In the modern hotel industry, loyalty is the most valuable asset. A loyal customer is not only someone who repeats their stay or seeks to enjoy the hotel's services and offers, but also becomes an ally in reinforcing our hotel brand through recommendations and word of mouth.
Hotel loyalty is a strategic investment that generates incalculable value. By building strong, lasting relationships with our guests, we not only increase the average revenue per customer, but also strengthen our reputation and set ourselves apart from the competition. Every satisfied guest becomes a brand ambassador, creating a multiplier effect on our visibility and power to attract.
Before starting a loyalty programme for your hotel, it is very important to be realistic and to keep in mind some clear objectives of what you want to achieve. Setting objectives such as "gaining 100,000 loyal customers and increasing sales" is not a SMART objective. The first thing you need to consider is to analyse your ideal customer, or to create several ideal customer profiles. If you have a database, it will be much easier to create buyer personas and plan loyalty strategies for each of them.
Next, the ideal approach is to plan the stages of the different loyalty levels that will exist in your hotel. Remember that not all loyal customers will behave the same way or have the same needs, which is why it is important to build your guest's Guest Journey as they progress along the path to loyalty.
Hotel loyalty strategies for your hotel
Personalisation of communications
At Fideltour we constantly stress the importance of personalising the messages and communications you send to your guest or potential guest, because there is nothing better than feeling valued. Using a CRM for hotels and good planning of personalised automated mailings based on the guest's preferences and behaviour — such as special promotions, birthday offers or reminders of upcoming stays — is essential to make your customer feel like the star.
Think of it this way: what first impression do you want to give your guest? Which action do you think would make them feel valued?
Individual discounts and rewards
By offering tailored discounts and rewards, you not only increase customer satisfaction, but you also boost their level of loyalty in the long term. Imagine a guest receiving an email with a special offer to celebrate their wedding anniversary at the hotel, or that thanks to their last booking they get a discount to come back, or that another frequent guest is surprised with a room upgrade and a complimentary gourmet breakfast. These seemingly small actions create a huge impact on the customer's perception and motivate them to return — and best of all, to keep speaking well of you.
The data gathered through the CRM makes it possible to segment guests and offer relevant promotions, such as discounts on services the customer has used frequently or personalised experiences based on their interests.
Hotel surveys during and after the stay
Surveys are a key strategy for improving your hotel's loyalty, as they allow you to learn first-hand about the guest's experience and make improvements based on their feedback. To encourage participation, offering rewards such as discounts or extra points for their next stay is an excellent tactic.
When it comes to implementing them, the ideal is to make them short and focused on a specific topic, without forgetting that they must be automated according to the stage your guest is at (that is, according to their Guest Journey). It is important that it arrives at a moment when their experience is still fresh, but not in an intrusive way.
Once the survey is completed, it is a good idea to send a personalised (and yes, automated) message thanking them for their collaboration and time. These gestures earn points towards building a positive relationship with your guest and building their loyalty while they are staying at your hotel.
The Reviews module is the perfect option to get started with surveys at your hotel. Through fully personalised and automated surveys, you will be able to improve your online reputation and learn how satisfied your guests are. When a survey receives a low score, you will get a real-time alert so you can resolve the issue and thereby improve your customer's stay before they leave your hotel.
Remember that OTAs set their price based on the hotel's online reputation (that is, largely based on the quality of the reviews and opinions found online). Improving your reputation gives you a better position when negotiating prices.
Loyalty programmes
Loyalty programmes are of the utmost importance if you really want to build a tribe of loyal guests. As we mentioned earlier, loyal customers are not those who simply repeat their stay, but those with whom you build a relationship of trust and with whom you personalise your communication.
Loyalty programmes allow you to gather valuable data about customer preferences, which makes segmentation and tailored service offerings easier. In addition, loyal guests become true brand ambassadors, recommending the hotel to their acquaintances and creating a multiplier effect on the establishment's visibility and reputation. The ideal approach is to offer experience-based loyalty programmes and reward the guest for each stay, each additional action during it, or for the recommendation they make to their circle of trust.
In conclusion
Loyalty is the engine of 21st-century hotels. Guests are looking for experiences and hotels are no longer just simple places to rest. Loyalty strategies make it possible to build lasting relationships based on trust and satisfaction, turning customers into true brand ambassadors. By offering personalised programmes, attractive rewards and unique experiences, hotels not only increase their revenue, but also strengthen their reputation and position themselves as leaders in their segment. Ultimately, loyalty is the key to standing out in a saturated market and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business.
Begin your journey towards loyalty
If you want to improve your hotel's reputation, increase direct bookings and revolutionise the way you communicate with your guest, request a free loyalty audit and optimise your service to maximise customer satisfaction and retention.
