Hotels.com customers have been fuming after it's been revealed that the travel site will be scrapping its free nights perk from its loyalty scheme.
Previously, the travel site was offering a free night's stay for every 10 nights you booked, a perk that has been a firm favourite with customers. However Expedia Group, which owns the brand, is launching a new 'One Key' system which will remove the perk, as it merges the Expedia and Hotels.com schemes, while also adding Vrbo bookings under the new programme.
It's not all bad news as there will still be plenty of perks for members - and One Key is still going to be free to join. Under the new scheme, you can earn and use 'OneKeyCash', the rewards currency (it's worth noting this is not actual cash). This will be valid on any eligible hotel bookings as well as eligible flights, car hire and activities on Expedia, and holiday homes on Vrbo.
The Expedia Group is making a change to its loyalty schemes (Getty Images)It's expected that you'll receive around 2% of 'OneKeyCash' for every dollar spent on hotels, holiday homes and packages, and 0.2% for every dollar spent on eligible flights. For those who are already members, your reward nights will automatically be converted to 'OneKeyCash'.
However, a number of Hotels.com loyalty members have expressed their anger at the sudden change, because the previous free night's stay will no longer apply. One unhappy holidaymaker wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Gutted @hotelsdotcomuk is moving to @ExpediaUK OneKey rewards. Just 2% “cash” instead of 1 night free after 10. Not happy as a gold member as no incentive to stay loyal."
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Another said: "Bye bye @hotelsdotcomuk we had a good run, tapping out before you introduce this change." Others slammed the move because they'd been planning around using a free night's stay, while others described the programme as "confusing".
One person added: "I always used Hotels.com because of the free night after every 10 nights. At this new rate we might get a free room after 50 nights? Shopping for the best rate."
However, according to the Expedia Group the new programme will allow holidaymakers "more freedom in how you earn and use rewards when booking a trip", as you'll be earning rewards whether you're booking flights, a hotel stay, holiday home, car hire or more.
At the moment there isn't an exact launch date as to when the schemes will merge. However, the group has said that it will be "arriving in the UK in a few months, between July and October 2024".
If you're looking for more deals on your next holidays, you may want to check out Mirror Discounts where you can find offers and discount codes from heaps of holiday brands, including Hotels.com, Expedia and Vrbo. You may also want to bookmark our holiday deals page which we regularly update with sales and offers we think you'll want on your radar.
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