How to Leverage Guest Loyalty Programs to Increase Direct Bookings

Guest loyalty programs can do more good than any of the advertisements. It is one of the best ways to help initiate direct bookings at the hotel. Loyalty programs can help the guests to choose you over your competitors, make more bookings, and help feel a sense of personalised care for the guests, etc.

Let us look at how leveraging guest loyalty programs can help bring traction to your hotel business.

Understand your audience

Having a good idea of the kind of guests that you cater to can help you devise a loyalty program that suits all your customers. The demographics of the guests can help design the loyalty program. The basics of deciding on a good loyalty program are the customers’ preferences and interests, the kind of rewards they are looking for, etc. When the interests are analysed and then aligned, it will craft the best program. It will help you get repetitive bookings.

Offer relevant rewards

Once you understand your target guests and crowd, start being innovative and designing a loyalty program that offers rewards that match the tastes of the hotel guests.

Some of the common rewards liked by all customers are free room upgrades, a discount on the next stay, complimentary breakfast, a champagne basket, etc. The conditions for the reward programs should be simple and easily accessible to your loyal guests.

Make it easy to join

The process of enrolling in your loyalty programs should be as simple and easy as possible. Stacks of forms to fill out can deter a guest from joining in.

You can devise some discount on the current stay for, say, putting an online review in, which can help you get a good online presence and good loyalty from your guests. Take time to sit with them and help them understand how the whole loyalty program pans out.
Use technical expertise with Metahotels.ae

Digitally transforming your process is much more valid and can create a strong presence in the minds of your clients. Through loyalty programs, a mobile app or online platform can help leverage that direct booking. Metahotels.ae can help you figure out the same. The online website or app can help the guests keep track of the loyalty program and give insight into the redeemable reward points, their validity, and so on. When the process is easier to comply with, there are more chances for guests to follow it.

Promote Loyalty programs

Creating a loyalty program without focusing on its visibility is not the best way to encourage direct bookings. It will be fitting to have an integrated social media strategy working to the benefit of the program.

The early discounts and offers can easily strike a chord and help you establish a good online presence for your hotel’s brand. You can also leverage the word of mouth promotion by introducing a leverage program that can help more potential customers to flock in.

Final Thoughts

The visibility of your brand can be easily enhanced by loyalty programs. Once the name makes noise in the market, people will be encouraged to make direct bookings on your website.
Loyalty programs can help your guests make good, effective, repetitive bookings that will help you with better revenue. Metahotels.ae will help you design a program that will embed their mission- “Success is Direct.”