Best Customer Experience recognizes the organization that most measurably improved the way customers experience value—and in travel loyalty, hotel stays are one of the clearest everyday tests of that promise. In the travel loyalty industry, the hotel stay benefit is one of the most frequent and repeatable ways member evaluates whether their membership truly delivers. Resort stays may be occasional, but hotel bookings happen year-round—weekend getaways, events, short trips and drive-to travel. Because hotels are used so often, they become an everyday proof point of trust. When the experience is confusing, inconsistent, or hard to redeem, the damage isn’t limited to one abandoned booking. It erodes confidence in the broader membership promise.
Our goal in 2025 was to remove the friction that causes members to hesitate or give up, especially late in the booking journey, replacing it with clarity, confidence and speed. We redesigned the Stays experience around hotel bookings because we saw two root causes repeatedly driving dissatisfaction: price uncertainty and decision fatigue.
Price uncertainty shows up when members begin comparing properties and rates, only to discover late-stage totals that shift after taxes and fees appear. Decision fatigue shows up when members struggle to evaluate location and value quickly, especially when they’re deciding between similar properties and can’t easily compare true cost, proximity and the impact of rewards or incentives. Over time, these issues reduce engagement and increase service burden because teams are pulled into “explaining the benefit” rather than delivering service.
This problem is amplified by the complexity of modern hotel shopping at scale. Accurate search requires real-time computation across distributed supply. If the system isn’t designed for heavy pricing and availability demands, performance slows and pricing consistency breaks—exactly when members are deciding whether to trust the benefit enough to book.
We approached the redesign with a simple mandate: reduce uncertainty, shorten decision time and make value instruments usable inside the booking flow. The work was built around three integrated pillars: Trust, Ease and Action.
First, trust through true all-in pricing. Price surprises are one of the fastest ways to destroy confidence. We implemented true all-in pricing that appears upfront and remains consistent across the journey, from search results to map pins to property pages to checkout. That all-in approach includes taxes and mandatory fees, along with meaningful options that change value such as refundability and breakfast inclusions. The outcome is apples-to-apples comparison early in the journey and fewer late-stage surprises.
Second, ease through map-first discovery. Hotel choice is inherently about location. We integrated map-first exploration so members can instantly understand proximity to beaches, downtown venues, attractions and event corridors—without bouncing between screens. We paired location clarity with value cues so members can see real pricing and benefit impact in context while browsing. This reduces cognitive load and helps members make confident decisions faster.
Third, action through wallet-integrated value. Rewards, incentives and points only matter if they’re easy to use. We integrated value into a digital wallet directly within discovery and the booking flow so members can apply value without leaving the journey. Seeing the immediate impact of value on the total price reinforces the savings and turns “I think I have benefits” into “I just used them.”
These capabilities were designed to function as one cohesive experience. All-in pricing builds trust. Map-first discovery simplifies decisions. Wallet-integrated value enables immediate action. We also aligned service teams around the new experience so support stays consistent.
The results validated the approach. After launch, checkout completion improved by 35%. Time from discovery to confirmation decreased. Bookings per day increased by 13% and revenue per day increased by 21%, while guest value increased by 22% per day in the weeks following launch.
This work matters because external hotel benefits shape how members perceive value beyond the resort. When those benefits are hard to understand or use, trust erodes and membership value weakens. By unifying pricing clarity, location understanding, and value activation into a single consistent experience, we delivered a modern, confidence-building hotel journey that improves utilization, strengthens trust, and sets a new standard for customer experience in our space.
