In the age of personalization, loyalty programs are evolving to elevate guest experience and increase incremental revenue.
Many, if not most, hotels, resorts, and casinos utilize some form of loyalty program, but how effective are the loyalty programs in place? A stagnant loyalty program does little to motivate return stays or advance revenue streams. A recent study by Catalyst found that many loyalty programs have not evolved with the modern guest. 60% percent of loyalty programs offer transactional rewards–think points redemption and member’s only discounts–while a minority offer rewards focused on access and personalization. For those not utilizing personalization strategies, this could be a missed opportunity, because points and rewards only go so far without personal touches and a data-driven member experience. Adding personalization into a loyalty program can elevate the user experience while also creating greater opportunity for incremental revenue.
Get the Word Out
What’s the benefit of a loyalty program if no one uses it? Step one to revitalize a loyalty program for today’s guests is to ensure the guests know about it. A hotel guest app can be utilized to promote a loyalty program and support a personalized customer experience. Customized, automated text messages; eye grabbing banners on the top or bottom of the app homepage; and an information page detailing the benefits of joining are just a few ways to make sure a loyalty program doesn’t go unnoticed. And where can personalization come into this part of the process? Guests who’ve booked with a property before should get a tailored invitation to join the loyalty program. Hoteliers can use data collected from a hotel app to learn certain guest preferences and behavior and create certain offers to attract them. Targeting emails and texts can be the difference between a guest staying with you once or twice and a guest making your property their first choice when they travel.
Create Incentives to Join
Once guests know the loyalty program exists, what will give them that final push to sign up? In an effort to motivate guests to take that step, creating incentives can help make signing up a no-brainer. Consider offering a discounted drink or spa treatment when a guest signs up for the hotel’s loyalty program. For some properties, a special deal on a future stay might be fitting. Whatever the incentive may be, creating an instant reward for a guest who is already at your property can have major ROI down the line. And to sweeten the deal even further, this is a perfect opportunity for additional personalization– drawing from past data to make the incentives tailored to certain guests. For example, if a property’s hotel guest app has logged that a guest ordered the same drink two nights in a row, making the next one in the house if they join the loyalty program can make signing up irresistible.
Use Every Tool in the Tool Belt
While the majority of these ideas and strategies revolve around digital personal touches, it’s important to utilize physical opportunities as well as digital ones. For instance, a QR code on a sign in the lobby, restaurant, or on the TV in a guest’s room can enable guests to access a hotel’s loyalty program landing page with one touch. Whatever data a property has access to, can be utilized to target loyalty programs, opportunities and promotions, both through a mobile app and/or on a smart-room tablet. The avenues for motivating guests to join are limited only by imagination and the tech a hotel invests in. Exploring and experimenting with the tools available can lead to breakthroughs suited to the unique features of a certain property.
Get the word out to your guests about what you have to offer, add incentives that make it clear it’s well worth signing up, and use all the tools in your physical and digital toolbelt to make your loyalty program a success.
To learn more about how to advance your loyalty program through a hotel guest app, reach out to our team.
