How loyalty is being redefined in the digital age

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Boutique Hotel News held its latest Feed Your Mind hotelier breakfast in partnership with Sky Business, hosted at One Hundred Shoreditch.

Feed Your Mind events are co-hosted, content-driven roundtable discussions over breakfast, lunch or dinner. Each event is designed to provide hotel service providers with the opportunity to inform and shape the market.

In partnership with Sky Business, the latest Feed Your Mind event focussed on driving the lifetime value of a guest, and how loyalty is being redefined in the digital age.

Key takeaways from the discussion include:

• Hilton Honors added 128 million members in the last six years, representing 147 per cent growth and out-pacing other global hotel brands (eg. versus Marriott Bonvoy, which has grown by 119 million members).
• The definition of loyalty has evolved beyond traditional points-based systems, now focusing on the experiential element and guest recognition that cannot be bought.
• For leisure guests – which are typically more difficult to convert than corporate travellers – the reluctance to download apps means loyalty is often intangible and based on recognition and consistency of brand promise.
• Understanding customer behaviour by offering convenient guest data requests is a key strategy.
• High-spending customers respond well to a members’ club or subscription model over points collection. Tailored programs or “micro-loyalty” initiatives prioritise experience over volume.
• Different programs are required for different customer segments and property types. While significant efforts are being made to consolidate spend across various touch points into a unified guest profile, it’s a major challenge due to too many platforms.
• Current systems often fall short in providing the necessary guest insights for true personalisation and improving lifetime value, with a strong desire for bringing all systems together in one platform. Hyatt has achieved this with considerable success. 
• Another challenge remains in effectively using collected data to shape pricing, packaging, and loyalty offers, often requiring dedicated teams (which is time and resource heavy) and clearly defined strategies to act on guest preferences.
• Predictive technology and AI are anticipated to enable greater automation, efficiency, and personalisation, including tracking lifetime value.
• Luxury hotels are more cautious with tech, prioritising reliability and ensuring digital advancements do not detract from the human experience. New market entrants have an advantage by building modern backend platforms without legacy system reliance.

Thanks to Joe Strudwick, head of national accounts, Sky Business; Rob Sergeant, hospitality brand manager EMEA, Ruckus; and Neetu Mistry, CCO, Cycas Hospitality, for kicking off the conversation.

Companies represented include: Andaz London, Beaverbrook, Blue Orchid Hotels, Cafe Royal, Great Northern Hotel, Iconic Luxury Hotels, Leonardo Hotels, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, Montcalm Collection, Morgans Originals, Starhotels, The Newman, The Welbeck Hotel, Urban Rest and more. 

To learn more about how Sky Business can enhance connectivity at your hotel, contact Sukh McLatchie at sukhminder.mclatchie@sky.uk.

For further information about our Feed Your Mind events, click here or contact Katie Houghton at katie@internationalhospitality.media / +34 711 02 42 31.