Originally Posted by
indufan
This is just simply not true. A fundamental part of any loyalty program is to get business travelers and most of those aren't allowed to book directly.
But the opposite is not true either. Ie, as already mentioned, you can also book through
corporate booking engines.
But that does not mean you can book through
consumer booking engines and still rely on getting points and nights.
Ie,
most hotel program have a requirement to book through the hotel program (or directly with the hotel), with
an exception for corporate booking engines (such as Concur).