.com Rewards wasn’t for everyone, in the sense that you were giving up points with your preferred hotel loyalty program when you booked this way. Personally I prefer booking directly with hotels (or through a program like Virtuoso, where stays are considered qualifying), so that I earn points and can take advantage of elite perks. However, being able to earn the equivalent of a 10% reward on your spending on virtually any hotel stay (even at hotels without their own loyalty program) was quite a solid opportunity.
Hotels.com Rewards transitions to One Key
As of July 6, 2023, Hotels.com, Expedia, and Vrbo, have launched a new rewards program, called One Key. The new rewards currency is referred to as OneKeyCash, and it covers all three brands.
Unfortunately this isn’t just a branding change, but it also represents a massive adjustment to the value proposition of the program:
- One Key members earn 2% in OneKeyCash for every dollar spent on eligible hotels, vacation rentals, activities, packages, rental cars, and cruises, and 0.2% OneKeyCash for every dollar spent on eligible flights
- For stays at “eligible VIP Access properties,” Silver members earn a 50% bonus, Gold members earn a 100% bonus, and Platinum members earn a 200% bonus
With the new program having just launched, the value of your “stamps” should automatically transition to the new program. In other words, if you had $100 worth of rewards, you’d still have that with the new program.
Suffice it to say that this represents a massive gutting of Hotels.com Rewards. Savvy travelers go from earning the equivalent of a 10% reward on their stays, to earning the equivalent of 2% back on their stays. While you can earn up to 6% on some stays, this requires being Platinum, and only applies at “eligible VIP Access properties.”
Hotels.com is marketing this as a positive (as you’d expect), arguing that this program is simplified, and that you no longer need to stay 10 nights to be able to redeem.
Bottom line
Hotels.com Rewards has been discontinued in favor of One Key, a new unified loyalty program being offered by Hotels.com, Expedia, and Vrbo. Hotels.com Rewards was a favorite program among many travelers, given that it essentially offered a 10% reward on hotel stays. With the new program, that has been slashed to 2%.
This is a major loss, given that Hotels.com Rewards was quite a competitor to hotels’ own loyalty programs.
What do you make of Hotels.com Rewards transitioning to One Key?
I am NEVER using hotels.com again. I booked a two night stay in New York and paid almost $700 and got just 12.35 in one key rewards. How in the heck is this better than giving me a free night after 10 nights. What a ripoff. Loyalty programs have no idea what the word loyalty means. I will book directly with hotels in future as "the reward" I got would not even get me 2 slices of pizza in new york.
It’s a disgrace. Booked hundreds of hotels over the years and will be looking for alternatives now. Any suggestions?
How can Hotels.com even call itself a rewards program now? They've instantly lost me as a loyal customer, and I was VIP level for many many years. Hopefully millions of others ditch them as fast as they ditched all of us.
It's actually even worse.
I had seven reward nights for which I zero new points! Total rip off
https://youtube.com/shorts/Mt4gQs43Gtk?si=tD5BmbeyNZDqB-my
I got scammed too! They expired my credit after only 6 months NOT 18 beware!!
Just discovered this shocker after making a two-night booking through hotels.com. Looks like it will be my last.
I have stopped booking through Hotels.com - their rates on the website are not final. They are also not the best rate. I find going directly with the hotels, i do get better rates and options to be upgraded etc. I spent on average 15 - 20 thousand USD / year on hotels.com - their "benefits" are not true, there are not secret prices, if you have issues, they did not help me in last...
I have stopped booking through Hotels.com - their rates on the website are not final. They are also not the best rate. I find going directly with the hotels, i do get better rates and options to be upgraded etc. I spent on average 15 - 20 thousand USD / year on hotels.com - their "benefits" are not true, there are not secret prices, if you have issues, they did not help me in last two instances, when traveling to Australia and the hotel misrepresented their advertising. Does ANYONE know their financials? I am curious to know if they lost business with gutting their loyalty? I am just one small sample, but I alone went down to 1 - 2 bookings / year worth 1 - 2 K....
I was really disappointed when they did this. I've also found on our last several stays that the so called 'secret price' I got ended up being more than the hotels' regular rate I found when I arrived. Upon calling Hotels.com I was told they don't price match once a reservation is made so I was just out of luck.
I plan on cancelling my hotels com credit card and likely will stop using...
I was really disappointed when they did this. I've also found on our last several stays that the so called 'secret price' I got ended up being more than the hotels' regular rate I found when I arrived. Upon calling Hotels.com I was told they don't price match once a reservation is made so I was just out of luck.
I plan on cancelling my hotels com credit card and likely will stop using them for bookings in the future. Multiple messages requesting contact from hotels com have netted no response, just showing their lack of concern for customers. They should fire the imbecile that dreamed up this 'one key cash' program.
The same. I finally got AMEX Plat, although high annual fee, but I am now gold with Hilton/Marriott and the value proposition is much better than hotels.com
Worst idea ever. Lost my business and loyalty. Trying to pass it off as positive change was insulting to everyone’s intelligence.
Totally sucks. Turned a good program that I used a lot into a useless program and I lost 8 stamps!
I have been a loyal user for more than 15 years, but I will just discontinue using hotels.com anymore as the reward is much of a downgrade compared with the previous hotels.com rewards. Now it is more rewarding to book through hotels directly and earn points in their loyalty programs.
Sad that they have done away with the free nights stay, new reward program is another one of them terrible rewards that truly amount to nothing.
Guess not longer using Hotels.com and going back to book direct...
Same here. The sole reason for using Hotel.com was to have access to multiple hotel brands without needing to have accounts/cards for them. Also the 11 night stay deal was a great hook for Hotel.com. Now that its gone... I don't see a reason to keep the card. I'll be taking it out of my wallet and replacing it with my Capital One X. (I considered Hotel.com slightly better than my X card before. Now...
Same here. The sole reason for using Hotel.com was to have access to multiple hotel brands without needing to have accounts/cards for them. Also the 11 night stay deal was a great hook for Hotel.com. Now that its gone... I don't see a reason to keep the card. I'll be taking it out of my wallet and replacing it with my Capital One X. (I considered Hotel.com slightly better than my X card before. Now it's being replaced. So sad.) Bring the original back and we will all return. But until then, best of luck Hotel.com
I too have moved along. The new program is horrible. I was loyal for years but now shopping for something better.
This sux!
I used to use hotels.com almost exclusively for their rewards program. Not anymore.
Delete payment cards.
Delete all data.
Delete account.
Uninstall.
What a waste.....sad.
I have been either a gold or platinum member for years. The reason I remained loyal was the ease of booking but especially the rewards program. When I exhaust my one Key dollars I’m gone. It’s been nice knowing you…
Same. I'm using hotels.com for one more trip in November to burn thru my converted OneKeyCash and leaving this program for good.
Have moved on, not an improvement at all. Was loyal to their program choices all over the globe.
What a shame this is. I have booked 150 hotel rooms in the past 10 years on hotels.com. I could understand dropping the reward from 10% to 8% and being able to get that 8% right away. To go from 10% to 2% is an absolute joke. Do they think we are all idiots and can't do finance? 2% back cant compete with any of the chains own rewards programs. Plus many hotels charge EXTRA...
What a shame this is. I have booked 150 hotel rooms in the past 10 years on hotels.com. I could understand dropping the reward from 10% to 8% and being able to get that 8% right away. To go from 10% to 2% is an absolute joke. Do they think we are all idiots and can't do finance? 2% back cant compete with any of the chains own rewards programs. Plus many hotels charge EXTRA deposit money at check in for using hotels.com which can tie up debit and credit for some people. What is the point now? Everyone should boycott this joke
I had their credit card and used hotels through them but once we get out money out I’m closing that credit card and moving to another cheaper way of getting hotels! Bums me out so bad
The one-key program is a pittance. I am not booking through hotels.com
Any more—no incentive to do so.
Not only did they discontinue a very much appreciated program. I've used hotels.com for years, and enjoyed it. Now they also bumped me down from Gold in the old program to Blue (basic) in the new. I've moved to bookings.com now. All very disappointing.
I just found this out being an ardent hotels.com user. I can't believe how much they lowered their rewards program. I believe I have stayed in hotels across the world in over four countries and have used Hotels.com the majority of the time.
My travels to England, including Southampton and London were ladened with expensive hotel costs. Hotels.com enabled me to accumulate several reward stays at higher end places.
I'm gone. This is nonsensible decline in rewards.
I am no longer using Hotels.com it was an over all pain to work with them anyway if you needed to make changes and this was the final straw - some douchebag exec made a bad decision but I'm glad to be done with them.
Because of this change, I am no longer using Hotels.com for booking any of my business or personal travel
The only reason I was biking with hotels is because of the reward program.
Now I think my best thing to do is go back to book directly from the hotel.
Anything better than this 2% (I believe it’s even less abit)
I had over 10 reward nights before the change... Anyway to get them back?
What a rip-off. I have used hotels.com and redeemed many rewards, worth about $200 with each 10 nights of reservations. Now for 21 stays over the next few months, the “reward” is about $85. Ridiculous. And the booking I made under the old system isn’t being applied to the new system even though the actual stay was only last week.
Blatant bait and switch. Can anyone say lawsuit?
Just today I found out my 8 collected nights are gone and I am basic level member with zero points. Collected free nights circa 4 times.
That was the only reason I tried Hotels every time if they stole my cashback, bye bye in a heartbeat.
I mean - the total value had to be millions of dollars
They are now refusing to honor the terms of reservations made before July 6, namely the 10% rebate in the form of one stamp per paid night. They can do whatever they like with terms for new reservations, but they do need to honor the 10% rebate clearly promised on reservations made before July 6, 2023.
I am extremely disappointed in these changes. Hotels.com was my preferred service for many years. I became a Silver member by booking through the service for all of my business engagements and then using my free nights during my vacation time. Hotel.com didn't always provide the least expensive option, but the free night rewards package made it much more attractive. Now that that service is basically gone, I will no longer use Hotels.com or "OneKey"...
I am extremely disappointed in these changes. Hotels.com was my preferred service for many years. I became a Silver member by booking through the service for all of my business engagements and then using my free nights during my vacation time. Hotel.com didn't always provide the least expensive option, but the free night rewards package made it much more attractive. Now that that service is basically gone, I will no longer use Hotels.com or "OneKey" as my go-to service. I'll really miss it!
I booked a LOT of stays on hotels.com ... I used to be Marriott top tier elite and really labored over the switch to hotels.com around 7 years ago. At the end of the day, I chose to forgo things like upgrades and early check-in at Marriott for the convenience of not being locked into a brand ... especially given how Marriott (and other programs) tend to be much more expensive in beach areas. (for...
I booked a LOT of stays on hotels.com ... I used to be Marriott top tier elite and really labored over the switch to hotels.com around 7 years ago. At the end of the day, I chose to forgo things like upgrades and early check-in at Marriott for the convenience of not being locked into a brand ... especially given how Marriott (and other programs) tend to be much more expensive in beach areas. (for example a 4 star Marriott on the beach in Florida is $450 per night and similar non-branded hotels are $220) However, there is 0% chance I will EVER book a hotels.com room again with such a devaluation. There is no value at all in the program now. We used hotels.com to book a 4 night stay at a $700/night resort and when we checked in they told us they only upgrade rooms when booked direct. Not having a suite was a small consolation vs. the $70 x 4 in rewards we earned. You are literally treated like a grifter when you book using Expedia owned sites ... the worst room, never an early check in/late check out and poor service. It was worth it for the 1/10 reward. I am calling Bonvoy first thing tomorrow and seeing if they have a Platinum Challenge ... bye bye One Key ... hello Bonvoy again. The ONLY benefit to hotels.com is when we were booking rooms in England and Europe, hotels.com charges US dollars vs. currency and oddly does not do a conversion. Meaning, a 500 GBP Marriott hotel room would be $700 US on their direct website ... on hotels.com it is $500. Equal GBP to USD. Not sure how they managed to pull that off ... but it saved us hundreds of dollars when traveling abroad during weak USD periods.
Hotels.com was outstanding with awards and customer service for virtually any hotel anywhere you stayed in, and I did that in five continents. Simply superb. The new program with 2% "rewards" instead of 11th night free is simply not worth the time spent on booking with hotels.com anymore. Would be interested to find out the customer outflow and if the new approach pays for Hotels.com.
I received 27 free nights from hotels.com and was VERY disappointed by the change. Who should I switch to?
What rewards program should I switch to? Traveling for business I want the convenience of booking any hotel, and getting great rewards? I'm going to find a new service, I will miss you Hotels.com
This is an unfortunate turn of events. It's things like this that make dedicated customers look for other companies. I have been with hotels.com almost since the app came out and had used it dozens, if not hundreds of times. When they merged or were purchased, all of the free nights I had went away and the graciously converted that to 20 dollars. Thanks so much but I just deleted your app.
I have over 1000$ coming and will use it soon but won't be booking with them any longer. I'll switch to my credit card program. It's an insult. They are huge and make zillions the 10% was attractive. This is an insult. On a 777$ dream I was gonna band $3. Lol goodbye!!!!!!
I always used to hotels.com to book a room. Just tried that and discovered my stamps toward a free stay had disappeared. I won't bother with them any more. There are plenty of other sites for hotel bookings and they often bring up listings that were not available on hotels.com. I think they will lose lots of previously loyal customers with this change. At least they have lost me.
The new rewards program is awful. If Hotels.com wants people to stop using their card, though, they’re doing an excellent job.
I just realized after booking 3 nights with hotels.com and seeing no new stamp. I'm upset as this would be my 9th night and I'm being screwed. Needless to say I'm done with this app the rewards program was the only reason I used it
I have also been a big user of Hotels.com and am disappointed that the Expedia group (owner of hotels.com) has discontinued their rewards program. I will lower my use of hotels.com and increase my use of hotel specific programs (Best Western and Wyndham). Best Western is a pretty good program and has a rewards rate at between 9% to 10% but you have to work for it. You have to register for every offer and...
I have also been a big user of Hotels.com and am disappointed that the Expedia group (owner of hotels.com) has discontinued their rewards program. I will lower my use of hotels.com and increase my use of hotel specific programs (Best Western and Wyndham). Best Western is a pretty good program and has a rewards rate at between 9% to 10% but you have to work for it. You have to register for every offer and use them. You also have to do surveys to get some extra points. Wyndham is not quite as good as Best Western but still a lot more than the 2% that Hotels.com is offering. It has occured to me that the EXPE (expedia group) may be a short opportunity based on this mistep by expedia management but I will have to do some more research as hotels.com is a small part of the expedia group's profits.
I book 50+ hotel nights per year and always used to use Hotels.com, spefically for the Reward nights, which WAS a great deal. I got no warning about any changes until my Website access was blocked unless I agreed to a new Cash rewards scheme. I had no choice & then found my rewards night that I had planned to use was not available on the website any more. However, I jumped onto my Android...
I book 50+ hotel nights per year and always used to use Hotels.com, spefically for the Reward nights, which WAS a great deal. I got no warning about any changes until my Website access was blocked unless I agreed to a new Cash rewards scheme. I had no choice & then found my rewards night that I had planned to use was not available on the website any more. However, I jumped onto my Android Hotels.com app, where i could still see my Rewards Night available & managed to book a room with it, before their Marketing Dept pulled the plug on that access too. Bad communications, Arrogant attitude and Rubbish Replacement imposed. Bye-bye hotels.com, I'll book direct with hotels in future!
I was loyal to Hotels.com for years, used them exclusively for my small business travel. Now I'm done - switching to Marriott.
My last Hotels.com booking! Used them almost exclusively even when I traveled overseas. Just learned about the major change in their loyalty program. Loyalty works both ways but not at Hotels
Com. Color me gone!
I’m done with Hotels.com
Change in rewards program is disappointing.
I loved the stamp program, but since they did away with it. I am going to start booking directly with the hotels and use their reward program. I would book almost 80+ nights a year. Their loss
No more bookings. I liked this program and they ruined it. I will never book again.
I used Hotels.com for years. When I heard about the change I deleted their phone app. I have a solution to save money and avoid staying at crappy hotels. Buy an RV!!
I used to book a lot with Hotels.com because of the rewards. Now it will only be if they are the best price. This is a bad move.
Canceling my hotels credit card and will no longer book through hotels.com
I've been a Hotels.com client for years now and have earned quite a few reward nights. I was alarmed when I heard about the new Key points plan - but it seems to have stalled. Here in the UK I'm still booking nights using and gaining "stamps" towards reward nights. So, have Hotels.com changed their mind about the transition to Key ?
I have a tree reward nights and 8 dtsmps in the "old" rewarding program but non of them has been transformed into the new system!!
I will no longer book on hotel.com due to the new one key such a ripoff . I booked at least 5 days a week for 3 years ,loved the free nights but now forget it . Not worth it anymore. BYE,BYE
The only reason I used Hotels.com was because of the reward program I actually went through and counted how many nights I have stayed in the past two years using Hotels.com and I booked a total of 85 nights so far between 2022 and 2023. I’ve used Hotels.com for years but honestly after this news, I’m just gonna start using the actual hotel’s reward programs. I am sad about it, but they’ve obviously made a conscious decision knowing that people would be upset.
Was hotels.com customer for about 15+ years, traveling 60 to 90 days a year mostly in . Now their marketing/sales manager lost me.
My kids will get a free coffee instead of a free hotel room on weekend trips.
I will tell them to never book with hotels.com, expedia and associated companies.
As a frequent business traveler I was just looking at booking a room and then noticed for the three night stay I was getting a 6 dollar "reward" credit. I thought is this a joke, or did I misread as this was per night? Nope, for a $400 booking I get 6 bucks back. Not worth my time anymore to book on Hotels.com. I just went on Marriott and booked direct. Bye bye Hotels.com, you were great while it lasted....
They lost me. I’ll use them like brick and mortar shopping and the go directto the hotel web site.
Not happy.
Hotels.com wont transition my nights, I have 48 nights with an aproximate value of $5,500 USD, and they are no transitioning, with a bunch of excuses, not honoring the rewards program nor the new one. What can I do?
So dumb. Big bummer. I even got the hotels.com credit card to cash in on the rewards program… guess I’ll start shopping for a better hotel reward program… I used to sing their praises too… lame.
I’ve been a loyal gold customer for 15 years traveling the U.S. & out of country. This was a fabulous system & systematically overnight they destroyed it & my using their brand. I will still use from time to time but I will no longer use on a whim & will shop frequently on other sites rather than only theirs and for such a low increase in profit for them. They had already hit customers for reserving and no refunds & now this.
The stamps were a draw to book through hotels.com. I will be looking elsewhere for a better rewards program. Big mistake Hotels.com!
It's worse than that. Hotels.com has completely deleted all of my rewards. Every time I contact them, I get some kind of canned message telling me they're looking into the problem. This has been going on for two weeks now and they have made no effort to actually address the issue.
I had earned a free night and was planning on using it this month. Is that now gone? I earned it!!
The update is the absolute worst. I used hotels.com religiously and will never use them again. I would rather not gain points than be loyal to a company that erodes value to loyal customers.
I'm with you, never again!!!
80% cut, they SuK
People have to realize that this change is not about a great rewards program it is simply about them not wanting to pay out as much for those rooms(free nights). its about greed meaning the more you book the less that they have to give you in return. I don't see them being in business too much longer as the math just doesn't add up when you spend thousands of dollars booking rooms to get...
People have to realize that this change is not about a great rewards program it is simply about them not wanting to pay out as much for those rooms(free nights). its about greed meaning the more you book the less that they have to give you in return. I don't see them being in business too much longer as the math just doesn't add up when you spend thousands of dollars booking rooms to get $40 or $50 dollars in rewards. I am sure that the executives that sat around that table and came up with this idea are probably draining the company with cashing in their stock options because they know that this was a horrible idea. They will stick around to get their bonuses then bounce as most customers are currently doing. Wells Fargo doesn't even offer the Hotels.com com credit card anymore. Just very sad to see something so good turn into trash
it’s exactly as you said. gutted. they can do what they want, as can I. i’ve cancelled a number of bookings as without the 10% rebate, it’s better for me to use hotels own programs where I can get add’l benefits. been a member since maybe 2001. Travel 100 nts/yr and although don’t always use them did use them for a fair number of nights. bye bye.
As a customer for >10 years...and accumulated 23 "free" nights. I will close hotels.com account and also credit card by the end of the year. very disappointed with the change of rewards program-unfortunately many patrons will not bother to use up these new "points" before they expire at the end of the year. WAKE UP
Once a terrific, easy to use site...I will find THE next loyalty program that will capitalize on valued customer rewards program.
The Hotels.com VIP status also gave valuable perks like F&B credits, free upgrades and early check in privileges . Unilaterally, and overnight, my previous gold status has been removed, and the lowest level of membership applied instead. And for my stack of nights spent so far, I have been awarded $0 on the new system. I've been a hotels.com gold member for over 12 years. As a result of this insulting change, I will do...
The Hotels.com VIP status also gave valuable perks like F&B credits, free upgrades and early check in privileges . Unilaterally, and overnight, my previous gold status has been removed, and the lowest level of membership applied instead. And for my stack of nights spent so far, I have been awarded $0 on the new system. I've been a hotels.com gold member for over 12 years. As a result of this insulting change, I will do all I can to avoid VRBO, Hotels.Com and Expedia in future, and god rot their nasty, penny pinching and thoughtless souls (if indeed they have any) .
The 4% or 6% they are advertising with is also more theory than reality. They say that 10.000 properties are included in these higher percentages. That sounds a lot, until you find out they have 3 million properties in their system. So only 1 in 300 properties offers that higher percentage.
My tip: ask Google. For my next trip, Google found me great deals on unexpected sites for several destinations (Trip.com, TUI, Qantas). Not as...
The 4% or 6% they are advertising with is also more theory than reality. They say that 10.000 properties are included in these higher percentages. That sounds a lot, until you find out they have 3 million properties in their system. So only 1 in 300 properties offers that higher percentage.
My tip: ask Google. For my next trip, Google found me great deals on unexpected sites for several destinations (Trip.com, TUI, Qantas). Not as convenient as having all your bookings on one site, but all these examples saved at least 30% compared to booking direct or with Hotels.com/Booking.com
It’s lost its value proposition. Anyone going for 4% or 6% (and only on the rooms they offer) is far better off with that volume of nights being a Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt etc member. So it’s really 2% and at that rate, it’s just not worth it.
As Moritz and others have already pointed out below, you not only loose the reward points you had already collected but also your status (I had "silver status" on hotels.com and now need 5 trips to reach that status again on "one key"). All this in addition to the devaluation of the reward program in general..... time to look elsewhere.
My hotel.com rewards did not convert to one key and after spending more than two hours trying to obtain them via chat, I realize this is a way to frustrate customers to the point that they simply give up.
Going from Gold Member to past member. Buh Bye!
Not only has the rewards program been devalued by 80% but I am finding the deals are not such deals. On a recent cross-country trip from New York to Los Angeles I booked directly with the hotels. In each city I checked on Hotels.com and the rooms were more expensive on Hotels.com than they were on the hotels.com website. So long Hotels.com. You were good to me for a long time, but these changes make the site unappealing.
Exactly! In the past their prices were competitive to start with, and the rewards made them unbeatable.
Right now I am planning some major travel later this year. Out of 24 hotels I will use, Hotels com is the best option in only 4 cases. And those are mostly small hotels in Japan where booking directly was simply too complicated due to the language barrier.
Moneywise: all these hotels will cost me around $ 17.000. Of that only $ 600 will go via Hotels.com.
2% rewards sucks. doing ballpark math - if i spent $150 a night, for ten nights, that's $1500 spent, for a $150 reward. now, if i spend that same $1500, i get...let's see...$30 in rewards. screw that.
i was a SUPER-loyal, longtime customer, but now i'm gone. nice work, dummies.
Extra info: down to 0% for non-US customers
It is bad enough to go from 10% (okay: 9%) down to 2%. But if you read the small print then it gets even worse if your base currency is anything else then US$. The trick is you will only earn Onekey if you pay in US$, any other currency is explicitly excluded. ("Other markets may follow in 2024.")
Example: I live in Europe and book a...
Extra info: down to 0% for non-US customers
It is bad enough to go from 10% (okay: 9%) down to 2%. But if you read the small print then it gets even worse if your base currency is anything else then US$. The trick is you will only earn Onekey if you pay in US$, any other currency is explicitly excluded. ("Other markets may follow in 2024.")
Example: I live in Europe and book a hotel in Europe. In the old situation I would use the German website of Hotels.com, everything happens in Euro's and there is no currency conversion.
In the new situation I will only get Onekey if I book on the US site of Hotels.com They will then charge my European creditcard in US$ which costs 2% in currency conversion. So the 2% in Onekey that you earn is lost in the currency conversion. Net earnings zero.
I believe hotels.com and Expedia are in breach of Trading Standards laws. I had 9 out of 10 stamps collected, with future trips booked. I have lost all 9, as they were NOT converted to their new One Key points. Additionally, there is no way to reach customer service to resolve the issue, AND they are continuing to include the old ‘reward stamp’ visual in their email communications. I have just this moment received an...
I believe hotels.com and Expedia are in breach of Trading Standards laws. I had 9 out of 10 stamps collected, with future trips booked. I have lost all 9, as they were NOT converted to their new One Key points. Additionally, there is no way to reach customer service to resolve the issue, AND they are continuing to include the old ‘reward stamp’ visual in their email communications. I have just this moment received an update email on an upcoming booking that still contains that visual. Disingenuous, misleading, and stealing what back what the consumer had earned. Legal??
Interesting. I was in the exact same boat. Had 9 stamps, travel booked for seven nights coming up in September. I am looking at my OneKey balance now and they seem to have converted my 9 stamps into $159 worth of credit, which is all good by me. But I'm pretty appalled by their lack of transparency in when the credit will expire—the clarity around the program and its parameters is not communicated well on the site.
Just had to migrate my acount and I ended up losing all my reward nights and getting a status as a beginner again. Depressing. Time to leave.
Platinum member over 15 years , can't imagine how they thought we would think this a "positive change " will certainly look for other options going forward.
Where is my reward??? I almost accumulate every night and almost to get one night which is valued about 200 USD, but it's gone. It's changed to 10 usd only less than one day reward point.
I gonna stop using hotel.com. move to booking.com. Good bye~ 안녕~
I'm super annoyed! I had 22 nights of hotels booked for an upcoming Europe trip which (with the stamps I already had) would've earned me 3 free nights in accommodation. Now those 3 free nights I would've gotten translates to a measly $113 which barely covers one night in accommodation! I feel ripped off! this is ridiculous. Cheapskates!
I will be going through booking.com from now on...which in most cases is cheaper anyway
I have been with Hotels.com for many years. The main reason, the reward program. I am now looking for another website with an equally as rewarding program as Hotels.com use to have.
Though I came through the transition at Platinum Status, and have quite a few dollars in rewards to use, my loyalty to Hotels.com has just been drastically reduced.
Investigating new options.
Hotels.scam - I just got got scammed out of my 11th night which should have
been worth $407 and was chopped down to $275 --- 10 nights of effort just to get screwed....Goodbye Hotels.com, VRBO AND Expedia!! One a bunch of idiots- how are people so stupid these days and hell bent on losing good customers by doing such stupid things. How do these idiots get jobs? Fire Them! I hope you lose 100...
Hotels.scam - I just got got scammed out of my 11th night which should have
been worth $407 and was chopped down to $275 --- 10 nights of effort just to get screwed....Goodbye Hotels.com, VRBO AND Expedia!! One a bunch of idiots- how are people so stupid these days and hell bent on losing good customers by doing such stupid things. How do these idiots get jobs? Fire Them! I hope you lose 100 % of your customers- the stupidity these days seems never ending.
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY WITH HOTELS.com, Expedia and VRBO- You'll go out and spend all your money and they'll slash the REWARD on you while your'e trying to earn it & after youv'e earned it! THAT IS CALLED A SCAM!-- THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE & CREDIT THE REWARDS TO THE PEOPLE AS THEY WERE ON THE OLD PROGRAM-THEY BASICALLY JUST STOLD FROM EVERYONE ON THE OLD PROGRAM!!! SHAME ON YOU HOTELS.COM
Gold member who spent thousands every year. Have an upcoming two week trip (booked before I knew about this nonsense) that would have net us two free nights with our existing stamps. I'll be lucky to get a decent discount on one night now. No reason to go through Hotels.com anymore. I'll find a chain (or two) that suits our budget and travel style and book directly using their rewards program. Good luck Expedia. You're going to need it.
This is so bad. I will not use hotels.com anymore.
this is just another annoying symptom of our current inflationary economy IMO
we've seen shrink-flation everywhere and now we are seeing it in rewards programs too...I guess nothing lasts forever
the biggest downside is that I had the process of researching hotels and making bookings down to a science but now I'm going to have to spend a lot more time researching other rewards options
Sad days! I have been a loyal user of hotels.com and now it’s time to part
I've used Hotels .com for over 650 nights in the past 10 years.. it worked as i traveled and could book at the last minute.. i'll wait and see how the latest change effects me.. I was awarded platinum status but what does it mean..
Bye bye Hotels.com.
Terrible news. I've used them for many years and this is terrible. Really destroys the brand for me. I really really liked their prior set up. Back to usual rewards programs I guess.
Up to this moment I used to book weekly through hotels.com because of the rewards scheme. I am a Gold Member and used to spend thousands of dollars/euros per year.
I am leaving. Bye Bye hotels.com, I am going back to direct hotel chain programs…
Good marketing! Kick your good customers out. Mind you, hotels.com: we, the good customers kick YOU out. Be patient and you will feel the heat…
Maybe this is...
Up to this moment I used to book weekly through hotels.com because of the rewards scheme. I am a Gold Member and used to spend thousands of dollars/euros per year.
I am leaving. Bye Bye hotels.com, I am going back to direct hotel chain programs…
Good marketing! Kick your good customers out. Mind you, hotels.com: we, the good customers kick YOU out. Be patient and you will feel the heat…
Maybe this is why the mother company of hotels.com was named EX-pedia!
Enjoy the ride downwards folks ;-)
See you once a year, if that, Hotels.com. Random, non-chain hotels I often booked in Southeast Asia will probably give me better service now that I will begin booking directly.
The parent company owns virtually all of the dollar volume among the online booking portals. It has a monopoly. It doesn't need loyal customers. It doesn't care that you will leave. It makes enough money from people who don't understand rewards to ignore the people who do understand rewards.
The only reason I used Hotels.com was because of the rewards program. They totally gutted the program. I will no longer be using them once I have exhausted my OneKeyCash.
*DEvaluation!
Echoing all the comments about my disappointment in the Steve valuation. The discount/rebate (enough with the pedantic semantics lessons, already!) was even sweeter, thanks to the Hotels.com credit card as well.
Fortunately, I have a $475 cash balance now, and I plan to spend it on a three-day weekend in the Costa del Sol, then close my account.
Tier status will be earned on a calendar year basis, from Jan 1 to Dec 31. Your status for the upcoming year will be determined according to the number of trip elements you have collected by Dec 31 and your progress will reset as of Jan 1.
Not only did they screw their loyal customers with not rewarding a free night after 10 nights but every year they will clean slate and start you from January 1st
If any Executives from hotels.com is reading this F you
From what I understand this is only being implemented so far for US based accounts.
The old hotels.com reward scheme should continue until end 2024 for EU based accounts.
Meant end 2023
Curious about this. My account was originally set up in Europe but I recently moved to the US. Again, I’d be amazed if they are not in breach of trading standards laws with this debacle.
Definitely sucks but perhaps they will offer more coupons or other incentives to maintain some loyalty.
Prior to the pandemic coupons were pretty common although you didn't earn reward nights when using one.
I'm sure I'll be using booking and it's affiliates a lot more now. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
why are old posts being republished? is there a bug?
You must be new here at OMAAT.
Welcome!
"While this was first announced a few months back, I wanted to post an update, as the changes have been implemented as of July 6, 2023."
So what happens as of today if someone has already earned one free night with the old program ?
Is it lost ?
No, it will be converted to onekey rewards at the same value as will and additional stamps so nothing is lost. I logged in this morning and I have $204 in one key rewards which was the value of my free nights and stamps. Still a horrible change
The new percentages are terrible. I have booked over 50 nights through hotels.com over the past 18 months but will likely be through as a result of these changes. Too many better options elsewhere.
The article says the change is happening on July 6th, but I just went to book a hotel today (June 25th) and discovered my three stamps had been converted to $46 in OneKeyCash.
The stamp system for a free 11th night was basically the only reason why I used Hotels.com, so now that I've used up my rewards, I probably won't bother anymore. I already noticed that without the $46 credit, it would've been about...
The article says the change is happening on July 6th, but I just went to book a hotel today (June 25th) and discovered my three stamps had been converted to $46 in OneKeyCash.
The stamp system for a free 11th night was basically the only reason why I used Hotels.com, so now that I've used up my rewards, I probably won't bother anymore. I already noticed that without the $46 credit, it would've been about $10 cheaper to book with the hotel's app directly (when factoring in Hotels.com's additional fee for refundable cancellation).
I’ve found that the next best OTA for hotel rewards is Orbitz.com with their Orbitz Rewards. You can search on the website but book hotels through their app and you earn 4% back. If you book natively on the website you only get 3%.
If you have a Chase Freedom or Sapphire card their online Chase Travel portal (powered by CxLoyalty) is now the best option. You get 5% back with the Sapphire Preferred ($95...
I’ve found that the next best OTA for hotel rewards is Orbitz.com with their Orbitz Rewards. You can search on the website but book hotels through their app and you earn 4% back. If you book natively on the website you only get 3%.
If you have a Chase Freedom or Sapphire card their online Chase Travel portal (powered by CxLoyalty) is now the best option. You get 5% back with the Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee but with $50 hotel statement credit) and your points are worth 1.25 cents if you book on the portal. So in essence you get 6% back.
I found out that the Hotels.com rewards program is being completely revamped and the 10 nites tickets for a free stay is going away in exchange for the "Onekeycash" program. As a cynic, I can see this is not so much about catering to the customer as in generating more income for the bottom line. I plan to ditch the Hotels.com plan as soon as I spend down my last free night.
What happeneds if you make a reservation before July 6th for a stay in August?
Will you get the old rate or new rate?
You'll probably get the new lower 2% rate. All previous rewards would only "post" after you completed your stay.
On my Hotels.com Rewards page the banner says, "Hotels.com Rewards will transition to One Key beginning on July 6, 2023: Throughout July, members will start earning at the One Key rate and unlock new and exciting benefits across Hotels.com, Expedia and Vrbo." So I'm assuming any stays completed after July 6th will earn the new One Key rate.
Same - used hotel.com over bookings.com and Expedia solely because
Of the rewards program.
The purpose of a loyalty program - building loyalty - worked on me. Not feeling so loyal any more……bookings.com and Expedia - here i come!!!
The new logo for hotels.com sucks too.
They need to fire their new marketing team.
Won't be be using this anymore.
What I hate is you are forced to use it. I tried to book a month in the keys with a credit card. It would not let me until I joined .. I dont want to join. so screw you vrbo Ill go air b&b
I've used Hotels.com for decades for the great rewards program they offered. The new plan is totally lame and provides minimal incentive to continue to book through them.
Do stays booked before the changeover date, but not yet stayed, still get the 10%, or if you booked before they changed the rate on a webpage that said the old reward would apply, are you safe.
I fear I have to start moving my future bookings!
I wonder if they will bring it back after their sales crater?
Or will another competitor see this huge opportunity?
I book primarily through Hotel.com because of their rewards program too and hate that they are changing it. :(
My husband travels for his job and has always used hotels.com. With this new rewards program he will no longer be loyal to the company. Hilton rewards here we come!
I just read this. While we have been Hotels.com rewards members for years, and used free hotel nights, arguably the pricing WASN'T always the best deal, but about $20 or more per night than booking directly with hotel, so that over 10 nights you had actually already paid for that "free" night by paying slightly more.
I was loyal to Hotels.com out of habit and ease of booking, but sometimes the hotels I booked...
I just read this. While we have been Hotels.com rewards members for years, and used free hotel nights, arguably the pricing WASN'T always the best deal, but about $20 or more per night than booking directly with hotel, so that over 10 nights you had actually already paid for that "free" night by paying slightly more.
I was loyal to Hotels.com out of habit and ease of booking, but sometimes the hotels I booked had problems (misrepresentations of the hotel itself online, quality issues) and changing hotels, or getting adjustments, was always a problem as it was 3rd party booking and pre-paid.
Bottom line, no big deal to me that this program is going away. Now I don't feel compelled to book through Hotels.com as I get NOTHING of value in return.
I agree that this guts the Rewards Program. I have booked for years with Hotels.com, and spend easily 50-60 nights a year in hotels. Going from around a 10% reward to 2% will definitely have me looking for a new provider.
Booking consistently gets me 20% as level 3 genius.
And has a wider selection.
I have avoided such travel agencies after poor experience in the past. I think it is not difficult to maintain status with at least one hotel group so at least there are benefits when I stay in their properties. As long as I maintain the minimum number of nights, it's fine. It is no surprise this has happened because while good for the customers, it probably cost the company a lot of money.
@Ben small math correction. Stay 10 nights get 1 free is 9.09% back (ie 1/11) not 10% back (that would be stay 9 get 1 night free).
You'd normally be right, BUT he states: "You can choose which night you redeem for, so it doesn’t have to be your 11th night; if you redeem at a hotel costing less than the average amount you don’t get a refund, while if you redeem at a hotel costing more than the average amount, you’ll just have to pay the difference (so that’s the better option)."
It's a Certificate for the average of the following...
You'd normally be right, BUT he states: "You can choose which night you redeem for, so it doesn’t have to be your 11th night; if you redeem at a hotel costing less than the average amount you don’t get a refund, while if you redeem at a hotel costing more than the average amount, you’ll just have to pay the difference (so that’s the better option)."
It's a Certificate for the average of the following 10 nights. So it is 10%. You stay at a $1000 a night property for 10 nights, you get a $1000 refund or a $1000 a night voucher where you can pay the difference for a higher priced hotel.
Was definitely a full 10% here.
Benjamin I think you're missing his point. The timing of the 11th night doesn't matter, all that matters is you NEED to book an 11th night in order to secure the benefit. And you don't earn a credit towards a free stay when using the free stay certificate. That means that the base for the calculation is 11 nights, not 10, and it's effectively a 9.09% discount. It would only be a 10% discount if...
Benjamin I think you're missing his point. The timing of the 11th night doesn't matter, all that matters is you NEED to book an 11th night in order to secure the benefit. And you don't earn a credit towards a free stay when using the free stay certificate. That means that the base for the calculation is 11 nights, not 10, and it's effectively a 9.09% discount. It would only be a 10% discount if you could redeem that free night for cash without any requirement to book another night.
It *might* be more accurate to say a 10% return of value, if you value that credit at face value. But given that you don't earn a stamp towards another free night when redeeming a free night, it would be a little disingenuous to value that at face value. After all, if you didn't use the credit, you'd be earning the "discount." Hopefully this explanation is helpful in expressing why the 10% number is fallacy.
By the way I often see this error in all facets of these blogs and points & miles discussions. Another example is if a card gives you 5x points for something, and you value those points at 2 cents per point, someone might say you're getting a 10% "discount" effectively. But you're not really, because most of the time you're transferring to a partner and redeeming the miles that way, and then that trip doesn't earn you credit card points or miles from whatever airline program you're flying. So you have to discount that 10% some. But I digress.
Either way, it was a great program that I got a lot of value from and I'm sad to see it go.
Another thing is, you only get 10% back on the cost of the stay, and not the taxes and fees. Sometimes the taxes and fees could be 20% of your stay.
If you have 10 nights at a hypothetical $100 + $20 in fees each, the $1200 spend actually only nets a $100 free night.
All of these OTAs like hotels.com are slightly dodgy in the way they make charges. Ever wondered why you dont get tax receipts on bookings made by them?
I have stayed using hotels.com twice and they screwed me over both times. First time I had 2 stays at a hotel, cancelled one but sis the other stay. They withdrew the nights I guess confuisngbyhe stays. Second time they communicated the wrong date to the hotel. The hotel called me when I didn’t show and we fixed. Same deal hotels withdrew the night. Basically I consider them an incompetent scam artist.
Anyone who is upset over this is someone who is still using Hotels.com. And, anyone who is still using Hotels.com has not already figured out that one's "free" night is actually being paid via less than transparent fees paid to Hotels.com. In short, they've been duped. What is astonishing is that no travel expert has seemed to uncover these less than transparent fees and what's really going on.
This isn't universally true. I used hotels.com a lot, but I would always cross-check the price of a room (with all fees and taxes included) vs. the cost on the hotel's own website and other travel sites. Then I would only book if the price was the same (or maybe in some cases marginally higher if the 10% implied reward still justified booking there). Maybe others were duped into just blindly booking on hotels.com (probably...
This isn't universally true. I used hotels.com a lot, but I would always cross-check the price of a room (with all fees and taxes included) vs. the cost on the hotel's own website and other travel sites. Then I would only book if the price was the same (or maybe in some cases marginally higher if the 10% implied reward still justified booking there). Maybe others were duped into just blindly booking on hotels.com (probably the case for some people at least), but as with all things, if you paid attention there was good value to be had.
I understand exactly what you're saying. But, in your comment, you've missed something. A person cannot simply look at the price paid. Why would that be do you suppose?
Yep. The price per night through Hotels.com was always a bit higher than booking with hotel directly, so after 10 nights you'd essentially already bought that "free night" by paying more.
Sorry, but you are absolutely incorrect. Hotels.com doesn't charge any fees. And if you find the same room on a different website for a cheaper price, Hotels.com would pay you back the difference. There is no "less than transparent fee" when the cheapest price of the hotel available through all websites is matched by Hotels.com.
Since at the end of the day they are just a lodging wholesaler and at most they are earning a 20% commission on the nightly rate on each reservation. So they are losing closing to half of their revenue on customers who are efficient at cashing in their free nights.
-Additionally if each savvy customer is stacking with shopping portal at 3% (15% of hotels.com actual revenue).
-Then if hotels.com is also processing...
Since at the end of the day they are just a lodging wholesaler and at most they are earning a 20% commission on the nightly rate on each reservation. So they are losing closing to half of their revenue on customers who are efficient at cashing in their free nights.
-Additionally if each savvy customer is stacking with shopping portal at 3% (15% of hotels.com actual revenue).
-Then if hotels.com is also processing the transactions they are on the hook for another 2-3% expense for cc fees.
-Lastly these OTA's are built on top of massive ad spending.
The program works great for guest that are not booking random brands to have a strong rewards program to tap, but as a business this is a very expensive way to maintain a customer base in a high interest rate environment.
That is in assumption that everyone accumulates and uses their rewards (requires 10 nights with the current program). I am guessing very significant percentage of their users never accumulate 10 nights or forget about it and let the free night expire
Hotels can also be booked through Expedia.With the same One Key reward
Expedia clearly doesn't want Hotels.com to survive.
Same company
I used hotels.com exactly for this reward. It is gone, so no point in using it. Way to destroy a brand.
I've used hotels.com for many years, solely for their loyalty reward program. NO MORE!!!.
Kind of weird that Hotels.com still says you'll receive stamps for stays after 7/6.
I have bookings out to January, that still say "You'll collect 1 stamp by Jan 5, 2024 after your stay in _____"
I doubt it, but can you just not become a One Key Member? The terms all make mention to "on or after the date you become a One Key member". I'm guessing they'll do an automatic force change. But...
Kind of weird that Hotels.com still says you'll receive stamps for stays after 7/6.
I have bookings out to January, that still say "You'll collect 1 stamp by Jan 5, 2024 after your stay in _____"
I doubt it, but can you just not become a One Key Member? The terms all make mention to "on or after the date you become a One Key member". I'm guessing they'll do an automatic force change. But just odd that Hotels.com is still saying on the site that you'll receive stamps for stays that are after 7/6.
My guess is they haven't changed over the wording in all the relevant parts of the website/app. Since they've stated that any stays after the changeover will be at the new rate, regardless of when the stay was booked, I'm proceeding with the assumption that is true by being less-preferential to using Hotels.com for stays in July and beyond. If they change their mind or their changeover doesn't work properly, that's just icing on the cake.
Hotels.com was my default site for hotels. No longer. I can use the Capital One travel portal and the Venture X card to get 10x points. Even the Citi Travel portal and Citi Premier card is offering 10x points. I do like to look of the Hotels.com website more than Capital One. I plan to shop on Hotels.com but book on Cap One or Citi.
Hotels.com basically will lose my business based on this. That was their major benefit.
Going to another program. By
Not sure why people like getting 10 nights just to earn a free night, with One key it clearly says we can redeem out free night anytime we want. I hated getting 10 nights, i guess if i had alot of money like it seem like everyone here has lol, i wouldn't mind it. But being on a budget and only booking for a few nights every few months, i would want to use my...
Not sure why people like getting 10 nights just to earn a free night, with One key it clearly says we can redeem out free night anytime we want. I hated getting 10 nights, i guess if i had alot of money like it seem like everyone here has lol, i wouldn't mind it. But being on a budget and only booking for a few nights every few months, i would want to use my free night value when i want too to help save on money when i want to book for 2 or 4 nights.
Also the current reward system sucks. I'm a gold member and membership features , where? Only with the expensive hotels over 1,000 a night do you see being a gold member have its benefits , but only in early checkins . I would assume being a silver or gold member will give you like 30% or 70% hotel prices, but i barely see any discounts. Worthless program right now.
Maybe one key will be the answer I'm looking forward and they will improved on it.
You do have the possibility of freely redeeming.But the reward has changed from 10% to 2%. This should be pretty obvious if it's good or bad.
I will no longer use Hotels.com there is no incentive to use this site. I really enjoyed being their customer always had a pleasant experience with their customer service. I never use VRBO they charge way to many fees and not a good value. So sas Hotels.com has done this.
I have been using Hotels.com for many years and a gold member. Have been for about 7 years. That means I book a lot through hotels.com. The only reason use the service is precisely because of the rewards program. Take that away and I'll be better off going back to hotel specific loyalty programs. It was the Hotels.com rewards program of one free night after 10 stays that switched me from hotel specific loyalty programs...
I have been using Hotels.com for many years and a gold member. Have been for about 7 years. That means I book a lot through hotels.com. The only reason use the service is precisely because of the rewards program. Take that away and I'll be better off going back to hotel specific loyalty programs. It was the Hotels.com rewards program of one free night after 10 stays that switched me from hotel specific loyalty programs in the first place. This new offering does not appear it will be sufficient enough to keep me loyal.
Bye bye Hotels.com moving to a different platform.
They lost my business - 50 nights per year
Maybe they someone there will wake up
I’ve been a Gold status member for at least 5 years in a row, meaning I book at least 30 nights a year through hotels.com. This is a huge downgrade and I will not use them anymore when I can earn 5x through my cap one venture and amex cards. Massive disappointment. They’re killing their loyal business.
I stayed in hotels 229 nights last year. I booked enough rooms for myself and employees to have 65 nights that are worth an average of $200 a night. I redeemed at least another 40 nights over the last year. Needless to say we spend a lot of money with Hotels.com and have since 2014. This is disappointing to say the least. The only silver lining is I hope to be able to take the...
I stayed in hotels 229 nights last year. I booked enough rooms for myself and employees to have 65 nights that are worth an average of $200 a night. I redeemed at least another 40 nights over the last year. Needless to say we spend a lot of money with Hotels.com and have since 2014. This is disappointing to say the least. The only silver lining is I hope to be able to take the new one key cash and book a Disney Cruise for my family. I don't think this will have a major impact on most people but for those of us who travel for work and count on these rewards for vacations or to offset job costs it's a major change. It is going to be a large enough change that I will probably just book direct with the hotel brand going forward.
This is a total bust. The 2% reward is not comparable to stay 10, get one night free. If the average price of your stay was $200, you would earn $200 as a free night stay. With the new program you will earn $40!!. To earn a free night you will need to stay 25 nights to earn a free night! It’s not a reward program anymore. I will not use hotels.com/Expedia/ Vrbo anymore starting now.
I live in hotels...you read that right...and have booked the past 8 months continuously through Hotels.com.
This completely removes the incentive for me to book through Hotels.com, and just book through the hotels directly. Will be using up my 20 accumulated room nights in the next few months for sure!!! Then abandoning Hotels.com.
Side note...my company (a touring production company, where employees are on the road 8 months a year) allows employees to book their...
I live in hotels...you read that right...and have booked the past 8 months continuously through Hotels.com.
This completely removes the incentive for me to book through Hotels.com, and just book through the hotels directly. Will be using up my 20 accumulated room nights in the next few months for sure!!! Then abandoning Hotels.com.
Side note...my company (a touring production company, where employees are on the road 8 months a year) allows employees to book their own hotels, and 90% of them use Hotels.com due to getting a free room every 10 nights. Brought this up at the office this morning and everyone was talking about dropping Hotels.com. I don't really know if Expedia has thought this one through....
Gold member here says its pure BS. Totally pissed. Will move our companies booking of our out of town crews to some other platform. Book as many as 20 nights in one week on one crew alone. Multiply that by at least 2 more out of town crews. Guess we will go somewhere else. Even if it costs a little more. 2%. Not worth trouble.
I'm totally shocked that they are killing their business this way. They seem to only want a handful of customers who might take a cruise once a year and totally throwing away the business traveller who might book 70 hotel nights a year in the 100-150 dollar range. It's laughable to think anyone would stay loyal for this program.
Previously everyone received $10 per 100 spent.
With this you will receive $2 per 100.
I'm totally shocked that they are killing their business this way. They seem to only want a handful of customers who might take a cruise once a year and totally throwing away the business traveller who might book 70 hotel nights a year in the 100-150 dollar range. It's laughable to think anyone would stay loyal for this program.
Previously everyone received $10 per 100 spent.
With this you will receive $2 per 100.
IF you are platinum (30 segments or whatever they are going to call it per year), then you will get $4 per 100 spent ....for VIP properties only.
My usual practice is to go to Hotels.com and find a hotel that fits my criteria, location and budget. Then I double check with booking.com and the hotel website to make sure the rates are close enough. Then I go back to hotels.com and book with them in order to get the stamps and the level. It was also an easy way to keep track of all my bookings since it is all in one place.
Now I will probably use hotels.com and booking.com equally to find properties that fit my criteria and then book wherever it is the cheapest - including directly with the hotel. I'll just write down a list on google docs to keep track of everything.
damn. i got an invite to Hopper's beta test for 10% cashback on hotels though so all gooooood
I want an invite!
Hotels.com has been a rare example of brand loyalty in my shopping for about 10 years. Without their 10-night rewards program, that loyalty is gone.
Hotels.com rewards nights were/are a huge differentiator in the market. I’ve used it for 10 years for all my hotel bookings. Now it’s just another booking site. I don’t see any reason to continue booking hotels there. I’ll probably just book hotels on the same site as my flights. Very disappointing.
We solely booked for many years with Hotels.com and many bookings because of the program. They will now lose our business. So for us they still made money but now will make zero as we go elsewhere.
That's it for me booking through hotels.com then. Many, many years and easily booking over 200 nights through there in the last few years. Now I'll just use it to compare hotels and then book directly from now on.
Unfortunately this is bad news and will make me switch to another booking platform for sure , hope my 44 reward nights will transition well to the new OneKeyCash program ...
I've only booked with Hotels.com to get the reward night, so I will be booking directly with the hotels now or via booking.com.
I used hotels.com for hotels outside of loyalty programs I use because of the 10% rebate. However, I have heard from some of the smaller operators that they take a real hit when dealing with hotel.com/Expedia/etc so you might get the poorest room they have available. Going forward, I might use the search engines to find properties but then book with the hotels directly. I think the possibility of making the proprietors happier and knowing...
I used hotels.com for hotels outside of loyalty programs I use because of the 10% rebate. However, I have heard from some of the smaller operators that they take a real hit when dealing with hotel.com/Expedia/etc so you might get the poorest room they have available. Going forward, I might use the search engines to find properties but then book with the hotels directly. I think the possibility of making the proprietors happier and knowing they make more money easily offsets the 2% "benefit" of OneKey.
I always booked thru Hotels.com never received a poor room.
So what happens to all your free nights you have still? Do we lose them?
Use them!
This is truly terrible. Have given them thousands $ every year and will guaranteed take my business elsewhere.
This is a bummer. I used this a lot, especially when traveling abroad I enjoyed staying a little independent boutique hotels, and this was a great way to still be earning something.
Are there any other similar sites that let you book any hotel and offer better rewards, or are we just out of luck now?
Like you, Ben, I only use hotels.com in countries where my loyalty hotels do not exist. Just returned from Argentina where 40% of our stays were in small towns/cities with no major brands. Unfortunately did not use my cash balance so have 3 rewards in the bank. The new program sucks and I'm done. Hotels.com was always a little more expensive than competitors in some markets (Agoda?) but the 10% usually made up for it....
Like you, Ben, I only use hotels.com in countries where my loyalty hotels do not exist. Just returned from Argentina where 40% of our stays were in small towns/cities with no major brands. Unfortunately did not use my cash balance so have 3 rewards in the bank. The new program sucks and I'm done. Hotels.com was always a little more expensive than competitors in some markets (Agoda?) but the 10% usually made up for it. Best reward was when we stayed a month in an apartment in Madeira and was rewarded with 30 nights @ $59 (average rate). Quickly Gold. Sad day in travel rewards.
I"m not going to use hotels.com anymore. I'm going to go back to my preferred hotels loyalty programs.
Since the Expedia family of companies includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Ebookers, CheapTickets, CarRentals.com, Expedia Cruises, Wotif, and Trivago, they have a lock on the online search engine reservation market. I wonder when they will start to close down/consolidate some of these options for corporate cost savings. Any small differences in booking prices seemed related to the fees the "individual" companies charged. You can use the search engines to book directly with the...
Since the Expedia family of companies includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Ebookers, CheapTickets, CarRentals.com, Expedia Cruises, Wotif, and Trivago, they have a lock on the online search engine reservation market. I wonder when they will start to close down/consolidate some of these options for corporate cost savings. Any small differences in booking prices seemed related to the fees the "individual" companies charged. You can use the search engines to book directly with the hotels, airlines, car rental companies, etc?
USe Booking.com instead - usually cheaper. Agoda offered a hotel room in the Philippines at half the price of Hotels.com
I just called Hotels.com to express my displeasure at the decision to change their reward program. I was told there will be an option to "opt out" of the One Key program. Perhaps the author can check this out with Hotels.com?
According to the FAQ on the Hotels.com web site, you "opt out" by deleting your account altogether. So it sounds like the new program or nothing.
Does Hotels.com only offer a 2% rewards system for all clients? Otherwise, the amount spent will be divided, and rewards will be determined based on that. Because Earning rewards at 10% is always a terrific approach to attract potential customers.
I have been using Hotels.com for the past 10 years. Their prices are usually the same or very slightly higher than other websites. I liked the search engine although they have less hotels than Booking.com.
As of now I have 8 nights to redeem and I already redeemed 3 nights some times back.
My situation is a little different than most. My company pays the expenses and the rewards are mine. Sometimes the...
I have been using Hotels.com for the past 10 years. Their prices are usually the same or very slightly higher than other websites. I liked the search engine although they have less hotels than Booking.com.
As of now I have 8 nights to redeem and I already redeemed 3 nights some times back.
My situation is a little different than most. My company pays the expenses and the rewards are mine. Sometimes the host books the hotel so no reward. I use the rewards for private vacations.
Now I will have to look elsewhere.
Well, that makes an easy decision for me: no value in using hotels.com anymore.
So it's just becoming another Agoda.com platform? Oh wait...!
The prior program was better and easy to understand. It was similar to the former coffee cards where after a certain number of coffees you would get one free.
What will happen to the free night rewards that is already in your account . Will it be there when the new transition happens and one will be able to take advantage of what you already free nights to have left in you account now.
don't forget, you can get additional 2% or so going through Rakuten
Question to you Ben, but also to the forum.
With Hotels.com (and all affiliates) becoming so much less attractive, what would be the best platform to book hotel nights?
There are a lot of very dubious platforms out there. Very interested in the views of the forum. I know that for many the hotel loyalty programs are a big attraction, but based on where I live and where I normally travel, Hyatt/Marriott/etc don't...
Question to you Ben, but also to the forum.
With Hotels.com (and all affiliates) becoming so much less attractive, what would be the best platform to book hotel nights?
There are a lot of very dubious platforms out there. Very interested in the views of the forum. I know that for many the hotel loyalty programs are a big attraction, but based on where I live and where I normally travel, Hyatt/Marriott/etc don't have a great offering, and is definitely not cost-effective.
10x miles with Capital One Travel. Their Premier Collection is comparable to Amex's Hotel Collection, minus the minimum two night stay. I even got a price match guarantee from a rate I found on Hotels.com. The phone call took about five minutes, and the credit appeared within 24 hours. The portal still has its issues, but it's been steadily improving.
CapOne portal doesn't have guesthouses and apts, which is 80% of what I use hotels.com and booking.com for.
Hi Mike,
From what I gather Ben probably books through the hotel websites and doesn't stay at many independent hotels. I suggest looking at trip advisor it Google which will show multiple properties.
Hotels.com WAS my go-to as I liked their simple and generous rewards program but sometimes a property would be 10% less on booking.com or another OTA. My suggestion is don't be loyal unless you have great incentive.
Cheers,
Ivan
Ivan,
Where are you going to go now the hotels.com was gutted? Is there any other general websites that let you book any hotel (not only a certain brand) and offer decent rewards, or was hotels.com the only option?
Our preferred bookings sites are CapitalOne and directly with a hotel or chain. Have booked some with Chase. We prefer Booking.com, Google, and Tripadvisor for research.
Well that's sad. I always use hotels.com when not in one of the main brands. Just decided to cancel anything beyond June, 3 stays
As is always true, there's nothing constant but change. We'll just have to see what it actually looks like, when it happens. I may just switch exclusively to hotel chain loyalty programs. Thanks, Ben, for the 'heads up'.
This is a real bummer to be honest. Don't know what the equivalent sites are called in the U.S. but here in the UK we have cashback sites such as Quidco or TopCashBack. They let you earn 3% to 5% cash back on booking.com etc. so I don't really see why I should continue to use hotels.com. Sure, it takes ages for the cashback to post and sometimes you have to chase, but you can...
This is a real bummer to be honest. Don't know what the equivalent sites are called in the U.S. but here in the UK we have cashback sites such as Quidco or TopCashBack. They let you earn 3% to 5% cash back on booking.com etc. so I don't really see why I should continue to use hotels.com. Sure, it takes ages for the cashback to post and sometimes you have to chase, but you can then increase the payout if you opt for a Starbucks gift card or similar instead of a pure money transfer. Sorry, don't mean this as an ad.
This is exactly my take (I have not lived in the UK for a few years but still manage to book a lot of my hotel bookings worldwide through those exact sites). Between cashback from them and the limited rewards via Booking/Expedia etc. it's often over 10% pure cash return with minimal headache (and sometimes cheaper headline prices than booking with hotel chains directly, though this can go either way).
Relative to the headaches I...
This is exactly my take (I have not lived in the UK for a few years but still manage to book a lot of my hotel bookings worldwide through those exact sites). Between cashback from them and the limited rewards via Booking/Expedia etc. it's often over 10% pure cash return with minimal headache (and sometimes cheaper headline prices than booking with hotel chains directly, though this can go either way).
Relative to the headaches I personally have with the big chain loyalty programs it's a no brainer.
(Ironic to be posting this on a site with a points focus, but eh :) ).
Hotels.com is the absolute worst. Non-existent customer service, consistently horrible experience. Their only saving grace (a very big one) was this 10% reward. Without that, there's truly no reason to ever use them.
Their chat is worthless, but I just tweeted @hotelscomhelp and got the fastest response ever - within one minute, and the agent stands by for a few minutes in live chat fashion.
It also seems that they're not honoring bookings already made but which occur after OneKey starts at the same conversion rate. That sucks. In most cases I chose Hotels.com because with the 10% (or 9.09% haha) discount the price was slightly better than booking directly. But without that, the price would be better booking directly -- but of course by now prices have gone up, so canceling and rebooking is not a good option. This...
It also seems that they're not honoring bookings already made but which occur after OneKey starts at the same conversion rate. That sucks. In most cases I chose Hotels.com because with the 10% (or 9.09% haha) discount the price was slightly better than booking directly. But without that, the price would be better booking directly -- but of course by now prices have gone up, so canceling and rebooking is not a good option. This part sucks. I wish they would have honored bookings made before the announcement at least at the same conversion right -- they're effectively changing the price on us.
Hotels.com is owned by Expedia, which is known for super high elevated prices and fees. What else did you expect?
Well that sucks. They were my go to program. Though I did wonder how the economics could work.
It totally works. For hotels.com ;) Instead of 10% cashback, they give 2-6%. I can totally see the MBA PowerPoint: SAVING UP TO 500%!!!!!!!!!!!!
It worked. The most common industry standard commission for regular travel agencies for lodging is 10%, but there are many instances of 15 and even 20%. Being the huge monster that expedia group is, I could only imagine the massive volume of business they get to hotels, it's safe to say that the minimum commission they are collecting is 15%.
My understanding is that current unused reward nights will be added to the OneKey account at their full value. I have 10 or so unused reward nights so I freaked out when I first read this post. Do others agree that unused reward nights will be safe and just transferred to OneKey? Perhaps this is a good thing with regards to multiple unused reward nights because after OneKey you can effectively use more than one...
My understanding is that current unused reward nights will be added to the OneKey account at their full value. I have 10 or so unused reward nights so I freaked out when I first read this post. Do others agree that unused reward nights will be safe and just transferred to OneKey? Perhaps this is a good thing with regards to multiple unused reward nights because after OneKey you can effectively use more than one reward night on a single booking, no? Am I incorrect with any of this?
Thanks so much!
That is my understanding as well. One Key is just a cash amount you can use to book travel on the Expedia family of sites, so whatever the value of your nights is now, say you have 5 free nights at $100 each, when it transfers to One Key you'll just have a bank of $500 to use.
That's how I understand it too. I also think it's not necessarily a bad thing for unused rewards. Say you have a $100 reward, a $200 reward and a $500 reward. Under the current system you need to find three hotel rooms with different prices and the prices of these rooms are often misaligned with your rewards. Under the new system all you have to do is find a hotel room for about $800.
Ben,
Thanks for the valuable bad sad news. I noticed Orbitz wasn't listed. I assume you don't know more than what Expedia shared but if you do it l please share with your readers.
Cheers,
Ivan
@RCB
You are absolutely correct but I think it's worth mentioning the discount is/was ~9% and you are still on the hook for taxes when redeeming an award night unlike traditional loyalty programs.
Guess it's a moot point now.
My booking strategy has been pretty straightforward, I'll book for the best price (from a reasonable booking system, direct or one of the major) and in case of hotels.com, take into account the 10th night free reward system (up to 5% value).
I don't see why I would continue this after the change. I don't stay enough in specific chains to have top tier and the tiers through credit cards etc are more in the...
My booking strategy has been pretty straightforward, I'll book for the best price (from a reasonable booking system, direct or one of the major) and in case of hotels.com, take into account the 10th night free reward system (up to 5% value).
I don't see why I would continue this after the change. I don't stay enough in specific chains to have top tier and the tiers through credit cards etc are more in the category "free water bottle". Nor I accrue enough points to really matter.
So pure price comparison continues and hotels.com lost it's only edge. I guess direct bookings will be the long term winner.
I agree with Peter, although, for the last year+ I have noticed that practically all booking sites (with the occasional exception of the very dubious ones) offer practically the exact same prices. So comparing prices across sites has become almost pointless. As such I am currently preferring hotels.com for their award nights, despite the fact that its search is the weakest and leans heavily towards sponsoring properties.
Not terribly surprising - that was to...
I agree with Peter, although, for the last year+ I have noticed that practically all booking sites (with the occasional exception of the very dubious ones) offer practically the exact same prices. So comparing prices across sites has become almost pointless. As such I am currently preferring hotels.com for their award nights, despite the fact that its search is the weakest and leans heavily towards sponsoring properties.
Not terribly surprising - that was to be expected with the massive consolidation that has happened in the market. Another failure of regulators to preserve even a semblance of competition.
I hope someone sees the opportunity this opens and comes up with a new booking product.
You never got 10%. You got 11 nights for the price of 10, which is ~9% savings.
You never got 11 nights for the price of 10. You basically got 10% cash back (equivalent) that can used towards a future night. If you had 10 nights at $100 each, you'd have a $100 credit to apply to the future night. If that future night was $200 it was not free. Rather you could apply your 10% cash back value of $100 and then only pay the remaining $100 + taxes & fees.
I just got started with hotels.com. I wonder what the value will be with a few stars in your account?
I used my last 2 Hotels.com free night credits towards stopovers at the Oryx Airport Hotel in Doha, coming up next month. Glad I was able to redeem them for this. Looks like that may be a wrap on my usage of their site for independent hotels.
They should have made it so Platinum members could achieve the 10% rate that we have now… a 40% reduction in benefits as one of their best customers has me bailing on hotels.com unfortunately. At least all my nights that I haven’t used yet will essentially convert into cash, so they at least didn’t devalue what we all have banked… otherwise this is absolutely terrible…
Even before this devaluation . . . for those who use Hotels.com, have you ever examined the fees in the Tax&Fees section during check-out? Have you ever wondered what the fees were? You've been duped. If you really understood what was going on, you wouldn't be using Hotels.com. Learn.
They are taxes required by the government. In Colombia the hotel tax rate is 0% for tourists. Exactly what hotels charges. Occasionally properties will have additional "resort" fees which get passed to the consumer. I think you are the one who needs to learn
Terrible news. I consistently use Hotels.com for at least >50-60 nights per year, year after year after year, due to their straightforward rewards program and the ability to pre-pay for a flexible stay (which is my preferred way of paying, in order to lock in the price in my local currency). I put enough nights on Hilton to earn Diamond (which comes in handy when I stay at a semi-nice hotel with a lounge and...
Terrible news. I consistently use Hotels.com for at least >50-60 nights per year, year after year after year, due to their straightforward rewards program and the ability to pre-pay for a flexible stay (which is my preferred way of paying, in order to lock in the price in my local currency). I put enough nights on Hilton to earn Diamond (which comes in handy when I stay at a semi-nice hotel with a lounge and lots of suites), but am otherwise disloyal to the chains since I usually book whatever highly-rated chain hotel that's cheapest wherever I'm going. I also prefer to "mix it up" with the chains so that not every place looks the same. Anyway, for that purpose, Hotels.com have worked great for me, and I currently have 72 upcoming reservations (as well as nine free nights), but with this extreme devaluation I will seriously have to reconsider and find a new strategy. 2-6% is just not worth it. Damn it.
That sucks, I have 44 nights through hotels since May 22 and have redeemed over 35 nights lifetime.
I expect I won't have more than 10 nights a year in the future. Great opportunity for booking.com to decimate their competition.
If I worked in strategy for booking I'd suggest five percent rewards for a couple years or at least until Expedia/hotels.com was on its knees.
Hi Ivan - would you be interested in a 20 min chat to learn more about what you liked about this program? If so, can you send me a note to [email protected]?
No more business for hotels.com then. No brainer.
Luckily I just used my last "free night" award and have nothing in the kitty. Fun while it lasted.
Ben, thanks for the post. I wonder what would happen to the remaining stamps after they launch the new program. Do I have to reach 10stays and convert them to a coupon? Do you have any idea?
"You don't have to stay 10 nights anymore." So if you spend $4000 for a 5 night stay, you might get enough rewards points to pay for a stay at Motel-6! That's winning bigly!
Unless you are platinum. Then you might get enough points for a red roof inn
I was finally going to ditch booking.com for hotels.com for non chain hotels. No need to now!
The only reason I booked through Hotels.com is the rewards. 10% was a great reward and I had access to all hotels, rather than just one brand, so it was perfect for me. This completely destroys the value proposition, why would I continue to use hotels.com now, especially when I can get great rewards (5x, I believe) booking through my Chase portals and other options.
I do like that it's going to be just one...
The only reason I booked through Hotels.com is the rewards. 10% was a great reward and I had access to all hotels, rather than just one brand, so it was perfect for me. This completely destroys the value proposition, why would I continue to use hotels.com now, especially when I can get great rewards (5x, I believe) booking through my Chase portals and other options.
I do like that it's going to be just one cash balance you can pull from for your bookings instead of a set amount voucher, but aside from that this is a massive devaluation.
Booking.com has Genius level 3 discounts of 10-20% and perks that rival and exceed hotel elite perks at overpriced crappy chain hotels. And there are constant promos.
And 4 miles/$ via AA shopping portal.
And price match is super simple
And a much wider assortment of hotels
Hi RCB - would you be interested in a 20 min chat to learn more about what you liked about this program? If so, can you send me a note to [email protected]?
Truly horrible news. My algo to book hotels up until now was:
Is there a Hyatt?
--> If yes, book direct w/ Hyatt credit card and globalist status.
--> If no, book with hotels.com and Prestige card (5X) + 10% reward
Very sad indeed
Properties eligible for this scheme would consistently cost about 10% more on Hotels.com vs booking.com. This was a kind of kick-back scheme for business travellers using hotels.com. Several companies have travel policies against using it to book your stay.
that is not at all true. It was the same price on hotels.com and booking.com and expedia.com - after all, hotels charge >15% as fees to these hotel search engine. So for hotels.com it was a good way to get clients. Especially considering that not everyone is using the award...I am sure my mother lost her account credentials before she even collected 10 stamps
Price match guarantee.
Absolutely not true at all. I booked 100+ rooms a night on hotels.com and often compared them to booking directly and rarely did I find a price difference except for maybe once or twice a year.
Bsbsbsbsbs. Sometimes rooms are cheaper on booking others on Expedia. Guess you don't get out much
This is certainly true in Europe. Rooms are almost always cheaper on booking.
Previous reward was 9.09%.
If you pay 10 nights for USD100 each and 11th free, then in the end you paid USD1000 for 11 nights.
That means you paid USD90.90 per night…which is equivalent to a discount of 9.09%.
It would be 10% if every tenth night is free (and not every 11th night)
@ Klaus -- Good point, thanks. Fixing post now...
Don't fix anything Ben, his math is not correct, it is a 10% reward right now, Klaus is doing some weird average night calculation that doesn't mirror what we are discussing here.
You are absolutely correct but I think it's worth mentioning the discount is/was ~9% and you are still on the hook for taxes when redeeming an award night unlike traditional loyalty programs.
Guess it's a moot point now.
You never even got 9% savings. The stamp value is after fees and taxes, so if you paid $100 for a room with $20 in fees and taxes 10 times, you ended up with an $80 credit. When you eventually used your free night, you'd still have to pay full taxes on it.
We shouldn't confuse the rate of discount vs a reward. The discount on all the nights stayed is 9.09% but the reward is still 10%. A reward is a thing given in recognition of one's service, effort, or achievement. Therefore your reward is 10% of the total of the first 10 nights stayed, the price of the 11th night is irrelevant.
No point of using hotels.com or any of these programs. The hotel loyalty programs come out ahead now.
It was inevitable given the amount of abuse that the current program has seen from those who knew how to exploit their IT glitches. They must have lost millions over the last few months.
So instead of fixing their IT defects, they screw all their customers?
Not sure that makes a lot of sense.
Oooh sounds interesting! I'm curious--how exactly were people exploiting IT glitches?