A Loyalty Program for Hotels is, first of all, an effective way to thank, incentivize and retain your customers.
The customer, as is now known, chooses to stay at a facility for a series of reasons… intertwined with each other. An example of a choice process could start from a normal online search, then move on to reading various reviews, then to the evaluation of the commercial offer, the location of the facility, the services, etc… Another process, instead, could start from a recommendation, from the so-called word of mouth. And so on.
But once you have decided, once you have chosen a structure among hundreds of other possibilities, further processes come into play – probably those that require greater attention. Our efforts, in fact, cannot fail to focus on establishing a direct relationship; in addition to – of course – keeping every promise made to the customer when he chose us…
In general, a Loyalty Program for Hotels can be characterized in different ways: it can focus on a series of rewards and/or incentives useful for improving the guest’s in house experience; incentivize the return to the facility by promising a better experience, etc…
Let’s now look at some examples and best practices that can guide us.
The advantages (in general) of Loyalty program for Hotels
Data in hand, Hotel Loyalty Programs play a crucial role in the hotel business today. In fact, they favor long-term relationships: they reward the guest’s continuity, giving him value and making him feel welcome; and the latter, in turn, will encourage other potential customers to choose the same structure.
Here, in extreme synthesis, we could close the discussion here. But let’s now outline the advantages:
1. Improved Customer Experience
A loyalty program must be based on a qualitative collection of customer data. Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee that they will never be neglected during their stay. Collecting and using data on loyalty program members allows you to create (and automate) personalized communications on the guest’s preferences, who would thus feel recognized and unique. Collecting information is essential to generate new business from data.
NOTE: With new privacy and anti-tracking regulations from tech giants like Apple, Google, and Mozilla, we are now seeing the demise of third-party cookies. But 75% of marketers still rely heavily on them. Companies are now having to find new ways to build their strategy, and loyalty programs are the perfect opportunity.
2. More bookings and optimization of advertising costs
The promise of immediate benefits or rewards can be a great incentive to convince the undecided to choose us. In this sense, a well-structured Hotel Loyalty Program can be an important lever not only for retaining current customers but also for acquiring new ones.
Furthermore, as is well known, the operational effort (and allocated budget) that marketing uses to contact a known customer is much lower than that used for an “unknown” one. Not to mention the fact that loyalty program members are already incentivized to book directly from the company’s proprietary channels. Precisely to exploit the benefits.
3. Data insights and business development with companies
In terms of direct relations with guests (in reference to the consumer market), collecting information on preferences, interests and behaviors allows us to better profile and more precisely create target recipients of our offers. But not only that, in this way we can also “create” the profile of the “ideal customer”: do they travel as a couple? Do they generally use specific services? Do they belong to a certain demographic group rather than another? Etc…
Data insights are a prerequisite for personalization, content, hyper-relevant offers and innovation in products, services and experiences. In addition to providing financial benefits, data generates experiential benefits. For travelers, the value of data is evident when a brand goes from simply informing to inspiring, eliminating any “work” or anxiety related to the experience.
– Accenture Report, Travel rewards that are truly rewarding –
Furthermore, no less importantly, the advantages of having a loyalty program also concern the business market: event organizers, companies and travel managers prefer to establish relationships with hotels and facilities that have an active Loyalty Program.
Tips for Implementing a Hotel Loyalty Program
Implementing an effective loyalty program has a big impact on business processes, but we have seen what advantages it can bring over time.
There are also some standard principles that we can follow if we intend to take this path:
a. Monitoring of consumption habits
This is a very simple activity, which a careful entrepreneur already does on a daily basis. But here it is a question of “making the process as scientific as possible”. There is the possibility of classifying consumer habits by category or type, and many PMS already include these features. Now the time has come to use this collected data for marketing and customer experience purposes.
b. Personalization by age groups
A package of services and benefits linked to a loyalty program cannot help but personalize – or at least provide – rewards for all age groups. For example, the theme of socialization can be included here: loyalty can also pass through the inclusion of activities such as excursions or happy hours as a complimentary part of the guests’ stay. It is therefore a matter of providing activities for all age groups or for types of information deriving from the booking itself.
c. Simplification of the reward collection process
Technology plays a key role here. We can’t make the process of collecting rewards and bonuses too complex. While it’s true that perks and rewards shouldn’t replace customer service… it’s also true that if a loyalty program requires too much assistance it means it’s been designed in a haphazard way or that technology isn’t adequately supporting us in managing the customer.
Summary and conclusions
In an increasingly digital market, driven by great competition and discounts, the biggest mistake we can make is to “buy the loyalty” of our guests. By doing so, we are the first not to give the right value to our customers’ experience in the facility.
But among the advantages of a loyalty program for Hotels, we cannot fail to mention – data in hand – the increase in reservations, the increase in revenues, the valuable information obtained for the improvement of the company business. These are operations that are increasingly measurable nowadays.
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