The Travel Research Group at Phoenix Marketing International discovered some surprising results in their Hotel SCORES study which examines the successes and shortfalls for the hospitality industry’s biggest name frequent guest programs: very few members can correctly identify all the hotel brands that participate in these programs.

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Rank-Order Awareness of All Hotel Brands Participating in Specific Hotel Frequent Guest Program

La Quinta Returns
Red Roof RediCard
Wyndham ByRequest
Hyatt Gold Passport
Best Western Gold Crown
Baymont Guest Ovations
Choice Privileges
Priority Club Rewards
Marriott Rewards
TripRewards
Prime Rewards
Hilton HHonors
Radisson Gold Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest

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Why is it important for hotel frequent guest programs to communicate the lodging brands that participate in their programs?

Diaz indicated that data from Hotel SCORES shows that two-out-of-five frequent guest program members claim that programs influence their lodging choice a significant amount of the time. An additional two-out-of-five claim that these programs sometimes influence their decision of hotel selection.

Influence of Hotel Frequent Guest Program On Hotel Selection

Influences all the time 9%
Influences most of the time 32%
Influences some of the time 41%
Rarely influences 15%
Never influences 3%

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Diaz believes that, “The message to communicate all hotel brands in a hotel frequent guest program could not be clearer. Increased chain awareness can have a positive effect on revenue and it will help keep a valued customer from staying at, and potentially becoming more active in a competitor program.”

The data from Phoenix Marketing International’s Hotel SCORES study yields a 95% confidence level with an accuracy of +/-1.6%.


http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_nshw.php?mwi=1420

This tells me all I need to know about the validity of the survey. No member could name all of the HH or SPG hotels? NOBODY? What was their sample size...like...2 members?

I can understand the percentages being low - if I were asked on the street to name all of the brands as fast as I could I might leave out Homewood or something, but saying "no member" could do it doesn't give their questioning process a whole lot of credibility.

I agree, it is very important to know who the participants were in this survey. Remember, most people do not devote much of their time to their "loyalty" programs. The average person may sign up for a program if they happen to stay in a hotel, but I wonder what percentage of program members are really frequent guests. It would be interesting to know if the survey participants were only sporadic users or true road warriors!

Here's my own personal experience with the programs in which I'm a member:

- Marriott - frequent user - can name all of the brands in the program easily
- HHonors - frequent user - could probably name all of the brands in the program
- SPG - infrequent user - would probably get most of 'em right but not all
- Hyatt - infrequent user - don't know what other brands participate besides Hyatt
- Priority Club - infrequent user - filled out form to join in lobby of roadside motel - know little about other brands besides Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites
- Wyndham - joined only after Priceline dealt me a Wyndham - know nothing about the brands other than Wyndham
- OMNI - joined only after Priceline dealt me an OMNI - know nothing about the other brands (if any)
- Fairmont - infrequent user - know they don't have any other chains
- Baymont Inns - joined because of a promo to get AA miles - never stayed at any of their hotels

I tend to be aware of the brands within the general price/quality range I'm likely to use and less aware, or unaware, of the others in a chain. If someone asked me to name them all I'd surely miss a few. That has zero relationship with my satisfaction with the chain in general or with the hotels at which I am likely to stay, with the probability that I'll choose that chain, or with the influence of the frequent guest program on that decision.

That said, hotel frequent guest programs influence my choices less than airline frequent flyer programs do. Part of the reason that upgrades are less important to me when it comes to rooms than they are when flying. The difference between a standard room and a better one is not nearly as dramatic as that between an economy airline seat and one in front, the key pieces of equipment (bed, TV and plumbing) are not significantly different at all, my ability to use the other hotel facilities (with the possible exception of an "executive floor" lounge) doesn't depend on room type, and I'm asleep most of the time I'm in there anyhow. If upgrades suddenly became unavailable as flight rewards, or if the difference between one class and the next became as small as it is in hotel rooms, I suspect many of us would become less loyal (perhaps not totally disloyal, just less loyal) to airlines as well.

Definitely true - and add in the fact that hotels rarely hand out great upgrades to anyone but the top elites. (Even some top elites report not being able to get full suite upgrades at the big chains.)

Hotel programs, to me, are simply a mechanism to get free nights for unusual leisure trips. Places where one of the chains offers a unique, more interesting property than you would get from Priceline. (For example, I would much rather blow a boatload of Marriott points on the Renaissance Wailea than spend $135/nt. to stay at the Marriott Wailea.)