Hilton Honors announced a first-of-its-kind travel and hospitality partnership with rideshare leader Lyft. Created to reward the 89 million Hilton Honors loyalty members in their everyday lives, members will now be able to earn Hilton Honors Points when they ride with Lyft.
Get to know more about the partnership, what’s in store and what’s ahead in this Q&A with Mark Weinstein, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Customer Engagement, Loyalty and Partnerships at Hilton, and David Baga, Chief Business Officer at Lyft:
What inspired the Lyft x Hilton Honors partnership?
- Mark Weinstein, Hilton Honors: Hilton Honors is always seeking out ways to connect with our members and the brands they love. Whether it is our partnership with Live Nation to curate one-of-a-kind music experiences or our partnership with American Express as the exclusive issuer of Hilton Honors credit cards, we’re continually offering avenues for members to get more out of the program.
We know ridesharing is important to our members and extends beyond getting to and from our hotels to a function they rely on nearly every day. It’s easy to see how the missions of Hilton Honors and Lyft came together so nicely. That intense focus on creating a better customer experience, prioritizing and pioneering innovation in travel and committing to leaving the world a better place than we found it by reducing our impact on the environment and increasing our commitment to our communities.
- David Baga, Lyft: Elevating the rider experience continues to be a key area of focus in everything that we do. From creating integrated brand https://newsroom.hilton.com/assets/HHNR/images/newsroom/2019/Q2/David-Baga-Lyft.jpgpartnerships to introducing more modes - like bikes, scooters, and Lyft Lux - to get around, our team is always looking for ways to deliver the most rewarding experience for our customers. For more than two decades, Hilton’s renowned Honors program has created an unparalleled hospitality experience for their guests. Today, we look forward to building on the program through our partnership, enabling travelers to make the most of every trip.
With so many programs to choose from and partners teaming up, what sets this partnership apart from the rest?
- Mark Weinstein, Hilton Honors: What makes this partnership unique and different is the combination of two industry-leading brands. We are proud to say that this is the first time in the hospitality space that members are allowed to not only earn Points, but will soon have the ability to redeem Points, too. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a journey where our members will continue to see even more firsts that only Hilton and Lyft can provide together.
- David Baga, Lyft: As an organization that's been focused on infusing hospitality with transportation to improve quality of life from the beginning, partnering with one of the leading hotel brands in the world, that shares mutual values and a customer-centric mindset, is a natural fit for us. Through this first-of-its-kind program, we’re able to pair the benefits of Hilton Honors Points and the Lyft experience to reward travelers for every trip they take.
What will travelers get out of the partnership?
- Mark Weinstein, Hilton Honors: Most immediately, members will get more value. And more value means more Points towards free nights, more flexibility in spending and redeeming Points, and more options and access to exclusive experiences.
This partnership allows us to reward members for riding with Lyft every day, not just when they travel. Down the road, you will see us working on how members can redeem their Hilton Honors Points for Lyft credits. We look forward to unlocking new ways to create an even more effortless travel experience.
- David Baga, Lyft: From the moment that Lyft riders link accounts, they will have instant access to earn Hilton Honors Points for every ride. And later this year, members will also be able to redeem Hilton points for Lyft credits - a first-of-its-kind integration for the hospitality industry. Whether taking a Lyft to a meeting or out to dinner, we want to make it easy to reward riders for each trip they take.
When it comes to loyalty programs, what is the importance of the member community for your brand?
- Mark Weinstein, Hilton Honors: The Hilton Honors team has done a great job of enabling members to earn and engage with us when they are traveling. And members have noticed. We’re in a category – travel – where customers don’t always have a reason to engage with us on an everyday basis, which is why we’re always looking for ways to connect with our members more regularly – through partnerships, products, rewards, and experiences. The Lyft partnership is yet one more example of how we’re connecting with a category that will allow us to do just that – make the travel experience better and connect authentically with our members.
- David Baga, Lyft: At Lyft, we are always looking for new ways to engage with our rider community and provide them with an elevated travel experience. This first-of-its-kind partnership with Hilton allows us to bring a brand new reward of hospitality to travelers who ride with Lyft.
What’s next for the future of technology and travel?
- Mark Weinstein, Hilton Honors: What I love best about this partnership is that it ties back to Hilton’s founding more than 100 years ago: get to know your travelers so well you can anticipate their needs before they even realize it. Taking care of those needs is at the core of what we do – whether it’s enabling our Team Members to serve our customers better, giving more personalized recommendations, and finding how to best connect with guests. We pride ourselves in providing a high-tech and high-touch experience, and only through technology will we be able to continue creating this personalized journey.
- David Baga, Lyft: What excites me most about the future of travel is the increased opportunity and interest that organizations have to make a meaningful impact at scale on the communities they operate in. Through initiatives like our carbon offset program, Round Up and Donate, and City Works, we’ve been committed to improving lives through better transportation from day one. And with Hilton’s initiative to cut their environmental footprint in half by 2030, we’re excited to align ourselves with a hospitality leader that shares a similar vision of improving the areas we operate in. I hope to see other brands adopt a similar mindset where tech and travel can come together to provide the best user experience while also making a positive impact.
