Guest Apps Play A Crucial Role in Building Guest Loyalty
SEMRush reported that the average American company can lose up to 30 percent of its customers each year due to a lack of customer loyalty. Building guest loyalty is key for a hotel’s profitability, with repeat visitors typically spending more per stay than first-time guests and requiring less marketing spend. Hotel guest applications deliver a number of loyalty-generating benefits, even for hotels without a formal loyalty program. Here we examine some ways that they help you leverage data and build long-term relationships with your highest-value guests.
Guest apps help build guest engagement
A key aspect in building loyalty involves consistent and meaningful guest engagement. According to Forbes, more than 80 percent of Millennials and about two-thirds of Baby Boomers are interested in getting rewards not just for purchases but also for engagement with brands. An effective hotel app makes it easy to nurture your best guests with relevant one-to-one marketing communications before, during and after their stay. Generate loyalty by sending your guests pre-stay offers based on their profile, such as information on a couple’s massage and beach picnic package for guests seeking a romantic getaway, or notifications about exciting kid-oriented activities for traveling families.
During the stay, advanced applications deliver a live chat feature that lets staff communicate with guests in real time, boosting satisfaction by allowing them to instantly address any concerns. You can also send post-stay push notifications, letting guests know that they qualify for inclusion in your loyalty program – tempting them with specific rewards based on what they’re most interested in, whether that’s free stays, automatic room upgrades or discounts on dining and amenities.
Guest apps enhance personalization
Personalizing the guest experience is crucial for building loyalty, with 73 percent of consumers admitting that the brands they engage with most recognize them on a “hyper-personalized” 1:1 level. Many hotels use disparate platforms that don’t communicate with each other, making it difficult to aggregate data and gain actionable insights on individual guests. Advanced hotel applications integrate with your property management and customer relationship systems, allowing you to combine all of your guest data into a single profile. This makes it easy for you to send guests relevant, personalized mobile notifications and discounts, two strategies that have been proven most likely to increase brand loyalty.
And for hotels with formal loyalty programs, research shows that people respond more to experience-based incentives, like a massage, private dining event or a suite upgrade, as opposed to a more standard rewards like cash back. However, rewards must also satisfy each guest’s unique needs and desires. So, where a business traveler may value free shuttle service and a complimentary drink coupon, a family may be looking for discounted theme park tickets. Hotel apps help you keep track of guest preferences, activities, room types and purchase behavior so you can tailor your loyalty program incentives accordingly.
Guest apps make loyalty programs easy to use
According to research from rDialogue, 77 percent of travel loyalty program members say it’s extremely important that brands save them time and make it easy to purchase. And more than half of consumers say it’s very or extremely important that a brand uses technology to make the experience seamless. When your loyalty program is included within your hotel app, guests (and staff!) appreciate that they’re no longer required to keep track of a plastic card to use services.
A hotel application helps you simplify and centralize your loyalty program administration. It provides an easy-to-use platform for members to view their status, keep track of their points, redeem rewards and manage their profile. An app also makes it easy to automate loyalty rewards redemption with a few taps on their smartphone screen or clicks of the computer mouse.
Acquiring a new customer can cost five to 25 times more than selling to an existing customer. Building guest loyalty is a critical factor for hotel business success in today’s competitive market. The right hotel application delivers one of the best options for engaging with your guests and building those long-term relationships that ultimately drive loyalty and repeat business.
Want to learn how the right app can help you build guest loyalty?
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