The personal touch: Hotels retain guests with customized benefits
Loyalty Programs are no longer just nice to have; for the right brands, they are absolutely essential
Dan Lemke says he gets a charge out of staying in a Delta hotel. Among the amenities of particular importance to him, says the Calgary- based senior information technology manager, is the electronic support available in the rooms.
“In the mobile world we are in, it’s very important to charge up devices every night. Being able to hook up directly, as well as having high- speed Internet in the room, makes it even more comfortable for the business traveller,” says Lemke. He estimates he spends 40- plus nights in hotel rooms each year.
“I prefer Delta because of the quality of the appointments and the consistency across the brand,” adds the Platinum Privilege member of Delta Hotels and Resorts’ loyalty program. “You know what you can expect from hotel to hotel. The personal touch is incredible.”
Delta Hotels and Resorts vicepresident of marketing Charles McKee says personalization has always been central to the chain’s privilege program. “It was very much conceived as a recognition program.”
In general, he adds, “If you look at the spectrum of loyalty programs, at one extreme they are more heavily weighted to recognition and at the other to frequency. Both are very important — loyalty programs are at the heart of customer- getting strategy. And they are no longer just nice to have. For the right brands, loyalty programs are absolutely essential.”
Loyalty programs provide a tremendous opportunity for the hospitality industry, says McKee, “both through formal programs like frequent- guest programs and also through the development of guest experience standards that are built on personalization.”
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ loyalty program, President’s Club, differentiates itself from traditional points programs by focusing on customized rewards and benefits, says director of public relations Mike Taylor. “Members are able to customize their profiles to focus on specific travelrelated interests and passions.”
For example, the Lifestyle Cuisine Plus 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 pre- loaded mp3 players ( a collaboration with EMI Music), and in some locations members have access to a complimentary chauffeured BMW shuttle service and to BMW bicycles.
At the Fairmont Pacific Rim, a bike butler is on hand to serve President’s Club members. Marc Henwy, a business student who has filled the role since May, says the service is popular with guests.
“I can’t hold on to bikes for more than a few minutes. As soon as they come back, people take them out again,” he says. As well as providing transportation and ensuring bicycles are kept in top shape, the service includes the provision of helmets, locks, bottled water, maps and suggestions on routes and tourist attractions.
Fairmont also offers President’s Club members once- in- a- lifetime experiences through its special moments program, including such perks as exclusive benefits at select wineries in the Napa Valley and priority access and invitations to Sounds of Fairmont events around the world.
The Starwood chain also runs a Starwood Preferred Guest ( SPG) 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’s vice- president of global loyalty marketing, Gretchen Kolke, says, “We keep investing in strategic relationships with more and more partners to provide special money- can’t- buy experiences through the SPG Moments program.”
For example, one long- term SPG member recently cashed in all his points to give his daughter a special gift for her 16th birthday: a trip to Dublin, Ireland, for a private guitar lesson with multiinstrumentalist and singer Ellie Goulding.
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.
“One of the most exciting things we’ve done this year,” says Kolke, “is creating crossover rewards. This is something that is very new to the industry and a special way of taking care of our best members. We’ve always done a lot on the in- hotel side of things in terms of benefits and experiences. Now, we’ve partnered with Delta Air Lines to look after them through the rest of the travel experience.”
The reciprocal rewards partnership treats elite members of either program as having a similar status in the other program. She adds “the crossover definitely sets Starwood and SPG and Delta Air Lines apart from the rest.”
Choice Hotels, with more than 6,000 hotels worldwide and over one million Canadian members for their rewards program, use technological enhancements such 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, the chain has 4,100 hotels around the world. The chain’s 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. The 25th anniversary celebration of Best Western Rewards includes a special fall promotion until Nov. 24, which offers members 20 per cent off the cost of a stay plus up to 1,500 extra reward points.
This year the Wyndham hotel chain added a gold tier section to its rewards program, which offers a free night for every 20 nights, as well as expedited call centre and email support. In addition, the number of points required at the first level was lowered, an extra level was introduced and the two top levels of point requirements were eliminated. A guaranteed rewards section of the program, added in May, allows customers to redeem for smaller rewards after just one night’s stay. Travelodge in Canada is now part of the Wyndham Hotels loyalty program.
Customers booking through the company website may 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, which now includes a new top category. Marriott has an affinity Visa credit card, through which members can accumulate points toward rewards and free hotel stays. Its promotions note it is the “first Canadian hotel travel credit card to offer a free night every year just for having the card.”
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 top- tier members complimentary high- speed Internet access at any of the more than 3,600 hotels in 50 countries. Until Sept. 30, HHonors includes a Triple Your Trip promotion for weekend stays and double points for Monday through Thursday stays at participating hotels and resorts.
The Holiday Inn chain — the company that launched hotel loyalty programs in 1983 — is part of the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts group, which runs the IHG rewards program. Its promoters say that the group, with 4,600 properties 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, the chain partners with 40 airlines, Hertz car rental, over 10,000 restaurants and a number of credit card partners.