Wyndham Rewards Turns Route 66 Centennial Into a Loyalty Marketing Experience: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is using the 100th anniversary of Route 66 to demonstrate how a loyalty and rewards program can move beyond traditional points and discounts and become a tool for customer engagement, destination marketing and travel inspiration.
Through Wyndham Rewards, the company’s loyalty program, Wyndham is launching “Flavors of the Open Road,” a limited-edition collection of six destination-inspired candies tied to iconic locations along the historic highway.
The campaign combines physical merchandise, travel storytelling and loyalty rewards. Each box includes 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points, potentially enough for up to two hotel nights or more, creating a direct connection between the promotional product and future hotel stays.
Only 100 collections will be sold beginning August 20 at 10 a.m. ET, priced at $19.26 plus tax, with shipping included. The price references 1926, the year Route 66 was established.
Loyalty Becomes Part of the Travel Journey
The campaign illustrates a broader evolution in loyalty marketing, where rewards programs increasingly seek to influence the entire customer journey rather than simply rewarding transactions.
Instead of offering points only after a hotel stay, Wyndham is using Route 66 storytelling to create an emotional connection before the customer books a room.
Each candy flavor represents a destination, including:
- Chicago, Illinois — Deep-Dish Pizza
- Tulsa, Oklahoma — Pecan Pie
- Amarillo, Texas — Smoked Brisket
- Albuquerque, New Mexico — Roasted Green Chile
- Flagstaff, Arizona — Prickly Pear Soft Serve
- Kingman, Arizona — Root Beer Float
The collection also provides information about restaurants, attractions and roadside destinations associated with each flavor, along with a nearby Wyndham hotel.
The result is a loyalty experience that connects product discovery → destination inspiration → hotel booking → rewards redemption → travel experience.
30,000 Points Create a Direct Conversion Opportunity
The most important loyalty component is the 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points included with every collection.
Wyndham says the points can provide up to two nights or more at participating properties, depending on redemption.
The company operates more than 20 hotel brands, including Days Inn, Super 8, Ramada and La Quinta, and has more than 400 hotels near Route 66.
By placing rewards points inside a limited-edition product, Wyndham is effectively using loyalty currency as a mechanism to encourage a future transaction.
The candy becomes the entry point, while the hotel stay becomes the potential next step.
From Points to Experiences
Wyndham Rewards has more than 126 million enrolled members worldwide, making it one of the largest hotel loyalty programs globally.
Members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay and can redeem points for free nights at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals, with redemptions starting at 7,500 points.
The program has also expanded beyond traditional hotel rewards.
Through Wyndham Rewards Experiences, members can use points to bid on experiences and live events, while Wyndham Rewards Insider offers additional savings and benefits covering areas beyond hotels, including flights, cruises and car rentals.
This broader approach reflects the changing role of loyalty programs in the travel industry, where customers increasingly expect rewards to provide access to experiences rather than simply discounts.
Turning Destination Marketing Into Loyalty
Wyndham’s Route 66 campaign demonstrates how a loyalty program can become a destination marketing platform.
Instead of promoting individual hotels, the company is promoting the journey itself.
A customer interested in Route 66 may first encounter the campaign through the candy collection. The destination guide then introduces restaurants and attractions, while the Wyndham hotel recommendation provides a natural accommodation option.
The rewards points provide another reason to complete the journey.
This approach allows Wyndham to connect its hotel portfolio to a broader cultural experience while giving consumers a reason to engage with the brand beyond a traditional hotel booking.
“The Best Road Trips Are Defined by the Stops You Never Forget”
Michael Shiwdin, GVP, Integrated Marketing, Loyalty & Digital, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said the campaign is built around the memorable experiences associated with road travel.
“The best road trips are defined by the stops you never forget—the barbecue joint you still talk about years later, the diner with the best pie you’ve ever had or the unexpected local specialty you just can’t find anywhere else,” Shiwdin said.
He added that Wyndham and its brands have helped travelers explore Route 66 for decades through their network of more than 400 hotels near the highway.
The campaign, he said, is intended not only to give travelers “a taste of Route 66,” but also to encourage them to travel the road and create their own memories.
Scarcity Adds a Loyalty Engagement Layer
The decision to release only 100 collections adds an element of scarcity to the campaign.
The products will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, with a limit of one per household.
The $19.26 price point also reinforces the historical connection to Route 66 while keeping the promotional purchase relatively accessible.
From a loyalty-marketing perspective, the limited quantity creates urgency, while the rewards points provide an immediate and measurable benefit for customers who participate.
A Model for the Future of Loyalty Programs
The Route 66 campaign highlights how loyalty programs are evolving from simple earn-and-burn point systems into broader platforms for customer relationships.
For consumers, the value is no longer limited to earning points after a transaction. Loyalty programs can provide travel inspiration, exclusive products, experiences, personalized offers and access to new destinations.
For brands, these programs can generate engagement before, during and after a purchase, while creating additional opportunities to drive repeat business.
Wyndham’s Route 66 campaign brings these elements together through a simple proposition: taste the destination, earn the reward and take the trip.
With Route 66 entering its second century, Wyndham is using the historic highway to demonstrate how a modern loyalty program can transform a centennial celebration into an ongoing customer relationship—linking nostalgia and storytelling with rewards, travel and hotel bookings.
