An overview of Global Hotel Alliance, and how to get upgraded to Platinum status

I mentioned recently that Viceroy Hotels had joined Global Hotel Alliance.  This follows the addition of Corinthia Hotels earlier in the year.

I said in that article that I would do a quick overview of the scheme.  The key point to note is that you get some benefits – including free internet – simply for being a (free) member of their loyalty scheme, so you should DEFINITELY join if planning a stay with any of the member brands.

Global Hotel Alliance is a marketing group used by 31 upmarket hotel brands with a total of 465 combined properties. Kempinski is the biggest one you might be familiar with.

In general, these are strong national chains in their respective heartlands which have not – with the exception of Kempinski – made the jump to being global brands.  It is worth noting that GHA has added 11 brands and over 100 hotels since I last looked at it two years ago.

The full list of members is:

• Alila
• Anantara
• Art Series
• Atura
• Avani
• Corinthia
• Doyle Collection
• First
• GLO
• Grace
• Individual Collection
• Kempinski
• Leela
• Lungarno Collection
• Marco Polo
• Meritage
• Meydan
• Mokara
• Omni
• Pan Pacific
• PARKROYAL
• Per AQUUM
• QT Hotels
• Rixos
• Rydges
• Shaza
• Tangram
• Thon
• Tivoli
• Ultratravel
• Viceroy

GHA Discovery is the loyalty programme for Global Hotel Alliance.

Because of the loose nature of the GHA grouping, it has not been possible to develop a points based redemption programme.  GHA does not have the muscle with its members to make them accept £20+ per night for a reward night, which is all the major hotel programmes pay to their properties if the hotel is not completely full.

Instead, the programme is driven by benefits.  Here is the full list but in summary:

Gold is the entry level, given to you immediately when you sign-up.  This is well worth doing.  It gets you free internet, free bottled water and a free newspaper.

Platinum is their mid-tier status given after 10 nights in a year.  Platinum gives you extra benefits on top – an upgrade to the next room category, 3pm late check-out and a local amenity.

Black status requires 30 nights and gets you a 9am check-in, 6pm late check-out and a double upgrade.

There is a way of getting Platinum status instantly.  This involves a small cost but it may be worth it if you are planning a stay with a GHA hotel.

Business Traveller magazine has added Platinum-tier membership of the GHA Discovery as a benefit for its subscribers.  The cheapest Business Traveller subscription offer I can find is here – £21.50 for Heathrow Rewards members (which is free to join). Once your subscription is confirmed, you can sign up for Business Traveller Plus VIP membership here and claim your GHA Platinum status as well as other benefits.

Hotel offers update – December 2021:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points? There is currently a special offer running with IHG Rewards (80% bonus to 4th January 2022) and World of Hyatt (30% discount, equivalent to a 43% bonus, to 30th December 2021).