One of my frustrations with Hotel Reward Schemes is that many do not honour third party bookings. By that I mean that if I (my company) books me through expedia or another search engine I get no points for stays. I have just had this happen to me in New Jersey, where a ten day stay at a Holiday Inn has netted me points only for my incidental spend - around $400 USD, rather than the whole stay and spend, around $2000 USD.
Do any of the major hotel programs honour bookings simply because you are being loyal?
As far as I know, most major chains prefers you to book direct with them and would give you Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) most of the time.
You earn points and collect no. of nights stayed and no. of stays only when you book directly.
Some wouldn’t even recognise your hotel program status unless you book direct.
Hence, it might be worthwhile to book direct in the future if the numbers stack up. I do understand the frustration if this is not an option via company bookings.
All hotel chains are quite clear that to earn status and points in their program you must book via their website/app. There are no exceptions to it. However I’ve found all chains will beat prices advertised on other websites.
if this your company’s decision you will need to see if your company is willing to change.
As mentioned, this is pretty standard practice across most hotel companies. Speaking from experience, working for one leading global hotel company, bookings made via third-party websites, such as Expedia or Bookings.com, do NOT entitle the guest to earn status and points.
However, to my knowledge, bookings through companies such as Corporate Traveler and American Express, DO entitle the guest to earn status and points. Again, this is only at the one hotel company and I’m not sure what the policies are at other companies.
As Mark said, it could be worth seeing if the company is willing to change procedure.