I think it is the lesser of two evils. Instead of having to deal with people begging for RA, and trying to negotiate RA into their corporate deals, they just keep it private by invitation only.

And top 1% may mean revenue. Maybe the reason I get automatically renewed each year is that most of my stays are in Europe, paying in Euro and for quite a while now the average hotel night cost in Europe is vastly higher than the Americas or Asia. So 53 nights in Europe is worth more than 60 nights in the US. Maybe a lot more.