Why most customers are ready to switch hotel loyalty programs
 

A recent study out of Asia suggests that more that 50% of hotel program members are ready to abandon their program. Why? Because the program is missing the target in its communications and value proposition. Does that sound like your loyalty program?

While writing about this story I did a quick bit of research, checking the details on how many emails I've received recently from one program. On average it was one per day from Hilton and virtually none of them were relevant.

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Combine that with the fact that neither HHonors points nor status are worth much to me and I can easily justify having left the program behind a few years back. Apparently others are feeling the same way.

More significantly, however, I realized that none of the program in their current incarnations are of value to me. Just switching to another one - as many of the respondents in the survey claim they are ready to do - would have me facing the same problem, just with a different program name. So I gave up on them nearly completely. I'm spending less on hotel stays and getting more value for my dollars. And, based on this report, it would seem I'm not alone.

I am going the opposite way.
Having realized that the main value is in high end hotels with free food and lounge, I am going HH the whole way and SPG midway.
It has paid off at Hiltons in China and HKG, in the US, in France and in Germany.

AND as a US based traveler, I am eyeing PC visa - Plat status for a year and a free annual night for 49$

I get emails from 5 different clubs. Some I haven't stayed at in years. The two most relevent ones are PC and CC. When I get a email from them it's usually telling me about 30% off sale for the next quarter if booked by a certain time. The other relevent emails I get are for reduced points for stays at certain hotels, many that I've used in the past. All the rest are junk emails. So yes a lot of garbage out there.

I use the communications options provided by all the programs to not get junk mail that I don't want. It's worked for me.

Plat status is for as long as you are a card member.

It's permanent Plat status now.

I've lowered my expectations and now it's not so bad. With lower expectations, it seems like any mid-tier elite status is about comparable and with the credit card perks it's pretty easy to maintain a few concurrently.

Regardless of the written terms, I've found my US and Canada stays with PC to be the best upgrades and, even though there is no free breakfast, I get at least a significant discount most of the time. And I don't have to do anything to keep the status. Works just fine for me.

As far as communicating a value proposition by e-mail, they're all pretty bad. But really, the only communication I want are crystal clear T&Cs on benefits and someone to advocate when I don't get them. And most can't do that very well. If they are so content to make everything YMMV, then my loyalty will too.

You claim "free food and lounge" there but how much is ti really costing you? I know it isn't actually free. How much extra are you paying to stay in an HH or SPG property in China, Hong Kong, France or Germany? How much extra are you paying on your "regular" stays to get status so that you can get the "free" upgrades?

And that's before we debate the value of the "free" breakfast in the lounge versus going out and eating in the town you're visiting or having a drink at the local pub rather than insulating yourself from the experiences.

And, yes, it is easy to turn off the emails. If they aren't useful then that's probably a good idea. But if they aren't useful then why are the companies still sending them? At some point it shifts from reasonably well targeted marketing to spam. It isn't good to be in the latter category as a major company, and many travel companies are moving that direction pretty quickly.

Sort of off topic, but I like the club access and the free food when Im traveling for pleasure... after 3 or so days of eating out every meal, its sometimes nice to hop to the club for a light dinner. I generally get "fooded out" after a few days. I also like to start my evenings off at the club for a free (or really cheap) drink from the bar (honor).


Back to the original post - I generally like to keep all my loyalty with one brand which aligns strongly with the discounts my company gets for travel. It allows me options in major cities and in general gives me decent prices for nice hotels.

I think its much easier to match between the different hotels vs air carriers so its easy to transfer your top tier elite status around to different brands if you are so inclined. Also, its alot easier in hotels to get mid tier status for free (or so) with a credit card, which makes elite status a little less valuable in the hotel space in terms of retention.

To answer the original question, I don't think sh*tty emails are why 50% of people are ready to switch hotel programs.

As all of the major chains are gradually devaluing both their points and the emphasis and benefits they place on top-tier status, the compelling value of the programs in general starts to weaken. I think a lot of people out there are mid- or top-tier in a program, are frustrated by the gradual loss of benefits over time, and are thinking about greener pastures elsewhere.

Of course, most of these people aren't Flyertalkers who read the forums of 3 to 5 programs and know that all of them are trying to back away from loyalty program benefits. It feels like they're trading out really strong top-tier offerings in exchange for flooding the world with mid-tier cards to anyone inclined to pay attention. So the only people really finding a greener pasture are people who were simply in the wrong style of program to begin with.