How Hotels Can Leverage Their Loyalty Programs to Upsell, Entice and Create Long-Term Relationships with Guests During this Holiday Travel Season

According to a 2022 Holiday Travel Survey from Hopper, 50% of Americans have indicated that they plan to travel for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this year. Business Insider reports that searches for holiday travel are up 25% for Thanksgiving and 35% for Christmas through New Year’s versus last year, highlighting a continuing upward trend in travel behavior as COVID restrictions and concerns continue to decline.

Hotel operators have an opportunity to maximize revenue this holiday travel season by attracting guests leveraging their loyalty programs, and offering competitive pricing to both new and repeat guests.

Tailored and Tiered Rewards

Loyalty programs are an essential tool in today’s hospitality industry. Today, as inflation causes a rise in prices across the board, these types of cost-saving rewards are more important than ever. Recent polling showed that 75% of guests favor companies that offer rewards, and 56% stay loyal to brands that offer these programs.

Some loyalty programs are built with a tiered-system in which frequent guests can move up through the ranks — silver to gold to platinum — the more they spend. Hotel operators can utilize these loyalty programs to reward their top-priority guests and retarget big loyalty program spenders with specific email, SMS and in-app promotions. Luxury perks and personalized rewards, such as free spa days, an added overnight stay or on-site credit, can cultivate long-term relationships with guests.

Loyalty-Driven Marketing Campaigns

Campaigns highlighting products or services that are specifically tailored to guests looking for timely deals related to their holiday travel, whether it be discounts or rewards, are a great way to entice guests to choose to book their stay. For example, hotels can send out push notifications to loyalty members who have earned enough points for a free night’s stay. That way, as travelers are making decisions now for their holiday travel, they will have more incentive to choose the hotel that is offering rewards.

Social media is also a smart way to spread the word about rewards and get in front of the right audience. Hotel operators can post a picture of the view from a suite that is available at a discounted price, but only as long as the guests are VIP rewards or loyalty program members.

Instant Gratification Rewards

Once guests are within the hotel's four walls, a loyalty program can provide the real-time data hotel operators need to offer up live, on-site promotions and personalized discounts to optimize customer spending. These are called instant gratification rewards systems and they are increasingly popular in today’s hospitality industry. For example, offering deals on dining and spa experiences on site as a special gift to themselves for the holidays, can be a good way to surprise and delight guests, as well as maximize revenue opportunities during the holidays.

Overall, a strong loyalty program can go a long way in helping hotel operators maximize the increase in holiday travel, draw travelers to the establishment and boost revenue during their stays.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since joining Givex in 2007, Mo Chaar has helped the company expand its North American footprint. He began his tenure as a Business Development Manager before becoming Vice President of Sales for North America, and then moved to his current role of Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Chaar oversees commercial strategy and development worldwide as well as managing the sales teams within North America. His experience in gift cards, loyalty and POS has played a pivotal role in the success of some of Givex’s largest partners. As Givex continues to expand on a global level, with a wide array of product offerings, there is a need to keep the teams aligned on pricing, product and sales approaches. As the CCO, Chaar continues to manage the North American Sales and Corporate Account Management teams and also takes on the added duties of supporting the Global Managing Directors in ensuring that all functions of the organization are aligned to meet our strategic commercial objectives. Learn more at givex.com.