It's also totally illogical to require 10 stays for a benefit in an economy where travel is being cut back. Who the heck put this promo together and what sand was his head in.
Illogical? Really? The whole point of any promo is to get you to stay MORE. Travel *is* being cut back and Starwood wants you to stay with them - its called share shift. This promo certainly offers an incentive to stay with Starwood a lot - ten times, in fact. There is something for those who stay less - 500 points a night and, if you give Starwood lots of your business, you get an even bigger reward - 5K.
Since travel is being cut back, do you think it would be better to offer bonus points for say, staying *less* than you did last year during the same period?
The point is the economy is not in a good place, hotels are hurting for business, so what can they do to encourage people to stay who may not have stayed at a hotel at all, or get people to pay a slightly higher price to gain more points? Marketing gives me an incentive to do something that I would not do otherwise. This could be done through a promotion, better service at the hotel, or a non-monetary gesture which makes a customer feel valued. I am not whining or complaining all all that I will get 500 extra points per night. I am a Starwood shareholder and generally like the SPG program. On the other hand, I am not out there booking hotel stays that I don't need because of the compelling promotion. It is not always about going to the competition. I can stay with family/friends. I can simply stay home or fly in and out in the same day and not utilize a hotel. I may also just choose to stay at the Sheraton by the Airport rather than the W downtown--still using Starwood but at a much lower pricing point.
It will be interesting to see how this experiment works out. If they can get the same revenue level by offering a much weaker promotion, that is great as the brands themselves are commanding greater loyalty. If there is a big drop off, then perhaps another marketing approach will be needed later in the year.
On the other hand, I am not out there booking hotel stays that I don't need because of the compelling promotion.
I am not sure why you would assume that was their goal. Presumably, there is a price at which they could fill all their rooms every night. (See the DFW for $1 threads). However, they choose to try to maximize profits by charging a higher price.
A promotion of extra points for each night/stay is basically a discount to incent a booking, and for a big enough discount, demand would increase as prices drop. (Elasticity of demand)
However, people who actually NEED a hotel room in that specific city will be much more likely to be willing to pay a more reasonable (higher) price. Starwood's goal isn't to convince people to make another stay just for the heck of it, its to get people who would otherwise choose a Hilton/Hyatt/etc to choose a Starwood instead.
At a time, the economy is in the toilet, the first goal is to have people stay in your hotel. It's not to have people stay 10 nights. It's to have them stay at all.
Further the number of people staying 10 nights in 3 or 4 months is dropping. There have been company layoffs. The economy is pushing people to stay more cheaply and cut down the number of days of stay. There is heavy hotel discounting.
A promo can offer an incentive to stay at your favorite brand, even despite price differences with rivals.
But by aiming this one at those who stay 10 nights, you end up rewarding people who are already probably staying 10 days or close to it while skipping the people you probably most need.
It's just odd.
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At a time, the economy is in the toilet, the first goal is to have people stay in your hotel. It's not to have people stay 10 nights. It's to have them stay at all.
Further the number of people staying 10 nights in 3 or 4 months is dropping. There have been company layoffs. The economy is pushing people to stay more cheaply and cut down the number of days of stay. There is heavy hotel discounting.
A promo can offer an incentive to stay at your favorite brand, even despite price differences with rivals.
But by aiming this one at those who stay 10 nights, you end up rewarding people who are already probably staying 10 days or close to it while skipping the people you probably most need.
It's just odd.
Yes, I agree that a promotion offering 10K extra points PER NIGHT would be a much better promo for "the people you probably need most" but SPG is a LOYALTY program for FREQUENT STAYERS. That is that is the whole point. People who are staying one night here and one night there are not points maniacs like all of us on FT! The idea (which makes perfect sense) is to encourage people to spend as much of their possible spend with Starwood. Hence, a tiered bonus structure that offers SOMETHING for people who need/want a little kick (500 per night) and a big bonus for those who shift all of their business to Starwood and stay 10,20 or 30 nights during the promo. Fairly basic frequency marketing.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizaro86
Starwood's goal isn't to convince people to make another stay just for the heck of it, its to get people who would otherwise choose a Hilton/Hyatt/etc to choose a Starwood instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mizzou miles
The idea (which makes perfect sense) is to encourage people to spend as much of their possible spend with Starwood. Hence, a tiered bonus structure that offers SOMETHING for people who need/want a little kick (500 per night) and a big bonus for those who shift all of their business to Starwood and stay 10,20 or 30 nights during the promo. Fairly basic frequency marketing.
Bizaro & Mizzou -- Perfectly stated. I could not have said it better. Thank you.
At a time, the economy is in the toilet, the first goal is to have people stay in your hotel. It's not to have people stay 10 nights. It's to have them stay at all.
And isn't this promo doing exactly that? 500 bonus points per night for _every_ night - from the first to the 100th. That's your "first goal" covered there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrAOK
But by aiming this one at those who stay 10 nights, you end up rewarding people who are already probably staying 10 days or close to it while skipping the people you probably most need.
The 10 nights covers the second goal you've missed. Yes, many of the people who get the 10 night bonus will have been staying 10 nights already - but they might not have been staying them at a Starwood hotel! Convincing those frequent travellers to stay at Starwood hotels is just as (if not more) important than the people staying a few nights.
Yes, the economy may be causing issues, but there's still a lot of people who travel a lot more than 10 nights in a quarter - in fact, if SPG had a hotel in Johannesburg I'd be at 10 nights for the year by the end of this week...
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probably already mentioned but I didn't want to read all 8 pages either
since I just registered for this...
i will still do one nighters only (thats how I qualify for Plat) so my ten stays that I hope for during the promo period should net me 1000 extra points a night with the plat amenity or 15K for the promo..
man.. the more I'm thinking about this. the more I like it
my ten stays ...during the promo period should net me 1000 extra points a night with the plat amenity or 15K for the promo..
man.. the more I'm thinking about this. the more I like it
I think the promo is ok too, but isn't the analysis flawed? You'd get the 500 amenity points regardless, so the promo is only worth 10K, not 15K. 1 free night at a Cat 4...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SportsTech
I think the promo is ok too, but isn't the analysis flawed? You'd get the 500 amenity points regardless, so the promo is only worth 10K, not 15K. 1 free night at a Cat 4...
true but it is the promo that is pushing my est ten stays up from later in the year to this period. But I agree its not really from the promo (the initial 500) but otoh.. that is what I'm getting per stay...
