Loyalty clubs, rewards points and other purchasing perks continue to be valuable marketing and branding tools for companies in nearly every industry, and now Hotels.com is joining the trend with its recent launch of a travel rewards program. The online booking site now allows travelers to collect rewards on every hotel reservation completed through the site; after booking 10 reservations within the year, travelers can enjoy a free night’s stay at any one of its 45,000 partner hotels. It’s an incentive-based program that may help Hotels.com become a leader in the competitive online travel booking industry.

The rewards program from Hotels.com is a simple way to rack up rewards while managing standard monthly and yearly hotel expenses. Points can be earned on any type of hotel or resort – bargain-priced motels, high-end resorts and the business trip extended stay all accumulate one point under this program. Travelers can earn free nights at any partner property, and the ‘no restrictions’ clause mean that even the typical blackout dates are included.

The official name is the welcomerewards™ program, and after signing up for a free account or calling the customer service department, travelers can start earning point and credits for their free night. All points can be redeemed for any Price Match Guarantee property on the Hotels.com website.

The new launch of the rewards program is one incentive for travelers to head online to book hotel stays and choose Hotels.com exclusively throughout the course of the year. While popular sites such as Expedia.com, Hotwire.com and Travelocity.com also offer low-priced hotel rates and packages for travel that may include flight and car options, Hotels.com remains competitive by honoring a Price Match Guarantee. The rewards program may be enough to entice travelers to stick with Hotels.com entirely for booking hotel reservations and enjoy a free night’s stay at any approved property in the network.