At an exclusive reception at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, Madhu Rao, acting president of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, and Rakesh Sarna, MD and CEO of Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris, officially launched “Warmer Welcomes,” the integration of Shangri-La’s Golden Circle and Taj’s InnerCircle loyalty programs across a portfolio of over 200 hotels under the Shangri-La and Taj brands.

A first for the hotel industry, “Warmer Welcomes” is a leading partnership offering members of the Shangri-La Golden Circle and Taj InnerCircle loyalty programs reciprocal benefits and the opportunity to earn their preferred loyalty currency when staying at any Shangri-La or Taj property located in 131 destinations in China, India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa and the United States.

In addition to enjoying personal recognition, guests can instantly convert points to redeem awards and benefits from either program. A highly visual microsite, www.warmerwelcomes.com, was customized for the alliance and responds digitally across all devices.

Embracing the spirit of “Warmer Welcomes” and to celebrate its debut, Shangri-La is rewarding Taj InnerCircle members staying at Shangri-La with triple Taj InnerCircle points. Similarly, Shangri-La Golden Circle members staying at a Taj property will receive triple Golden Circle award points.

The inaugural offer, valid from now through June 30, is perfect for travelers looking for the ultimate break in international cities such as Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and New York.

Shangri-La Golden Circle and Taj InnerCircle members taking advantage of the inaugural offer must first link their account at the respective program’s website for automatic status matching.

Shangri-La’s Diamond members are aligned with Taj’s Platinum membership level, while Golden Circle Jade members are awarded Gold status with the Taj InnerCircle program. Guests wishing to enroll as either brand’s loyalty member can do so at Taj or Shangri-La’s official websites.

Golden Circle members staying at a Taj hotel earn three GC award points for every US$5 spent, and Taj InnerCircle members receive four TIC points for every US$5 spent on qualifying stays.

In addition, members are able to enjoy the perks of instantly converting points to redeem awards. The conversion rate for Shangri-La Golden Circle award points to Taj InnerCircle points is 100 GC award points to 67 TIC points.

A minimum of 100 GC award points is required for each conversion and a maximum of 250,000 points can be converted per calendar year. Converting Taj InnerCircle points to Golden Circle award points is at the rate of 100 TIC points to 38 GC award points. A minimum of 100 TIC points is required for each conversion and a maximum of 250,000 points can be converted per calendar year. (SD News)

(Edited by Stephanie Yang)