DUBAI, 27 January 2025: UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), representing independent hotel brands, described 2024 as a milestone year with record-breaking performance across all key metrics during the group’s 20th anniversary year.
Total revenue generated by the ‘GHA Discovery’ loyalty programme soared to USD2.7 billion, a 16% increase from the previous USD2.3 billion record set in 2023.
Repeat stay revenue climbed 15% to USD1.6 billion (up from USD1.4 billion in 2023), highlighting the growing engagement of loyal members, while cross-brand stay revenue surged by nearly one-third, reaching USD370 million (up from USD289 million in 2023), driven by members staying in a different brand than where they enrolled.
The 20th anniversary year also saw remarkable growth in loyalty programme membership and engagement. Enrolments reached 3.2 million, up 18%, taking membership past the 30 million threshold.
In 2024, GHA welcomed seven new hotel brands to its portfolio while existing brands continued to expand, collectively adding 68 new properties to its loyalty programme. New additions included Cheval Collection, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, Lore Group, Unike Hotels, Sunway Hotels & Resorts, Andronis Hotels, and Paramount Hotels.
These brands offer more choices across destinations such as the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, the US, Greece, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Malaysia, and the UAE.
International travel dominated GHA revenue in 2024, rising to 67%, up from 60% in 2023. This surge highlights the accelerating pace of global travel, fuelled by key feeder markets such as the US, where 73% of member spend was on international stays. Destination-wise, Thailand had 93% of its revenue from international stays (up from 90%), Portugal at 87% (slightly down from 88%), and the Netherlands at 85% (up from 83%). Hong Kong, SAR, and China recovered strongly, leaping into fifth position at 82%, overtaking the UAE, which secured sixth place at 76%.
US and UK travellers remain the top spenders
The US and UK once again claimed the top spots as the most important feeder markets. GHA Discovery members based in these countries generated a combined USD367 million in international stay revenue – up sharply from USD316 million in 2023. Germany retained third place with USD83 million (up from USD67 million), followed by Australia at USD72 million (up from USD56 million) and China at USD66 million (up from USD45 million).
Destination demand trends
Thailand retained its crown as the most popular destination in terms of international stayroom revenue, driven by members based in the UK and US (each generating USD11.8 million) and China (USD10.6 million), while the UAE kept its second-place position, favoured by members from the UK (USD22.4 million), Russia (USD13.7 million) and Germany (USD10 million). Singapore came in third, with travellers in China (USD16.5 million) and Australia (USD13.5 million) flocking to the destination, and Italy was the fourth most popular location, thanks to members based in the US (USD28.4 million) and Germany (USD4.7 million).
