Now anyone who signs up to Sun GHA, Sun International’s new loyalty programme, will also become eligible to earn rewards and Discovery Dollars that can be redeemed at more than 500 hotels worldwide.
One Discovery Dollar (D$) equals the value of one US-Dollar. Members can earn and redeem D$ by staying at any hotel in the global alliance, whether it is in South Africa or abroad. Membership to Sun GHA is free, and members are recognised equally at any of the partner hotels.
Today the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands. It was founded in 2004 and launched the Discovery loyalty programme in 2010. The alliance currently has over 35 hospitality brands with over 500 hotels, in 85 countries, serving 11 million members. In February this year, Sun International announced that it would become the first and currently only South African hotel group to join the Global Hotel Alliance.
While at an alliance hotel, members can spend their D$ on everything from rooms to dining, spa, golf and exclusive experiences. There are countless ways for them to spend their D$. They can save up for a dream getaway, they can treat themselves to a luxurious room upgrade, splash out on a vintage bottle of wine at dinner, book a full spa treatment, or they can explore their destination with a curated experience unique to that hotel.
Graham Wood, Sun International’s Group COO for Hospitality says, “Sun GHA also provides an exciting opportunity for existing and new South African members to be able to travel globally and benefit from the programme’s unique benefits and rewards. Similarly, lots of GHA members overseas have never visited South Africa before, which gives us an amazing opportunity to benefit from the programme too as no doubt our properties like The Table Bay hotel in Cape Town and The Palace at Sun City will be on their travel bucket list at some stage in the future.”
Sun GHA Member benefits
An immediate benefit for all members is a 10 per cent discount on the best available rates at all Sun International and GHA partner hotels, regardless of the membership tier. On check in, members on the lowest tier can get a further 4 per cent back on their stay, rising to 7 per cent for the highest tier along with additional benefits such as room upgrades and early check-in or late check-out.
Membership is registered in an individual’s name and they can also look forward to unique experiences at the different hotels that can only be accessed by members.
Wood says members will also get access to exclusive experiences at all GHA partner properties including Sun International, “What is most exciting about the Live Local component of the loyalty programme is that it delivers authentic and real experiences to both local and international guests. This resonates strongly with our brand that offers tremendously authentic local experiences to delight our customers.”
