Loylogic is a leading reward solutions provider to loyalty program sponsors worldwide, helping clients to steer and increase the value of their loyalty currency by combining state-of-the-art technology with an international reward network, an one-to-one with Steven Landuyt.
1. What makes loyalty programs particularly important for the hotel industry?
Customer loyalty is key to the success of many businesses worldwide. Loyalty drives increased product usage, increased spend, and affinity between a brand and its customers. As the travel industry continues to recover from the downturn, hotels can feel the benefits.
However, it is a new type of guest that is accommodated today - one that will be much more familiar with their options and the benefits and value they receive. With more and more online booking engines commanding highly competitive rates, and budget air travel on the rise, low priced travel is increasingly available. Hotels are in a more competitive environment than ever.
A key differentiator for hotels can be their loyalty program. It encourages direct booking, independent direct marketing, additional value and customer benefits, but most importantly it rewards customers for using a particular brand in this competitive environment.
2. What kind of rewards and redemption options are important for hotels to be offering to their loyalty program members?
The rewards core to any program will always be extremely important to loyalty program members. Therefore, room upgrades, late check-outs, dining options, and hotel activities are fundamental to the success of a hotel loyalty program. However, there are consumer segments that spend a lot of time in hotels and would like their loyalty to be rewarded in other ways.
Similarly there are customer segments that travel less frequently and would like to be rewarded in ways more akin to their everyday lifestyle. Therefore, in order to engage all customer segments, it is important for hotel loyalty programs to offer a range of reward options; from travel partnerships, to merchandise, to unique experiences. With this reward mix customers can really choose the reward that excites them, and is the best opportunity for a program to command their loyalty.
Read the full interview here.