Guest Loyalty Is Not Dead – It’s Just Really Boring
Ellis Connolly | May 19, 2022
Loyalty
Brand Building and The Guest Journey – An Unbreakable Bond
Róisín O'Keeffe | October 12, 2022
By Róisín O'Keeffe How hotels can turbocharge their reputation with a seamless and personalized digital experience Hotel organizations have always invested heavily in their brands. For that reason, both hotel groups and independent properties are highly protective of their brand identities, which is understandable since the brand embodies their reputation in the market. As Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Thankfully, following the disruption of the hotel and travel industry over the past few years, it’s clear that the value of the world’s top hotel brands is on the ...
How Next-Gen Tech Is Leveling the Playing Field for Independents in the Race for Guest Loyalty
Ellis Connolly | September 13, 2022
By Ellis Connolly At a dinner last year, I overheard a conversation unfolding between two other guests, one of whom worked at a PR agency. “Believe it or not, micro-influencers are often more impactful from a social media marketing standpoint than the big players,” she shared, at which point my ears pricked up to listen closely. “Campaigns with someone at a high level of fame, like Kim Kardashian, will cost a company incomprehensible sums of money – which may be fine if the ROI justifies it, but if the engagement is predominantly views and general sponsored exposure rather than tangible actions, it’s not necessarily a smart busin...
Accommodation Preferences: Where Do Travelers’ Loyalties Lie?
STR | September 9, 2022
A sense of normality has returned for much of the hospitality industry since the second quarter of 2022 began. Bookings in many leisure destinations are at their highest levels since 2019, and business travel is also making a steady return. While there has been a subsequent and clear lift in hotel demand, it is interesting to see how consumers have viewed hotels vs. alternative forms of accommodation over the last several months. In previous accommodation preference research conducted by STR, consumers showed improved sentiment toward hotels, identified the importance of flexible cancellation rates, and displayed higher tend...
Accor Announces Partnership With SHe Travel Club, the 1st Hotel Label Focused on Women’s Traveling Needs
Accor | September 7, 2022
Accor, a world-leading hospitality Group, and SHe Travel Club, the only independent hotel label designed by women for women, today announce a partnership that aims to reimagine the female travel and hospitality experience. SHe Travel Club is the first and only hotel label that leverages technology and women’s individual feedback to create a label specifically designed around meeting their expectations and requirements. Key Accor brands including Sofitel, MGallery, Novotel and Mercure will be part of a 50-hotel pilot in Europe and in the Middle East to encourage the deployment and growth of the She Label. Its ambition is to work hand in h...
U.S. News Announces the 2022-2023 Best Travel Rewards Programs
U.S. News & World Report | August 17, 2022
Washington, D.C. – U.S. News & World Report, publisher of Best Hotels, Best Cruise Lines and Best Vacations, today revealed the 2022-2023 Best Travel Rewards Programs to assist everyday travelers with finding the best loyalty program for their travel needs. The 2022-2023 rankings highlight nine airline and 15 hotel loyalty programs that offer the best rewards and perks for everyday travelers. For the second consecutive year, U.S. News took into account each program’s flexibility with members, awarding additional points to programs that have paused point or mile expiration, extended elite status and made it easier ...
Are Guest Instant Rewards Programs the New ‘Free Same-Day Shipping’?
Ellis Connolly | August 16, 2022
By Ellis Connolly The exchange of goods and services is a critical cog in the wheel of how our world works. As we skim through the pages of history books, we are met with countless, comparatively archaic examples of what we know now to be retail commerce. But even just a few decades ago, many of the digitally-empowered conveniences that define our retail experiences today might have seemed, at that time, far-fetched. Let’s take, for example, the evolution of retail shipping. At one time, consumers expected to wait weeks – maybe even months – for their orders to arrive. Today, however, express shipping has become the new norm, wi...
Hospitality & Theme Parks Ranks 16th Out of 19 Industries Studied in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2022 Study
MBLM | August 3, 2022
NEW YORK, August 3, 2022 – Hospitality & theme parks ranks 16th out of 19 industries studied in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2022 Study, the largest study of brands based on emotions, now in its 12th year. The enhanced 2022 study combines MBLM’s proven Brand Intimacy model with the power of AI and big data to analyze over 600 brands, assessing how consumers bond with the brands they use and love. Disney Parks tops hospitality & theme parks, followed by Warner Bros. World and Marriott. MBLM found that the top keyword for Disney Parks was “Love.” Warner Bros. World’s top keyword was “Fun” and Marriott’s was “Endorse.”...
How Labor Shortages Can Impact Hotel Reviews and Long-Term Growth
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | June 15, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Think broadly about the post-pandemic ‘revenge travel’ surge we hoteliers find ourselves in the midst of right now. After being cooped up for two years, people want to travel again. And not just plan a trip, but due to COVID-19 (read: mortality salience or #YOLO) many place a greater value on travel as a meaningful contribution to their lives. In stark opposition to this prospect of high occupancy is the lack of new staffers, which likely won’t end any time soon given a slew of forces beyond any hotel’s direct control. Together, this amounts to overworked teams and the possibility for service errors. ...
How to Win Guest Loyalty for an Eco-Conscious World
Ellis Connolly, Chief Revenue Officer, Lassie | June 15, 2022
How independent hotels can deliver highly personalized and eco-conscious rewards that delight guests and demonstrate shared values By Ellis Connolly Chief Revenue Officer, Laasie The topic of climate change and sustainability has reached a fever pitch. The WHO predicts a $2-4 billion USD cost to public health, and it’s viewed as a national responsibility. From battery-powered cars to eliminating single-use plastic and embracing a more climate-friendly lifestyle, a worldwide commitment to sustainability is taking shape. As green initiatives continue to take the world by storm, we quickly realize that no industry is exempt from it...
Guest Loyalty Is Not Dead – It’s Just Really Boring
Ellis Connolly | May 19, 2022
Hey Siri… play Loyalty by Kendrick Lamar By Ellis Connolly Let’s talk about loyalty. We write songs about it; we study it; we try to identify it in friends, potential suitors, colleagues, and customers – loyalty is an omnipresent force in our lives, whether it exists in abundance or, in some cases, is perceivably lacking. Specifically, loyalty has gleaned no shortage of attention over the last few years in the business world. Across industries, marketers and business owners find themselves ruminating over the same question – is loyalty dead? Are modern customers incapable of exhibiting loyalty to the brands they purchase from? I...
The Return of Incentive Travel: Using the Hotel PMS to Manage and Grow Guest Loyalty in Independent Hotels
Warren Dehan | May 3, 2022
How independent hoteliers can use an integrated PMS to offer a robust loyalty program and compete with big brands By Warren Dehan Loyalty programs provide a bounty of opportunities for hotels to grow their customer base and better engage with travelers. A recent study shows 77 percent of hoteliers value driving guest loyalty as their No. 1 tech initiative for 2022. Unfortunately, independent hotels often struggle with implementing an effective loyalty program of their own. These programs can be complicated to launch and difficult to maintain, which can be challenging for independent operators to justify despite their potential to cement...
Which Loyalty Program Is Best for Your Hotel?
Joel Huffman | April 28, 2022
By Joel Huffman The hospitality industry has always faced a unique challenge that most other industries don’t have: Repeat customers are hard to come by. Studies show that around 90% of all hotel guests never return for a second stay. Some of the reasoning for this is understandable — many guests are visiting from far away, and people often like seeing new places when they travel. However, times are changing. In the post-pandemic world, many people are opting to return to familiar places that they trust. And as marketing evolves, customers are becoming more loyal to brands they like. Furthermore, recent technology is making it possible...
When It Comes to Inspiring Loyalty and Direct Bookings, FOMO Marketing Is Out, and Instant Gratification Is In
Ellis Connolly | April 20, 2022
In today’s fast-paced and competitive landscape, guests have high expectations of convenience and a low tolerance for delays, gimmicks, or friction By Ellis Connelly What is the best way to incentivize behavior? This line of questioning keeps marketers and business owners up at night. Why? Because brands can’t protect their bottom line without generating revenue, and they can’t generate revenue without nudging their customer toward a desired purchase. Hospitality professionals, especially, are familiar with this challenge, as travelers are constantly inundated with options and competing product offerings at every stage of their...
The Siegel Group Completes Sale of Artisan Hotel Boutique for $11.9M
The Siegel Group Nevada, Inc. | March 25, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NV – March 25, 2022 – The Siegel Group Nevada, Inc., a Commercial Real Estate & Development Company, announced today that it had completed the sale of the Artisan Hotel Boutique; a 64-room boutique hotel located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The sale price was $11.90 million. The Siegel Group is proud to be one of the first companies to have brought boutique hotels to Las Vegas starting in 2007. As a long-time leader in off-strip, boutique hotel properties, The Siegel Group not only brought this unique style to Las Vegas with the Artisan Hotel Boutique, but also with The Gold Spike Hotel & Casino, Oasis at Gold Spike, The Re...
Using Your Loyalty-Reward Program to Improve Word-of-Mouth About Your Hospitality Business
THE PENN STATE SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT | February 16, 2022
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — February 16, 2022 — New research from Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management found that companies like airlines and hotels can use their loyalty-reward programs to improve word-of-mouth about their business, both online and in the real world. Research has repeatedly validated the well-worn cliché that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. Today, unpaid product and business reviews on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor constitute a digital form of word-of-mouth that is more important than ever to the success of businesses. Anna Mattila, Marriott Professor of Lodging Management in the School of Ho...
Tripadvisor Content Moderation Transparency Report Reveals New Data in Fight Against Fake Reviews
TripAdvisor | October 27, 2021
2021 Review Transparency Report analyzes a full year of traveler contributions — over 26 million reviews — to examine how review trends shifted during the pandemic A total of 3.6% of all review submissions in 2020 were identified as fake – Tripadvisor’s robust platform protections ensured the vast majority never made it onto the platform In-depth report findings coincide with launch of new Trust and Safety information center on Tripadvisor NEEDHAM, Mass. - Tripadvisor, the travel platform trusted by hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide for its traveler reviews, has today published its 2021 Review Transparency Rep...
Wyndham Unveils All-Inclusive Resort Brand – Wyndham Alltra – Through New Strategic Alliance With Playa Hotels & Resorts
Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. | October 6, 2021
Wyndham's 22nd Brand Debuts with Two Beachfront Resorts in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, with More Resorts to Follow PARSIPPANY, N.J., Oct. 6, 2021 -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH), the world's largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across nearly 95 countries, and Playa Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: PLYA), a leading owner, operator and developer of all-inclusive resorts in popular vacation destination in Mexico and the Caribbean, announced today the launch of a new all-inclusive resort brand, Wyndham Alltra. The announcement marks Wyndham's 22nd brand and its first dedicated entirely to the fast-growing,...
U.S. News Reveals 2021-22 Best Travel Rewards Programs
U.S. News & World Report | August 31, 2021
Washington, D.C. – U.S. News & World Report, publisher of Best Hotels, Best Cruise Lines and Best Vacations, today announced the 2021-22 Best Travel Rewards Programs. The annual rankings identify 24 hotel and airline loyalty programs with the most rewarding perks for everyday travelers. After several years at No. 2, Wyndham Rewards improved to be the No. 1 Best Hotel Rewards Program. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan remains the No. 1 Best Airline Rewards Program for the seventh year in a row. This year, U.S. News also considered each travel rewards program's response to the coronavirus pandemic, and factored in how flexible...
Tourism Tidbits: Developing Employee Loyalty in the Hope That Tourism Will Soon Return to Normal
Peter Tarlow | April 5, 2021
By Dr. Peter Tarlow One of the things that the tourism and travel industry learned from the Covid-10 Pandemic is the importance of good and loyal employees. Everyone seems to want loyal employees, yet few tourism businesses seem to know how to win this loyalty. In fact, tourism is known for high employee turnover, low pay, and often capricious management. It is a mistake to overlook the fact that employee-employer relations often impact the tourism experience and may become a major form of positive or negative marketing. In fact, good management inspires loyalty and often results in the type of customer service that produces repeat...
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Are Coming Together With the Unique, New “Hotel Employee Rate” Travel Program
| March 30, 2021
Offering Hotel Teams The Benefits Of Employee-Rate Hotel Stays Globally Hilversum (Amsterdam), The Netherlands, March 30, 2021 … An expanding collection of hotel chains, hotel management companies and independent properties around the world is coming together with the newly-announced Hotel Employee Rate travel program, offering hotel employee teams the extraordinary benefit of exceptional-value, employee-rate hotel stays, similarly offered by major hotel brands. The innovative global initiative is opening new worlds of travel for hotel employees while helping hotels build guest room occupancy during traditionally low demand periods, ...
HFTP Announces 2020 Paragon Award Recipient – Ian Millar, CHTP
HFTP | August 27, 2020
Ian Millar, CHTP was selected as the 2020 Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) Paragon Award recipient for his unwavering support of the association and substantial contributions to increase knowledge sharing and promote growth in the hospitality industry at large, specifically amongst students and hospitality professionals within Europe. Millar is a senior lecturer of IT at EHL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has been a member of HFTP for 15 years and served in multiple association leadership positions including as vice-chair of the HITEC Advisory Council and on the HFTP Global Board. Millar will be honored on October 29 ...
HVS: Emerging Hotel Brands
Brittany Hart | June 23, 2020
By Brittany Hart As COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, the hospitality industry began to experience sharp declines in lodging demand given the cancellation of events and the travel restrictions set by the government, which contributed to the drop in all performance metrics. For example, RevPAR for U.S. hotels was down 65% for the week of May 31 through June 6, compared to the same week in 2019. Nevertheless, franchisees continue to search for brand-growth opportunities. Several new brands, ranging from economy to upscale products across all service levels, are being created to occupy...
You May Not Know It, But You’re in the Subscription Business
Shep Hyken | June 18, 2020
By Shep Hyken I have an idea about renewals. Most people think that a renewal applies to some type of subscription. You renew your subscription to a magazine, a maintenance contract or a software program. But what if renewal had a broader meaning? What if renewal simply meant that the customer comes back—again and again? While repeat business may not be as steady as a subscription renewal, it can still be tracked in a similar way. A business with a true subscription model can predict renewals. Over time, any business can track return customers who, in a sense, are renewing their trust in the business to purchase from them again. ...
The Relevance of Brand Relevance
Kimberly Yoong | April 2, 2020
By Kimberly Yoong iPhone, iPad, iEverything – the world of Apple has become a prime case study for brand marketers, as they continue to boast legions of fans around the world; many of whom would willingly brave the elements in a bid to emerge victorious with the latest iPhone in hand. But what’s in a brand? Quality, consistency, and now – an ideology. CitizenM seeks to “inspire a new generation of modern travelers”, affectionately referring to its guests as citizens, while Aman’s discreet, exclusive luxury has enthralled more than its fair share of Aman junkies. As consumers continue to seek the novel and unique, the attracti...
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