posted by: This week I caught up with Natasha Hayes, our product marketing manager for the Sabre Rewards Program. Natasha has been working on ways to help our hotel and travel agent customers forge better, stronger relationships. Below is a guest post by Natasha on ways to leverage B2B loyalty programs in your marketing mix.
If you are part of a hotel group or chain, chances are you have some direct experience with loyalty program offerings. Travel industry loyalty programs are widely taken advantage of, making up one third of total loyalty program membership in the US with 662.3 million members across the industry. And program membership is constantly growing – this figure reflects a growth of 16% since 2009 (2011 COLLOQUY Loyalty Census).
Whether you are a hotel or chain that offers a loyalty program or not, chances are that you’re a member of a loyalty program yourself. In today’s economy, loyalty and rewards programs are becoming more popular for consumers across all demographics; in the US, the average household holds active memberships in more than 8 loyalty programs. These programs are also becoming an essential differentiator for companies; the same companies are leveraging loyalty programs as a competitive advantage by positioning their brands as an attractive approach to increase or retain customers without impacting pricing.
So – given that many hotels and players within the travel industry have already integrated loyalty programs into their consumer marketing strategies, it should make sense when we tell you that loyalty programs can make a big difference in your B2B marketing strategy too.
For hotels looking to capture and retain the still-rebounding and lucrative business travel segment, or those who want to capture the prominent leisure segment that uses agents for bookings, we recommend looking into ways to reward travel agents with incentives for booking your chain or property. In doing so, you can create loyal customers not only in the travel agents themselves, but in the customers they serve. In a 2009 Travel Agent Study, 76% of agents ranked agent rewards/loyalty point programs like Sabre Rewards Plus as the best or most attractive agent offer they can receive in the booking path.
The Sabre GDS offers a widely used and very popular agent loyalty program (more than 20,000 members registered) called Sabre Rewards Plus which I’ll explain as an example to give you a better picture of the way this type of program will complement your marketing strategy. With Sabre’s travel agent loyalty program, hotels have the opportunity to reward agents points for bookings to their properties. In turn, agents can redeem their points for name-brand merchandise, gift cards, educational opportunities and more. With Sabre Rewards Plus, hotels can create targeted campaigns, influence bookings, educate agents on their products and brands, as well as use cross promotions. By engaging rewards members and creating relevant, targeted promotions, hotels can move to the forefront of the continuing loyalty momentum. The program also allows hotels to influence an agent’s booking habits at the point of sale, without impacting average daily rates.
Recently a hotel management group implemented Sabre’s agent loyalty campaign for several of their brands. The hotel awarded agents 200 points per booking made to each of their 13 hotels through the Sabre GDS . The campaign was so successful it achieved an ROI of 444:1!
Natasha Hayes
We recommend looking into the loyalty programs available in your market and making these a part of your B2B strategy. It’s a great way to show travel agents you value their business, and drive revenues while increasing your brand power – all wins for your business. If you are a Sabre Hospitality Solutions customer, your account manager can help you get started with your strategy. Feel free to let me know if I can help you learn more about maximizing your GDS exposure or the Sabre Rewards Plus program.
