UK: Expedia Group has announced the UK launch of One Key, its flexible loyalty programme which launched in the United States last year.
The scheme is now available and free for UK travellers who book eligible flights, holiday homes, hotels, car rentals and activities on Expedia Group’s three major brands – Expedia, Hotels.com and vacation rental brand Vrbo.
It is the first time that Vrbo has been part of a loyalty offering in the UK.
Expedia Group introduced One Key in the United States last year with plans to roll out globally this year, although the UK is the company’s first international market in which One Key will be available initially.
Katrina Lane, SVP of traveller engagement and loyalty at Expedia Group, said: “We designed One Key to be simple and flexible. Travellers can quickly earn status and access instant member savings that increase as you reach higher tier, as well as earning OneKeyCash, Expedia Group’s rewards currency, to use after their stay.
“OneKeyCash also takes the work out of calculating the value of points or miles, as every £1 of OneKeyCash members earn is £1 they can use toward their next trip,” she added.
One Key is free and travellers join by downloading the app and creating an account on any of Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo. Existing UK members of Expedia and Hotels.com will be automatically enrolled onto the One Key programme.
When booking with One Key on Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo, travellers will be able to earn a percentage of eligible purchases in the form of OneKeyCash, the programme’s rewards currency.
One pound of OneKeyCash equals £1 discount off an eligible booking, which means that members do not need to convert points or miles to understand the value of their rewards. It can then be used to discount or book eligible trips with Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo.
The more trip elements that travellers book [minimum spent £20 per booking], the quicker they will progress through the tiers of One Key. With each higher tier, members can access enhanced savings on over 100,000 hotels, plus a higher earn rate when booking VIP Access hotels.
One Key has four available tiers. Benefits by tiers include:
- Blue members: Save ten per cent or more with member prices
- Silver members: Five trip elements per year – access to savings of 15 per cent or more; earn rate can reach three per cent in OneKeyCash for stays at VIP Access properties, plus a perk such as food and drink extras.
- Gold members: 15 trip elements per year – access to savings of 20 per cent; earn rate can reach four per cent in OneKeyCash for stays at VIP Access properties, plus a perk such as food and drink extras and room upgrades [when available].
- Platinum members: 30 trip elements per year – access to savings of 20 per cent or more; earn rate of up to six per cent in OneKeyCash for stays at VIP Access properties, plus a perk such as food and drink extras and room upgrades [when available].
Members will earn OneKeyCash as well as their frequent flier miles with most airline loyalty programmes. This will allow travellers to book once and earn rewards twice when booking airfare.
In the past year, Expedia Group has partnered with Air Miles, a group of loyalty programmes available in Canada, the Netherlands and the Middle East, and Alaska Airlines – the latter being a partnership to introduce Stays by Alaska Vacations, a platform through which guests can explore exclusive deals on 900,000+ vacation rentals and hotels, while earning and redeeming miles through the loyalty programme.
UK-based travellers can sign up to One Key and book the next trip at this link.
Tim Rosolio [VP Vacation Rental Partner Success at Expedia Group] will be speaking alongside Merilee Karr [UnderTheDoormat Group including Hospiria, Veeve and UnderTheDoormat], Ben Wolff [Onera and Oasi] and ShortTermRentalz editor Paul Stevens for a webinar tomorrow [17 September, 4pm BST] discussing the rollout of One Key in the UK, entitled ‘The [One] Key to unlocking loyalty in the vacation rental industry’. Sign up at no cost at this link.
