Luxury hotel groups form industry-first alliance

Luxury hotel groups form industry-first alliance

Asian hotel groups, Hong Kong- based Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts and Mumbai-based Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces have  join forces to broaden their reach and scale across 200 hotels, 27 countries and 131 destinations.

The luxury hotel groups have together formed a strategic alliance to broaden their reach in a bid to connect with customers at a time of hotel group consolidation.

The alliance will officially launch in March 2017 with the introduction of the “Warmer Welcomes” programme, which integrates Taj InnerCircle and Shangri-La’s Golden Circle guest loyalty programmes and will provide members reciprocal and seamless benefits at a scale never seen before under a hospitality alliance.

India and China are currently the fastest-growing major economies of the world and have the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in terms of number of travellers, with double-digit year-on-year growth for the past few years.

The new alliance under the “Warmer Welcomes” programme, will offer Shangri-La and Taj’s combined 6 million loyalty programme members:

  • Recognition: Members will be able to enjoy the perks of their elite status when they stay at any Shangri-La or Taj hotel with top-tier status matching.
  • Earn points across 200 hotels, 27 countries and 131 destinations: Members of either program will now be able to earn award points in their preferred programme while staying with Taj or Shangri-La whether in Mumbai, New Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, London, New York and other key destinations in the world.
  • Seamless redemptions: Members will be able to convert points to redeem awards between both programmes.

“This is a strategic step in bringing greater synergies amongst two brands known for their legendary hospitality. This alliance will help drive deeper engagement for our most valuable guests and members,” Rakesh Sarna, MD and CEO Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces said.

“As hotel owner-operators who share similar values and service philosophies but have minimal overlap of properties, Taj and Shangri-La are in a unique position to establish a seamless alliance that goes beyond a marketing partnership or multi-hotel distribution platform,” Shangri-La Acting President Madhu Rao said.

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