IHG Business Rewards

What is IHG® Business Rewards?

IHG® Business Rewards is a global extension of the IHG® Rewards program, created to recognize and reward those who book on behalf of others. The program offers members 3 points for every $1USD spent when booking meetings, accommodations, and events (including social events such as weddings, family gatherings or sports team travel) at participating IHG® hotels. IHG Business Rewards is a valuable and effective closing tool for your hotel, with enhanced reporting and processing all at an efficient cost of sale.

How are points awarded to a member’s account?

Hotels are able to create events in LoyaltyConnect to award points to a member’s account. Job aids and SOPs are available on Merlin on how to operate LoyaltyConnect for IHG Business Rewards.

What is a ‘qualifying spend’ for IHG Business Rewards?

Qualifying spend includes all spend on guest rooms, meetings and events, conference rooms, food and beverage service linked to meetings and conferences, and all-inclusive meeting packages placed at IHG Business Rewards participating hotels. Terms and Conditions apply.

Can a company have one account instead of individual accounts? For example, if there is a company that does not want individuals receiving personal benefits, could they join as a company account?

No. IHG Business Rewards will be only available for individual members. Due to legal reasons and the Bribery Act Laws, an account cannot be created for a group of people, as an individual has to accept the terms and conditions of the program. If a company does not allow individuals to receive personal benefits, that individual member can be the designated person in the company, who then redeems for vouchers for their company.

Can points be awarded for more than one room on the same night?

Yes. Points will be awarded for transient bookings as well as group bookings.

What would happen in this scenario: Company A booked at our hotel and earned points but they were booked by a thirds party; would the third party booker earn points too?

Qualifying Spend excludes all spend by or through business travel agents with an override agreement with any IHG company. Points may only be earned once in IHG Business Rewards for any Qualifying Spend and the member who made the booking directly through IHG Central Reservation Offices, IHG websites or directly with the participating hotel will be eligible for points. Corporate bookers and individual bookers cannot earn points or bookings made through a travel agent, whether online or offline.

Why is there a cap of 6O,OOO and what does this mean?

The IHG Business Rewards program publishes a points cap of 60,000 points per qualified event. Point costs for the program is 1.425% ($0.00475 USD per point billed) of the event revenue. Hotels are billed for the points on the monthly IHG consolidated invoice. With the 60,000 point cap, there is a maximum liability of $285 USD per qualified meeting. Hotels have the ability to offer additional bonus points above the 60,000 point cap at their discretion on the internal submission web portal. All bonus points are billed at $0.00475 USD per point issued on the monthly IHG consolidated invoice.

What is the registration process for bookers?

Bookers can enroll online via httg://www.ihg.com/businessrewards, accept the program’s terms and conditions and can begin to use their account immediately. Bookers can also enrol directly with the hotel or the Service Centre can enrol a member via LoyaltyConnect. If the member is enrolled by the hotel or the Service Centre, they will receive an email instructing them to login to their account online and accept the terms and conditions. Once the member has accepted the terms and conditions, they can start using their account.

Who enters events and stays into LoyaltyConnect?

It is the responsibility of the hotel to input the member’s information in LoyaltyConnect. It is recommended that every team member who books an activity for IHG Business Rewards should be the person inputting this information into LoyaltyConnect for the awarding of points. Some hotels will choose to manage IHG Business Rewards differently and appoint an IHG Business Rewards Leader to manage this process — it is up to the hotel’s discretion.

Does the member still receive points if the person they have booked for does not show up for their reservation?

No. Points and/or qualifying night credits are not awarded for no-shows, even if the room is paid for in full. This rule applies for the person staying and for the IHG Business Rewards member booking on behalf of that person.

Who earns points — The stayer or the booker?

The booker earns points for qualifying bookings made on behalf of others; however, the stayer can also earn points through qualifying rates.

If a member books a group allocation and stays as part of that group, do they get IHG Rewards points for booking for themselves?

No. Members will not be allowed to earn points for booking for themselves. They will only earn IHG Rewards points for staying.

Are points automatically earned?

No. IHG Business Rewards members must provide their IHG Business Rewards membership number at the time the event/accommodation contract is signed to earn points and hotels must manage the member’s reservations/bookings through LoyaltyConnect.

Is the booker required to occupy a room for any bookings made on behalf of others for stays,events, meetings, etc?

No. The booker is not.

Is meeting room revenue eligible to earn points when the meeting attendees pay individual room bills?

Yes. IHG Business Rewards members will earn 3 points per $1 USD for all meeting room revenue associated with a contracted meeting or group room block up to the maximum of 60,000 points at the hotel’s discretion. When attendees pay for their rooms individually, IHG Rewards members who are part of the contracted group room block are also eligible to receive 10 points per $1 USD if they use their IHG Rewards number at the time of booking. If a group room block is paid by a master account, the IHG Business Rewards member will receive 3 points per $1 USD for all associated meeting and group revenue associated and paid for by the master account; however, guest accommodations paid by the master account are not eligible to earn IHG Rewards points for their stays.

Will members receive a new IHG Business Rewards member number if they are already an IHG Rewards member?

No. They will maintain the same membership number; however, they must enroll in the IHG Business Rewards program and accept the terms and conditions in order to earn points for events.

Will meeting and event attendees earn points for their stays?

Yes. Meeting attendees will earn points for their personal stays if they are IHG Rewards members and the rooms are being paid individually. The meeting planner will also earn points for these rooms if they are included in the room block.

Are there different tier statuses of the program?

Yes. All IHG Business Rewards points accumulated from a qualifying spend count towards IHG Rewards Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, and Spire Elite status. With elite status members receive all IHG Business Rewards benefits plus exclusive benefits when staying at an IHG hotel. To qualify, members will need10,000 qualifying points to reach Gold Elite, 40,000 qualifying points to reach Platinum Elite, and 75,000 qualifying points to reach Spire Elite Status. Only points earned during a qualified stay have accelerated tier earning rates applied.

What happens if a booking is not logged into LoyaltyConnect?

If a booking is not logged then a member will not receive their points. Hotels are encouraged to log points on a regular basis to ensure a positive member experience.

Is IHG Business Rewards voluntary or mandatory?

It is voluntary for hotels to participate in IHG Business Rewards through an ‘opt-out’ process. To find out more about hotel participation, please visit our IHG Business Rewards Initiatives page.

What is the agreement length for my hotel with IHG?

The agreement is for one year with an option to opt-out from the program in Q4 of each year for the following calendar year.

Will it cost my hotel anything to participate in the program?

No. There is no joining fee. Hotels will need to forecast for points and budget for collateral, giveaways and any local marketing activities, e.g.; events they want to run. This will be included in the hotel budgeting process.

What is the cost of sale for IHG Business Rewards?

Point costs for the program is 1.425% (0.00475 USD per point billed) of the event revenue.

Can the IHG Rewards discounts and benefits be used in combination with IHG Business Rewards offers or discounts?

No. The benefits of the program cannot be combined with other offers.

Can participating hotels use the member database to send EDMs to members for IHG Business Rewards offers/promotions?

No. A member database will not be provided to hotels to send electronic direct messages to IHG Business Reward members to maintain compliance with global and regional privacy laws established for both IHG Rewards and IHG Business Rewards, respectively. Hotels that are interested in sending promotions to members can work with the regional IHG representatives for assistance with marketing promotions to members. Hotels may continue to market promotions to their internal database that are directly from the hotel, and not on behalf or in conjunction with IHG Business Rewards to their customers, bookers, and agents in compliance with local and regional privacy laws and policies, and brand standard requirements.

How can members spend their points?

Members can spend their points with all standard IHG Rewards redemption opportunities; including Reward Nights, airline miles, brand name merchandise and more.

Can members purchase points as well as earning them?

Yes. Points can be purchased in conjunction with earned points or separately from the IHG Business Rewards website.

Will all hotel staff receive this training or will it just be certain staff?

Anyone at your hotel is welcome to participate in training to find out more about IHG Business Rewards, even if they don’t work directly with bookers and meeting planners. We recommend that everyone who deals with these audiences should study the eLearning Module.

What training is required for staff members who accept bookings from bookers and meeting planners?

These colleagues should study the eLearning module, as well as read the IHG Business Rewards Guide, LoyaltyConnect Job-aids and SOPs.

If I return to the training module at a later time, will I be able to start where I left off?

Yes. Your progress will be saved on the system and you will be able to pick-up from where you left.

What do I need to do to prepare for the training module?

Download the IHG Business Rewards guide and SOPs to have with you while you go through the modules, as there are references to these throughout your training. Read the complete guide after you attend the eLearning modules. You can find these on the IHG Business Rewards Initiatives page.

Are there any test that I have to take after doing the module?

Yes. There is an assessment test that all registered Business Rewards Leaders are required to take and pass with 100% score.

How long will the eLearning Module take?

The eLearning Module is an interactive guide that provides a comprehensive program overview and training. It will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

When should the training be completed by?

Training should be completed within 1 month of registering as a Business Rewards Leader.