Expedia to expand loyalty scheme to UK website

The scheme, which has been running in the US for the last five years and has more than 20m active members currently across the globe, will be launched on the UK site in December as part of Expedia's plan to cover 32 countries by 2017.

Expedia + works by giving members points for every hotel, airline or travel package booking made through Expedia with double points awarded for bookings made through its mobile site. Members can also 'double, or triple dip' by attaching their Nectar cards and airline loyalty cards to the account.

Members who book for seven nights or more in a year are upgraded to silver membership with those booking for 15 nights or more upgraded to gold, allowing them to gain bonus points and upgrades at VIP Access hotels.

Expedia's Yasmine Bratt said the scheme was designed to be 'accessible to everyone' and described it as a 'win-win' for the business and its customers.

"It is flexible and accessible. Points don't expire and there are no blackout dates," she said.

Bratt told BigHospitality that, like airlines, hotels had the choice to attach their own loyalty schemes to Expedia.

However, with many hotel loyalty schemes awarding points for direct bookings, there appears to be little benefit for hotels offering to give points away to users booking through Expedia.