Hotel Tech-in is a regular column on this site, focusing on emerging technology applications in the hotel industry.

Travelers' preferences for hotel loyalty programsare shifting, with flexibility in reward redemption and personalized experiences becoming top priorities.

Laasie is a company that responds to this shift in demand. This hotel loyalty technology provider uses artificial intelligence and behavioral data to help independent hotels redesign guest reward mechanisms.

Unlike traditional tier-based reward systems, Laasie aims to let travelers choose between instant rewards, points, cashback, and personalized experiences. Laasie's Chief Revenue Officer Ellis Connolly told Hotel Dive that this "dual-track strategy" of reward distribution not only benefits guests but also drives more direct bookings and higher customer retention for hotels.

Technology-driven hotel loyalty

According to Connolly,Laasie was founded in 2016, initially as a direct booking tool aimed at providing personalized and instant rewards for hotel guests. Today, the company provides loyalty technology support to thousands of hotels worldwide, helping them increase direct bookings, improve average daily rate (ADR), and maintain guest repeat purchases.

"You have to create optionality for guests so they can choose their own path. We believe this is where the industry is headed."

— Ellis Connolly, Chief Revenue Officer at Laasie

Connolly said the Laasie platform includes a guest-facing portal, reward and redemption catalog management, real-time data analytics, and data connectivity infrastructure. Additionally, the platform's built-in AI concierge uses generative AI and proprietary guest data (including stay history and reward preferences) to provide personalized perks and improve conversion rates.

"We were founded on the idea that instant gratification and instant rewards truly drive direct bookings," Connolly said. According to Laasie's case studies, for Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, a collection of independent hotels under Pyramid Global Hospitality, Laasie's technology has helped secure nearly 175,000 guest registrations andboosted conversion rates by approximately 4.5 times。

In addition to Benchmark and other independent hotel partners, Laasie has integrated with 35 booking engines globally, enabling guests to receive personalized loyalty rewards during the booking process, Connolly added.

Laasie adopts a dual-track loyalty model, offering guests instant rewards (such as spa credits or room upgrades) as well as points and cashback on the same platform. In some cases, the company can also offer local experience-based rewards. Connolly cited an example where a beach resort, if partnered with nearby diving or paragliding operators, could incorporate that experience into its loyalty strategy and offer it as a reward through the Laasie platform.

The changing loyalty landscape

Connolly explained that Laasie's diverse reward opportunities cater to the different loyalty needs of both leisure and business travelers.

Most business travelers typically accumulate points during business stays to use later for leisure vacations. Leisure travelers, on the other hand, travel less frequently and may never accumulate enough points to reach a certain membership tier or benefit level, so they often prefer instant rewards over points, Connolly said.

"Points matter—I'm not saying points don't matter—but if you can offer experiences in parallel alongside a points strategy, we believe that's where hotels can make a huge difference," Connolly said. "You have to create optionality for guests so they can choose their own path. We believe this is where the industry is headed."

As instant gratification increasingly drives consumer behavior, Connolly said he wouldn't be surprised to see major hotel brands also adopt technology-driven dual-track reward approaches similar to Laasie, rather thantraditional tier-based strategies。

In fact, several major hotel groups have already begun incorporating morecustomized experiencesinto their loyalty programs. Others areleveraging generative AI to personalize travel planning experiences。