Putting patrons at ease
Loyalty programs go above and beyond the call to make certain guests enjoy an experience they’ll long remember
Hoteliers go the extra mile for their loyalty- plan members — from offering deep discounts to arranging home sleeping arrangements.
David Atchison likes to enjoy a comfortable sleep whether he’s at home or staying at his favourite hotel chain.
So the Calgary resident, a Delta Privilege Platinum member who particularly likes the beds at Delta Hotels and Resorts, decided to buy one to enjoy at home, with a little help from the manager of the hotel he stays in most often.
“The manager made it possible for me to get one of the Delta beds at the staff rate,” says Atchison, a Canada Post union representative who travels extensively across Western Canada. “So now I have a Delta king- sized bed at home and don’t have to get used to a new bed when I’m staying at a Delta hotel — my choice when I’m travelling.”
In addition to sleeping comfortably, he says, he values the personal treatment he experiences at Delta properties. “From the moment you check in, the staff is great. I really like the approach and the rewards program, especially when there is a club floor. I find it really relaxing to go in before a meeting in the morning, for instance.”
Creating great guest experiences is the heart of the Delta rewards program, says Delta president and chief executive officer Ken Greene. “Delta is known for having a great service culture and team of people who are very welcoming to our guests. This is a key component of the Delta Privileges loyalty program.”
He says any loyalty program needs to create an experience for its guests that goes beyond the norm. “You need to stay close to your customers, understand what they want and be responsive to them.”
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ President’s Club loyalty
We are really trying to humanize our rewards program by catering to our guests.
TAMMY LUCAS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, BEST WESTERN INTERNATIONAL
program is also built around personalization, recognition at properties across the chain and individual member preferences.
“Fairmont President’s Club differentiates itself from traditional points programs by focusing on customized rewards and benefits,” says Fairmont Hotels & Resorts director of public relations Mike Taylor. “Members are able to customize their profiles to focus on specific travel- related interests and passions.”
The Lifestyle Cuisine Plus, for instance, provides a new menu on request that caters to guests with specific diet- dependent conditions or dietary preferences. Members also have access to Fairmont Fit, which provides use of fitness apparel and running shoes and to preloaded mp3 players ( in collaboration with EMI Music). In some locations, members have access to a complimentary BMW shuttle service and to BMW bicycles.
Fairmont also offers President’s Club members once- in-a-lifetime experiences through its special moments program. Some past Fairmont Moments include hitting the golf course with a LPGA star, heli- skiing in the Rocky Mountains and a behind- the- scenes tennis tour at the U. S. Open.
The Starwood chain runs a Moments program, which lets members bid on such experiences as one- to- one sessions with favourite celebrities and pre- and post- show events in entertainment, sports, fashion and cuisine. Starwood also focuses on member preferences through its website, which aims “to help travellers plan and purchase the perfect resort escape.” The chain also has a popular affiliated credit card, the SPG ( Starwood Preferred Guest) American Express card and recently added an SPG iPhone app to help travellers en route to their destinations.
Choice Hotels, which have just topped the million mark in Canadian members for their rewards program, also use technology to enhance their programs by such means as an e- Rewards panel, which allows members to earn points for participating in electronic market research surveys. In addition, members who hold the Choice Privileges MasterCard credit card can earn three free nights across the chain.
The Best Western chain, like Choice, has an affinity MasterCard. Founded in 1946, it has 4,100 hotels around the world. The Best Western loyalty program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, focuses on customized memberships, seasonal promotions and partnerships with such organizations as the Canadian Automobile Association, as well as offering both Aeroplan and Air Miles points.
“We are really trying to humanize our rewards program by catering to our guests,” says Best Western International’s managing director of marketing Tammy Lucas. “We are continuing to have a strong rewards program in which the customer service piece is extremely important.”
The recent launch of Best Western’s “Stay with people who care” program underlines this intent, she says, as does the new Reward It Forward initiative.
“This allows our customers to call out properties and staff who have done a superior job in customer service,” says Lucas. The Wyndham hotel chain has just made a number of changes to its rewards program market, says senior vice- president of global loyalty and partnerships Robin Korman. Trave-Lodge in Canada, for instance, is now part of the Wyndham Hotels loyalty program. Initiatives include a gold tier section, which offers a free night for every 20 nights, as well as expedited call centre and email support. At the other end of the rewards spectrum, the number of points required at the first level has been lowered, an extra level has been introduced and the two top levels of point requirements have been eliminated.
“We want customers to experience redemption and get engaged in the program,” says Korman. A guaranteed rewards section of the program, to be added in May, will allow customers to redeem for smaller rewards after just one night’s stay.
Customers booking through the company website can also obtain the best available rate plus bonus points to help them build their point count more quickly.
The Marriott hotel chain, which has 13 hotel brands in 3,600 locations in 70 countries, also runs a comprehensive rewards program. Marriott also has an affinity Visa credit card, through which members can accumulate points toward rewards and free hotel stays. In May, a new top category is to be added to its loyalty program.
The Hilton chain’s HHonors reward program continues to allow members to double dip by collecting hotel and airline points for the same stay.
The program includes a reward exchange capability, which allows HHonors points to be turned into airline miles and vice versa, and offers toptier members complimentary high- speed Internet access at any of the more than 3,600 hotels in 50 countries in the chain.
The Holiday Inn chain — the company that launched hotel loyalty programs in 1983 — is part of the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts group.
Its promoters say that the group, with over 650,000 guest rooms in 100 countries, has more rooms than any other chain. A repeat winner of major industry awards for its tiered loyalty program, it emphasizes that the chain partners with 40 airlines, Hertz car rental, over 10,000 restaurants and a wide selection of credit card partners.