Originally Posted by
notquiteaff
I tend to agree with you. Of course, I don't have any insights into how many FFN are actually earned and how they are (on average) spent. And FT is probably not representative overall.
I'm certain that that average traveler is not as sophisticated or informed about hotel promotions as the average FTer. That said the segment of the travel market dedicated to stretching their travel budgets must be growing given the current economic realities. In such a climate, I wonder how long rich rewards promotions such as FFN/BWB can remain under the radar of the average traveler.
Originally Posted by
notquiteaff
A well-targeted promo could quite likely accomplish Hyatt's goals better than a shotgun approach that targets everyone equally. Of course, those who don't get targeted won't be happy with that (I am not excluding myself from that). I think as loyalty programs get more sophisticated and learn more about their members and develop tools to analyze their spend pattern, we might very well see more "Crack the Case" style individualized promos.
A couple of well targeted promotions from Hyatt got them an additional 30 nights from me this year, so I completely agree on the merits of such programs. Then again, the burden on Hyatt's IT infrastructure, not to mention GP reps would grow exponentially if they offered more targeted promotions.