A hotel loyalty program or hotel reward program is a loyalty program typically run by a hotel chain. It is a marketing strategy used by hotel chains to attract and retain business at their properties. The program works to entice customers, especially business or other frequent hotel guests, to favour that particular brand or group of hotels over others when selecting a hotel by offering discounts or privileges, such as upgrades.
A hotel loyalty program will generally be free to enter and may have multiple levels. Newly joined members may be offered some privileges, such as free Internet, [1] to encourage them to join the scheme. This ensures that the guest has an incentive to sign up for the scheme, even if they do not anticipate reaching the next rewards level. In addition, joining the scheme and staying nights in a hotel will typically accrue points which can be redeemed for free nights in hotels (the number of points required to stay a night may vary based on the normal cost of the hotel and on the day of the week or season) and other benefits, such as a welcome gift, free parking, discount pricing, greater points earning and buying power, and/or no blackout dates. [2] [3] Hotel loyalty programs also serve as social platforms for members, helping them to build a collective identity and collective self-esteem. Hotel brand managers may effectively develop a loyalty program that cultivates long-term customer-brand ties by understanding a fundamental psychological process. [4]
Higher levels in the scheme will typically offer a combination of benefits including free room upgrades, bonus points, rolling 24-hour check-in, [5] and free access to more of the hotel's facilities, such as buffet breakfasts, executive lounges, spas, and other features. Mid-tiers and higher levels are typically reached by staying a certain number of nights during the membership year, or by obtaining a credit card or charge card associated with that hotel chain or one of its partners. [6]
The largest hotel chains operate reward programs, including Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. However, some luxury brands, such as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, have eschewed the concept, [7] saying they prefer building loyalty through personalised service.
Most major hotel loyalty programs are associated with one or more branded credit cards. By spending on the hotel-affiliated credit card, the customer earns loyalty points and other benefits in the hotel program. These points are used for free hotel nights. Some credit cards also offer an automatic upgrade to a higher level of the hotel reward scheme. [6]
Hotel reward schemes may be linked to frequent flyer schemes which permit points to be exchanged for frequent flyer points (subject to a partnership between the respective brands) and vice versa. When joining a hotel loyalty program, it is often possible to elect to earn frequent flyer points with an airline, rather than hotel reward points.
Some of the hotel-casino partnerships include:
A 'mattress run' is a stay in a hotel with the purpose of achieving hotel loyalty program status. [11] This is a similar concept to a mileage run for an airline loyalty scheme, however while a mileage run requires the traveller to actually fly to their destination, a mattress run only requires the guest to check-in physically, after which the guest might sleep at home, or in a different hotel. A guest performing a mattress run would book stays in cheaper hotels and at cheaper times of week or year.
A mattress run will only make sense when a traveller is otherwise staying at the loyalty program's properties, but has not stayed enough nights to reach their desired status level. Mattress running in an area with low hotel costs, such as Arizona, could earn benefits when staying in more expensive cities, such as New York, including breakfasts that might cost $30 or more, and free suite upgrades retailing at hundreds of dollars.
Some independent hotel associations, such as Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World, operate loyalty schemes, which function as a single scheme despite the hotels being independently owned. [12]
The hotel booking website Hotels.com operates a simple reward scheme, whereby booking hotels through the site earns credit towards free hotel nights.
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat-screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. A loyalty program typically involves the operator of a particular program set up an account for a customer of a business associated with the scheme, and then issue to the customer a loyalty card which may be a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card, that identifies the cardholder as a participant in the program. Cards may have a barcode or magstripe to more easily allow for scanning, although some are chip cards or proximity cards.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
A frequent-flyer program or frequent-flyer programme is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is one of the businesses managed by the Pritzker family.
Flybuys is an Australian customer loyalty program equally owned by the Coles Group and Wesfarmers through joint venture Loyalty Pacific. Members can accrue points by shopping at Coles Group brands, certain Wesfarmers brands, and some third-party partners like HCF Insurance, Coles Express and Optus. Points can then be redeemed for money off purchases at Coles Supermarkets, Kmart, and Target stores, as well as holidays and household goods.
Air Miles is a group of loyalty programs operated by different companies in each region where the brand operates. The programs are available in Canada, the Netherlands, and the Middle East. Points are earned on purchases at participating merchants and can be redeemed against flights with specific airlines.
Columbia Sussex is a privately owned hotel company based in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The company, owned by the Yung family, owns and operates hotels in various parts of the United States. The current president and founder is William J. Yung III.
Online shopping rewards are a type of loyalty program to e-commerce shoppers.
Grand Sierra Resort is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 27 floors, 12 restaurants, including Charlie Palmer Steak by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, and a casino with 80,000 sq ft of space. GSR has a movie theater, a Race & Sports Book, nightclubs including LEX Nightclub, a 25,000 sq ft venue with a swimming pool, lake golf driving range, a two screen cinema, an RV park and a recently opened ice rink. It is owned and operated by Southern California based investment group headed by The Meruelo Group.
Marriott Vacation Club is the primary timeshare brand of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation. The brand comprises around 70 Marriott Vacation Club properties throughout the United States, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and Asia. Marriott Vacation Club resorts consist of one, two, and three-bedroom villas, with more than 400,000 owners.
Hawthorn Suites is a chain of hotels in the United States owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
Coast Hotels Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of APA Hotels Canada, Inc. is one of North America's fastest-growing and Canada's largest hotel brands. With corporate offices in Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, WA, Coast Hotels owns, manages and franchises hotels under the Coast Hotels brand and also manages properties independently.
Loyalty marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing, and loyalty marketing all form part of the customer proposition – the subjective assessment by the customer of whether to purchase a brand or not based on the integrated combination of the value they receive from each of these marketing disciplines.
Crown Resorts Limited is Australia's largest gaming and entertainment group that owns and operates two of Australia's leading gambling and entertainment complexes, Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and Crown Sydney. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until purchased by Blackstone in June 2022.
Velocity is the frequent-flyer program of Virgin Australia Holdings.
Timezone is an international chain of family entertainment centres and amusement arcade centres based in Australia. It is owned and operated by The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG). Outside of Australia, Timezone is currently operating in India, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Stash Hotel Rewards is an American company that produces a loyalty rewards program for a network of nearly 200 independent hotels in the United States, Panama, and the Caribbean. The membership is free to join, and guests are given 5 points for every dollar spent at hotels in the network. It is the largest points-based loyalty reward program for independent hotels in North America. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Palo Alto, California.
Summit Hotels and Resorts is a Filipino brand of hotels owned and operated by Robinsons Land Corporation, the real estate arm of JG Summit Holdings established by Filipino-Chinese entrepreneur John Gokongwei Jr. It began operating in 2009 with the opening of its first hotel, Summit Ridge Tagaytay in Tagaytay, Cavite. As of 2020, the company has six hotels, all located in the Philippines.