Cloudbeds, Journey Partner to Help Independent Hotels Compete with Brand Loyalty Programs

Originally published here at Phocus Wire

Cloudbeds has partnered with Journey to integrate its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered loyalty engine into the Cloudbeds hospitality management system.

The move aims to give independent hotels in the Cloudbeds Collection access to a “unified rewards currency” to better compete against branded hotel, online travel agency (OTA) and credit card loyalty programs.

The partnership aims to help independents grow direct bookings by giving guests access to exclusive rewards and benefits unavailable through third-party channels. These include 5x the loyalty points per dollar for booking direct.

“This is a significant step forward for independent hotels, who often can’t rely on the breadth of property locations that large ones do,” said Madeline List, manager of research and special projects for Phocuswright.

According to Phocuswright’s loyalty research, 40% of travelers said their recent leisure trip destination was one they were visiting for the first time. The share is even higher for younger travelers, who often prefer independent hotels and novel destinations.

“When you can’t build loyalty on repeat visitation to a destination or a large array of property locations for guests to stay in on their next trip, it’s important to have other tools at your disposal,” List said.

Cloudbeds properties will have access to Journey’s AI guest engine, which provides insights on “guest behavior, preferences and intent.” The platform includes a conversational interface called “Known by Journey” that enables guests to give hotels information about travel preferences and “the small touches that drive real loyalty.”

“It’s a widely accepted marketing principle that you are more likely to convert guests by showing them offers that they are interested in than ones they are not interested in,” List said.

However, she cautions that the infrequency of leisure travel can make developing a strong data set and implementing personalization difficult.

“I’m optimistic that AI will aid in this process because of its capacity to connect internal systems and process data efficiently, but having the right inputs around a guest’s preferences is going to be a critical challenge for any travel distributor.”

The partnership announcement follows Journey’s disclosure this week of a $15 million seed round led by FirstMark and Headline. The round, which closed in 2025, also included previously disclosed funding from Lerer Hippeau, Slow Ventures, Bulletpitch and several angel investors.

The funding is intended to help the loyalty specialist scale its technology and expand its network of independent properties and experiences. The company last month acquired Epicurate to add experiences packaging to its platform.