Rethinking rewarding loyalty

Reward programmes have proved that they play a huge role in recovering loyal customers after a market crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic was certainly the most damaging in living memory for the hospitality sector. Loyalty programmes appeal to travellers’ desire to feel valued, missed and welcomed back after a long absence. During the pandemic, passengers wanted to feel that hotels regarded their safety and well-being as vitally important. Since then, there has been a trend towards adding safety and loyalty features to recapture these customers as travel restrictions are lifted and normal conditions return. That turning point presented a key opportunity to revamp existing programmes, which is precisely what Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) has done with the launch of its new Radisson Rewards loyalty programme, which offers the industry’s fastest route to top-tier benefits.

“Since 2018, we have changed our brand portfolio but also customer expectations have evolved and new technology has been introduced, which is why we evolved our programme,” says Cristina Serra, global senior VP brand, experience & customer strategy. “We want to give our members the benefits they deserve and keep them coming back because they feel rewarded when they stay with us for business, leisure or bleisure travel.”

“Our previous programme was successful, though very traditional and was not covering all ranges of the different brands we have from mid-scale to luxury,” she adds. “With the new programme, we assure the delivery in all elements of the member journey from booking to staying in the hotel. All our rates are open, and members can pay with points in the booking flow or at checkout.”

A fast route to premier rewards

The new programme opens the doors for guests to reach valuable and exclusive benefits much faster than before, making it interesting for leisure travelers. VIP members advance to the highest tier twice as fast and benefits can be accessed from day one across the entire member journey, including in-stay privileges such as complimentary upgrades, food and beverage discounts and much more, as well as post-stay benefits such as the option to make a stay carbon neutral. Previously, VIP members could advance to the highest tier with either 60 nights booked or 30 stays. Now they need only 30 nights or 20 stays. This is the fastest route to the highest tier anywhere in the industry.

“This gives flexibility in booking, and ensures we give value back to all our hotels,” says Serra. “When staying in the hotel, members enjoy more benefits than before with priority check-in lines, guaranteed room upgrades and access to exclusive areas for VIP members.”

“We have redesigned our programme to be consumer-centric, offering more personalised benefits and rewards,” she adds. “We have simplified our tier structure for our members to unlock benefits faster. We also wanted to give our members more choice when they stay with us to get more discounts or more points and also flexibility with how they spend their points.”

For instance, guests can use their points to get further discounts on their stay or on a full Award Night. When a guest joins as a club member they receive not only traditional benefits such as exclusive member-only rates and a 10% discount on food and drink, but also new benefits such as a Priority Line and the possibility to use points to pay for services such as spa, laundry services and as a discount on future stays.

After three stays or five nights, members are upgraded to Premium and earn more points compared with the previous programme, with 27 points per dollar spent. Alternatively, members can choose to apply a Discount Booster of up to 20% while earning nine points per dollar. The new Discount Booster for future reservations is a unique feature across industry loyalty programmes. Premium members also have access to a 24-hour exclusive Premium Contact Centre, early check in and late check out, and free complimentary nights in RHG properties.

“We wanted to evolve our programme to meet the evolving needs of guests by giving more choice back to the members,” she adds. “Our current and revamped programme is more flexible and dynamic, adapting to travellers’ rapid lifestyle changes and their evolving expectations when they stay, work, and meet in our hotels.”

Furthermore, the flexibility of the programme allows RHG to respond quickly to market demands from owners, as well as to changing consumer travel trends, to ensure that the brand maintains a dynamic business model and a competitive market offering.

Travellers, bookers and planners

As well as ramping up the rewards and creating a shorter route to the highest tier, the new Radisson Rewards programme also aims to be the most highly personalised in the industry. It now offers a range of choices based on guest preferences and the history of their previous requests. Each guest has a comprehensive member profile to support a range of customised benefits that are tailored for each booking. Alongside this enhanced level of personalisation, the programme also provides an enhanced digital experience for members. This includes a new private area on each member’s online profile and on the app for quick access to useful information on previous bookings, invoices, favourite hotels and more.

“In today’s world, where each of us is constantly digitally connected, capturing the attention of a potential customer is key,” says Serra. “Content on our digital platforms must load almost instantaneously and must, above all, be relevant and interactive as well as trustworthy and appealing.”

The brand has worked hard to deliver a solid digital transformation to ensure that its website, app, emails, notifications and other points of interaction move away from offering the same experience for all in favour of a targeted and personalised experience. The group can now start to leverage its member database, identify common paths and create a targeted customer matrix.

“By knowing what our members like, their behaviour patterns and what they expect from us, our aim is to provide relevant content and experience, when and where they need it,” Serra explains. “This is the hospitality DNA.”

As well as individual travellers, professional bookers and planners also benefit from Radisson Rewards, which allow them the opportunity to earn and redeem points when booking for others as well as on personal travel. Furthermore, the programme’s flexibility allows travellers to share their points with other members, use them to book meeting and event spaces, and earn extra points when they refer new members.

Sustainable benefits

Among the benefits that members can accrue is the opportunity to make their hotel stays carbon neutral. This reflects the high priority that RHG places on sustainability. It takes only 325 points per day to offset the carbon footprint of a hotel stay, and Radisson Rewards is among very few loyalty programmes to offer this option and make green stays easy.

“In response to the overwhelming evidence of climate change, environmental damage and social need, and the increasing requirements of travellers to book sustainable stays, the hospitality industry has come together earlier this year to launch Hotel Sustainability Basics,” says Serra. “Sustainability is and has always been one of our highest priorities.”

The next phase of programme development is to expand the range of global partnerships, which will play an important role for the member value proposition by giving members more ways to earn and spend their points, as well as unlocking more benefits.

With its revamped rewards programme, RHG is taking loyalty and personalisation to the next level. It is time the industry as a whole started to rethink loyalty and rewards, and RHG is setting the bar high.