The impact of tier level on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty of hotel reward program members

•Members of hotel reward tiers were compared on established loyalty indicators.•Emotional commitment and program evaluation were core attributes.•The elite tier had the highest ratings, followed by middle and base tiers.•Elite, middle and base tiers spent 78%, 66% and 53% of nights at preferred brands.

The purpose of hotel reward programs is to cultivate customer loyalty, yet most studies on hotel loyalty do not consider reward programs, and even fewer evaluate reward tier. The current study investigated the influence of reward tier on attributes that have been established as key loyalty indicators in the hospitality and marketing literature. A sample of 800 hotel loyalty program members completed an online survey on which they rated their preferred brand on measures of attitudinal loyalty, behavioral intentions, and loyalty behaviors. There were significant differences between tiers on all measures, with the highest scores for elite members, followed by middle and base/entry level members. Effect size measures revealed that emotional commitment and program evaluation were core attributes differentiating tier levels. Behavioral loyalty increased as a function of tier level, with base, middle and elite members spending 53%, 66% and 78% of their hotel nights at a preferred program brand.