Hotel loyalty programmes step up a notch

Loyalty programmes seem to be everywhere these days extending to all facets of consumerism. What has changed and what has made them so popular? More and more hotels see the advantages of offering rewards and are teaming up with other service professionals and retailers to create more attractive programmes.

Frequent flyer plans emerged on the scene a while back and since inception, have often been viewed as more troublesome than they were worth. Blocked out flying dates and ever higher to achieve mile limits made them popular only with frequent business travellers. The nominal increase in air travel did not stir up much interest as predicted because consumers did not believe there would be many savings to be made by signing up.

Hotel costs, however, have increased much more dramatically in the past few years than air travel. According the PricewaterhouseCoopers, the average daily rate charged by US hotels jumped 16 percent while in New York the increase was a whopping 34 percent. As a result, reward programmes offered by hotels became much more popular with clientele as they could see the value of free overnight stays.

Hotel loyalty programmes have also worked to greatly expand the rewards available when points are redeemed. Not only can guests stay for free, some hotels offer point redemption in exchange for merchandise such as digital cameras and expensive electronics. The newest offers highlight life experiences such as concert tickets to popular shows and Hilton has even offered programme participants the chance to be a pilot for a day! Other popular offers are room amenities such as free phone use, internet access and lax check in and out times.

Personalisation of rewards and catering to individual participants is another way loyalty programmes are reaching consumers. Some hotels have gone so far as to offer personalised wake-up calls recorded by a family member or friend. There are also "inspirational" calls that awaken guests with a proverb or thought of the day. Participants overall have responded positively to hotel loyalty programme advances as more people sign up to join.

The programmes that have teamed up with other companies can offer more ways for participants to collect points. By shopping at certain retailers, participants can collect points and the same goes for any other hospitality or retail members of the programme, such as. restaurants, hotels and even online shopping can be included in a programme. The advice for consumers is to focus on programme members when making purchases to earn the most rewards.

Adam Singleton is an online, freelance journalist and keen amateur photographer from Scotland. His interests include travelling and hiking. He is co-administrator of Article Graffiti - a new article directory for authors, publishers and webmasters to submit and source content for websites and ezines.