Omni’s new loyalty overhaul positions hotels to behave more like airlines
It might not have the biggest or best-known loyalty program out there, but Omni Hotels & Resorts revealed Thursday the first widespread changes to its Select Guest loyalty program in a decade — and it will likely have ramifications for the entire hotel orbit.
The revamped Select Guest loyalty program rewards spending over stays, meaning you can theoretically buy your way up to the highest loyalty tier in a single stay if you really want to plunk down a lot of money at your favorite Omni hotel. The program also includes new names for each loyalty tier: Gold, Platinum and Black have been replaced by Insider, Champion and Icon, respectively.
Omni’s leadership team says the change is geared toward meeting the evolution of the traveling public as well as bringing in new customers to the company’s loyalty ecosystem.
“We think that the customer has evolved, our brand has evolved, our products evolved and, therefore, how we want to shape the program should evolve as well,” said Josh Belkin, Omni’s vice president of loyalty and customer engagement, in an interview with TPG ahead of the launch. “That's really the crux or the emphasis of why we're making these changes.”
What’s new with the Omni Select Guest loyalty program
Under Omni’s prior loyalty program structure, guests would have to stay a certain number of nights to move up the ranks. While entry-level Gold status could be achieved just by joining the Select Guest loyalty program, the top-tier Black status was only achieved after staying 30 nights at an Omni hotel or resort.
The platform now moves to a spending-based earning structure, and free nights are awarded by accruing 100 Omni Credits. Travelers can earn Omni Credits for every night stayed or every $100 spent during a stay on meals, golf, spa treatments or other on-property amenities.
Under the new program, members who simply join the program will enjoy benefits like free basic Wi-Fi, free bottled water upon arrival and a welcome drink. Further, members will also get access to Omni’s on-property Loyalty Ambassadors, who serve as the point of contact for loyalty members even prior to arrival and work to customize a stay. All Members can earn Omni Credits that can be redeemed for a free night at any Omni hotel or resort.
Spending $1,000 moves a member up to Insider status, which comes with complimentary daily beverages and two items pressed per stay or two shoeshines for free. This does appear to be a regression in the program, however, as free clothes pressing and free shoeshines were included in the entry-level member status as soon as a second stay with Omni. Members as well as Insiders get 5 Omni Credits per room night. The main perk here is how swiftly a traveler can start achieving loyalty status with Omni, as it previously required 10 nights to move beyond an entry-level tier.
Moving up the status food chain, Omni Champion status is achieved after members spend at least $4,000. The Omni Credit earning rate doubles here with 10 credits earned per room night, and Champion members also get added benefits like a free room-type level upgrade, based on availability, as well as check-in as early as 1 p.m. and checkout as late as 3 p.m., based on availability. Champion members also get daily free bottled water, a daily beverage delivered in the morning and free pressing or shoeshines for up to four items. Early check-in and the beverage delivery appear to be new additions to this midlevel loyalty status.
Loyalty members will achieve the highest Omni status, Icon, after spending $8,000. This status comes with the double earning rate of 10 Omni Credits per room night as well as 2 Omni Credits for every $100 of purchases — making earning free nights significantly faster. Icon members get free upgrades of two room category levels, and early check-in can begin as soon as 9 a.m. and late checkout can go as late as 6 p.m. These members also get free premium Wi-Fi and unlimited complimentary pressings and shoeshines.
One of the marquee offerings for Icon and Champion is a nightly door hanger benefit, where members will get a door hanger to redeem on morning beverages in the on-site cafe, a morning beverage delivery straight to the guest room or beer, wine and cocktails in the bar. While the door hangers aren't necessarily new, cocktail redemptions are a newer featured that rolled out in mid-2023. Icon members will also still get the chef-created food amenities previously offered under Omni’s Black status, but these will be more of a bespoke experience going forward.
“It's based on your own personal preferences,” Belkin said. “It's not the same for everybody, so you can set your preferences: Do you prefer sweet to savory? Do you prefer healthy? The chef will craft something along one of those profiles.”
Takeaways on Omni’s new program
Hotel rates, especially in the higher-end tier Omni operates within, are high. Omni’s push to spending-based loyalty tier thresholds is a winner for certain hotel guests, especially during peak travel times. These hotels tend to be destinations for either conferences or for leisure getaways — types of travel that typically see more on-property spending. Having that spending go toward earning status is a good thing for travelers — and can quickly net a guest Omni loyalty status.
Further, we’re watching to see if this is a sign of where the broader hotel loyalty system will go. Airlines are already rewarding total spending over miles flown, so it’s not out of the question for more hotels to move toward a spending-based loyalty structure over one that rewards heads in beds.
As for Omni, we’re also watching to see what else this program can do. Smaller programs need to up their wow factor to woo travelers away from the juggernauts that are Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors.
“When we get into loyalty, I think one of the coolest things that we offer is really the tight integration of owner, operator and brand,” Kurt Alexander, Omni’s president, told TPG earlier this year. “We alone can do things that no other brand can do.”
Room upgrades, curated food experiences and some of the best early check-in and late checkout times we’ve seen — while certainly nice — aren’t exactly the stuff of loyalty rocket science. But Alexander hinted there were one-of-a-kind, only-at-Omni offerings that might build upon the brand's owner-operated spas and golf courses at the hotels and resorts. That might be offered, but it isn't necessarily showing up yet in the public-facing award tiers.
When asked about what happened to some of those pie-in-the-sky loyalty offerings teased earlier this year, Belkin implied there could be more coming down the pipeline as far as experiential offerings go.
“Nothing particular now, but I see a loyalty program as a living, breathing thing to constantly keep evolving,” Belkin said. “Considering that Omni has this deep heritage in experiences and so many things to offer, yes, it's something we'll certainly take a further look at.”
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.