Features

Loyalty Programmes - Long-term Benefits

30 Apr 2010

Most of us are a member of at least one hotel loyalty programme, but whether we are active members or not, probably depends on our travel habits. Airline programmes naturally attract members, principally because of immediate and tangible benefits such as lounge access at the airport and the ability to redeem or “burn” miles on flights for free holidays. Hotel loyalty programmes have had to work harder to get our attention because, for business, you simply tend to pick the best hotel you can afford in the most convenient location for where you want to be. Yet by doing so, you might in the end be spending more money than you need and sacrificing convenience. How? Well, we asked some of our expert readers out to lunch to find out more....

 Hilton KL

What is a hotel loyalty programme?

There are two main types: recognition programmes and points earning programmes.  The former tends to be, but is not always, the preserve of luxury hotel groups, which say that their guests value a recognition but are not the sort who collect points. So luxury chains tend to offer room upgrades, improved amenities and preferential treatment but do so because the guest’s profile shows they are a regular customer with the group. One point to note is that to run a points-based loyalty rewards system is a significant expense, and groups of less than 100 properties struggle to do so, hence the emphasis on recognition.

Secondly, and this is what we concentrated on at the lunch, there are the big programmes (see box). Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, InterContinental’s Priority Club, Starwood Preferred Guest, Hyatt’s Gold Card and Accor’s A Club have hundreds of millions of members between them, and inspire fierce loyalty in many of their active members. They offer recognition, of course, with different tiers such as silver, gold and platinum, but also allow travellers to earn points in their properties and burn them.

Hilton Singapore 

So how do I choose the best loyalty programme?

Well, first by choosing hotels in locations where you are likely to be going. In the opinion of those around the table, travellers would do best to choose the loyalty programme that had hotels where they needed to go, and whose standards were acceptable, both in terms of the hotel itself, and the service being offered in them. If the hotel company’s distribution is poor in territories where you travel frequently, then you would find yourself staying at hotels outside the loyalty programme and your total travel spend would not be recognised by one chain. Also bear in mind that generous promotional offers are there for a reason. One guest at the lunch said that as a general rule he thought that the most generous offers came from programmes whose member hotels were not of a standard when compared to the competition.

 

What should I look for in the loyalty programme?

Assuming that you have a choice between chains and therefore the loyalty programmes attached to those chains, the advice was unequivocal – decide what you want from the programme, and stick to a strategic plan. Consolidating expenditure with a chain, whether or not it offered points-based rewards was all important. You might spend a lot on hotels each year, but if you did it across several different chains in a haphazard manner, you would not move up the tiers of the programme, and you would not get the benefits that came with those tiers.

 Hilton Sydney

What sort of rewards will I receive?

In the first instance, you will receive points, usually based on how much you have spent at a particular hotel. These are then held in your account and when you reach the minimum threshold for redemption, you can have a free stay. In addition, based on the number of nights you stay with a chain, you will progress from being “basic” or entry level up through, for instance, silver, gold and platinum. The benefits here are various (see box) and differ from one programme to the next, but there are some core benefits.

Do I need to earn points to benefit from hotel programmes?

If you want to earn points so you can use them for leisure travel or family breaks, then yes. “Pure” recognition programmes such as those run by smaller brands and luxury hotel chains will offer you special treatment when you stay, either for business or leisure, but you won’t get free stays, other than promotions of the “stay three nights and get the fourth for free” variety.

Interestingly, around the table, a minority of the most frequent travellers had reached a stage where they were not interested in free stays and the programmes in which they were most active were “pure” recognition ones. The majority, however, relied on their high tier level to secure upgrades for business travel (booking a basic room and being automatically upgraded to a better category of room) and then used the points for leisure trips.

Millennium Hilton Bangkok 

How can I become a top tier member quickly?

The advice from our experts was various here, but two common sense and effective methods were to make a friend of the senior managers of the hotel and have them gift it to you, or simply ring up the loyalty programme and ask for it. Loyalty programmes will often “status match”, so if you’re a top tier card holder in one hotel loyalty programme (or even an airline programme), upon evidence of this (a photocopy of your statement, perhaps), they will offer the top tier card to you. Of course, if you don’t stay enough nights to justify that
tier level they will simply demote you the following year, but knowing that often encourages you to make the effort.

Alternatively, there are offers through existing credit cards or other programmes or memberships you might hold. Our experts advised looking at the programmes to see if there are any promotional offers for new members. Some will credit your account with points just for signing up and then give bonus points for your first stay. It’s a good way of getting a start on earning enough for a redemption.

What else should I look for?

One of the best ways of earning points in a programme – in addition to staying in hotels – is through the use of an affinity – or branded credit card. These are well known and well established in many parts of the world, though strangely in Asia it seems that only airline-branded credit cards have achieved real dominance. Around the table none of our experts had a hotel-branded loyalty card, and none knew of any available to them, a situation which would not have been the case if the lunch had been in Europe, for instance.

Another thought is looking into the possibility of actually purchasing extra points if you need more for a reward. One reader told us how, when he saw a hotel in Delhi for $350 a night, he used the hotel’s website to work out how many points he would need to redeem the four nights he required. It worked out less expensive, but there was a catch. He was only allowed to buy a certain amount of points each year. So he bought that maximum amount for himself, his wife, and his two children, transferred them into his own account and then redeemed at the hotel, taking advantage of a “stay three nights and get the fourth free” offer. If you have the time, there are many similar ruses for saving money on hotels simply by paying the points you need. n

Next month: the tricks used to gain status and, all-importantly, keep it.

See www.businesstraveller.asia’s April edition for our piece on Frequent Flyer Programmes.

Major Loyalty Programmes 

How rewarding?

Although rewards differ from one programme to the next, a top tier member of a hotel loyalty programme can expect benefits such as:

•  A guaranteed room reservation, sometimes even as late as 12 hours before arrival, even at times when the hotel is full,

•  Early check-in, late check-out, a guaranteed upgrade to the next room category or even a suite,

•  Welcome gifts in the room, including wine or champagne,

•  Free meals in the restaurant,

•  Use of the Club or Executive Floor.

 

Hilton Honours sponsors Editor\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Lunch

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