I would disagree with that. They do offer a “buy 10, get 1 free” rewards program, but even that may be too many for the infrequent traveler. Expedia and Orbitz don’t require a certain minimum number of nights before redemption.

Also, a couple notes on the math. (1) The discount is closer to 9.1% since 1 out of 11 hotel nights is free. (2) The discount is capped at 9.1%, not an average of 9.1%, since it’s quite possible to forfeit some of the value by redeeming the free night at a hotel that cost less than the average of the other 10.

Seems like hotels.com offers a more compelling hotel rewards for the infrequent/no-status traveler.

It’s an average of a 10% return on all hotel bookings.

There are also tiered benefits and many retailers offer discounts on gift cards.

I agree that Orbitz us a more compelling rewards program, though there is no guarantee that coupon codes are always available.