Originally Posted by
escape4
The problem with these invitation-only tiers at least for me, is that without having a clear target I simply do not attempt to reach it, and instead I diversify between many hotel chains. As far as I know, Hyatt, IHG, Accor, and now GHA also have such a top tier but I book a meaningful number of nights to Marriott and Hilton instead of concentrating into one (or two) programs.
GHA Titanium is weaker than GHA Black due to check-in check-out times, and also the cash value if D$ is probably less than what I managed to earn in terms of local experiences in the past. However in my opinion it's not entirely off since GHA Titanium will be easier to reach than GHA Black was thanks to having 3 routes to get there rather than only 1.
It's good to have your feedback, thank you. We spent lots of time in discussions with members while developing the new programme proposition over the last three years and we received a wide range of views on most topics, as you would expect. We certainly welcome more comments from members now that the programme is live.
Yes, all of the major hotel loyalty programmes have these unpublished tiers that are used for VIPs, super-members and hotel owners - sometimes with different benefits for each of those categories. The surest way to get into one of those unpublished tiers is to buy a hotel and give the relevant brand a management contract!
To qualify for one of those unpublished tiers through the super-member route you will normally need either to stay a very large number of nights or to spend a large amount of money in the hotels or to show engagement with the programme/ brand(s) in some other significant way, perhaps over multiple years. In the case of GHA DISCOVERY, the process also genuinely requires an invitation from a person, so although GHA and its member brands will see when members are above (or close to) certain high performance thresholds, there will still be a senior human being in the brand and/or GHA reviewing the member's profile and deciding whether to extend the invitation.
The cash value of D$ is generally much more generous than the previous system, depending on your average room rate paid and the number of brands you regularly stay across. It gives members the option of incremental earning rather than having to reach thresholds to be awarded Local Experience certificates: so we believe it is both
generous and more
immediate. It's also more
democratic, since non-elite tier members can now earn rewards from their very first stay rather than having to make it to 10 nights in a year to earn a reward. We think that's a good thing too.