10 Ways Mobile Wallet Tech Can Boost Guest Engagement and Loyalty

While Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are best known for holding consumers’ credit cards and enabling digital payments, there are a myriad other uses. Loyalty membership cards, boarding passes, gift cards and other items one might find in their back pocket or purse can instead be housed and organized as “passes” in a single location – a person’s mobile device – where they can easily be found and used. For this reason, hoteliers have good reason to look into how they could use Mobile Wallet technology to boost guest engagement and loyalty.

1. Drive expanded use of products and services

By presenting guests with timely, convenient mobile-based offers during their trip, you can more easily incentivize them to increase their spend, like buying another product or service at the local spa or purchasing an additional room upgrade.

Mobile Wallet gives you the option to tie the offer to a specific product or service, or you can just offer guests with a pre-determined dollar amount that they can spend.

2. Increase brand awareness and repeat purchases

With the data that Mobile Wallet can track, you can update saved passes with relevant promotional content and incentives that motivate consumers to book new travel, re-book lodging, and purchase additional upgrades.

3. Improve pre- and post-travel engagement

With Mobile Wallet, you can send a notification that looks exactly like a push notification delivered from a mobile app. Since you can automate these wallet notifications to deliver to your guests in real time, they’ll always have the most up-to-date information about their upcoming travel - from trip notifications to flash sales.

4. Increase loyalty program engagement

Mobile Wallet makes it easy for members to access their membership ID and other details required for accessing their account. You can also use Mobile Wallet to conveniently remind members to use their Loyalty points, as well as provide instructions on how to use them.

5. Increase loyalty program enrollment

Given that more than 70% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with loyalty programs that are easily accessible from their mobile phone, Mobile Wallet is the obvious answer for brands who want to enroll new loyalty members.

6. Higher conversion rates

Convert inactive members into more active members by using Mobile Wallet to persistently message them about their outstanding loyalty points, rewards earned, how to redeem rewards, and member-exclusive offers.

7. Travel Itinerary Passes: Deliver a better customer experience

Mobile Wallet gives hospitality brands the ability to help guests before, during and after their trip.

Before

You can help them plan ahead for their trip and keep them abreast of important changes and updates along the way, so they’re never caught off guard.

During

Your guests will have peace of mind at check-in because they conveniently have their travel itinerary details accessible.

You can also immediately deliver another pass for them to download their room key, making the check-in process even more seamless.

To enhance the check-in experience even further, you can deliver personalized welcome messages directly to the saved pass, as well as make recommendations throughout their trip.

After

Mobile Wallet makes low-engagement chores like customer satisfaction surveys easier to deliver by putting a link directly on the pass that your guests can access with just one click.

8. Increase brand awareness with gift cards

Gift cards are an effective tactic to broaden the reach of your guest base, incentivizing them to engage with you when they may not have previously. With a mobile wallet gift card, you’re not only acquiring new guests, but you now also have a persistent messaging channel to deliver relevant content to them and keep your brand top of mind.

9. Drive guest behavior via gift cards

The accessibility and ease-of-use of Mobile Wallet further incentivizes recipients to shop with their newly installed gift card. Additionally, because of the tracking power that Mobile Wallet has and how that gift card is now always on the recipient’s phone, you can continually message them with new content to drive repeat purchases.

Want to re-engage those that haven’t traveled or made any purchases since their initial gift card funds ran out? You can easily update their saved gift card with new funds and notify them their gift card has been replenished.

10.  Increase customer satisfaction with the gift card experience

The modern-day hospitality guest expects convenience and instant gratification. With Mobile Wallet you can delight your guests with the immediate delivery of the gift card to their phones, and further reduce friction with the contactless payment option anywhere they shop during their stay. By sending your guests their gift cards via Mobile Wallet, you’re also sending them the message that you accommodate and delight them in the ways that they now expect.

The bottom line: as an engaging communication channel that also drives incremental purchases, activating Mobile Wallet for your guests is proven to help brands build long-lasting, revenue-enhancing relationships.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Campbell is Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Vibes.  He has long been recognized as one of mobile marketing’s original pioneers, working tirelessly to educate marketers on the value of mobile as a viable discipline. A true entrepreneur at heart, Campbell oversees Vibes’ innovation strategy – always looking for the next great mobile technology brands can leverage to drive deeper customer engagement and untapped revenue opportunities.