Loyalty Actions for Hotels: In the Summer, Build Customer Loyalty

Summer is the ideal season for hotels to strengthen their relationship with customers and develop effective loyalty strategies.

A well-structured loyalty program not only attracts new guests, but also keeps repeat customers happy, turning them into brand ambassadors.

In this article, we will explore how hotels can take advantage of the summer to build customer loyalty and ensure their return.

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Importance of Developing a Loyalty Program

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Developing a strong loyalty program is crucial to maintaining an ongoing relationship with customers. Loyalty programs not only reward guests for their loyalty, but also create an emotional bond with the brand. A well-designed loyalty program should offer tangible benefits that guests can appreciate and enjoy, encouraging them to return to the hotel on future occasions.

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Real Customer Benefits.

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One of the most important factors for the success of a loyalty program is that the benefits are perceived as real and valuable by customers. This is achieved by translating the benefits of the program to the hotel's operational teams, ensuring that every interaction with the customer reinforces their positive perception.  

For example, offering an upgrade in the room or amenities, a welcome pack only for members of your loyalty program or only for those who are members of a certain level, exclusive discounts, access to special events and additional services such as free breakfast or access to the spa are benefits that customers value and remember fondly.

Beyond the most common benefits such as Welcome Drink or Priority Check-in and Check-out, if you want to innovate you can offer other services such asPriority Spa Access or Memorable Experiences, where at an operational level you can also make a difference with just small actions. Organize exclusive program events such as wine tastings, cooking classes or movie nights under the stars.  

And, last but not least, take the opportunity to offer Free Wifi by linking it to a captive portal that will help you increase your database by registering customers who want to access the network in the program. This will be the gateway to feed your database of customers to whom you can send the communications you want (even during the stay) to grow the relationship and build customer loyalty.

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Direct Selling Campaign Strategy

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To protect the brand and build customer loyalty, it is essential to have a year-round direct sales campaign plan. This helps generate demand based on the hotel's specific needs, eliminating dependence on other channels and potential price disparities. Direct sales campaigns allow hotels to communicate exclusive offers directly to their customers, highlighting the benefits of belonging to the Loyalty program.

Discount campaigns for members of your Loyalty program or even an exclusive rate for members, only visible to those who register in the program, are levers that you should activate to ensure you have the most attractive prices for your customer. Other options such as leaving open only in the direct channel some types of rooms, some types of regimes...etc. are also ways to offer an additional advantage and reward the user who bets on your website to book his stay.

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Demand Generation and Tailored Marketing: Delivering on the promise.

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Demand generation must be aligned with the hotel's marketing efforts, combining investment in a Google Ads and metasearch plan with effective communication to loyal customers.

Advertisements on platforms such as Google and meta-search engines attract new customers, while direct communications with loyalty program members highlight the benefits of staying loyal to the brand. This not only increases direct bookings, but also strengthens the relationship with existing customers.

Therefore, it is very important to adapt the message to each type of customer. Just as a first-time guest is not treated in the same way at the reception desk as a regular customer, your campaigns must be adapted to the target audience and their expectations.  

Obviously, regardless of the message, the most important thing is that the user who lands on your website, whether it is new traffic or a customer, is sure that you have the best price for their stay. If not, all your acquisition efforts will be wasted and you will not be able to reduce your acquisition costs and therefore obtain greater profitability in your direct channel.

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Metrics, better than words.

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Defining a Loyalty strategy and reinforcing it at times like this makes the numbers reward the effort. An example of sales growth thanks to its loyalty strategy is Reverence Hotels, which obtained:  

+103% growth in bookings compared to the previous year, 80% of which were Loyalty bookings.

+118% Revenue versus the previous year, 81% of which came from Loyalty bookings.

+45% Average Loyalty Price versus No Loyalty.

Reverence is a success story in hotel loyalty strategies, with a +45% increase in Average Price and +35% increase in Average Stay thanks to its Loyalty programs.

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Conclusion

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Summer is a unique opportunity for hotels to reinforce their loyalty and loyalty member recruitment strategy.  

By developing an effective loyalty program and ensuring that the benefits feel real, hotels can keep their customers satisfied and foster long-term loyalty.

In addition, by implementing a direct sales campaign plan, hotels can generate demand in an efficient and tailored manner, protecting their brand and maximizing profitability.

If you need help creating or improving your Loyalty program, don't hesitate to contact us. We'll be happy to help you build customer loyalty this summer and beyond.

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