How many, many times have we heard that retaining an existing guest costs far less than winning a new one.
And it is true, let's be clear; the problem is that hotel loyalty schemes fall short of the bare minimum the end customer asks for.
First they have to register 👎
Then they have to rack up three hundred thousand points to get €5 off their next booking 👎
Shouldn't it be simpler?
It should, and we are going to prove it with this alternative approach to hotel loyalty.
Build loyalty by segment
The most "convenient" thing is for a hotel to have the same loyalty terms for all its guests. And the more they spend, obviously, the bigger the discounts they get.
The thing is, these tend to be complex systems with rather modest rewards.
Lots of conditions to meet, a minimal discount, hard for the hotel to manage…
Everything becomes simpler if we wipe points off the map and work on loyalty by tiers or segments.
Let's say three, for example.
It consists of defining each tier and applying whatever loyalty rewards you want to each of them.
Example of hotel loyalty by groups
Let's get practical.
Which three criteria do we choose for building loyalty? How do we form the groups?
This, of course, has to be something the hotel can define. Because every property is different, and a small independent hotel is nothing like a chain with 30 properties.
For our example, we will go with this:
- Group A: people who do not have a booking but are on the website
- Group B: guests who have stayed at the hotel and spent a small amount, under €300
- Group C: guests who have stayed at the hotel and have spent quite a lot; VIP guests, so to speak
Then we would need to set the terms:
- Group A: we offer them a discount via a pop-up that appears while they browse the website of, say, 5%
- Group B: we email them 10% off their next booking with us
- Group C: the same, but with a percentage of, why not, 16%
These are percentages the hotel also has to be able to define.
In other words, the key to a hotel loyalty scheme that works is that it is fully customisable.
And easy for the user to enjoy, of course, so they get the benefit of the programme without any small print or anything of the sort.
And from there, on to more
Father's Day is suddenly around the corner and you want to reward your guests?
An email segmented by group, offering each one whatever you like.
Want to automate a sequence based on factors such as where the guest comes from, how much they spent or how many nights they stayed?
Same again.
Being able to create promotions and rewards based on what matters to you as a hotel is fundamental.
A segment that only takes the guest's demographic data into account… what is the point?
Since you have so much more data, why not use it?
Your campaign platform must be able to draw on those broad segmentation options, because that is where the long-term benefit lies.
Loyalty is only the first step 😌
But an absolutely necessary one, mind you.
What if… you could try it for free?
Does a loyalty scheme by segments, with no points and no endless conditions, sound good to you?
Can you see its potential for your property?
The bad news is that it is not particularly common; what you see out there is the same old thing you already know.
The good news… is that here we have a booking system for accommodation providers that handles loyalty in exactly this way.
And the best news?
If you have the Alojapro engine, it is completely free for you… and you can book an online demo here.
Time to build some loyalty 🤟
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