Hilton HHonors named Middle East's most successful loyalty programme

The Hilton HHonors Loyalty Programme has been named the Middle East's most successful hotel loyalty programme by the UK-based Business Development Research Consultants (BDRC), while membership from the  region has grown by a staggering 170 per cent in less than two years.

The independent research survey conducted in the region last year revealed  that Hilton HHonors has the highest number of members out of 17 international hotel loyalty programmes, with five per cent of all business travellers surveyed holding Hilton HHonors membership.

"It's such an important accolade for us in the region, and we're very proud that so many business travellers have chosen to register with Hilton  HHonors. There's no doubt about it - our loyalty programme has many unique benefits, especially for frequent travellers," said Stuart Walsh, Hilton HHonors Marketing Communications Manager, Middle East.

"Since the opening of our dedicated marketing and service centre in Dubai in April 2001, the number of Middle East members has risen by a staggering  170 per cent - from 35,000 to currently over 95,000."

Over 400 business travellers were interviewed from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Competitive hotel loyalty  programmes ranked at approximately three per cent, while only 26 per cent of all business travellers acknowledged to holding hotel loyalty membership of any kind.

Hilton HHonors has expanded its scope of operations, installing dedicated toll-free lines to service members in the region. The call centre receives an  average of 700 enquiries a month, primarily covering redemption bookings and enrolment for members in the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

"Hilton HHonors is unique in that members can collect points by staying at any Hilton hotel, and at the same time collect miles on their membership card  of any one of our 60 airline partners' frequent flyer programmes - thereby collecting both Points and Miles™ for the same stay," added Walsh.

"This exclusive Hilton trademarked Double Dipping® formula is great news for frequent travellers, and makes it even quicker to save points and miles  that can be redeemed for free stays, holiday breaks and flights."

The Hilton HHonors Loyalty Programme has been in operation since 1987 and now has over 10.5 million members worldwide. Hilton HHonors partner  airlines include Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Gulf  Air, Kuwait Airways, British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa.