Marriott is trying to differentiate itself by focusing on self-improvement activities, in part because its own research suggests this is how people will increasingly spend their money when traveling. According to Marriott’s consumer research, younger travelers are willing to spend twice as much — or nearly $300 a month — on self-improvement, including bettering their sports or cooking skills.

Such experiences not only increased travelers’ self-worth and satisfaction, the research found, but travelers sought to share the interactions with experts on their social channels.

“We’re taking the best of Marriott’s loyalty programs — including our partnerships and extraordinary portfolio of hotels — and stepping it up with master classes that provide transformative experiences travelers cannot get anywhere else,” said David Flueck, Marriott International’s senior vice president for global loyalty.

The master classes, he said, allow the 100 million members of Marriott Rewards and the Starwood rewards program, SPG, to redeem their loyalty points for sessions with top athletes. In addition to golf sessions, the classes include basketball skills training at the JW Marriott in Miami. Mr. Wade, who has just joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, will conduct hands-on skills and drills on the hotel’s association-size indoor basketball court next summer as part of a two-night package at the hotel.

The big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton will teach a master surfing lesson on a standing wave machine at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Florida next spring. It will also be part of a two-night stay. At the end of the month, there will be a workshop with Ralph Lee Hopkins, a National Geographic photographer, at the Gramercy Hotel in Manhattan. Marriott is also offering a tutorial on underwater conservation taught by Mr. Cousteau, at the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua, Hawaii.