NH Hotel Group to Join Global Hotel Alliance; Merge Loyalty Programmes

NH Hotel Group has unveiled plans to join the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) and merge its NH Rewards loyalty programme with Discovery, GHA's loyalty programme, in early 2022.

The merger will establish Discovery one of the ten largest loyalty programmes in the hospitality sector, with over 900 participating hotels.

Based in Madrid, Spain, the NH Hotel Group is one of the largest hotel companies in the world. Under three brands, NH Hotels, NH Collection and nhow, it operates over 360 hotels in 30 countries, primarily in Europe and South America.

NH Hotel Group is majority-owned by Minor Hotels, a Bangkok-based operator of more than 160 hotels and a GHA shareholder. Minor’s global family of brands such as Anantara, Avani, Elewana Collection, Oaks and Tivoli are already member brands of the alliance and participate in Discovery.

Chris Hartley, GHA’s CEO, said, “NH will strengthen the alliance during what has been a difficult period for the hospitality industry, further leveraging our collective buying power and collaborative marketing efforts. It also gives our 17 million-plus Discovery members access to hundreds of new locations in South America, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Benelux, where until now we had limited coverage.”

GHA is preparing to launch a redesigned version of its Discovery programme in Q4 2021. The upgrade will include an array of new features such as a digital rewards currency and promotions and benefits for local members even when not staying in the hotel.

Ramon Aragones, CEO of NH Hotel Group, who will be joining GHA’s board of directors, said, “Being part of Minor Hotels, we are already expanding NH’s presence into new markets, such as Australia. With Minor’s brands participating successfully in the Discovery loyalty programme for many years, this was a logical step for NH and our customers. It enriches the choice for NH’s 10 million members, opening up destinations across Asia, Australia and North America; and makes us more competitive with a loyalty platform to rival the best in the industry. I am delighted to join Dillip Rajakarier, Minor’s CEO, on the GHA board, where I look forward to being involved in the strategic growth of the alliance through a strong collaboration with a fabulous collection of independent brands.”

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