UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has reported an exceptionally strong Q3, with double-digit growth achieved across all performance metrics.

 

Continuing the growth story of the first half of the year, total hotel revenues rose 15% to reach $689.0 million in Q3 with year-to-date revenues now at $2.0 billion. Q3 growth was fuelled by a 16% increase in room nights, combined with a small uptick in average rate.

 

One of the key drivers behind GHA’s ongoing success is its GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme, which now boasts a membership of 28.3 million. In Q3 66.2% of member revenue was generated by international stays: the US, UK, Germany, Australia and China led as top feeder markets, together contributing 26% of total international room revenue.

 

Redemptions of GHA DISCOVERY’s rewards currency, DISCOVERY Dollars (D$), rocketed by an impressive 95% year-on-year in Q3. Given that members can earn and redeem D$ at any property operated by a GHA brand, this activity benefited all 800-plus hotels, evidenced by total cross-brand revenues jumping 31% to $100.7 million in Q3, bringing total cross-brand revenue for the year to $276.0 million. This reflects members’ growing engagement with the loyalty programme’s rich choice of over 40 independent hotel brands, which continue to gain in popularity.

 

Q3 highlights

Spain hotels are on top: GHA’s hotel brand properties in Spain achieved the highest total room revenues across domestic and international stays in Q3, followed by those in Thailand, Italy, Singapore, and the UAE respectively. Thailand hotels led the international room revenue rankings, with 93% of the country’s room revenue in Q3 generated by international stays, totalling $34.7 million. Italy followed with $29.0 million, and Singapore with $25.4 million.

US members top revenue drivers: GHA DISCOVERY members based in the US delivered the most room revenue in Q3, 73% of which was spent on international stays. Australian members were very active in the quarter with an almost equal domestic/international split, while members in the UK delivered the third highest room revenue, 84% of which was international.

Portugal a Q3 favourite: Looking at the most popular destinations for GHA DISCOVERY’s members over the summer months, Portugal came out on top, with members from the UK and Spain being the biggest spenders there. US members favoured Italy, while Australians chose Fiji, Germans preferred the Netherlands and members from China opted for Singapore.

More hotels, more choice: GHA’s robust Q3 performance was supported by portfolio growth in key global markets. Four new regional brands in Norway, Greece, the UAE and Malaysia with 32 hotels recently joined the alliance, while existing hotel brands continue to open new properties in key destinations around the world.

 

Strength of the alliance

Chris Hartley, CEO of Global Hotel Alliance, commented: “Our Q3 2024 results highlight the strength of the alliance proposition and the growing engagement of our GHA DISCOVERY members. The double-digit revenue growth and the sharp rise in direct bookings and DISCOVERY Dollar redemptions show that our expanding global presence, our diverse choice of hotel brands and an innovative loyalty programme continue to appeal to international travellers. As we build on this momentum, we are well-positioned to finish 2024 on a high note, with even more brands and new hotels to be announced before the end of the year.”--TradeArabia News Service