Loyalty members account for 40% of hotel guests

Hotel loyalty programmes run by major chains such as Starwood and Hilton contribute to more than 40% of occupancy, the experts behind the programmes revealed.

At Starwood, which introduced the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programme in 1999, the rewards scheme “drives nearly one out of two” guests in its hotels worldwide.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East senior director, digital, loyalty and partner marketing, Steven Taylor, said: “Our SPG members now represent 41% of total occupancy for our hotels in the Europe, Africa and Middle East region”.

Hilton has recorded similar figures for its Hilton HHonors programme, launched back in 1987.

“Hilton HHonours members typically generate more than 40% of occupancy across the portfolio, totaling more than 40 million guests,” said Hilton Worldwide senior vice president for global customer marketing, Jeff Diskin.

Hilton HHonors has more than 26 million members, of which more than one million joined in 2010 — a 13% increase on enrolment in 2009.

The increasing numbers of loyalty members across several hotel chains has been attributed to the economic downturn, which has caused price sensitive consumers to look for greater experiences at better prices, sais Diskin.

Taylor added: “Loyalty programmes such as SPG keep guests travelling during tough economic times. Cost crunching consumers can tap into the power of SPG to book flights, hotel stays and more, all cash free”.