The Lexington Rewards Guest Loyalty Program launched Feb. 1 to offer guests “the best of both worlds,” Christine Thome, PR manager for Vantage Hospitality Group, told Loyalty 360. That dual offering, Thome said, includes a points-based system that can be redeemed for free hotel stays, airline miles, and purchases from online retailers as well as instant benefits such as late check-out and free room upgrades when available.
For guests who travel frequently, particularly for business travel, Thome said the points-based aspect “makes a lot of sense. However, leisure travelers who may not accumulate points as quickly are also rewarded with immediate benefits provided directly at the hotel.”
Thome said the launch of the new Lexington Rewards Guest Loyalty Program was prompted by a request from ownership.
“Currently, we have 30 Lexington properties up and running with several more in the pipeline,” Thome said. “With the exception of our Lexington Legacy properties (Lions Gate Hotel & Conference Center in Sacramento, CA and the New Kuta Hotel in Bali, Indonesia), all are conversions from other national hotel brands. In the beginning, Lexington also offered the same instant rewards as Americas Best Value Inn’s Value Club through its Lexington Experience program. However, some of our properties felt they were missing out on the business traveler who preferred to use points.”
The Lexington Rewards Guest Loyalty Program is affiliated with VOILA Hotel Rewards, an international program that has more than 1,250 four- and five-star hotels and resorts in 250 cities and 24 countries currently participating. Member points can be redeemed for hotel stays, airline miles, and with retail partners including Sky Team/Delta, Amazon.com, and iTunes.
“After much research we made the decision to partner with VOILÀ Hotel Rewards because of its flexibility and willingness to adapt to the Lexington culture,” Thome said.
Program signup is free and guests earn 10 points for every U.S. dollar of eligible revenue spent (plus bonus earnings for upper tier members). Members collect and spend points at participating hotels or other redemption partners worldwide including airlines and retail opportunities. Instant benefits include room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out and other property specific amenities.
Lexington is part of Vantage Hospitality Group, the eighth largest hotel company in the world. Each Lexington is unique to its particular location and designed to offer a memorable lodging experience for the business and leisure traveler with conveniences such as wireless Internet, dining options, business centers, and fitness rooms. With locations throughout the United States, Lexington properties can also be found in Canada, China, and Indonesia.
Thome said the program’s initial goals for the new Lexington Rewards Guest Loyalty Program are to increase brand loyalty; channel-shift bookings from expensive online travel agencies and third-party to direct channels; reduce distribution costs and increase hotel profitability; increase membership base for target marketing; and increase the Lexington marketing reach and attract new guests via the VOILÀ global network.
“We are still in the process of converting Lexington Experience members to the new program,” Thome said. “We had approximately 15,000 Lexington Experience members and they are required to opt-in to the Lexington Guest Rewards Program.”