Loyalty programme addict and Hilton HHonors member, Up in the Air?s Ryan Bingham, better known as George Clooney: as a frequent traveller, one would t
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards’ partners offer unique access available only to members, including Abercrombie & Kent members-only tours in locations such as China, Turkey and Egypt; special customer events and a half-day personal shopping experience with fashion experts at Neiman Marcus featuring a private consultation, fashion show, lunch, facial and make-up application; multi-day photography workshops with National Geographic’s renowned photographers at Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts in locations such as San Francisco and Miami; and the opportunity to redeem points for credit toward wedding gowns and other select products designed by celebrated designer Vera Wang.
Members will also be able to redeem points for flights on 31 of the world’s major airlines.
“No other luxury hotel company comes close to providing such a full range of opportunities to earn and redeem points and experience some truly exceptional and exotic adventures,” asserts Herve Humler, president and chief operating officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
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“This is just the beginning. We will continue to add global partners offering our members the very best in customised and one-of-a-kind memorable experiences.”
There are great incentives at some of the other groups too: Starwood offers SPG Moments, an online auction that offers SPG members the the possibility to use their points for a chance to win experiences such as VIP concert tickets and behind the scenes access to major sporting events while Hilton Worldwide focuses on variety, with 56 airline partners, 62 merchandise partners, 24 charitable partners and eight online retail options.
Online ‘stores’ are also becoming increasingly popular across the hotel groups.
Strachan explains: “Marriottrewards.com provides a fantastic platform for redemption with the options on our online store changing continuously. There is a wide variety over and above hotel stays, for example, customers can even choose to take a cruise”.
Meanwhile, Rotana has placed strong emphasis on food and beverage with its loyalty programme. Every Exclusive member dines for free in any F&B outlet when accompanied by another person and gets 15% off beverages when dining and all members receive points on food and beverage purchases.
The group is currently in the process of revamping its entire programme in line with its “existing brand image”, but the F&B aspect is “equally as important as the accommodation aspect”, says Saliba.
The full rewards offered by these loyalty programmes, and the countless others available, are too far reaching to mention here. One point that should be made, however, is the balance between the value offered to the guest and the cost of delivery to the hotel.
ICLP’s Maritz says: “The aim is to make every guest feel special — but profitably.
This is particularly so for regional groups who have limited economies of scale, as they have limited global coverage and, therefore, providing a reward-based value proposition for a global traveller is a challenge. Overall, loyalty programme owners have a constant struggle between managing programme profitability and their ongoing costs”.
He warns: “Programmes that do not deliver (i.e. constant poor performance of their programmes and spiraling costs) are unsustainable. With no clear return on investment, ultimately this results in the withdrawal of support from the key stakeholders in the scheme.
“Similarly, poor programme performance often dilutes the profitability of a customer and therefore destroys corporate value, brand value and customer relationships,” observes Maritz.
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