James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in...
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Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) and ASMALLWORLD have entered into a long-term strategic partnership, allowing GHA hotel guests to partake in experiences and events offered by ASMALLWORLD starting in mid-2022.
What Is the Global Hotel Alliance?
The Global Hotel Alliance is the largest alliance of independent hotels in the world. While the GHA name may not sound familiar, some of the brands that belong to it may:
- Corinthia Hotels
- The Doyle Collection
- Kempinski Hotels
- Marco Polo Hotels
- Outrigger Resorts
- Rydges
- Viceroy
With the integration of the NH Hotel Group into the alliance in early 2022, GHA will have a global presence of 800 hotels in over 100 countries across 40 independent hotel chains.
Hot Tip: Across the various brands under its umbrella, GHA offers a single type of loyalty program — GHA DISCOVERY. Our detailed guide offers everything you need to know to earn elite status and perks.
What Is ASMALLWORLD?
ASMALLWORLD is a premium membership service offering exclusive travel perks, networking opportunities, events, social activities, and more for an annual fee. Very similar to a premium credit card where you pay an annual fee, ASMALLWORLD provides exclusive opportunities to cardholders.
One of the biggest benefits that ASMALLWORLD offers is the ability to purchase Lufthansa Miles&More miles at a deep discount. Many members join the program simply for these lucrative benefits.
The Partnership
Both GHA and ASMALLWORLD will purchase a stake in each other’s companies, and a cross-marketing effort will be launched.
GHA DISCOVERY currently offers Experiences (previously called Local Experiences), where guests staying at a particular hotel can experience local activities and events of that area, allowing them to immerse themselves in the local culture. ASMALLWORLD provides these types of networking and social events and will offer them to GHA DISCOVERY members as part of this new partnership.
Hot Tip: Members of the GHA DISCOVERY loyalty program can use their earned DISCOVERY Dollars to purchase Experiences.
In addition to Experiences, GHA guests will have the opportunity to purchase or partake in an actual ASMALLWORLD membership, creating additional new customer streams for that membership service. ASMALLWORLD members will get complimentary status in the GHA DISCOVERY program: ASMALLWORLD Access and Lifetime members get GHA DISCOVERY Platinum-level membership while Prestige and Signature get Titanium-level membership.
Final Thoughts
It’s always good to see hotel brands partner with outside organizations to create better experiences for guests. While ASMALLWORLD has its largest footprint in Europe, the majority of hotels in the GHA collection are located there, so this will provide the most benefit to guests staying within that region.
Featured Image Credit: ASMALLWORLD
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About James Larounis
James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in dozens of travel publications.
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