In the current marketing climate, many independent and smaller hotels are struggling to compete with major hotel chains or with OTA to attract online bookings and grow their occupancy rates. But few hoteliers are aware that loyalty programs can help to increase direct bookings and increase customer confidence. According to research conducted by Cornell University, loyalty programs can boost direct bookings by up to 50 percent.
Encouraging customers to join loyalty programs is not always easy, so these programs should properly executed and managed and include the following features:
In every hotel, large or small, chain or independent, guests like to be treated as someone special. This is especially true of returning guests, as they tend to spend more than regular customers.
Be sure to always provide your loyalty members with special promotions, rates, menu options, or just more attentive treatment will make them feel more important. This is the point of loyalty programs: to make your guests feel that they stand out from the crowd.
Guest tends to travel many different locations. Loyalty programs will give a much higher value if members can receive reward points which can be redeemed at other hotels in different locations and with for a greater range of products or services.
Adding more partner hotels to join your loyalty program will benefit all member hotels through the power of cross selling, which provides you with a larger base of members in your market.
Guest tends to travel many different locations. Loyalty programs will give a much higher value if members can receive reward points which can be redeemed at other hotels in different locations and with for a greater range of products or services.
Adding more partner hotels to join your loyalty program will benefit all member hotels through the power of cross selling, which provides you with a larger base of members in your market.
Long-term relationships are crucial to the hospitality business. As in keeping a friendship alive, regular communication is essential. Guests may be delighted by their experience, but the good memories soon fade without occasional reminders. Former guests would appreciate a promotional offer or newsletter about an interesting subject. However, maintaining this communication requires significant resources. Writers are needed to craft the message professionally, designers for an attractive newsletter design and graphic presentation, and technology to send it all to your customer’s inbox. In addition, time is needed to research and devise member-benefit packages, often in conjunction with local non-hotel businesses.
