How to earn rewards when you stay at independent hotels and self-catering cottages

By Sophie Lam

All the major hotel groups – such as Marriott, IHG and Hilton – operate loyalty programmes that allow their customers to accrue points that can be redeemed for discounted or free stays.

However, unless you’re a frequent and/or business traveller, or are particularly brand-loyal, these are likely to be of little use or interest.

But the way people are travelling is changing and while Airbnb doesn’t yet offer a loyalty programme, CEO Brian Chesky indicated recently that this is likely to change.

In the meantime, there’s a growing number of loyalty programmes that offer rewards for stays in independent hotels. Many are worth signing up to, even if you travel only sporadically.

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