Originally Posted by orbitmic

Now as you said, hotel loyalty may work for some and not for others just like airlines loyalty does, but on balance, I have to say that I personally find that typically, hotel loyalty is likely to work for far more people than airline loyalty. Of course, as you would with airlines, you need to make sure you pick it right (precisely, don't be lazy and let BA influence you into put your loyalty in Hilton which have a rubbish programme just because they send you that free diamond card with GGL, check the relevant fora on FT instead). Unlike airlines where you may be restricted by your own geography, hotels loyalty let you shop around or pick your favourite with generally global coverage (though of course they differ - so if you mostly travel in the US, then Starwood, Hyatt or Hilton will likely be best for you, whilst if you do a lot of travel in luxury in Asia, Shangri La might be a better bet, and if you want all range and include a variety of luxury levels and places including Europe, Asia and Oceania, Accor may be far better suited, etc)

Typically, the hotel loyalty automatically gets you the best rate available 95% of the time (if you pick a programme with a decent BRG), plus a further immediate discount of 5-10% which is typically best for most people, plus more generous rewards you can often use any time on anything (again, that depends on your programme) all that without status..