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Practices to make you fall in love with your loyalty program

Build the loyalty program to make your customers want to repeat, because to get new guests you must double your efforts.
Picture of Salvador Galindo

Salvador Galindo

Soy consultor de marketing especializado en tecnología y mercados internacionales. Mi enfoque se basa en ofrecer respuestas originales y estratégicas que se adaptan a las necesidades específicas de cada cliente. Con una profunda comprensión de las dinámicas del marketing global, he ayudado a numerosas empresas a aumentar su presencia y competitividad, ofreciendo resultados tangibles y sostenibles.
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For that reason, and without further ado, here are the best practices you should know when building the loyalty program your customers will love.

Added value

Most consumers don’t pay attention to brands, as there is too much to choose from. Therefore, to make a difference, the emotional factor is essential. In this case, consumers do not see the need to be loyal to companies, but to their beliefs. What attracts them is the added value your hotel can bring.

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We already know that the ultimate purpose is to make a profit. But how you choose to achieve your goals is also important. So, if you need to build a real connection with your consumers, you have to build a brand whose values they can admire and identify with.

For this reason, your brand has to encompass everything your hotel wants to be. It is essential, because as we already know, we cannot build the house from the roof up. Your brand defines you, identifies you and with it you communicate. Therefore, you need to lay the foundations of your identity, to know yourself and to know the needs of your potential customers.

Your brand is where you start and end.

Excellent service

A great service experience is going to be, from now on, one of your guest’s top priorities from the moment they book one of your hotel rooms. In fact, they will be willing to spend more if they are confident that your service will live up to their expectations. Because customers are looking to satisfy their needs and a satisfied guest will always be your best promoter.

On the other hand, the bad reputation spreads like wildfire. That is why you have to keep in mind that your potential client’s first encounter with your website, and later, your client’s first impression of your hotel’s service, are very important. Because consumers don’t think twice about badmouthing you if your hotel turns out not to have the service they expected.

To lead a hotel, you have to offer excellent service.

Customization

If your hotel can go one step further, offering personalized service is on another level. It’s what can make the difference in building lasting loyalty that attracts your guests. And just a few small changes can make a big impact.

One of the best examples is to make your guests feel welcome. In this case, follow-up actions are essential: email marketing will work when your customer has already booked online, and with a form you will be able to offer personalized solutions during their stay.

When this customer witnesses the great service, with personalized notes, that your hotel offers, it will be easier to get their engagement. Starting with the website and ending with your hotel staff, you have the ability to deliver an experience that fosters a deep connection.

Therefore, make every effort to be personal.

Practice what you preach

Let’s face it, it’s very difficult to prevent a mistake from happening. We are all human. And your hotel is run by real people who make mistakes. Therefore, in these cases, it is crucial to be properly prepared to deal with these eventualities. Once again, it is your service that will make the difference.

If you are able and willing to solve any problem immediately, the complaining customer will not continue to have that attitude until the end of their stay. In these situations, the sooner action can be taken, the better. Giving them adequate attention, so that they do not feel abandoned.

The same applies to online support. Sometimes, it is not so easy for Internet users to find everything they want on the Internet. When it comes to your hotel’s website, you want to make sure that there will always be someone there to answer any questions and solve any problems.

And is this important for your loyalty program? Of course. Think of any customer coming to you having done their homework. If they have read reviews that are not flattering enough, they will not want to know much more about you, and even less about your loyalty program once their stay is over. Even if your efforts (e.g., with email marketing) begin at the time of booking, your customer may not decide to accept the loyalty program until after their vacation experience.

You have to be there for both the good and the bad.

Learn with feedback

What would your hotel be without satisfaction surveys. As you know, they are fundamental, especially to improve your loyalty program. Feedback from your guests is one of the basic elements when it comes to getting to know them well, and analyzing what needs your hotel can satisfy.

Email marketing can help you in this case, both to know how your customers’ stay has been, and to know if the service experience has been satisfactory. That way you can adjust your hotel’s methodology and make improvements to your website as well.

Allow all members of your hotel to organize themselves based on the updates and do not fail to train your employees in the values and good work and service practices. They are the ones facing your guests, so they should know your products and how to handle the situation based on your customer typology.

Knowledge does not take up space.

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How to improve hotel loyalty with the customer database?

1. The main challenge: your hotel needs more direct bookings

A few years ago, hotels relied heavily on OTAs and tour operators to establish an objective occupancy rate and drive guests to hotels. Until then, hotels enjoyed partnerships with travel agencies and tour operators, and guests enjoyed booking package tours.

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However, over time, trends have been changing and travelers, now and more than ever, are looking to make their own choices and book all elements of their trips on their own. Travelers are not only ready, but also willing to book a hotel directly on your website, as long as the sales conditions are similar to those of the OTAs and the booking can be made as simple as possible.

For hoteliers, direct bookings bring huge benefits. Among them, saving on commissions, improving online marketing strategy, increasing profitability and having total control over customer communication. With such promises of direct bookings, it is no wonder that more and more hotels are now pushing their marketing efforts towards the goal of increasing the number of direct bookings on the hotel website.

2. Gain a competitive advantage

It is clear that an increase in the rate of direct bookings would be beneficial for your hotel. But how to achieve this goal

In order to compete with OTAs and tour operators, your hotel must have a competitive advantage. There are two ways to have it: offering a cheaper deal, or offering more value and increasing customer loyalty. While it may be difficult for your hotel to compete with OTAs on the basis of price, offering a customized offer and establishing a trusted relationship with customers would be the best way to attract travelers.

 The key to adding value to your hotel offer is to know your customer and offer them what they need. Attracting them through the emotional factor is essential, and you must establish a genuine connection with your potential customers, conveying your beliefs so that your guests can relate to them.

When customers observe that a hotel brand really cares about their experience and tries to find the best solution to make their vacation experience unforgettable, it is easier for them to make the decision in favor of booking directly with your hotel.

A common way to add value and personalize communication with your guests is to implement a loyalty program. With a loyalty program implemented in your establishment, you will be able to tailor your messages to the needs of individual customers, understand their preferences and meet their expectations.

customer-database-hotels

3. How can your customer database help?

So, a hotel needs a loyalty program to offer valuable and personalized services to customers, and thus gain a competitive advantage. To shape your loyalty program, you must have a database of your customers with personal information about them. Hoteliers should create a customer database with basic contact information and more elaborate personal information about guests’ preferences and interests.

Acquiring this personal information will give you the ability to tailor your messages to each potential or existing customer, and offer them content, products and services that meet their particular needs. This will undoubtedly surprise them by the degree of personalization and the measures your hotel takes to provide them with the best possible vacation experience. You would be able to establish a lasting relationship with your customers based on trust, thus ensuring the most satisfied customers, who would be happy to promote your hotel brand.

4.

1. The biggest challenge: Your hotel needs more direct bookings

A few years ago, hotels relied heavily on OTAs and tour operators to achieve an objective occupancy rate and bring guests to the hotel. Until then, hotels enjoyed partnerships with travel agents and tour operators, and guests were happy to book package tours.

{{cta(‘bb2971b9-bf36-4c36-8edc-75223dba5208’)}}

Over time, however, trends have changed, and now more than ever, travelers want to make their own choices and book all elements of their trip themselves. Travelers are not only ready, but willing, to book a hotel directly on your website as long as the terms of sale are similar to those of OTAs and the booking process can be made as simple as possible.

For hoteliers, direct bookings bring huge benefits. These include saving commissions, improving online marketing strategy, increasing profitability, and full control over customer communications. With such promise of direct bookings, it’s no wonder that more and more hotels are focusing their marketing efforts on the goal of increasing the number of direct bookings on the hotel website.

2. Gain a competitive advantage

It’s clear that increasing the direct booking rate would be beneficial to your hotel. But how do you achieve this goal?

To compete with OTAs and tour operators, your hotel must have a competitive advantage. There are two ways to do this: offer a cheaper deal or offer more value and increase customer loyalty. While it may be difficult for your hotel to compete with OTAs based on price, the best way to attract travelers would be to offer a customized offer and build a trusting relationship with customers.

 The key to adding value to your hotel offering is to know your customer and offer them what they need. You need to build a genuine connection with your potential customers and communicate your beliefs in a way that your guests can relate to.

When customers perceive that a hotel brand genuinely cares about their experience and tries to find the best solution to make their vacation memorable, it is easier for them to choose to book directly with your hotel.

A common way to add value and personalize communication with your guests is to implement a loyalty program. With a loyalty program in place at your facility, you can tailor your messages to each customer’s needs, understand their preferences and meet their expectations.

customer-database-hotels

3. How can your customer database help?

So, a hotel needs a loyalty program to provide valuable and personalized services to customers to gain a competitive advantage. To design your loyalty program, you need a customer database with personal information about your customers. Hoteliers should create a customer database with basic contact information and more detailed personal information about guests’ preferences and interests.

Capturing this personal information gives you the ability to tailor your messages to each potential or existing customer and offer them content, products and services that meet their unique needs. The degree of personalization and the actions your hotel takes to offer them the best possible vacation experience will undoubtedly surprise them. You will be able to build a lasting relationship with your customers based on trust, securing the most satisfied customers who will be happy to promote your hotel brand.

4.

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