Any strategy should always be accompanied by data, and one of the benefits to having a rewards program is that you have this at your fingertips. You can use this to create a valuable guest profile, which will help you launch customized discounts and targeted privileges like upgrades.
NB: This is an article from Mews
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For example, you can use the guest’s geographic profile to target language preferences and make sure you have multilingual staff to greet them, as well as share language-specific marketing materials. Or, if most of your hotel loyalty program members are corporate, you can target them with deals specifically desirable to them. This could include airport shuttles, business center discounts, or spa services for a welcome break from the workday.
Attract frequent travelers
Frequent travelers, especially corporate guests, are looking for ease of booking and are likely to repeat if they are happy. As well as this, they also tend to travel regularly to the same locations. So, with the help of a loyalty program, you are likely to attract these frequent travelers, because they seek out hotels that will reward them for repeat bookings.
Guest retention and cost effectiveness
Loyalty programs are a terrific way for hotels to boost guest retention. In fact, a study from the Harvard Business Review found that generating a new customer was five to 25 times more expensive than retaining a current customer. The same study found that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increased profits from anywhere between 25% to 95%.
The stats don’t lie. The best hotel loyalty programs build happy customers and long-term relationships, reducing costs and increasing profit margins.
More bookings
Not only do loyalty programs entice travelers to book based on rewards and perks, but they are also useful for attracting new bookings. Whereas a leisure guest might be more likely to book a last-minute getaway because they have a deal or a coupon, corporate guests are often repeat and quality bookers. For example, your corporate guest could travel on business to multiple locations where the hotel is based across the year. And if they are loyalty program members, they will likely book these stays with you.
How to set up the best hotel loyalty program for your properties
Setting up the best hotel rewards strategy for your property is no easy task, but the following ideas and strategies will set you off to a good start.
Define “loyalty” for your brand
Loyalty can differ from brand to brand, but the important part of defining a loyalty program is defining what loyalty is for your brand and how you are going to reward it. Be strategic about how you do this and have a plan from the beginning. Make sure everything is laid out as clearly as possible, also defining black-out dates – whether those be national holidays, three-day weekends or high season, and the time limit for which points expire. Rewards can be in the form of birthday discounts, frequent stays, prolonged stays, referrals, discounted upgrades, and more. The sky really is the limit here.
That said, you need to find a balance between incentivizing bookings during low periods and keeping your loyal guests happy. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating for a loyalty program member than not being able to book when they want.
